NSOU BDP 2ND YEAR EEG PAPER- 3, PAPER- 4 & PAPER- 5

NETAJI SUBHAS OPEN UNIVERSITY

ENGLISH BDP

2ND YEAR

EEG

PAPER- 3

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

1. Account for the history of drama from its suppression in the Puritan age to its revival in the Restoration.

2. Bring out the prominent features of Restoration heroic tragedy, with special reference to the works of two relevant playwrights.

3. Bring out the salient features of Restoration Drama/ Comedy/ Comedy of Manners by referring in particular to the works of major dramatists.

4. Evaluate the dramatic achievements of one writer of the comedy of manners, and one other creator of heroic tragedy, during England’s Restoration Age.

5. Examine the factors which contributed to the rise of Neo-Classicism in English literature.

6. How did the Puritan view of culture impact the English stage?

7. Discuss the impact of Restoration on English Literature

8. Write a short essay on Restoration Drama.

9. Write a short essay on the closure of the theatres by the Puritans.

10. Write a short note on the impact of Neo-Classicism on Literary Thought/ English literature. /Show how Neo-Classicism influenced the literature of its time in England.

11. What do you understand by the term Restoration? Account for the reasons behind the social changes brought about by this movement.

12. Trace the developments in seventeenth-century England, that began with Puritan opposition to drama and led to the ban on playhouses.

13. “The Restoration period shows a significant variety of developments in prose forms ... .” Elucidate

14. Enumerate and elaborate on some of the prominent features of Restoration Comedy.

AN ESSAY OF DRAMATIC POESY

1. What, according to Dryden, are Ben Jonson’s virtues as a playwright?

2. Give the gist of Neander’s comments on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher in An Essay on Dramatic Poesy.

3. Formulate your understanding of Neo-Classicism from your reading of Dryden’s An Essay of Dramatic Poesy.

THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

1. Show how the Christian Puritan spirit is manifest in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.

2. Discuss the significance of the section heading ‘Vanity Fair’ in the larger context of The Pilgrim’s Progress by Bunyan.

3. Write an estimate of The Pilgrim’s Progress as a prose allegory.

ALL FOR LOVE

1. Analyse with close reference to the text, the expository function of Act 1 of Dryden’s All For Love. / Do you think that the first act is an effective exposition? Justify your answers by giving suitable reference to the text.

LOVE ARMED

1. What do you consider to be the major theme in ‘Love Armed’? Discuss.

MACFLECKNOE

1. What picture of the contemporary English literary scene do you get from John Dryden’s Macflecknoe? / Comment on Dryden’s presentation of Shadwell in Macflecknoe. /Discuss Macflecknoe as a verse satire/personal satire/political satire.

2. Discuss MacFlecknoe as a Mock-heroic Poem.

HUDIBRAS

1. Discuss Hudibras as an example of Restoration Satire. / Examine Samuel Butler’s use of satire in Hudibras.

PEPYS' DIARY

1. Discuss, with appropriate references to the text you have studied, how Pepys brings alive the London of his time through his diary entries.

2. Compare the responses of two contemporaries, Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, to the same phenomenon : The Great Fire of London.

THE WAY OF THE WORLD

1. Bring out the significance of the title of The Way of the World.

2. Show how Congreve uses the Comedy of Manners to highlight the vices and follies of society in The Way of the World. / How would you apply the main features of the Comedy of Manners to The Way of the World?

3. Discuss the relationship between Mirabell and Millament in the Way of the World.

4. How do Fainall and Mrs. Marwood contribute to the development of the action in The Way of the World?

5. Discuss The Way of the World as Comedy of Wit and Humour. / Show how verbal wit contributes to the overall humorous intent in The Way of the World.

6. Discuss the character of Mirabell as a true wit.

7. Discuss the character of Millament.

8. Comment on the theme of love and marriage in The Way of the World. / Comment on the Dowry, Marriage and Adultery as a theme in The Way of the World.

9. ‘The proviso scene between Millament and Mirabell is a significant event which strengthens the plot of the play.” Illustrate. / What is the dramatic significance of the Proviso Scene in The Way of the World?

SHORT QUESTIONS EEG 3

NETAJI SUBHAS OPEN UNIVERSITY

ENGLISH BDP

2ND YEAR

EEG

PAPER- 4

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

1. Critically comment on the major features of the Augustan Period/ Augustan literature in Europe.

2. Critically comment on the major features of the Enlightenment in Europe.

3. Discuss the leading figures of the Enlightenment and their influence.

4. Discuss the rise of the novel in the larger context of the socio-cultural developments of the time. / Show how the notions of class, didacticism and sentimentality influenced the practice of novel-writing in the eighteenth century.

5. Explain the term ‘Augustan’. Why is the neo-classical age called ‘Augustan’?

6. What were the major genres and traditions that contributed to the shaping of the novel in the eighteenth century? Illustrate your answer with reference to some major novels of the period.

ADDISON AND STEELE

1. Assess Steele as an essayist from your reading of “Recollections of Childhood”.

2. Examine how Addison and Steele present the contemporary social ethos in the essays prescribed in your syllabus.

3. Critically assess the prose styles of Addison and Steele as found in their essays in your syllabus.

4. Write a note on the use of humour in Addison’s essays.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

1. Describe Gulliver's experience in Brobdingnag.

2. Describe Gulliver's experience in Lilliput.

3. Describe, after Swift, the society of the Houyhnhmns.

4. Comment on Swift’s portrayal of Lamuel Gulliver.

5. Discuss “Gulliver’s Travels” as a political allegory.

6. Critically examine “Gulliver’s Travels” as a mixture of fantasy, satire and travelogue.

7. Comment on Swift’s style in “Gulliver’s Travels”.

8. Write a critical note on Gulliver’s Travels (Book II) as a satire.

9. Write an essay on Swift’s allegorical vision in Gulliver’s Travels.

PREFACE TO SHAKESPEARE

1. How does Samuel Johnson defend Shakespeare on the charge of violating the ‘three unities’?

2. Why does Dr. Johnson call Shakespeare a natural genius?

3. What are the general ‘defects’ that Dr. Johnson finds with Shakespeare’s works.

RAPE OF THE LOCK

1. Comment on Pope’s use of mock-heroic elements in ‘The Rape of the Lock’.

2. Discuss The Rape of the Lock as a critique of the contemporary fashionable society. Or Discuss Pope as a satirist with reference to The Rape of the Lock.

3. How does Pope’s employment of the supernatural machinery enhance the elements of mockery in ‘The Rape of the Lock’?/ Examine the role of the sylphs in The Rape of the Lock.

4. What is a ‘game of ombre’? What is the Cardgame a parody of? Point out the martial metaphors in Pope’s description of the game in The Rape of the Lock.

5. The part Belinda plays in the social drama of The Rape of the Lock is at once despicable and endearing. Discuss

ROBINSON CRUSOE

1. Consider Robinson Crusoe as a colonial narrative.

2. Discuss the role played by Friday in Robinson Crusoe Or, Discuss the relationship between Crusoe and Friday.

3. Do you consider Robinson Crusoe a fable? Give reasons for your answer.

4. Examine Robinson Crusoe as a spiritual autobiography.

5. How far is Robinson Crusoe in the ‘Picaresque’ tradition?

6. “Parallel to the framework of religious significance, there is a framework of economic doctrine in Robinson Crusoe”. Discuss.

7. Discuss realism in Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”.

8. Why has “Robinson Crusoe” been called at once realistic and allegorical?

9. Robinson Crusoe: Discourse on Individualism Or, Robinson Crusoe: The universal Representative, the person for whom every reader could substitute himself. Or, Robinson Crusoe invests every moment of life on the island with interest?

10. Discuss on the theme of Individuality in Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

11. Would the simple category of ‘travel and adventure’ adequately describe Robinson Crusoe? / Critically comment on the significant themes in Robinson Crusoe.

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER

1. Comment on the dramatic function of Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer. Or, Who do you think is the central character in She Stoops to Conquer? Support your answer.

2. Examine Goldsmith’s use of comic devices in She Stoops to Conquer.

3. Examine the aptness of the title of ‘She Stoops to Conquer’

4. Discuss Hastings- Neville sub-plot in She Stoops to Conquer

5. Would you call “She Stoops to Conquer” a comedy of youth? Argue your answer with adequate textual support.

6. She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy with serious social message. Discuss.

7. She Stoops to Conquer is more a comedy of intrigue than a comedy of character. Do you agree ?

8. Consider “She Stoops to Conquer” as an anti-sentimental comedy.

RIVALS

1. Bring out the farcical elements in The Rivals.

2. Critically comment on the character of Mrs. Malaprop.

3. Comment on Julia Faulkland Sub Plot in The Rivals.

ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD

1. Analyse the elegiac characteristics of Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard with special reference to the theme and style of the poem.

2. How does Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” anticipate Romanticism ? Answer with close textual references.

SPRING

1. Comment on Thomson’s concern for the environment as evident in his poem ‘Spring’.


                                         SHORT QUESTIONS EEG 4

NETAJI SUBHAS OPEN UNIVERSITY

ENGLISH BDP

2ND YEAR

EEG

PAPER- 5

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

1. Comment on Coleridge’s views on Imagination

2. Comment on Wordsworth’s distinction between Imagination and Fancy in Preface to Lyrical Ballads.

3. Assess Scott’s Contribution to Historical Novels.

4. Discuss the Influence of the French Revolution on English Literature.

5. What is Romantic Poetry? Discuss its chief features.

6. What is Romanticism? How did it find its way into the English literary scenario ?/ Analyse the socio-political background of the Romantic revival./ Identify any four of the major trends of thought in the Romantic period, and discuss their application in the works of contemporary poets.

7. Who were the Precursors of the Romantic Movement? Discuss why they were called so?/ What is Romanticism? How did it find its way into the English literary scenario?

8. Write an essay on the Romantic Novel with special reference to Jane Austen and Walter Scott.

9. Analyse with textual references the aspects of Romanticism that you find in the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

ESSAYS OF ELIA

1. Analyse Lamb’s prose style with reference to his essays that are on syllabus?

2. Consider Charles Lamb as a personal essayist with reference to ‘The Superannuated Man’ and ‘Dream Children: A Reverie’. /How does Charles Lamb successfully transform episodes of personal life into literary pieces of universal interest in his essays?

3. Critically appreciate Lamb's Dream Children

4. Discuss how Lamb blends Pathos and Humour in his essays prescribed for you.

5. Discuss Lamb as a Romantic essayist.

WILLIAM BLAKE

1. Draw comparison between William Blake’s “The Lamb” and “The Tyger”

2. How does ‘The Chimney Sweeper’, poems of Blake glorify innocence against a gloomy social background?

S. T. COLERIDGE

1. Is it possible to read ‘Christabel’ as an allegorical poem? Substantiate with textual references.

2. Show how Coleridge evokes the medieval atmosphere in Christabel?

3. Show how Christabel naturalizes the supernatural.

4. What is your impression of Geraldine in ‘Christabel’? Answer with textual references.

WILLIAM HAZLITT

1. Discuss how William Hazlitt expresses his romantic love of nature in “On Going a Journey”.

JOHN KEATS

1. Briefly discuss the symbolism in ‘Ode to a Nightingale’.

2. Comment on the contrast between transience and permanence as you find it in ‘Ode to a Nightingale’.

3. Comment on the sensuousness of Keats’ poetry with reference to “Ode to a Nightingale”

4. Trace the evolution of thought in Ode to a Nightingale

5. Examine the romantic qualities in Keats’ poetry with reference to Ode to a Nightingale?

P. B. SHELLEY

1. Examine the impact of the West Wind on the land, the sky, the sea and the poet himself as described in the poem Ode to the West Wind?

2. How does Shelley describe the workings of “The Wild Spirit...Destroyer and Preserver”?

3. Shelley’s poetry is a vehicle of his prophetic mind – Discuss with reference to ‘Ode to the West Wind’.

                                       WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

1. Analyse the different phases of Wordsworth’s relationship with nature as found in ‘Tintern Abbey’.

2. Explain the relevance of the concluding portion of “Tintern Abbey” with close textual references to support your argument.

3. Write a brief essay on Wordsworth’s pantheistic creed with close textual references to ‘Tintern Abbey’.

PREFACE TO LYRICAL BALLADS

1. Discuss Wordsworth's views on the language (diction) in which poetry should be written. Or, Wordsworth theory of poetic diction

2. Examine critically Wordsworth's views on the nature of poetry and the process of poetic creation. Or Wordsworth’s view on poetry

3. In what ways can Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads be considered a manifesto of the Romantic Movement? Discuss with close reference to the text.

4. Discuss Wordsworth’s view on Poet

5. Discuss Wordsworth's view on subject matter/ themes of poetry

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

1. Analyse the character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

2. Discuss the themes of love, money and marriage in Pride and Prejudice.

3. Comment on the use of irony and humour in Pride and Prejudice.

4. Discuss Pride and Prejudice as a Domestic Novel/Social Novel.

5. Comment on the structure of Plot in Pride and Prejudice.

6. Comment on the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy.

7. Discuss Jane Austen’s treatment of women characters in Pride and Prejudice.

8. Can “Pride and Prejudice” be regarded as a commentary on the theme of love and marriage?

9. Critically examine the appropriateness of the title “Pride and Prejudice.”

SHORT QUESTIONS EEG 5

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Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.

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