1.

Bring out the blending of humor and irony in the Prologue to the Canterbury
Tales?
2. Comment on the dramatic relevance and importance of the soliloquies in
Macbeth
3. Consider The Duchess of Malfi as a play representing a reversal of the
revenge mode
4. Do you agree with the view that Milton idealizes the Satan in Paradise Lost
Book I? Give reasons for your answer
5. Bring out the elements of neo-classical criticism as reflected in Samuel
Johnson’s criticism of the Metaphysical poets
6. Would you consider Jonathan Swift a misanthropist? Give a reasoned answer.
7. Examine Wordsworth’s views on creative process and the use of language as
reflected in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.
8. What elements of realism do you find in the novels of Jane Austin? Discuss
with reference to any of the novels you have read
9. Bring out the conflict between doubt and faith in the poetry of Tennyson
10. Critically comment on the portrayal of the child in the novels of Charles
Dickens.
11. W.B.Yeats’s major concern in his poetry is “transience of life and permanence
of art.” Elucidate
12. Examine the poetic elements in the fictional prose of D.H. Lawrence
13. The poetry of Ted Hughes emphasizes the “pitiless violent forcers of nature.”
Examine.
14. Consider William Golding as a novelist who combines fantasy with
psychological realism
15. What importance does Aristotle attach to a character in a drama?
16. Examine I.A. Richard’s views on the two uses of language
17. New Historicism is “a reciprocal concern with the historicity of texts and the
textuality of history.” Examine.
18. Reader response critics of all theoretical persuasions agree that, at lest to
some considerable degree, the meanings of a text are the “production” or
“creation” of the individual reader. How far do you agree with this?
19. What are the features of the Indo-European family of languages? Explain the
methods by which words have changed their meaning.
20. How would you distinguish between American English and British English.
Elucidate.
21. What are the aims and objectives of teaching English?
22. Explain how English can be taught effectively though situationalization and
dramatization. What strategies would you recommend for teaching large
classes?
23. Explain the relevance of proficiency test. What other tests can be effective in
classroom teaching?
24. Don Quixote stands in a unique position between medieval chivalric romance
and modern novel. Discuss.
25. Kafka’s novels are a blend of realism and fantasy. Discuss.
26. “Early Indian English poetry not only borrows from Western poetry but also
articulates a nationalist position.” Discuss.
27. Discuss the issue of caste as represented in Mulk Raj Anad’s Untouchable and
Arundathi Roy’s The God of Small Things.
28. Discuss Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children as a national allegory
29. Discuss the politics associated with the reception of Indian Literature in
English translation.
30. In Tughlaq, Girish Karnad presents an ironic view of history. Discuss.
31. Narrative technique in Moby Dick.
32. Consider The Old Man and the Sea as a Christian parable.
33. Discuss the depiction of Igbo tradition in the early novels of Chinua Achebe
34. Discuss Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing as a psychological thriller
35. Discuss the use of Australian landscape in A.D. Hope’s poetry
36. “In the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth extends the boundaries of
readership of English poetry.” Discuss.
37. Analyze the contribution of the Yale critics
38. “New Historicism rejects the traditional distinction between the text and the
context.” Discuss.
39. Discuss Michael Foucault’s conception of the shifting dynamics of power
40. Highlight the salient features of Julia Kristeva’s notion of intertexuality
41. Attempt an essay on the French influence on English suitable illustrations
42. Trace briefly the gradual acquisition of slang into English language through
the nineteenth and twentieth century
43. How does the structural approach to language teaching differ from the
communicative approach? Point out the shortcomings of the structural
method.
44. Explain with illustrations the following methods in classroom teaching;
a. Classical method
b. West’s method
c. Reading method
d. Natural method
45. How would you differentiate listening skills from reading skills? Do you need
special training to teach the above skills?
46. “Aeschylus’s Oresteia traces the metaphoric movement from darkness to
light.” Discuss.
47. Explain Goethe’s use of tragic irony in Faust.
48. “In Raskolnikov, Dostoyevsky has created a man who is singular yet
universal.” Comment.
49. Discuss Mann’s Death in Venice as a problematization of the traditional
morality tale.
50. Is Meursault a vehicle for Camus’ absurdist philosophy?
51. Discuss the use of myth by twentieth century Indian English novelists.
52. Which experience is more important for the major characters in Kantapura—
the political or the religious? Discuss.
53. Discuss the satirical elements in Vijay Tendulkar’s Silence, the Court is in
Session.
54. “Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines presents a tension between the private
and the public world.” Discuss.
55. “Translation form a regional language into English mars the content and
message of the creative artist.” Discuss.
56. Bring out the symbolic significance of whiteness in Moby Dick.
57. “In The Great Gatsby, the structure turns on both parallels and contrasts.”
Discuss.
58. Comment on Derek Walcott’s representation of the postcolonial Caribbean
subject.
59. Write a critical note on the Achebe hero.
60. “A House for Mr. Biswas is a bildungsroman with a difference.” Discuss.
61. In Arnold’s view, what is the difference between historical estimate and
personal estimate? Which way out does Arnold suggest?
62. What is Roland Barthers’s contribution to the post-structuralist conception of
the text?
63. Discuss the fusion of Marxism and structuralism in the works of Louis
Althusser.
64. Write a note on Bakhtin and the question of history.
65. How does Homi Bhabha theorize the ‘in-between’ space in postcolonial
discourse?
66. Discuss the evolution of English language with reference to diverse
influences.
67. Trace the sources of addition to English vocabulary in the Renaissance period
and specify their domains with examples.
68. How does the Indian English consonantal system differ from that of standard
English?
69. What do you understand by the term ‘register’? Explain with reference to
English with examples.
70. Discuss the difference between approach and method in language teaching.
71. Examine the different shades of conflict in Sophocles’ Theban trilogy.
72. Would you consider Don Quixote an example of metafiction? Give reasons for
your answer.
73. Bring out the epic dimensions of War and Peace.
74. Comment on Dante’s construction of Hell in Divine Comedy.
75. Critically examine the significance of the endings of Kafka’s novels.
76. “The post-independent Indian English poets evolved their own poetics.”
Discuss.
77. Bring out the importance of locale in the novels of R.K. Narayan.
78. How do Mahesh Dattani’s plays reflect hid social concerns?
79. “Train to Pakistan fictionalizes history.” Discuss.
80. Examine the role of translation in the emergence of Indian literatures in
English.
81. Examine the eclectic nature of Emerson’s transcendentalism.
82. Critically comment on the representations of race and identity in Afro-
American poetry.
83. Discuss multiculturalism as reflected in contemporary Canadian fiction.
84. Account for the anti-colonial nature of African writing.
85. Consider the major concerns of Australian women poets.
86. What are the tenets of Romantic criticism? Explain with reference to any critic
of your choice.
87. Examine the contributions made by Franz Fanon in theorizing post-
coloniality.
88. Attempt a critique of the notion of a homogenous Indian feminism.
89. How does Marxian ideology influence literary studies? Illustrate your answer
with an example.
90. Account for the broadening of literary studies and its merger with cultural
studies.
91. How British is British English today? Discuss the major influences.
92. Describe what changes have taken place in the system of pronouns in English.
93. How does the Indian English vowel system differ from that of standard
English.
94. Distinguish between formal and informal styles, giving examples.
95. Sophocles’ Theban Tragedy forms the basis of Aristotle’s Poetics. Discuss.
96. How does the narrative reflect the psychological complexities of the
protagonist in Don Quixote?
97. Consider Anna Karenina as a psychological epic.
98. Comment on the influence of Dante on the poetry of T.S. Eliot.
99. Would you consider Kafka’s novels as “paradoxical parables”? Give reasons.
100. Examine the influence of British Romantics on the pre-independence Indian
English poets.
101. Bring out the significance of the “Foreword” in Kantapura.
102. Examine the representation of women in the plays of Vijay Tendulkar
103. Critically examine the representation of partition in any one text you have
read.
104. Would you include Inidan literature in translation as part of Indian
English literature? Why?
105. Examine how Walt Whitman represents the spirit of America.
106. Examine resistance as a motif in contemporary Canadian poetry.
107. “The issue of apartheid is strongly reflected in African writing.” Discuss.
108. Comment on the portrayal of the Aborigine in Australian literature.
109. What are the tenets of Neo Classical criticism? Explain with reference to
a critic of your choice.
110. Critically examine the notion of Orientalism as propounded by Edward
Said.
111. “It is the reader who determines the text, not the writer.” Elucidate.
112. Attempt a critique of Freudian psychoanalysis from the perspective of
literature.
113. Intertextuality is about “absorption and transformation of another.”
Discuss.
114. Write a note on the Greek and Latin influence on English.
115. Write a brief essay on the status of non-native varieties of English with
special reference to English in India.
116. Bring out the differences between the ‘Behaviorist’ and ‘Mentalist’
approaches to language teaching. Which of the two would you prefer for
teaching English in India?
117. Write a brief essay on ‘Individual variation in language learning’ with
special emphasis on language aptitude, motivation and age.
118. How would you differentiate between the feature of spoken language
and written language? Do you need different sets of resources to teach them
in the Indian context?
119. Examine the relationship between Faust and Gretchen in Goethe’s Faust.
120. “Camus explores the area of absurdity of the world, inevitability of
death, and the importance of physical life.” Examine.
121. Discuss Divine Comedy as a Christian allegory.
122. Discuss Herman Hesse as a critic of German materialistic values.
123. Comment on the omniscient narrator of Anna Karenina.
124. Do you agree that irony has emerged as an important technique in
modern Indian English poetry? Give reasons.
125. Examine the treatment of history in the novels of Salman Rushdie.
126. Discuss the contribution of Indian English writers to non-fiction prose.
127. Bring out the strengths and limitations of Tagore as dramatist
128. “The concept of Indian Literature owes much to the development of
translation in India.” Discuss.
129. Discuss Robert Frost as a precursor to modern poetry in America.
130. Examine the treatment of race and gender in the fiction of Alice Walker.
131. Evaluate Margaret Atwood’s contribution towards the construction of
Canadian identity.
132. Consider A.D. Hope as a modern poet with neo-classical leanings.
133. “Alienation and isolation emerge as the major themes in the works of
V.S. Naipaul.” Discuss.
134. Attempt a critique of Matthew Arnold’s stance on criticism and creativity.
135. Enumerate Roland Barthes’ typology of codes.
136. What are the major similarities and differences between new criticism
and formalism?
137. Examine the importance of linguistics to the study of structuralism.
138.