Bihar STET English Paper ll: Topic wise MCQ
Bihar STET English Paper II Overview:
Bihar STET (Secondary Teacher Eligibility Test) Paper II is designed for candidates aspiring to teach at the secondary level (classes 10–12) in Bihar schools. The English section evaluates a candidate’s proficiency in language skills, comprehension, literature, and pedagogy. It covers topics such as English grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, literary texts (both Indian and British), and methods of teaching English. The paper also tests understanding of classroom strategies, assessment techniques, and the ability to engage students effectively. Preparing for this paper requires a blend of language mastery and knowledge of educational principles, making it crucial for aspiring secondary English teachers in Bihar.
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Bihar STET 2025: Complete Guide, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, and Preparation Tips
Table of Contents
- Unit I: Subject English (100 Marks)
- 1.1 British Poetry
- 1.2 British Drama
- 1.3 British Prose & Fiction
- 1.4 British Literary Criticism
- 1.5 Indian Poetry
- 1.6 Indian Drama
- 1.7 Indian Prose & Fiction
- 1.8 American Literature
- 1.9 Post-colonial Literature
- 1.10 Language & Linguistics
- 1.11 Grammar, Vocabulary & Literary Terms
- 1.12 English Language Teaching (ELT)
- 1.13 Contemporary Criticism & Literary Theory
- 1.14 Literature of the Marginalised
- Unit II: Art of Teaching & Other Skills (50 Marks)
Unit I: Subject English (100 Marks)
1.1 British Poetry
Edmund Spenser – Sonnet No. 67 “Like as a Huntsman…” MCQs with Answers
1. Who is the poet of “Like as a Huntsman…”?
A) William Shakespeare
B) Edmund Spenser
C) Sir Philip Sidney
D) John Donne
Answer: B) Edmund Spenser
2. “Like as a Huntsman…” belongs to which sonnet sequence?
A) Astrophil and Stella
B) Amoretti
C) Sonnets from the Portuguese
D) The Faerie Queene
Answer: B) Amoretti
3. What is the central metaphor used in this sonnet?
A) A battle between soldiers
B) A sailor searching for land
C) A huntsman chasing a deer
D) A farmer tending crops
Answer: C) A huntsman chasing a deer
4. What does the “hunt” in the poem symbolize?
A) Political ambition
B) The poet’s pursuit of his beloved
C) The search for truth
D) A literal hunting scene
Answer: B) The poet’s pursuit of his beloved
5. In the poem, what does the deer represent?
A) Wealth and fame
B) The beloved woman
C) Freedom and nature
D) Sin and temptation
Answer: B) The beloved woman
6. How does the deer finally behave toward the huntsman?
A) It escapes into the forest
B) It willingly returns to him
C) It attacks the hunter
D) It remains indifferent
Answer: B) It willingly returns to him
7. What change occurs in the huntsman’s attitude at the end of the poem?
A) From anger to peace
B) From desire to detachment
C) From frustration to gratitude
D) From jealousy to hatred
Answer: C) From frustration to gratitude
8. The line “So after long pursuit and vain assay” suggests—
A) Success in hunting
B) Failure and exhaustion in pursuit
C) Triumph and celebration
D) Rest and contentment
Answer: B) Failure and exhaustion in pursuit
9. What literary device dominates the poem?
A) Simile and extended metaphor
B) Irony
C) Hyperbole
D) Allusion to mythology
Answer: A) Simile and extended metaphor
10. What message about love does the poem convey?
A) Love is a game of chance
B) True love comes naturally, not by force
C) Love depends on wealth
D) Love always ends in sorrow
Answer: B) True love comes naturally, not by force
11. The tone of the sonnet changes from—
A) Joyful to tragic
B) Despairing to peaceful
C) Proud to humble
D) Angry to jealous
Answer: B) Despairing to peaceful
12. What does the huntsman’s rest symbolize?
A) The end of the chase
B) Acceptance and patience in love
C) Death and silence
D) Disinterest in beauty
Answer: B) Acceptance and patience in love
13. The deer “came to my hand” implies—
A) The beloved finally accepted the poet’s love
B) The poet captured the animal by force
C) The deer was wounded
D) The hunt continued endlessly
Answer: A) The beloved finally accepted the poet’s love
14. What is the rhyme scheme of Spenser’s Sonnet No. 67?
A) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
B) ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
C) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
D) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
Answer: B) ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
15. What aspect of love is idealized in the poem?
A) Patience and divine grace in winning love
B) Passion and jealousy
C) Control and dominance
D) Rejection and sorrow
Answer: A) Patience and divine grace in winning love
William Shakespeare – Sonnet No. 127 “In the old age black was not counted fair” MCQs with Answers for Bihar STET English Paper ll
1. Who is the poet of “In the old age black was not counted fair”?
A) Edmund Spenser
B) William Shakespeare
C) Sir Philip Sidney
D) John Donne
Answer: B) William Shakespeare
2. What is the main theme of Sonnet 127?
A) The fading of youth
B) The redefinition of beauty and appearance
C) The joy of love
D) The power of imagination
Answer: B) The redefinition of beauty and appearance
3. The line “In the old age black was not counted fair” suggests—
A) Black was seen as a sign of ugliness in the past
B) Black was the most admired color
C) People preferred darkness to light
D) Black represented wisdom
Answer: A) Black was seen as a sign of ugliness in the past
4. To whom is this sonnet addressed?
A) The Fair Youth
B) The Dark Lady
C) The Rival Poet
D) The Queen
Answer: B) The Dark Lady
5. What does the poet imply by saying “But now is black beauty’s successive heir”?
A) Darkness has replaced fairness as the new standard of beauty
B) Fair beauty has been forgotten completely
C) Only dark colors exist in nature
D) Blackness symbolizes ignorance
Answer: A) Darkness has replaced fairness as the new standard of beauty
6. What does the word “fair” signify in this sonnet?
A) Moral goodness
B) Physical beauty or light complexion
C) Justice and law
D) Honesty
Answer: B) Physical beauty or light complexion
7. The poet criticizes society for—
A) Preferring false, artificial beauty
B) Ignoring true love
C) Valuing wealth over art
D) Being superstitious
Answer: A) Preferring false, artificial beauty
8. The line “Sweet beauty hath no name, no holy bower” means—
A) Beauty is eternal and sacred
B) Beauty no longer has purity or sanctity
C) Beauty lives in temples
D) Beauty is defined by religion
Answer: B) Beauty no longer has purity or sanctity
9. Which literary device is used in comparing beauty and color?
A) Irony
B) Metaphor
C) Personification
D) Alliteration
Answer: B) Metaphor
10. What does the poet mean by “Therefore my mistress’ eyes are raven black”?
A) His beloved’s eyes are dark but beautiful
B) His beloved is angry
C) His beloved’s eyes are lifeless
D) He dislikes his beloved’s appearance
Answer: A) His beloved’s eyes are dark but beautiful
11. How does Shakespeare challenge traditional beauty standards in this sonnet?
A) By praising artificial cosmetics
B) By celebrating dark beauty as natural and true
C) By rejecting love entirely
D) By idealizing fair skin
Answer: B) By celebrating dark beauty as natural and true
12. The poet contrasts “black” with “painted beauty” to highlight—
A) The superiority of natural over artificial beauty
B) The power of money
C) The sadness of aging
D) The role of art in life
Answer: A) The superiority of natural over artificial beauty
13. What tone dominates this sonnet?
A) Angry and rebellious
B) Admiring and reflective
C) Bitter and jealous
D) Humorous and playful
Answer: B) Admiring and reflective
14. Which aspect of the Dark Lady does Shakespeare particularly admire?
A) Her fair complexion
B) Her honesty and natural charm
C) Her wealth
D) Her royal status
Answer: B) Her honesty and natural charm
15. What is the central idea of the sonnet?
A) True beauty lies in sincerity, not in outward fairness
B) Beauty fades with age
C) Love is blind
D) Art can imitate beauty
Answer: A) True beauty lies in sincerity, not in outward fairness
John Donne – “The Sunne Rising” MCQs with Answers for Bihar STET English Paper -ll
1. Who is the poet of “The Sunne Rising”?
A) George Herbert
B) Andrew Marvell
C) John Donne
D) John Milton
Answer: C) John Donne
2. What type of poem is “The Sunne Rising”?
A) Pastoral
B) Metaphysical love poem
C) Epic
D) Sonnet
Answer: B) Metaphysical love poem
3. To whom is the poem addressed?
A) The poet’s friend
B) The rising sun
C) A rival lover
D) The moon
Answer: B) The rising sun
4. What is the tone of the speaker at the beginning of the poem?
A) Playful and teasing
B) Angry and commanding
C) Sad and mournful
D) Humble and gentle
Answer: B) Angry and commanding
5. The poet calls the sun—
A) “Foolish busy old man”
B) “Wise eternal light”
C) “Gentle friend of lovers”
D) “Golden messenger”
Answer: A) “Foolish busy old man”
6. Why does the poet scold the sun?
A) For being too bright
B) For disturbing him and his lover
C) For moving too slowly
D) For hiding behind clouds
Answer: B) For disturbing him and his lover
7. Which poetic device is used in addressing the sun directly?
A) Irony
B) Metaphor
C) Apostrophe
D) Simile
Answer: C) Apostrophe
8. What does the speaker claim about his beloved?
A) She is as radiant as the sun
B) She is more powerful than time
C) She embodies all the world’s wealth and beauty
D) She is cruel and distant
Answer: C) She embodies all the world’s wealth and beauty
9. The poem suggests that the lovers’ room is—
A) A prison
B) A microcosm (miniature world)
C) A dark cave
D) A temple
Answer: B) A microcosm (miniature world)
10. What happens to the tone of the speaker by the end of the poem?
A) It remains angry
B) It changes from irritation to admiration for the sun
C) It turns sad
D) It becomes fearful
Answer: B) It changes from irritation to admiration for the sun
11. The line “She is all states, and all princes, I” means—
A) The lovers represent the entire world
B) They are political rivals
C) They are servants of the king
D) They are dreaming of travel
Answer: A) The lovers represent the entire world
12. Which theme best describes the poem?
A) The power of political rule
B) The conflict between science and religion
C) The supremacy of love over time and space
D) The sadness of separation
Answer: C) The supremacy of love over time and space
13. The poem’s rhythm and style are typical of—
A) Romantic poetry
B) Augustan satire
C) Metaphysical conceits
D) Classical epic
Answer: C) Metaphysical conceits
14. How does Donne use the image of the sun by the end of the poem?
A) As a servant to love
B) As a symbol of death
C) As a destroyer of beauty
D) As a rival to God
Answer: A) As a servant to love
15. What is the overall message of “The Sunne Rising”?
A) True love transcends time, space, and worldly power
B) The sun rules over all human life
C) Lovers must fear the passing of time
D) Nature controls human emotions
Answer: A) True love transcends time, space, and worldly power
Alexander Pope – “The Rape of the Lock” (Canto I, II & III, 1714 Edition) MCQs with Answers | Bihar STET English Paper-ll
1. Who is the poet of “The Rape of the Lock”?
A) John Dryden
B) Alexander Pope
C) Samuel Johnson
D) Jonathan Swift
Answer: B) Alexander Pope
2. “The Rape of the Lock” is best described as a—
A) Tragic epic
B) Mock-epic (heroicomical poem)
C) Pastoral elegy
D) Romantic ode
Answer: B) Mock-epic (heroicomical poem)
3. What real-life incident inspired Pope to write “The Rape of the Lock”?
A) A political quarrel
B) A social scandal involving a lock of hair being cut
C) A duel between two nobles
D) The fall of Queen Anne’s government
Answer: B) A social scandal involving a lock of hair being cut
4. Who requested Pope to write this poem to reconcile the two families involved?
A) Sir Plume
B) John Caryll
C) Lord Petre
D) Belinda herself
Answer: B) John Caryll
5. Who is the heroine of the poem?
A) Thalestris
B) Clarissa
C) Belinda
D) Ariel
Answer: C) Belinda
6. What is the name of Belinda’s guardian sylph?
A) Umbriel
B) Ariel
C) Zephyretta
D) Momentilla
Answer: B) Ariel
7. What warning does Ariel give to Belinda in Canto I?
A) She must avoid visiting the court
B) Some great disaster will happen that day
C) She will fall in love soon
D) Her reputation will be ruined by gossip
Answer: B) Some great disaster will happen that day
8. What does Belinda do after waking up in Canto I?
A) Reads a letter
B) Goes to the church
C) Dresses up and prepares for the day’s outing
D) Writes a poem
Answer: C) Dresses up and prepares for the day’s outing
9. What is the name of Belinda’s lapdog?
A) Fluff
B) Shock
C) Spot
D) Muffin
Answer: B) Shock
10. The description of Belinda’s dressing table in Canto I is an example of—
A) Religious devotion
B) Satire on female vanity
C) Heroic valor
D) Romantic symbolism
Answer: B) Satire on female vanity
11. In Canto II, where does Belinda go with other fashionable ladies and gentlemen?
A) To the court
B) To Hampton Court by boat
C) To a masquerade
D) To the countryside
Answer: B) To Hampton Court by boat
12. Who is the Baron?
A) Belinda’s admirer who cuts the lock
B) A guardian spirit
C) A gossiping courtier
D) A poet in the poem
Answer: A) Belinda’s admirer who cuts the lock
13. What does the Baron do before cutting the lock?
A) Writes a poem
B) Sacrifices his trophies and prays to love gods
C) Seeks Belinda’s permission
D) Fights a duel
Answer: B) Sacrifices his trophies and prays to love gods
14. Which goddess assists the Baron in his plan?
A) Venus
B) Belinda’s guardian
C) Clarissa
D) No goddess helps him directly
Answer: D) No goddess helps him directly
15. Who gives the Baron the scissors?
A) Clarissa
B) Thalestris
C) Shock
D) Ariel
Answer: A) Clarissa
16. In Canto III, where does the main event (the cutting of the lock) occur?
A) During a ball
B) At Hampton Court during a card game
C) In Belinda’s bedroom
D) On the boat
Answer: B) At Hampton Court during a card game
17. What game do the characters play before the lock is cut?
A) Chess
B) Ombre (a card game)
C) Whist
D) Billiards
Answer: B) Ombre (a card game)
18. How does Pope describe the game of Ombre?
A) As a divine miracle
B) In the style of an epic battle
C) As a simple pastime
D) As a foolish activity
Answer: B) In the style of an epic battle
19. What happens to Ariel when he tries to protect Belinda?
A) He fights the Baron
B) He is forced to withdraw after seeing an earthly passion in Belinda’s heart
C) He turns into a mortal
D) He vanishes with the lock
Answer: B) He is forced to withdraw after seeing an earthly passion in Belinda’s heart
20. What is the tone of “The Rape of the Lock”?
A) Tragic
B) Comic and satirical
C) Angry and rebellious
D) Romantic and melancholic
Answer: B) Comic and satirical
William Blake – “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” MCQ for Bihar STET (English Paper-ll)
1. In which collection of poems does “The Lamb” appear?
A) Songs of Experience
B) Songs of Innocence
C) The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
D) Poetical Sketches
Answer: B) Songs of Innocence
2. What is the central theme of “The Lamb”?
A) Industrial progress
B) Innocence and divine creation
C) Human corruption
D) Political revolution
Answer: B) Innocence and divine creation
3. Who is the speaker addressing in “The Lamb”?
A) God
B) A child
C) A lamb
D) A shepherd
Answer: C) A lamb
4. What quality of God does the lamb symbolize in the poem?
A) Justice
B) Wrath
C) Purity and gentleness
D) Power and destruction
Answer: C) Purity and gentleness
5. Which line from “The Lamb” directly refers to Jesus Christ?
A) “He is meek and he is mild”
B) “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?”
C) “Tyger Tyger, burning bright”
D) “What immortal hand or eye”
Answer: A) “He is meek and he is mild”
6. “The Tyger” belongs to which of Blake’s collections?
A) Songs of Innocence
B) Songs of Experience
C) The Book of Urizen
D) Jerusalem
Answer: B) Songs of Experience
7. What does the tiger symbolize in “The Tyger”?
A) Fear and darkness only
B) Industrial revolution
C) The fierce and powerful aspects of creation
D) Corruption of the Church
Answer: C) The fierce and powerful aspects of creation
8. Which poetic device is used in the line “Tyger Tyger, burning bright”?
A) Simile
B) Metaphor
C) Alliteration
D) Hyperbole
Answer: C) Alliteration
9. What question does Blake repeatedly ask in “The Tyger”?
A) Who gave you life?
B) Why are you feared?
C) Did the same creator make both innocence and ferocity?
D) Who tamed you?
Answer: C) Did the same creator make both innocence and ferocity?
10. How are “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” related thematically?
A) Both praise human intellect
B) Both contrast innocence and experience in God’s creation
C) Both condemn industrialization
D) Both describe natural disasters
Answer: B) Both contrast innocence and experience in God’s creation
11. What emotion dominates “The Tyger”?
A) Anger
B) Awe and wonder
C) Sadness
D) Indifference
Answer: B) Awe and wonder
12. What does the imagery of “fire” in “The Tyger” represent?
A) Love
B) Creation and energy
C) Destruction only
D) Innocence
Answer: B) Creation and energy
13. Which form best describes “The Lamb”?
A) Sonnet
B) Dramatic monologue
C) Pastoral lyric
D) Epic poem
Answer: C) Pastoral lyric
14. In “The Tyger”, the phrase “fearful symmetry” suggests—
A) The beauty and danger in creation
B) The peaceful nature of animals
C) The randomness of life
D) The corruption of mankind
Answer: A) The beauty and danger in creation
15. What do the two poems together reveal about Blake’s view of God?
A) God is cruel and distant
B) God is both gentle and powerful
C) God is only loving
D) God does not exist
Answer: B) God is both gentle and powerful
1. Who is the poet of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?
A) Percy Bysshe Shelley
B) John Keats
C) William Wordsworth
D) Lord Byron
Answer: B) John Keats
2. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” was written in which year?
A) 1817
B) 1818
C) 1819
D) 1820
Answer: C) 1819
3. What type of poem is “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?
A) Epic
B) Lyric
C) Pastoral
D) Dramatic monologue
Answer: B) Lyric
4. The poem is addressed to whom or what?
A) A Greek poet
B) A marble statue
C) A painted urn
D) The goddess of beauty
Answer: C) A painted urn
5. Which of the following is the central theme of the poem?
A) Love of nature
B) The contrast between art and life
C) The glory of war
D) The pain of separation
Answer: B) The contrast between art and life
6. The urn in the poem is described as—
A) “A silent form”
B) “A wild spirit”
C) “A dreadful shape”
D) “A living thing”
Answer: A) “A silent form”
7. The phrase “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter” suggests—
A) Imagination is more powerful than reality
B) Silence is meaningless
C) Music is superior to poetry
D) Nature is eternal
Answer: A) Imagination is more powerful than reality
8. What does the urn symbolize in the poem?
A) Death and decay
B) Eternal beauty and art
C) Human suffering
D) Religious devotion
Answer: B) Eternal beauty and art
9. What does the poet envy about the figures on the urn?
A) Their silence
B) Their unchanging perfection
C) Their sorrow
D) Their wisdom
Answer: B) Their unchanging perfection
10. What is the famous concluding line of the poem?
A) “Truth is beauty, beauty truth,—that is all”
B) “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”
C) “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”
D) “Heard melodies are sweet”
Answer: A) “Truth is beauty, beauty truth,—that is all”
11. In the poem, the urn is called a—
A) “Historian who canst express”
B) “Muse of modern art”
C) “Child of silence”
D) “Messenger of gods”
Answer: A) “Historian who canst express”
12. What emotion dominates the poem?
A) Anger
B) Joy
C) Wonder and admiration
D) Confusion
Answer: C) Wonder and admiration
13. What does the frozen moment on the urn represent?
A) The passage of time
B) Eternal stillness beyond death
C) Human despair
D) Fleeting pleasure
Answer: B) Eternal stillness beyond death
14. Which poetic device is heavily used throughout the poem?
A) Personification
B) Irony
C) Paradox
D) Satire
Answer: A) Personification
15. What philosophical idea is expressed through the urn’s silence?
A) Art speaks through timelessness, not words
B) Silence means ignorance
C) Art cannot express emotion
D) Art should be realistic
Answer: A) Art speaks through timelessness, not words
W.B. Yeats – “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium” MCQs with Answers
1. Who is the poet of “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium”?
A) T.S. Eliot
B) W.B. Yeats
C) W.H. Auden
D) Ezra Pound
Answer: B) W.B. Yeats
2. In which year was “The Second Coming” written?
A) 1915
B) 1919
C) 1921
D) 1923
Answer: B) 1919
3. What historical event influenced “The Second Coming”?
A) The Industrial Revolution
B) World War I
C) The Irish Rebellion
D) The Russian Revolution
Answer: B) World War I
4. The line “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” suggests—
A) Order and stability
B) Chaos and collapse of civilization
C) Natural balance
D) Hope for renewal
Answer: B) Chaos and collapse of civilization
5. What does the “rough beast” symbolize in “The Second Coming”?
A) Christ’s rebirth
B) Political corruption
C) A monstrous new age of violence
D) The fall of religion
Answer: C) A monstrous new age of violence
6. What poetic form does “The Second Coming” follow?
A) Sonnet
B) Blank verse
C) Free verse
D) Ballad
Answer: C) Free verse
7. The image of the “widening gyre” in “The Second Coming” represents—
A) The cycles of history and time
B) Human progress
C) Natural beauty
D) Religious salvation
Answer: A) The cycles of history and time
8. Which of the following best expresses the tone of “The Second Coming”?
A) Calm and peaceful
B) Fearful and prophetic
C) Joyful and romantic
D) Humorous and light
Answer: B) Fearful and prophetic
9. What is the central theme of “The Second Coming”?
A) Political unity
B) Decline of modern civilization and the birth of a new age
C) The beauty of nature
D) Romantic love
Answer: B) Decline of modern civilization and the birth of a new age
10. The phrase “Spiritus Mundi” in “The Second Coming” refers to—
A) The Holy Spirit
B) The collective spirit or imagination of humanity
C) A personal muse
D) The end of the world
Answer: B) The collective spirit or imagination of humanity
11. In “Sailing to Byzantium,” what does the poet seek?
A) Eternal youth
B) Spiritual and artistic immortality
C) Material success
D) Romantic love
Answer: B) Spiritual and artistic immortality
12. What does Byzantium symbolize in the poem?
A) A real city in Greece
B) A land of wealth and power
C) A world of eternal art and spirit
D) A place of political corruption
Answer: C) A world of eternal art and spirit
13. What is meant by “That is no country for old men” in the opening line?
A) The modern world neglects wisdom and spirituality
B) Old men are forbidden to travel
C) The poet dislikes his homeland
D) Nature has vanished
Answer: A) The modern world neglects wisdom and spirituality
14. The phrase “artifice of eternity” refers to—
A) Human inventions
B) Works of art that outlast human life
C) The illusion of beauty
D) Artificial intelligence
Answer: B) Works of art that outlast human life
15. What transformation does the speaker wish for in “Sailing to Byzantium”?
A) To become a tree
B) To become a golden bird
C) To become a god
D) To become a statue
Answer: B) To become a golden bird
16. Which theme connects both “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium”?
A) Celebration of nature
B) The conflict between the spiritual and the material world
C) The joy of youth
D) The power of politics
Answer: B) The conflict between the spiritual and the material world
17. The tone of “Sailing to Byzantium” is mainly—
A) Joyful and playful
B) Reflective and spiritual
C) Angry and bitter
D) Humorous and light
Answer: B) Reflective and spiritual
18. Both poems reflect Yeats’s interest in—
A) Irish folklore
B) Historical cycles and spiritual transcendence
C) Romantic love and beauty
D) Nature worship
Answer: B) Historical cycles and spiritual transcendence
T.S. Eliot – “The Hollow Men” MCQs with Answers | Bihar STET English Paper 2
1. Who wrote the poem “The Hollow Men”?
A) W.B. Yeats
B) T.S. Eliot
C) Ezra Pound
D) W.H. Auden
Answer: B) T.S. Eliot
2. In which year was “The Hollow Men” first published?
A) 1919
B) 1925
C) 1928
D) 1930
Answer: B) 1925
3. The poem “The Hollow Men” is often considered a companion to which earlier work by Eliot?
A) The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
B) The Waste Land
C) Gerontion
D) Ash Wednesday
Answer: B) The Waste Land
4. The epigraph “Mistah Kurtz—he dead” refers to which literary work?
A) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
B) Ulysses by James Joyce
C) Paradise Lost by Milton
D) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce
Answer: A) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
5. The Hollow Men are described as being—
A) Brave and hopeful
B) Empty and powerless
C) Wise and heroic
D) Loving and compassionate
Answer: B) Empty and powerless
6. What does the word “hollow” symbolize in the poem?
A) Material wealth
B) Spiritual emptiness and moral decay
C) Intellectual superiority
D) Natural beauty
Answer: B) Spiritual emptiness and moral decay
7. The line “Shape without form, shade without colour” represents—
A) The physical beauty of nature
B) The formlessness of modern humanity
C) A description of heaven
D) Religious transformation
Answer: B) The formlessness of modern humanity
8. What biblical reference appears in the poem?
A) The Flood
B) The Lord’s Prayer
C) The Ten Commandments
D) The story of Adam and Eve
Answer: B) The Lord’s Prayer
9. What kind of tone dominates “The Hollow Men”?
A) Joyful and triumphant
B) Dark, despairing, and fragmented
C) Romantic and lyrical
D) Satirical and humorous
Answer: B) Dark, despairing, and fragmented
10. The “eyes” in the poem symbolize—
A) The stars in the sky
B) Hope, salvation, and spiritual vision
C) Worldly temptations
D) The eyes of the dead soldiers
Answer: B) Hope, salvation, and spiritual vision
11. What does the setting of the poem mainly represent?
A) A battlefield
B) A dreamlike wasteland or purgatorial state
C) A temple of worship
D) A busy city street
Answer: B) A dreamlike wasteland or purgatorial state
12. What does the repetition of the phrase “This is the way the world ends” emphasize?
A) The end of a civilization
B) The futility and anti-climactic end of humanity
C) A hopeful new beginning
D) The victory of faith
Answer: B) The futility and anti-climactic end of humanity
13. What famous concluding line ends the poem?
A) “Not with a shout but with a song.”
B) “Not with a dream but with a prayer.”
C) “Not with a bang but a whimper.”
D) “Not with hope but with despair.”
Answer: C) “Not with a bang but a whimper.”
14. The “stuffed men” in the poem can be interpreted as—
A) Spiritual hypocrites filled with false values
B) Artists and thinkers
C) Angels of mercy
D) Soldiers and politicians
Answer: A) Spiritual hypocrites filled with false values
15. Which modernist characteristics are evident in “The Hollow Men”?
A) Mythic structure and stream of consciousness
B) Fragmentation, irony, and religious allusion
C) Romantic imagery and idealism
D) Classical unity and rhyme
Answer: B) Fragmentation, irony, and religious allusion
16. Which phrase in the poem indicates paralysis and inaction?
A) “The eyes reappear”
B) “Between the motion and the act”
C) “The world ends”
D) “Headpiece filled with straw”
Answer: B) “Between the motion and the act”
17. What emotion dominates the Hollow Men’s existence?
A) Love
B) Fear
C) Joy
D) Anger
Answer: B) Fear
18. What is the poem’s overall message about modern humanity?
A) It is morally strong but physically weak
B) It has lost faith, purpose, and spiritual depth
C) It is on the verge of redemption
D) It is moving toward enlightenment
Answer: B) It has lost faith, purpose, and spiritual depth
19. Which religion or philosophy heavily influences “The Hollow Men”?
A) Paganism
B) Buddhism and Christianity
C) Islam
D) Greek mythology
Answer: B) Buddhism and Christianity
20. What poetic technique does Eliot use extensively in “The Hollow Men”?
A) Extended metaphor and satire
B) Imagery, repetition, and allusion
C) Pastoral description
D) Narrative dialogue
Answer: B) Imagery, repetition, and allusion
Seamus Heaney – “Punishment” MCQs with Answers | Bihar STET English Paper 2
1. Who is the poet of “Punishment”?
A) Ted Hughes
B) W.B. Yeats
C) Seamus Heaney
D) Sylvia Plath
Answer: C) Seamus Heaney
2. The poem “Punishment” is part of which poetry collection by Heaney?
A) Death of a Naturalist
B) North
C) Wintering Out
D) Field Work
Answer: B) North
3. In which year was “Punishment” published?
A) 1966
B) 1972
C) 1975
D) 1980
Answer: C) 1975
4. What historical discovery inspired the poem “Punishment”?
A) Ancient Irish manuscripts
B) A bog body found in Denmark
C) A Viking ship burial
D) An old Irish castle ruin
Answer: B) A bog body found in Denmark
5. The poem is based on the preserved body of—
A) A young soldier
B) A drowned child
C) A woman punished for adultery
D) A Celtic queen
Answer: C) A woman punished for adultery
6. How was the woman in “Punishment” executed according to the poem?
A) Burned at the stake
B) Buried alive
C) Drowned and buried in a bog
D) Beheaded
Answer: C) Drowned and buried in a bog
7. The bog body in the poem is often linked to which real archaeological find?
A) The Tollund Man
B) The Grauballe Man
C) The Windeby Girl
D) The Lindow Man
Answer: C) The Windeby Girl
8. What feeling dominates the poet’s tone throughout the poem?
A) Anger
B) Compassion mixed with guilt
C) Indifference
D) Triumph and joy
Answer: B) Compassion mixed with guilt
9. What does the poet compare the girl’s body to in the poem?
A) A small bird
B) A withered tree
C) A statue
D) A piece of ancient jewelry
Answer: A) A small bird
10. Which recurring symbol in Heaney’s poetry represents memory and history?
A) The sea
B) The bog
C) The mountain
D) The fire
Answer: B) The bog
11. The poet draws a parallel between the bog girl and—
A) Victims of the Irish Troubles
B) Ancient Roman women
C) World War soldiers
D) Irish mythological figures
Answer: A) Victims of the Irish Troubles
12. What does Heaney mean by the term “tribal, intimate revenge”?
A) The revenge taken by primitive societies against traitors
B) A political movement
C) A form of divine justice
D) A punishment given by the government
Answer: A) The revenge taken by primitive societies against traitors
13. Which emotion does Heaney confess feeling as a modern observer?
A) Pride
B) Hatred
C) Shame for being silent
D) Happiness
Answer: C) Shame for being silent
14. The phrase “I almost love you” in the poem expresses—
A) Romantic affection
B) The poet’s moral conflict between empathy and complicity
C) Hatred for the woman
D) Nostalgia for the past
Answer: B) The poet’s moral conflict between empathy and complicity
15. What is the central theme of “Punishment”?
A) The beauty of nature
B) The relationship between violence, guilt, and history
C) Romantic love and loss
D) Irish mythology
Answer: B) The relationship between violence, guilt, and history
16. How does Heaney connect past and present violence in the poem?
A) By describing modern warfare
B) By comparing the ancient punishment to the treatment of women during the Irish conflict
C) By quoting historical documents
D) By romanticizing the past
Answer: B) By comparing the ancient punishment to the treatment of women during the Irish conflict
17. Which poetic device is most dominant in “Punishment”?
A) Irony
B) Personification
C) Imagery and symbolism
D) Hyperbole
Answer: C) Imagery and symbolism
18. What does the bog symbolize in Heaney’s poetry?
A) Death and decay only
B) A living archive that preserves history and memory
C) The future of Ireland
D) An escape from politics
Answer: B) A living archive that preserves history and memory
19. What is the tone of the poem’s ending?
A) Hopeful and forgiving
B) Cold and detached
C) Reflective and remorseful
D) Victorious and proud
Answer: C) Reflective and remorseful
20. “Punishment” is a fine example of—
A) Romantic idealism
B) Political symbolism and moral self-examination
C) Abstract surrealism
D) Nature poetry
Answer: B) Political symbolism and moral self-examination
1.2 British Drama
Christopher Marlowe – “Doctor Faustus” MCQs with Answers for Bihar STET English Paper 2
1. Who is the author of “Doctor Faustus”?
A) William Shakespeare
B) Ben Jonson
C) Christopher Marlowe
D) Thomas Kyd
Answer: C) Christopher Marlowe
2. What is the full title of the play?
A) The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
B) The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus
C) Doctor Faustus: A German Tragedy
D) The Story of Faustus
Answer: B) The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus
3. In which year was Doctor Faustus first published?
A) 1590
B) 1604
C) 1616
D) 1623
Answer: B) 1604
4. Doctor Faustus is based on—
A) A Greek legend
B) An English ballad
C) A German legend of a scholar who sold his soul
D) A Roman myth
Answer: C) A German legend of a scholar who sold his soul
5. What is the main theme of Doctor Faustus?
A) Political power
B) The conflict between good and evil within man
C) Romantic love
D) Adventure and discovery
Answer: B) The conflict between good and evil within man
6. What subject does Faustus decide to study at the beginning of the play?
A) Philosophy
B) Magic and necromancy
C) Medicine
D) Law
Answer: B) Magic and necromancy
7. Who are the two supernatural beings that influence Faustus?
A) Lucifer and Michael
B) Mephistophilis and the Good Angel
C) Mephistophilis and Lucifer
D) Beelzebub and Satan
Answer: C) Mephistophilis and Lucifer
8. What does Faustus offer in exchange for Mephistophilis’s service?
A) His body
B) His soul
C) His fortune
D) His kingdom
Answer: B) His soul
9. How long is Mephistophilis bound to serve Faustus?
A) 7 years
B) 12 years
C) 24 years
D) Forever
Answer: C) 24 years
10. What does Faustus sign the contract with?
A) Ink
B) Blood
C) Gold
D) Holy water
Answer: B) Blood
11. What warning does the inscription “Homo, fuge!” give Faustus?
A) Man, flee!
B) Man, believe!
C) Man, fight!
D) Man, repent!
Answer: A) Man, flee!
12. Who tries to persuade Faustus to repent throughout the play?
A) Mephistophilis
B) The Pope
C) The Good Angel and the Old Man
D) The Scholars
Answer: C) The Good Angel and the Old Man
13. What is Mephistophilis’s warning about hell?
A) It does not exist
B) It is a metaphor
C) It is real and omnipresent
D) It can be escaped through repentance
Answer: C) It is real and omnipresent
14. Which famous figures does Faustus conjure up to impress others?
A) Aristotle and Socrates
B) Alexander the Great and Helen of Troy
C) Julius Caesar and Cleopatra
D) Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
Answer: B) Alexander the Great and Helen of Troy
15. The line “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?” refers to—
A) Dido
B) Cleopatra
C) Helen of Troy
D) Venus
Answer: C) Helen of Troy
16. Who is the ruler of Hell in the play?
A) Mephistophilis
B) Lucifer
C) Beelzebub
D) Satan
Answer: B) Lucifer
17. What is Faustus’s final wish before he dies?
A) To repent and be forgiven
B) To have more knowledge
C) To live another 24 years
D) To see heaven
Answer: A) To repent and be forgiven
18. What happens to Faustus at the end of the play?
A) He is saved by angels
B) He ascends to heaven
C) He is dragged away by devils to hell
D) He disappears mysteriously
Answer: C) He is dragged away by devils to hell
19. What moral lesson does Doctor Faustus convey?
A) Ambition leads to success
B) Knowledge is dangerous
C) Excessive pride and desire for power lead to downfall
D) Evil is stronger than good
Answer: C) Excessive pride and desire for power lead to downfall
20. Which literary period does Doctor Faustus belong to?
A) Romantic
B) Medieval
C) Elizabethan
D) Modern
Answer: C) Elizabethan
William Shakespeare – “Macbeth” MCQs with Answers | Bihar STET English Paper-2
1. Who is the author of Macbeth?
A) Christopher Marlowe
B) William Shakespeare
C) Ben Jonson
D) John Milton
Answer: B) William Shakespeare
2. Macbeth is classified as a—
A) Comedy
B) History play
C) Tragedy
D) Romance
Answer: C) Tragedy
3. Who is the first character to appear on stage in the play?
A) Macbeth
B) Banquo
C) The Three Witches
D) Lady Macbeth
Answer: C) The Three Witches
4. What prophecy do the witches give Macbeth in Act 1?
A) He will become king of Scotland
B) He will rule England
C) He will be wealthy and powerful
D) He will die in battle
Answer: A) He will become king of Scotland
5. Who is King of Scotland at the start of the play?
A) Malcolm
B) Duncan
C) Macbeth
D) Banquo
Answer: B) Duncan
6. Who is Macbeth’s closest friend and comrade in battle?
A) Banquo
B) Macduff
C) Ross
D) Lennox
Answer: A) Banquo
7. Who encourages Macbeth to murder King Duncan?
A) Lady Macbeth
B) The witches
C) Banquo
D) Macduff
Answer: A) Lady Macbeth
8. What is the significance of the dagger scene in Act 2?
A) Macbeth’s bravery
B) Macbeth’s hallucination and moral hesitation before Duncan’s murder
C) Lady Macbeth’s guilt
D) Banquo’s loyalty
Answer: B) Macbeth’s hallucination and moral hesitation before Duncan’s murder
9. How does Lady Macbeth react after Duncan’s murder?
A) She flees Scotland
B) She feels guilty and begins sleepwalking
C) She laughs triumphantly
D) She blames the witches
Answer: B) She feels guilty and begins sleepwalking
10. What vision haunts Macbeth at Banquo’s feast?
A) A bloody sword
B) Banquo’s ghost
C) The witches
D) Duncan’s spirit
Answer: B) Banquo’s ghost
11. What prophecy do the witches give Banquo?
A) His sons will inherit the Scottish throne
B) He will become king himself
C) He will die in battle
D) He will betray Macbeth
Answer: A) His sons will inherit the Scottish throne
12. Who kills Macbeth at the end of the play?
A) Malcolm
B) Macduff
C) Banquo
D) Lady Macbeth
Answer: B) Macduff
13. How is Lady Macbeth’s death described in the play?
A) She dies in battle
B) She dies off-stage, likely by suicide
C) She is executed
D) She survives and rules Scotland
Answer: B) She dies off-stage, likely by suicide
14. What role do the witches play in the play?
A) They provide comic relief
B) They represent fate and temptation
C) They are loyal allies of Macbeth
D) They rule Scotland
Answer: B) They represent fate and temptation
15. What theme is central to Macbeth?
A) Love and friendship
B) Ambition, power, and guilt
C) Nature and pastoral life
D) Justice and law
Answer: B) Ambition, power, and guilt
16. What does “fair is foul, and foul is fair” signify?
A) Nature’s harmony
B) Appearance versus reality; moral confusion
C) Justice will prevail
D) Macbeth’s bravery
Answer: B) Appearance versus reality; moral confusion
17. What does Macbeth use to justify Banquo’s murder?
A) The witches’ prophecy
B) Banquo’s threat to his crown
C) Lady Macbeth’s advice
D) Both A and B
Answer: D) Both A and B
18. How does Macduff differ from Macbeth?
A) He is ambitious and ruthless
B) He is loyal, moral, and seeks justice
C) He is cowardly
D) He allies with the witches
Answer: B) He is loyal, moral, and seeks justice
19. What does the moving forest symbolize in the play?
A) Nature’s rebellion against tyranny
B) A literal forest marching
C) Macbeth’s fear of betrayal
D) Lady Macbeth’s ambition
Answer: A) Nature’s rebellion against tyranny
20. Which literary device is heavily used in Macbeth?
A) Hyperbole
B) Soliloquy
C) Pastoral imagery
D) Allegory
Answer: B) Soliloquy
1.3 British Prose & Fiction
Answer: B) George Eliot
A) Charlotte Brontë
Answer: B) Jane Austen
1.4 British Literary Criticism
- Philip Sydney- “An Apology for Poetry”
- Alexander Pope- “An Essay on Criticism”
- Samuel Johnson- “Preface to Shakespeare”
- William Wordsworth- “Preface to Lyrical Ballads”
- Matthew Arnold – “The Study of Poetry”
- T.S. Eliot - “ The Function of Criticism”
A) Samuel Johnson
B) Alexander Pope
Answer: B) Alexander Pope
A) Reader’s feelings
Answer: B) Author’s intention
1.5 Indian Poetry
A) “An Introduction”
Answer: D) “Where the Mind is Without Fear”
A) Kamala Das
1.6 Indian Drama
A) *Hayavadana*
Answer: B) *Silence! The Court is in Session*
A) Mahesh Dattani
Answer: C) Girish Karnard
1.7 Indian Prose & Fiction
A) A. G. Gardiner
Answer: B) E. M. Forster
A) Ruskin Bond
Answer: B) R. K. Narayan
1.8 American Literature
- Tennessee Williams - “The Glass Menagerie”
- Toni Morrison - “Beloved”
- Edgar Allan Poe: “The Purloined Letter”
- O. Henry - “The Last Leaf”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald – “The Crack-up”
- William Faulkner – “Dry September”
- Anne Bradstreet – “The Prologue”
- Walt Whitman – “Selections from Leaves of Grass” :“O Captain, My Captain” and “Passage to India” (lines1–68)
- Alexie Sherman Alexie – “Crow Testament”, “Evolution”
- Robert Frost – “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening”
A) Toni Morrison
Answer: B) Tennessee Williams
A) Edgar Allan Poe
Answer: B) O. Henry
1.9 Post-colonial Literature
- R.N. Tagore - “The Spirit of Freedom”
- Pandita Ramabai - “Widowhood”
- Vivekanand - “India: Our Motherland”
- M.K. Gandhi - “A Stain on India’s Forehead”
- J L Nehru - “The Reawakening of India”
- S.C. Bose - “Women’s Role in National Movement”
- Rajendra Prasad - “Unity Amidst Diversity”
- Salim Ali - “Man and Nature in India: The Ecological Balance”
- Jai Prakash Narayan - “Nations, Nationalism and National Unity”
- A.P.J. Abdul Kalam – “Work Brings Solace”
- M.R. Anand - “The Barber’s Trade Union”
- R.K. Narayan - “An Astrologer’s Day”
- Ruskin Bond - “Thief”
- Jhumpa Lahiri - “Sexy”
- Shashi Deshpande - “Hear Me Sanjay”
- Khushwant Singh - “The Voice of God”
- Bhabani Bhattacharya - “Steel Hawk”
- The Beginning and The End of Colonial Era
- Postcolonial Theory & Salient Features
- Pablo Neruda – “Tonight I can Write”’
- Derek Walcott – “A Far Cry from Africa”
- A. K Ramanujan – “The Striders”
- Gabriel Okara – “Once upon a Time”
- David Malouf – “Revolving Days”
- Badal Sircar: ‘Indian History Made Easy’ in Two Plays: Indian History Made Easy, Life of Bagala, Oxford University Press, 2009.
- Chinua Achebe - “Things Fall Apart”
- Raja Rao – “Kanthapura”
A) *Things Fall Apart*
Answer: A) *Things Fall Apart*
A) Pablo Neruda
Answer: B) Derek Walcott
1.10 Language & Linguistics
A) Phonology
Answer: C) Linguistics
A) Formal Standard English
Answer: B) Slang terms used in a region
1.11 Grammar, Vocabulary & Literary Terms
1.12 English Language Teaching (ELT)
A) Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
Answer: A) Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
A) Literary works
Answer: C) Educational objectives
1.13 Contemporary Criticism & Literary Theory
A) Structuralism
Answer: B) Marxism
A) Fixed meaning
Answer: B) Deconstruction
1.14 Literature of the Marginalised
- Bama- “Karakku”
- Omprakash Valmiki - “Joothan”
- Mamang Dai – “The Black Hill”
- Temsula Ao - “Laburnum for My Head”
- Alice Walker – “The Color Purple”
- Ralph Ellison – “Invisible Man”
A) Tribal Literature
Answer: B) Dalit Literature
A) Ralph Ellison
Answer: A) Ralph Ellison
Unit II: Art of Teaching & Other Skills (50 Marks)
2.1 Art of Teaching
A) Teaching to a large class
Answer: B) Teaching a short lesson to a small group for feedback
A) Objectives, content, methods, evaluation
Answer: A) Objectives, content, methods, evaluation