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Generate QuizLiterature – GK Questions
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Vikram Seth's 'The Golden Gate' is unique because it is a novel written entirely in ________.
- Prose
- Free verse
- Sonnet stanzas
- Blank verse
Answer: Sonnet stanzas
'The Golden Gate' (1986) is composed of 590 14-line stanzas based on the Pushkin sonnet form.
The Vayalar Award is a prestigious literary award given for works in which language?
- Tamil
- Kannada
- Malayalam
- Telugu
Answer: Malayalam
The Vayalar Award is given annually for the best literary work in Malayalam.
Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first recipient of the Saraswati Samman.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Instituted in 1991, the first Saraswati Samman was awarded to Harivansh Rai Bachchan for his four-volume autobiography.
A long narrative poem telling the adventures of heroic figures is known as an:
- Elegy
- Epic
- Ode
- Lyric
Answer: Epic
Epics like the 'Mahabharata' or 'Iliad' celebrate the deeds of heroes and often involve grand settings and divine intervention.
Victor Hugo's 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' features the iconic bell-ringer ________.
- Jean Valjean
- Quasimodo
- Javert
- Gavroche
Answer: Quasimodo
Quasimodo is the deformed bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral who falls in love with Esmeralda.
Which Charles Dickens novel opens with the famous case of 'Jarndyce and Jarndyce'?
- Oliver Twist
- Bleak House
- David Copperfield
- Great Expectations
Answer: Bleak House
'Bleak House' (1853) centers around a long-running Chancery court case that consumes the lives and fortunes of those involved.
Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' is set in the fictional region of Wessex.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Hardy set most of his major novels in Wessex, a semi-fictionalized representation of the south and west of England.
In Jane Austen's novel 'Emma', the titular character's primary pastime is:
- Playing the pianoforte
- Matchmaking
- Writing poetry
- Painting landscapes
Answer: Matchmaking
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, amuses herself by attempting to arrange marriages for her acquaintances.
The Sanskrit play 'Ratnavali' is attributed to the king and playwright ________.
- Harsha
- Bhasa
- Shudraka
- Kalidasa
Answer: Harsha
Emperor Harshavardhana is credited with writing three Sanskrit plays: Ratnavali, Priyadarsika, and Nagananda.
Which historical novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay features the character Devi Chaudhurani?
- Durgeshnandini
- Kapalkundala
- Devi Chaudhurani
- Anandamath
Answer: Devi Chaudhurani
'Devi Chaudhurani' (1884) explores the role of women in society and the Sannyasi Rebellion.
Muhammad Iqbal's 'Bang-e-Dara' (The Call of the Marching Bell) was his first major collection of poetry, written primarily in Urdu.
- True
- False
Answer: False
'Bang-e-Dara' was written primarily in Persian, though Iqbal is famous for his Urdu poetry as well. His later works like 'Bal-e-Jibril' are in Urdu/Persian.
The epic Hindi poem 'Rashmirathi', based on the life of Karna from the Mahabharata, was written by:
- Jaishankar Prasad
- Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
- Suryakant Tripathi Nirala
- Maithilisharan Gupt
Answer: Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, known as Rashtrakavi, published 'Rashmirathi' in 1952.
Ruskin Bond's first novel, which won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, is ________.
- The Blue Umbrella
- The Room on the Roof
- A Flight of Pigeons
- Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra
Answer: The Room on the Roof
Ruskin Bond wrote 'The Room on the Roof' when he was 17. It was published in 1956.
Which author has won the Booker Prize twice, for 'The Blind Assassin' and 'The Testaments'?
- Hilary Mantel
- Margaret Atwood
- J.M. Coetzee
- Peter Carey
Answer: Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood won the Booker Prize in 2000 and shared it in 2019. Hilary Mantel, J.M. Coetzee, and Peter Carey have also won it twice.
A traditional Japanese poem consisting of three phrases with a 5, 7, 5 syllable structure is called a:
- Sonnet
- Haiku
- Limerick
- Ode
Answer: Haiku
Haiku often focuses on nature and a specific moment in time. Matsuo Basho is one of its most famous practitioners.
The internationally acclaimed novel 'Norwegian Wood' was written by Japanese author ________.
- Yukio Mishima
- Haruki Murakami
- Kenzaburō Ōe
- Ryu Murakami
Answer: Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami published 'Norwegian Wood' in 1987. It is a nostalgic story of loss and sexuality.
Which novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells the story of Florentino Ariza's lifelong love for Fermina Daza?
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
- Love in the Time of Cholera
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold
- The Autumn of the Patriarch
Answer: Love in the Time of Cholera
Published in 1985, 'Love in the Time of Cholera' explores enduring love and aging.
Franz Kafka's novel 'The Trial' features a protagonist named Josef K. who is arrested for a crime that is never revealed to him.
- True
- False
Answer: True
'The Trial' (1925) is a hallmark of surrealism and bureaucratic nightmare, where Josef K. navigates an incomprehensible legal system.
The novel 'The Stranger' (L'Étranger), a classic of existentialist literature, was written by:
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Albert Camus
- Simone de Beauvoir
- Andre Malraux
Answer: Albert Camus
Albert Camus published 'The Stranger' in 1942. It explores themes of absurdity and alienation through its protagonist, Meursault.
The Sanskrit prose romance 'Dashakumaracharita' (Tales of the Ten Princes) was authored by ________.
- Banabhatta
- Dandin
- Subandhu
- Harsha
Answer: Dandin
Dandin, a 7th-century Sanskrit scholar, wrote 'Dashakumaracharita', which narrates the adventures of ten princes.