World Literature and Diverse Voices — High School English Literature practice questions

Langston Hughes was a leading writer of the:

1. Harlem Renaissance
2. Romantic movement in England
3. Beat Generation
4. Puritan era

Answer: A — Harlem Renaissance

A) Correct — It flourished in 1920s New York. B) Was a century earlier. C) Came in the 1950s. D) Was in the 1600s.

Stories passed down by speaking rather than writing are part of:

1. the epistolary tradition
2. stream of consciousness
3. free verse
4. oral tradition

Answer: D — oral tradition

D) Correct — Many epics began this way. A) Uses letters. B) Is a narrative technique. C) Is a poetry form.

Reading a work in translation, a careful reader should remember that:

1. the meaning is exactly the same as the original
2. translations are always worse
3. the author chose every English word
4. word choices are partly the translator's

Answer: D — word choices are partly the translator's

D) Correct — Translations involve interpretation. A) Translation always changes something. B) Many are excellent. C) The translator did.

Postcolonial literature often explores:

1. only ancient myths
2. identity and power after colonial rule
3. the lives and loves of medieval knights
4. scientific inventions

Answer: B — identity and power after colonial rule

B) Correct — Writers examine the lasting effects of colonization. A) Is not its focus. C) Is not its focus. D) Is not its focus.

Crime and Punishment, a novel about guilt and redemption, was written by:

1. Fyodor Dostoevsky
2. Leo Tolstoy
3. Victor Hugo
4. Charles Dickens

Answer: A — Fyodor Dostoevsky

A) Correct — It is a classic of Russian literature. B) Wrote War and Peace. C) Wrote Les Misérables. D) Wrote Great Expectations.

Homer's Odyssey follows Odysseus as he:

1. founds the city of Rome
2. struggles to return home after the Trojan War
3. seeks immortality after a friend's death
4. fights a dragon in Scandinavia

Answer: B — struggles to return home after the Trojan War

B) Correct — It is an ancient Greek epic. A) Is Aeneas in the Aeneid. C) Is Gilgamesh. D) Is Beowulf.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) is an example of a:

1. science fiction novel
2. slave narrative
3. Shakespearean tragedy
4. epic poem

Answer: B — slave narrative

B) Correct — Douglass describes his enslavement and escape. A) It is nonfiction. C) Is drama. D) It is prose autobiography.

What is magical realism?

Fiction that presents fantastic events as ordinary parts of a realistic world. Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is a key example.

Who wrote 'Things Fall Apart'?

Chinua Achebe (1958) — about colonialism's impact on Igbo society in Nigeria.

What is the Epic of Gilgamesh?

An epic from ancient Mesopotamia, among the oldest surviving works of literature. Gilgamesh seeks immortality after his friend Enkidu dies.

What is a literary canon?

A body of works considered most important or influential in a culture's literary tradition.