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Roll No. ........................

Note : Attempt all questions.

[Total No. of Questions : 11] [Total No. of Printed Pages : 15]

ST-619

M.A. (Reg./Pvt./ATKT)

Examination, 2025

(Fourth Semester)

ENGLISH

Paper-I

Critical Theory

(New ATKT)

Time : 3 Hours

[Maximum Marks : Reg. : 85 Pvt. : 100]

Note : The question paper is divided into three Sections.

Section A

15x1=15

(Objective Type Questions)

  1. 1. Choose the correct answer :

    • (i)

      Who is the author of Dhvani theory ?

      • (a) Anandvardhan
      • (b) Kuntaka
      • (c) Abhinav Gupta
      • (d) Bharat Muni
    • (ii)

      What is the primary focus of the Dhvani theory ?

      • (a) Rasa theory
      • (b) Alankar theory
      • (c) Figurative language
      • (d) Suggestive meaning
    • (iii)

      Name the term used by Saussure to describe the relationship between the signifier and signified.

      • (a) Signification
      • (b) Representation
      • (c) Symbolization
      • (d) Semiosis
    • (iv)

      According to Richard, what is the primary function of emotive language ?

      • (a) To convey factual information
      • (b) To express emotions and attitudes
      • (c) To persuade and manipulate others
      • (d) To create a sense of community
    • (v)

      According to Ransom, what is the primary function of the 'texture' of a poem ?

      • (a) To convey meaning and ideas
      • (b) To create a musical quality
      • (c) To provide a sensory experience
      • (d) To establish a logical argument
    • (vi)

      Name the author of the book 'Orientalism' :

      • (a) Edward Said
      • (b) Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
      • (c) Homi K. Bhabha
      • (d) Michael Foucault
    • (vii)

      Name the term used by Freud to describe the process of putting down unpleasant memories or desire.

      • (a) Denial
      • (b) Projection
      • (c) Sublimation
      • (d) Repression
    • (viii)

      Name the term used to describe the ways in which social and economic structures perpetuate social inequalities.

      • (a) Institutional racism
      • (b) Systematic racism
      • (c) Structural racism
      • (d) All of the above
    • (ix)

      Name the author of the book 'The History of Sexuality'.

      • (a) Michael Foucault
      • (b) Judith Butler
      • (c) Eve Sedgwick
      • (d) Adrienne Rich
    • (x)

      Who wrote 'The Second Sex' ?

      • (a) Simone de Beauvoir
      • (b) Betty Friedan
      • (c) Mary Wollstonecraft
      • (d) Virginia Woolf
    • (xi)

      Which of the following is a key concept in eco-criticism ?

      • (a) Anthropocentrism
      • (b) Biocentrism
      • (c) Ecocentrism
      • (d) All of the above
    • (xii)

      What is the primary focus of Formalist Literary Analysis ?

      • (a) Author's biography
      • (b) Social and cultural content
      • (c) Formal structure and literary devices
      • (d) Reader's response and interpretation
    • (xiii)

      Name the author of 'The Madwoman in the Attic'.

      • (a) Virginia Woolf
      • (b) Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
      • (c) Elaine Showalter
      • (d) Kate Millet
    • (xiv)

      Which French philosopher's work is often associated with the development of post-structuralist thought ?

      • (a) Jean Paul Sartre
      • (b) Michael Foucault
      • (c) Jacques Derrida
      • (d) Gilles Deleuze
    • (xv)

      Which critic is associated with the development of New Historicism ?

      • (a) Stephen Greenblatt
      • (b) Michael Foucault
      • (c) Hayden White
      • (d) Fredric Jameson

Section B

5x5=25

(Short Answer Type Questions)

Note : Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks.

  1. 2.

    Give the significance of Dhvani theory.

    Or

    Explain the concept of arbitrariness in Saussure's theory of the linguistic sign.

  2. 3.

    Explain the distinction between description and emotive language as described by Richards.

    Or

    How do new critics approach the analysis of a literary text ?

  3. 4.

    Discuss the concept of radical feminism.

    Or

    What is the significance of 'non human' in ecocritical theory ?

  4. 5.

    Write short note on any one of the following :

    • (a) Psychoanalysis
    • (b) Gay and Lesbian studies
    • (c) Structuralism
    • (d) Marxism
  5. 6.

    Give the significance of epistemological violence in Said's theory.

    Or

    Write an essay on Postcolonialism.

Section C

5x9=45

(Long Answer Type Questions)

Note : Attempt all questions. All questions carry equal marks.

  1. 7.

    Discuss the key features of the Dhvani theory and its significance in the context of Indian aesthetics.

    Or

    Discuss the influence of Saussure's theory of language on 20th century linguistics and literary theory.

  2. 8.

    Discuss the main arguments of Richard's essay 'Two Uses of Language'.

    Or

    Discuss the relationship between Ransom's theory of poetry and the concept of 'New Criticism'.

  3. 9.

    Evaluate the influence of Said's theory of orientalism on Post-colonial Studies.

    Or

    Discuss the implications of Derrida's essay 'Structure Sign and Play'.

  4. 10.

    Write a critique of the following on the basis of the feminist criticism :

    "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. I had desired it with an ardour that for exceeded moderation, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber unable to compose my mind to sleep."

  5. 11.

    For Lucy had her work cut out for her. The doors would be taken off their hinges. Rumpelmayer's men were coming. And then, thought Clarissa Dalloway, what a morning-fresh as if issued to children on a beach. What a lark ! What a plunge ! For so it had always seemed to her, when, with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air. How fresh, how calm, stiller than this of course, the air was in the early morning; like the flap of a wave.