16th Century Literature MCQs


16th Century Literature MCQs


Who is considered to be the greatest writer of the English Renaissance?
a) William Shakespeare
b) John Donne
c) Christopher Marlowe
d) Ben Jonson
Answer: a) William Shakespeare


Which monarch ruled England during most of the 16th century?
a) King Edward VI
b) Queen Elizabeth I
c) King James I
d) Queen Mary I
Answer: b) Queen Elizabeth I


Which literary work by Sir Thomas More coined the term “utopia”?
a) The Faerie Queene
b) The Canterbury Tales
c) Paradise Lost
d) Utopia
Answer: d) Utopia


Which English monarch was the subject of a famous sonnet sequence by Sir Philip Sidney?
a) Queen Elizabeth I
b) King James I
c) King Henry VIII
d) Queen Mary I
Answer: a) Queen Elizabeth I


Which English playwright was known for his use of blank verse and his tragic heroes?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Donne
Answer: b) Christopher Marlowe


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which Elizabethan poet wrote “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”?
a) Edmund Spenser
b) William Shakespeare
c) John Donne
d) Christopher Marlowe
Answer: d) Christopher Marlowe


Which English poet and courtier was imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually executed for treason?
a) Sir Philip Sidney
b) Sir Walter Raleigh
c) Sir Francis Bacon
d) John Donne
Answer: b) Sir Walter Raleigh


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser is an allegory of the Tudor dynasty and the political climate of 16th century England?
a) Amoretti
b) The Faerie Queene
c) Astrophel and Stella
d) Epithalamion
Answer: b) The Faerie Queene


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his comedies and his use of elaborate wordplay?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Donne
Answer: c) Ben Jonson


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is set in ancient Rome and explores themes of power and betrayal?
a) Hamlet
b) Macbeth
c) Julius Caesar
d) King Lear
Answer: c) Julius Caesar


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which English monarch was known for his six marriages and his role in establishing the Church of England?
a) King Edward VI
b) Queen Elizabeth I
c) King James I
d) King Henry VIII
Answer: d) King Henry VIII


Which Elizabethan poet wrote “Sonnet 18” (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”)?
a) Edmund Spenser
b) William Shakespeare
c) John Donne
d) Christopher Marlowe
Answer: b) William Shakespeare


Which literary work by Christopher Marlowe features a tragic hero who sells his soul to the devil?
a) Tamburlaine
b) Doctor Faustus
c) The Jew of Malta
d) Edward II
Answer: b) Doctor Faustus


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his history plays, including a series of plays about the reign of King Henry VI?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Donne
Answer: a) William Shakespeare


Which English poet and courtier was known for his patronage of the arts and his work as a diplomat?
a) Sir Philip Sidney
b) Sir Walter Raleigh
c) Sir Francis Bacon
d) John Donne
Answer: a) Sir Philip Sidney


16th Century English Literature MCQs


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser tells the story of the Redcrosse Knight and his quest to defeat the dragon that is terrorizing the land of Faerie?
a) Amoretti
b) The Faerie Queene
c) Astrophel and Stella
d) Epithalamion
Answer: b) The Faerie Queene


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his dark and violent tragedies, including “Titus Andronicus” and “King Lear”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Donne
Answer: a) William Shakespeare


Which literary work by Thomas Wyatt is considered to be one of the first sonnet sequences in English literature?
a) “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
b) “Astrophel and Stella”
c) “Amoretti”
d) “The Lover showeth how he is forsaken of such as he sometime enjoyed”
Answer: d) “The Lover showeth how he is forsaken of such as he sometime enjoyed”


Which English philosopher and statesman wrote “Utopia,” a work of political satire that imagines an ideal society?
a) Sir Francis Bacon
b) Sir Thomas More
c) John Milton
d) John Donne
Answer: b) Sir Thomas More


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a tragedy about a prince who seeks revenge for his father’s murder?
a) Hamlet
b) Macbeth
c) Julius Caesar
d) King Lear
Answer: a) Hamlet


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which English monarch succeeded Queen Mary I and oversaw a period of religious and cultural change known as the Elizabethan era?
a) King Edward VI
b) Queen Elizabeth I
c) King James I
d) King Henry VIII
Answer: b) Queen Elizabeth I


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his comedies, including “Twelfth Night” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Donne
Answer: a) William Shakespeare


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser tells the story of a knight who falls in love with a lady named Una and must overcome various obstacles to win her hand in marriage?
a) Amoretti
b) The Faerie Queene
c) Astrophel and Stella
d) Epithalamion
Answer: b) The Faerie Queene


Which Elizabethan poet was known for his love poems, including “Astrophel and Stella”?
a) Edmund Spenser
b) William Shakespeare
c) John Donne
d) Sir Philip Sidney
Answer: d) Sir Philip Sidney


Which literary work by Christopher Marlowe tells the story of a powerful conqueror who seeks to conquer the known world?
a) Tamburlaine
b) Doctor Faustus
c) The Jew of Malta
d) Edward II
Answer: a) Tamburlaine


16th Century English Literature MCQs


Which English poet and courtier was known for his pastoral poetry and his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I?
a) Sir Philip Sidney
b) Sir Walter Raleigh
c) Sir Francis Bacon
d) John Donne
Answer: a) Sir Philip Sidney


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his satirical comedies, including “Volpone” and “The Alchemist”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Donne
Answer: c) Ben Jonson


Which literary work by Thomas Nashe is a picaresque novel that follows the adventures of a roguish protagonist named Jack Wilton?
a) The Unfortunate Traveller
b) The Faerie Queene
c) Doctor Faustus
d) The Jew of Malta
Answer: a) The Unfortunate Traveller


Which English philosopher and scientist wrote “Novum Organum,” a work on the scientific method that emphasized the importance of empirical observation and experimentation?
a) Sir Francis Bacon
b) Sir Thomas More
c) John Milton
d) John Donne
Answer: a) Sir Francis Bacon


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a history play about the reign of King Richard II and his deposition by Henry Bolingbroke?
a) Richard III
b) Henry IV, Part 1
c) Henry IV, Part 2
d) Richard II
Answer: d) Richard II


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which Elizabethan playwright wrote the revenge tragedy “The Spanish Tragedy”?
a) Christopher Marlowe
b) Thomas Kyd
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Webster
Answer: b) Thomas Kyd


Which literary work by William Shakespeare tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families in Verona?
a) Romeo and Juliet
b) Hamlet
c) Macbeth
d) Othello
Answer: a) Romeo and Juliet


Which English poet and courtier wrote the pastoral poem “The Shepheardes Calendar”?
a) Edmund Spenser
b) John Donne
c) Sir Walter Raleigh
d) Ben Jonson
Answer: a) Edmund Spenser


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his blank verse tragedies, including “Tamburlaine” and “Doctor Faustus”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Webster
Answer: b) Christopher Marlowe


Which literary work by John Milton is a pastoral elegy that mourns the death of the poet’s friend Edward King?
a) Lycidas
b) Paradise Lost
c) Paradise Regained
d) Samson Agonistes
Answer: a) Lycidas


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which English poet wrote “The Triumphs of Oriana,” a collection of madrigals dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I?
a) Thomas Campion
b) John Dowland
c) Thomas Morley
d) Thomas Weelkes
Answer: c) Thomas Morley


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser tells the story of a knight who travels to a mystical land in search of his beloved Una?
a) Amoretti
b) The Faerie Queene
c) Astrophel and Stella
d) Epithalamion
Answer: b) The Faerie Queene


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his comedies, including “Volpone” and “The Alchemist”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Webster
Answer: c) Ben Jonson


Which English poet and courtier was known for his sonnet sequence “Amoretti”?
a) Sir Philip Sidney
b) Sir Walter Raleigh
c) John Donne
d) Edmund Spenser
Answer: d) Edmund Spenser


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a history play about the reign of King Henry V and his victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt?
a) Richard III
b) Henry IV, Part 1
c) Henry IV, Part 2
d) Henry V
Answer: d) Henry V


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which Elizabethan playwright wrote the revenge tragedy “The Revenger’s Tragedy”?
a) Thomas Kyd
b) William Shakespeare
c) Cyril Tourneur
d) John Marston
Answer: c) Cyril Tourneur


Which literary work by Sir Philip Sidney is a prose romance that tells the story of the knight Musidorus and his love for the princess Pamela?
a) Astrophel and Stella
b) The Defence of Poesy
c) Arcadia
d) The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia
Answer: c) Arcadia


Which English poet and playwright wrote the poem “Hero and Leander,” which was later completed by George Chapman?
a) Christopher Marlowe
b) Ben Jonson
c) John Donne
d) Thomas Middleton
Answer: a) Christopher Marlowe


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his history plays, including “Edward II” and “Richard II”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) John Webster
d) Thomas Middleton
Answer: b) Christopher Marlowe


Which literary work by Sir Walter Raleigh is a prose account of his experiences as a soldier and explorer?
a) The Faerie Queene
b) The Discovery of Guiana
c) The School of Abuse
d) The Ocean’s Love to Cynthia
Answer: b) The Discovery of Guiana


16th Century English Literature MCQs


Which English poet and courtier wrote the sonnet sequence “Astrophel and Stella”?
a) Sir Philip Sidney
b) Edmund Spenser
c) John Donne
d) Ben Jonson
Answer: a) Sir Philip Sidney


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his violent and bloody revenge tragedies, including “The Duchess of Malfi” and “The White Devil”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Ben Jonson
d) John Webster
Answer: d) John Webster


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser tells the story of the Redcrosse Knight and his quest to defeat the dragon and rescue Una?
a) Amoretti
b) The Shepheardes Calendar
c) The Faerie Queene
d) Epithalamion
Answer: c) The Faerie Queene


Which English poet and cleric wrote the religious poem “The Hymn of the Nativity”?
a) George Herbert
b) John Donne
c) Richard Crashaw
d) Henry Vaughan
Answer: c) Richard Crashaw


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a tragedy about a Moorish general in the Venetian army who becomes consumed by jealousy and murders his wife?
a) Othello
b) Hamlet
c) Macbeth
d) King Lear
Answer: a) Othello


16th Century English Literature MCQs


Which Elizabethan playwright wrote the play “The Jew of Malta,” a controversial work that features a villainous Jewish protagonist?
a) Christopher Marlowe
b) William Shakespeare
c) Ben Jonson
d) Thomas Kyd
Answer: a) Christopher Marlowe


Which literary work by Thomas More is a fictional account of an ideal society?
a) Utopia
b) The History of King Richard III
c) The Book of the Courtier
d) The Faerie Queene
Answer: a) Utopia


Which English poet and playwright wrote the poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” which was famously parodied by Sir Walter Raleigh?
a) Edmund Spenser
b) Ben Jonson
c) Christopher Marlowe
d) John Donne
Answer: c) Christopher Marlowe


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his city comedies, including “The Shoemaker’s Holiday” and “A Chaste Maid in Cheapside”?
a) Ben Jonson
b) Thomas Dekker
c) John Marston
d) Thomas Middleton
Answer: b) Thomas Dekker


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a romantic comedy about four young lovers who flee to the forest to escape their troubles?
a) A Midsummer Night’s Dream
b) The Tempest
c) The Merchant of Venice
d) Twelfth Night
Answer: a) A Midsummer Night’s Dream


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which English poet and courtier wrote the pastoral poem “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” a response to Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”?
a) Edmund Spenser
b) John Donne
c) Sir Walter Raleigh
d) Ben Jonson
Answer: c) Sir Walter Raleigh


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his plays about love and romance, including “Endymion” and “Gallathea”?
a) Thomas Kyd
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) John Lyly
d) John Webster
Answer: c) John Lyly


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser tells the story of the knight Guyon and his quest to defeat the witch Acrasia and her vices?
a) The Shepheardes Calendar
b) Amoretti
c) The Faerie Queene
d) Epithalamion
Answer: c) The Faerie Queene


Which English poet and cleric wrote the religious poem “The Altar”?
a) John Donne
b) George Herbert
c) Richard Crashaw
d) Henry Vaughan
Answer: b) George Herbert


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a historical play about the rise and fall of King Richard III?
a) Richard II
b) Henry V
c) Julius Caesar
d) Richard III
Answer: d) Richard III


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which English playwright wrote the play “Volpone,” a satire about greed and corruption in Renaissance Venice?
a) Ben Jonson
b) Thomas Kyd
c) Christopher Marlowe
d) John Webster
Answer: a) Ben Jonson


Which literary work by Sir Philip Sidney is a prose romance about a knight named Guyon and his quest for the Faerie Queene?
a) The Defence of Poesy
b) Astrophel and Stella
c) Arcadia
d) The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia
Answer: c) Arcadia


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his revenge tragedies, including “The Spanish Tragedy” and “The Revenger’s Tragedy”?
a) Thomas Middleton
b) John Marston
c) Thomas Kyd
d) John Webster
Answer: c) Thomas Kyd


Which English poet and playwright wrote the pastoral comedy “Loves Labour’s Lost,” in which four young men swear off women for three years, only to fall in love with a group of women who visit their court?
a) Ben Jonson
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) William Shakespeare
d) John Lyly
Answer: c) William Shakespeare


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser is an epic poem that tells the story of the Redcrosse Knight and his adventures in the Faerie Queene’s kingdom?
a) The Shepheardes Calendar
b) Amoretti
c) The Faerie Queene
d) Epithalamion
Answer: c) The Faerie Queene


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which Elizabethan playwright wrote the play “The Duchess of Malfi,” a tragedy about a noblewoman who marries beneath her station and is subsequently murdered by her brothers?
a) John Webster
b) Thomas Dekker
c) Thomas Middleton
d) John Marston
Answer: a) John Webster


Which English poet and cleric wrote the religious poem “Easter Wings,” which is shaped like a pair of wings?
a) George Herbert
b) John Donne
c) Richard Crashaw
d) Henry Vaughan
Answer: a) George Herbert


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a historical play about the events leading up to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415?
a) Henry IV, Part 1
b) Henry V
c) Julius Caesar
d) Richard II
Answer: b) Henry V


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his violent and bloody tragedies, including “Titus Andronicus” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth”?
a) Christopher Marlowe
b) William Shakespeare
c) John Webster
d) Thomas Kyd
Answer: b) William Shakespeare


Which literary work by Sir Thomas Wyatt is a collection of sonnets that were likely written during his time in prison?
a) Tottel’s Miscellany
b) The Faerie Queene
c) The Collected Poems of Sir Thomas Wyatt
d) The Defence of Poesy


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which Elizabethan playwright was known for his wit and wordplay, and wrote the plays “The Alchemist” and “Volpone”?
a) William Shakespeare
b) Ben Jonson
c) John Webster
d) Thomas Dekker
Answer: b) Ben Jonson


Which literary work by Sir Walter Raleigh is a poem that describes the pursuit of a perfect society in the Americas?
a) The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
b) The Lie
c) The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
d) The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana
Answer: d) The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana


Which English poet and playwright wrote the play “Edward II,” a historical tragedy about the reign and downfall of King Edward II of England?
a) Thomas Middleton
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Thomas Kyd
d) John Webster
Answer: b) Christopher Marlowe


Which literary work by Edmund Spenser is a collection of pastoral poems, including the poem “The Shepheardes Calendar”?
a) The Faerie Queene
b) Amoretti
c) Fowre Hymnes
d) Colin Clouts Come Home Againe
Answer: a) The Shepheardes Calendar


Which English playwright wrote the play “The White Devil,” a tragedy about love, lust, and revenge in Renaissance Italy?
a) Thomas Middleton
b) John Webster
c) Thomas Kyd
d) Ben Jonson
Answer: b) John Webster


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which literary work by Sir Thomas More is a political satire that describes a fictional island society that is based on principles of reason and justice?
a) Utopia
b) The History of King Richard III
c) The Dialogue Concerning Heresies
d) The Book of Sir Thomas More
Answer: a) Utopia


Which English poet and playwright wrote the play “Doctor Faustus,” a tragedy about a scholar who makes a pact with the devil in exchange for knowledge and power?
a) John Webster
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Thomas Kyd
d) Thomas Dekker
Answer: b) Christopher Marlowe


Which literary work by William Shakespeare is a comedy about the antics of a group of lovers and their friends in the forest of Arden?
a) A Midsummer Night’s Dream
b) The Taming of the Shrew
c) The Two Gentlemen of Verona
d) The Merry Wives of Windsor
Answer: a) A Midsummer Night’s Dream


Which English poet wrote the poem “The Dying Pelican,” a religious poem about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross?
a) John Donne
b) Richard Crashaw
c) Henry Vaughan
d) George Herbert
Answer: b) Richard Crashaw


Which literary work by Sir Philip Sidney is a collection of sonnets that were likely written during his time at court?
a) The Defence of Poesy
b) Astrophel and Stella
c) Arcadia
d) The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia
Answer: b) Astrophel and Stella


16th Century Literature MCQs


Which English poet wrote the poem “The Shepherd’s Hunting,” a pastoral poem that describes the joys of country life and the pursuit of love?
a) John Donne
b) Michael Drayton
c) Robert Herrick
d) George Herbert
Answer: b) Michael Drayton


Which literary work by Thomas Nashe is a satirical play that criticizes the greed and corruption of society?
a) The Unfortunate Traveller
b) Pierce Penilesse
c) Summers Last Will and Testament
d) The Isle of Dogs
Answer: b) Pierce Penilesse


Which English playwright wrote the play “The Spanish Tragedy,” a revenge tragedy that features a ghostly apparition seeking revenge for his murder?
a) Thomas Kyd
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) John Webster
d) Ben Jonson
Answer: a) Thomas Kyd


Which literary work by Robert Greene is a romantic novella that tells the story of a young woman named Rosalynde who flees to the forest to escape the tyranny of her uncle?
a) The Faerie Queene
b) Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit
c) Menaphon
d) Pandosto: The Triumph of Time
Answer: d) Pandosto: The Triumph of Time


Which English poet wrote the poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” a pastoral poem that describes the pleasures of love and nature?
a) John Donne
b) Sir Walter Raleigh
c) Christopher Marlowe
d) William Shakespeare
Answer: b) Sir Walter Raleigh


16th Century Literature MCQs for English Lecturer Exams


Which literary work by Sir Thomas Wyatt is a collection of love poems that were likely written during his time at court?
a) The Book of Sir Thomas More
b) The Phoenix and the Turtle
c) Tottel’s Miscellany
d) The Faerie Queene
Answer: c) Tottel’s Miscellany


Which English playwright wrote the play “The Roaring Girl,” a comedy that features a cross-dressing protagonist who challenges social norms and expectations?
a) Thomas Middleton
b) Ben Jonson
c) John Webster
d) Thomas Dekker
Answer: d) Thomas Dekker


Which literary work by Sir Walter Ralegh is a poem that describes the beauty and wonder of nature, and the fleeting nature of life?
a) The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
b) The Lie
c) The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
d) The Pilgrimage
Answer: d) The Pilgrimage


Which English poet and playwright wrote the play “The Jew of Malta,” a controversial drama that features a Jewish protagonist who is depicted as a greedy and manipulative character?
a) Thomas Middleton
b) Christopher Marlowe
c) Thomas Kyd
d) John Webster
Answer: b) Christopher Marlowe


For more English MCQs Click Here


error: Content is protected !!