GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of Prose

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English

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All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

1 Diagnostic Test 158 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Example Questions

Example Question #54 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

What is a central subject of Dictionary of the Khazars?

Possible Answers:

Unrequited love

Adultery

Theft

Religion

Bribery

Correct answer:

Religion

Explanation:

The novel is primarily concerned with the religious lives of the Khazars, a fictional people who Pavić has said represents the Serbs.

Example Question #54 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Who is the author of Água Viva?

Possible Answers:

Machado de Assis

Paulo Coelho

José Saramago

Fernando Pessoa

Clarice Lispector

Correct answer:

Clarice Lispector

Explanation:

Published in Portuguese in 1973, this first-person novel is one of the most famous works by Clarice Lispector (1920-1977).

Paulo Coelho wrote The Alchemist (1988). Machado de Assis wrote The Hand and the Glove (1874). Fernando Pessoa wrote Antinous (1918). José Saramago wrote Blindness (1995). All of the answer options are renowned Brazilian authors who worked primarily in Portuguese.

Example Question #223 : Contexts Of Prose

Where was the author of Água Viva born?

Possible Answers:

England

Ukraine

Venezuela

Nigeria

South Africa

Correct answer:

Ukraine

Explanation:

Lispector was the daughter of European Jews who fled the Ukraine to Brazil following World War I. Lispector worked primarily in her adopted language of Portugese. Água Viva was published in 1973.

Example Question #51 : Contexts Of World Prose

Where did the author of Água Viva spend most of her life?

Possible Answers:

Chile

Spain

Argentina

Brazil

Portugal

Correct answer:

Brazil

Explanation:

Lispector lived for most of her life in Rio de Janeiro. She wrote and published primarily in Portugese. Água Viva was published in 1973.

Example Question #55 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Which of the following is another work by the author of Água Viva?

Possible Answers:

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Eleven Minutes

The Passion According to G.H

The Alchemist

Aleph

Correct answer:

The Passion According to G.H

Explanation:

The Passion According to G.H. (Portuguese: A Paixão Segundo G.H.) is another of Lispector’s most famous works. Published in 1964, it takes the form of a mystical monologue occurring during the narrator’s mental breakdown. The other titles are by Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho. The Alchemist was published in 1988. Eleven Minutes was published in 2004. Aleph was published in 2011. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was published in 1994.

Example Question #56 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Who is the author of Bestiary?

Possible Answers:

Julio Cortázar

Paulo Coelho

Jorge Luis Borges

Laura Esquivel

Carlos Fuentes

Correct answer:

Julio Cortázar

Explanation:

The short story collection Bestiary (Spanish: Bestario) was written in 1951 by Julio Cortázar (1914-1984). 

Jorge Luis Borges wrote  A Universal History of Infamy (1935). Carlos Fuentes wrote Where the Air is Clear (1958). Paulo Coelho wrote Brida (1990). Laura Esquivel wrote Like Water for Chocolate (1992).

Example Question #61 : Contexts Of World Prose

Which of the following is another title by the author of Bestiary?

Possible Answers:

Hopscotch

The Library of Babel

Dreamtigers

The Book of Imaginary Beings

Ficciones

Correct answer:

Hopscotch

Explanation:

Hopscotch, a 1963 novel with an untraditional structure, is by Cortázar. The rest are titles by Jorge Luis Borges. Ficciones was published in 1944. The Library of Babel was published in 1962. The Book of Imaginary Beings was published in 1957. Dreamtigers was published in 1960.

Example Question #401 : Cultural And Historical Contexts

In what country did the author of Bestiary spend most of his life?

Possible Answers:

Mexico

Colombia

Chile

Paraguay

Argentina

Correct answer:

Argentina

Explanation:

Cortázar is known first and foremost as an Argentinian writer. Most of his works, Bestiary (1969) included, were written and published in Spanish.

Example Question #62 : Contexts Of World Prose

Who is the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being?

Possible Answers:

Czesław Miłosz

Bruno Schulz

Ota Pavel

Milan Kundera

Bohumil Hrabal

Correct answer:

Milan Kundera

Explanation:

Born in 1929, Milan Kundera is the author of the philosophical novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being (published in 1984).

Bohumil Hrabal wrote Too Loud a Solitude (1977). Ota Pavel wrote How I Came to know A Fish (1973). Czesław Miłosz wrote The Poem of the Pearl (1982). Bruno Schulz wrote Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass (1937).

Example Question #645 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English

What nationality is the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being?

Possible Answers:

Dutch

Hungarian

Czech

French

Polish

Correct answer:

Czech

Explanation:

Born in Brno, Milan Kundera is Czech. The Unbearable Lightness of Being was published in 1984.

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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