GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of Prose
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #51 : Contexts Of Prose
Who wrote I, Claudius?
Robert Graves
Ian McEwan
Graham Greene
Kingsley Amis
Thomas Hardy
Robert Graves
I, Claudius (1934) is a novel by the Latin/Greek translator and historical fiction author Robert Graves.
Kingsley Amis is the author of Lucky Jim (1954) (he was also Martin Amis's father), Ian McEwan is the author of First Love, Last Rites (1975), Thomas Hardy is the author of Jude the Obscure (1895), and Graham Greene is the author of The Third Man (1950).
Example Question #52 : Contexts Of Prose
Which of the following major events occurs in I, Claudius?
the assassination of Caligula
the Trojan War
the Punic Wars
Hannibal’s crossing the Alps
the burning of the Library of Alexandria
the assassination of Caligula
Robert Graves's I, Claudius (1934)takes the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. It was the assassination of the Emperor Caligula that led to Claudius’ ascent to power. All of the other events listed here occurred well before the reign of Claudius.
Example Question #53 : Contexts Of Prose
Which of the following authors was a source for I, Claudius?
Plutarch
Xenophon
Herodotus
Thucydides
Homer
Plutarch
The ancient Greek historian Plutarch as well as the Roman historian Suetonius provided much of the background material for I, Claudius (1934). None of the others writers would have had information about Emperor Claudius, since he was not born until after their deaths.
Example Question #54 : Contexts Of Prose
Who is the author of Atonement?
Julian Barnes
Pat Barker
Ian McEwan
Kazuo Ishiguro
Martin Amis
Ian McEwan
Atonement (2001) is Ian McEwan’s eighth novel.
Kazuo Ishiguro is the author of A Pale View of Hills (1982), Martin Amis is the author of Dead Babies (1975), Julian Barnes is the author of Arthur and George (2005), and Pat Barker is the author of the Regeneration Trilogy (1991, 1993, 1995).
Example Question #473 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English
During what decade was Atonement published?
1990s
2000s
1980s
1970s
1960s
2000s
Ian McEwan's Atonement was published in 2001, the same year that it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Example Question #55 : Contexts Of Prose
During what war is Atonement set?
The Jacobite uprising
The Revolutionary War
The War of Austrian Succession
World War I
World War II
World War II
Ian McEwan's Atonement is set partly in 1935 and partly in present-day England, but a significant portion of the action occurs during World War II in both France and England.
Example Question #55 : Contexts Of Prose
Who is the author of Brideshead Revisited?
Graham Greene
Ian McEwan
D.H. Lawrence
Kingsley Amis
Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Brideshead Revisited (1945) is Evelyn Waugh’s most famous novel and the work he considered his magnum opus.
Kingsley Amis wrote Lucky Jim (1954), Graham Greene wrote The Third Man (1950), Ian McEwan wrote Solar (2010), and D.H Lawrence wrote Sons and Lovers (1913).
Example Question #476 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English
During what decade is Brideshead Revisited mainly set?
1860s
1840s
1920s
1900s
1880s
1920s
Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited (1945) begins in the 1920s in Britain and concludes in the late 1940s, shortly after the end of World War II.
Example Question #56 : Contexts Of Prose
Who is the author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit?
A.S. Byatt
Jeanette Winterson
Hilary Mantel
Zadie Smith
Angela Carter
Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985) is Jeanette Winterson’s acclaimed first novel. It is a coming of age story about an adopted lesbian girl in a Pentecostal community in England and contains themes of sexuality and gender normativity as well as elements of autobiography.
Angela Carter wrote Love (1971), Hilary Mantel wrote Wolf Hall (2009), Zadie Smith wrote White Teeth (2000), and A.S Byatt wrote The Shadow of the Sun (1964).
Example Question #478 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English
During what decade was Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit published?
1960s
1950s
1970s
1990s
1980s
1980s
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was published in 1985 and won a Whitbread Award for a First Novel the same year.
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