GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Cultural and Historical Contexts
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #31 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."
This poem heralded the beginning of which new poetic era?
English Romanticism
English Restoration
English Realism
English Reformation
English Regency
English Romanticism
Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner is widely considered one of the first major works of British Romantic poetry. It was included in the first edition of The Lyrical Ballads (1798), which is considered the founding document of English Romanticism as a unified artistic movement.
Passage adapted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
Example Question #32 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din."
Which of the following animals plays an infamous role in this poem?
Alpaca
Albacore
Alligator
Albatross
Agouti
Albatross
In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an albatross invested with supernatural powers is responsible for leading a ship’s crew out of an ice floe. When a sailor subsequently shoots the bird, their ship becomes becalmed and the crew resorts to cannibalism.
Passage adapted from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
Example Question #33 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Who is the author of this poem?
Robert Burns
Alasdair Gray
Hamish Henderson
Iain Banks
George MacDonald
Robert Burns
This is “A Red, Red Rose,” one of the most famous and enduring poems of the poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). It is technically a song and was based on traditional Scottish music, but it is often reprinted as a poem.
George MacDonald wrote Phantastes: A Faerie Romance (1858), Hamish Henderson wrote Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica (1948), Alasdair Gray wrote Old Negatives (1989), and Iain Banks wrote The Wasp Factory (1984).
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #34 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
This author is widely regarded as the national poet of which country?
Scotland
Ireland
Isle of Mann
Northern Ireland
Wales
Scotland
Robert Burns, also known as Robbie or Rabbie Burns, is Scotland’s most famous poet and is widely referred to in that country as just “The Bard.” He is known for his use of the Scots language and Scottish English dialect in his poetry.
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #35 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Which of the following is not another work by the author of this poem?
“To a Mountain Daisy”
“To a Mouse”
“Tam o’ Shanter”
“Halloween”
“Clown in the Moon”
“Clown in the Moon”
“Clown in the Moon” is a poem by the Welsh author Dylan Thomas. The rest are works by Robbie Burns.
“To a Mouse,” “To a Mountain Daisy,” and “Halloween” were published in Poems Chiefly in a Scottish Dialect (1786)
“Tam o’ Shanter” was published in 1791.
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #36 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
O, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O, my luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
’Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Which of the following traditional works did the author of this poem successfully preserve?
“The Lakes of Pontchartrain”
“The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”
“Auld Lang Syne”
“Bluebells of Scotland”
“The Orange and the Green”
“Auld Lang Syne”
In addition to writing his own poetry, Robert Burns worked to preserve traditional Scottish poetry and music. “Auld Lang Syne” is one such Scottish song that he was able to popularize and pass into popular culture.
Passage adapted from "A Red, Red Rose" (1794) by Robert Burns.
Example Question #37 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
I sing the Sofa. I, who lately sang
Truth, Hope, and Charity, and touched with awe
The solemn chords, and with a trembling hand,
Escaped with pain from that advent’rous flight,
Now seek repose upon a humbler theme:
The theme though humble, yet august and proud
The occasion—for the Fair commands the song.
In addition to poetry, this author also wrote which of the following?
Folk songs
Limericks
Plays
Novels
Hymns
Hymns
For part of his life, William Cowper was an evangelical Christian. Some of his religious fervor took the form of English hymns, many of which are still sung today.
Passage adapted from William Cowper’s The Task and Other Poems (1785).
Example Question #38 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
I sing the Sofa. I, who lately sang
Truth, Hope, and Charity, and touched with awe
The solemn chords, and with a trembling hand,
Escaped with pain from that advent’rous flight,
Now seek repose upon a humbler theme:
The theme though humble, yet august and proud
The occasion—for the Fair commands the song.
When was this work published?
1800s
1760s
1780s
1820s
1840s
1780s
The Task was first published in 1785. William Cowper lived from 1731 to 1800, which may have helped you narrow down the answer choices.
Passage adapted from William Cowper’s The Task and Other Poems (1785).
Example Question #39 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
I sing the Sofa. I, who lately sang
Truth, Hope, and Charity, and touched with awe
The solemn chords, and with a trembling hand,
Escaped with pain from that advent’rous flight,
Now seek repose upon a humbler theme:
The theme though humble, yet august and proud
The occasion—for the Fair commands the song.
Which political reform is this poet most closely associated with?
Abolishing segregation
Abolishing slavery
Women’s suffrage
Temperance
Prison reform
Abolishing slavery
In addition to being an important early Romantic poet, William Cowper was an ardent abolitionist and spoke out openly against slavery in Britain.
Passage adapted from William Cowper’s The Task and Other Poems (1785).
Example Question #40 : Cultural And Historical Contexts
I sing the Sofa. I, who lately sang
Truth, Hope, and Charity, and touched with awe
The solemn chords, and with a trembling hand,
Escaped with pain from that advent’rous flight,
Now seek repose upon a humbler theme:
The theme though humble, yet august and proud
The occasion—for the Fair commands the song.
Who is the author of this poem?
George Gordon
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Wordsworth
William Cowper
John Newton
William Cowper
This is William Cowper’s epic six-book poem The Task. It was allegedly inspired by a incident in which a lady wagered that he couldn’t compose a poem on any topic – say, for instance, a sofa. Although the poem begins with a parodic discussion of a sofa’s virtues, it quickly digresses into more important topics.
William Wordsworth (co-)wrote The Lyrical Ballads (1798), Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote Biographia Literaria (1817), John Newton wrote "Amazing Grace" (1779), and George Gordon (A.K.A Lord Byron) wrote Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812).
Passage adapted from William Cowper’s The Task and Other Poems (1785).
All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
