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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When a novel contains situations that should be intolerable, what are readers prompted to defy?

2. What culture put literary works into only three groups?

3. What human need, according to Culler, drives the desire to hear the conclusion of a story?

4. According to some theorists, what idea was created by literature?

5. Who was Nancy Armstrong?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Aristotle, what three points must be contained within a plot?

2. Who believed that performative language had to be serious in order to set a standard?

3. According to Culler, how is rhetoric defined today?

4. According to Chapter 8, in terms of the "I," what do literary theorists debate?

5. Why do some theorists believe that popular characterizations in novels create bad influences?

6. According to Chapter 5, what is rhetoric?

7. How does a rhetorical figure use language in poetry?

8. Into what three classes did the Greeks divide literature?

9. According to Chapter 6, from where does unreliable narration typically come?

10. According to Culler, what prompts a reader to finish reading a novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As time changes perspectives, many of the ideas that appear in literary theory from past centuries seem outdated. Yet, others have managed to remain relevant. Choose an example of literary theory that has held the test of time, citing support as to why this objective has been achieved.

Essay Topic 2

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, words can limit the ability of thought and, therefore, the reading experience.

1) What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

2) Who created it?

3) What are the implications of this theory, in terms of its impact upon classical literature?

Essay Topic 3

For an author, the opportunity to be published is a hurdle to overcome when it comes to having a work declared literary. Why is publication so important to the literary process? Create an argument citing specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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