General Knowledge MCQs
Topic Notes: General Knowledge
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
1
What is the 'Comedy of Humours' based on?
Answer:
Medieval bodily fluids theory
It is based on the theory that four bodily fluids (humours) control personality.
2
Which character in 'Paradise Lost' is an allegory for the dangers of knowledge without obedience?
Answer:
Eve
Eve is tempted by Satan to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, seeking to be godlike.
3
Who wrote the play 'Edward II'?
Answer:
Christopher Marlowe
Marlowe wrote this history play about the deposition of King Edward II.
4
In 'The Faerie Queene', the character Britomart represents which virtue?
Answer:
Chastity
Britomart is a female knight who represents the virtue of Chastity.
5
Who wrote 'Novum Organum', arguing for inductive reasoning?
Answer:
Francis Bacon
Bacon's work outlined a new system of logic (the scientific method) based on induction.
6
Which play is considered a 'Problem Play' by Shakespeare?
Answer:
Measure for Measure
'Measure for Measure' (along with Troilus and Cressida and All's Well That Ends Well) is called a Problem Play due to its ambiguous tone and complex moral issues.
7
Who is the 'Fair Youth' in Shakespeare's sonnets?
Answer:
An unnamed young man the poet loves.
The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man (the Fair Youth), urging him to marry and praising his beauty.
8
Which poet famously wrote 'No man is an island'?
Answer:
John Donne
This famous phrase comes from Donne's 'Devotions upon Emergent Occasions' (Meditation XVII).
9
In Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra', how does Cleopatra die?
Answer:
She is bitten by an asp (snake).
She commits suicide by allowing a venomous asp to bite her.
10
Who wrote 'Jerusalem Delivered', an epic influential to Spenser?
Answer:
Tasso
Torquato Tasso wrote 'Gerusalemme liberata', which influenced Spenser's Faerie Queene.