Q.1) Which among the following is not a state of human mental disposition as posited by Jacques Lacan?
- The Historical Order
- The Imaginary Order
- The Symbolic Order
- The Real
Answer: 1. The Historical Order
Explanation: Lacan’s three primary mental registers are The Imaginary, The Symbolic, and The Real. “Historical Order” is not one of them.
Q.2) The poetic line (s), “There is one great society alone on earth, the noble living and the noble dead appear in
- Biographia Literaria
- The Prelude
- Excursion
- Lyrical Ballads
Answer: 3. Excursion by William Wordsworth
Explanation: The quoted line — “There is one great society alone on earth, the noble living and the noble dead” — appears in The Excursion by William Wordsworth, published in 1814. This philosophical poem, written in blank verse, forms part of his larger but incomplete epic, The Recluse, and meditates on nature, suffering, and spiritual redemption. Though The Prelude (1850) and Lyrical Ballads (1798) are also major works by Wordsworth, they do not contain this specific line. The Prelude is an autobiographical epic charting the poet’s inner development, while Lyrical Ballads, co-authored with Coleridge, initiated English Romantic poetry. Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria (1817), a prose work of literary criticism, engages with philosophical ideas and poetic imagination but is not a verse text. Hence, The Excursion is the only work among these that includes the quoted line, firmly situating it within Romantic-era philosophical poetry.
Q.3) What does an eponymous character mean?
- An eponymous character is essentially devilish in nature
- An eponymous character gives his or her name to the title of the work
- An eponymous character is intriguing in nature
- An eponymous character is superfluous in the plot
Answer: 2. An eponymous character gives his or her name to the title of the work
Explanation:
Eponymous Characters
An eponymous character is a protagonist whose name appears in the title of a literary work. The term “eponymous” means “name-giving” and applies when a character’s name becomes the work’s title. Classic examples include King Lear, Anna Karenina, Silas Marner, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The concept extends beyond direct naming. Characters can be eponymous even when referred to indirectly in titles, such as Michael Henchard in Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. Additionally, places can become eponymous and take on character-like qualities through personification, as seen in A Place Called Winter.
Historically, eponymous figures like Brutus (legendary founder of Britain) have given their names to entire chronicles. The term also describes when a character’s name becomes a descriptive noun for others sharing similar traits, like calling someone “a Judas” to indicate betrayal.
Understanding eponymous characters helps identify the central importance of protagonists in literary works and their relationship to titles.
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