300+ [UPDATED] English Language Literature Interview Questions

1. What Is Onomatopoeia ?

It means making a word by using a sound that suggests the object.

2. What Is Epic ?

Epic is a long narrative poem.

3. Name Two Of The Poems Termed As “ Epic ” ?

Mahabharatha and Iliad.

4. What Is Epic Narrative ?

Some poems which seem to be epic in style and narration are epic narratives .

5. What Is Simple Narrative ?

It is direct telling of a simple story in the form of poem.

6. Who Is The Author Of Malgudi Days ?

R.K.Narayan

7. Which Politican Of Indiawrote The Novel “ The Insider ” ?

P.V.Narasimha Rao.

8. Who Ever The Three Sisters Who Became Famous English Novelists ?

The Bronte sisters.

9. How Was The Vice Chancellor Of Bangalore University. He Was An Eminet Poet And Won Jnanapeeth Award. Who Is He ?

V.K. Gokak

10. Who Wrote The Famous Book “ The Mother ” ?

Maxim Gorky.

11. What Is Etymology ?

It is branch of linguistics dealing with the tracing of a word or words back as far as possible to find out the origin.

12. What Is An Ode ?

It is a long poem written on a public occasion. The expression will be as addressing some person or personified thing.

13. Who Wrote The Just So Stories ?

Rudyard Kipling.

14. Who Wrote The Autobiography “ Against The Grain ” ?

Boris Yeltsin.

15. Who Is A “ Dog In The Manger ” ?

Some one who keeps what he does not want in order that no one else shall enjoy it.

16. Which Two Languages Are Regarded As The Origin Of The English Language ?

Greek and Latin

17. In The English Language What Does The Linguistic Term Hybrid Mean ?

A word that is composed of parts from two or more languages. Eg automobile

18. What Is Verse Essay ?

This is a type of poem that provokes thought on a topic of interest.

19. What Are The Two Types Of Verse Essay ?

They are didactive verse and satires.

20. What Is Lyric ?

Lyric is a short poem. It expresses feelings and moods.

21. What Are The Name Of The Essay Written By The Great Poet P.b.shelley That Caused Him To Be Thrown Out Of Oxford University ?

Necessity of atheism.

22. Who Wrote “ Chithirapavai ”, The Jnanathapith Award Winner Of 1975 ?

P. V. Akilandan

23. What Was The Name Of The Nine Year Old Girl Who Wrote The Book ‘ The Young Visitors ’ ?

Daisy Ashford.

24. Which Book Helped To Start A Civil War ?

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

25. What Is Op Art ?

It is a form abstract art, which tries to produce optical illusions.

26. Which Is The Famous Novel Still Considered To Be The Greatest ?

 ‘ War and peace ’ by Leo Tolstoy.

27. What Is A Grangerized Book ?

A book with some blank pages, which can be illustrated with prints of pictures, cut out of other books.

28. What Is Epigram ?

An epigram is a short poem. It does not exceed more than six lines. It express a witty climax.

29. What Is Dramatic Poetry ?

Some dramas contain much poetry as in the dramas of shakespeare. Such a method of writing poetry is dramatic poetry.

30. What Is Dramatic Lyric ?

A poem in which the poet speaks in the voice of another personality is a dramatic lyric.

31. Who Is The Author Of The Book “ Death Of A City ” ?

Amrita Preetam.

32. What Is Ballad ?

It is poem of simple language and is presented with music accompanied to dance.

33. What Is A Dictionary ?

A dictionary is a book of alphabetically listed words in a language with etymologies, pronunciations, definitions etc.

34. Who Is Author Of The Banned Book “ Workshipping False Gods ” ?

Arun Shourie

35. In Printing The Right Hand Page Of A Book Is Called Recto. What Is The Left – Hand Page Called ?

Verso.

36. What Is The Concluding Part Of A Liberary Work Called ?

An Epilogue

37. Which Sanskrit Word Has “ Veda ” Been Derived From ?

Vid, meaning to know.

38. What Is A Lexicon ?

A lexicon is the specical vocabulary of a particular author, field of study etc.

39. Who Is Lexicographer ?

A person who writes dictionaries is a lexicographer.

40. Who Won The Prestigious Onassis Award Of Greece For One Of Her Plays ?

Manjula Padmanabha.

41. Which British Prime Minister Won Nobel Prize For Literature ?

Winston Churchill

42. Arundhati Roy Won Booker Prize For Her First Book. Which Is That Book ?

The god of small things.

43. Who Is The Author Of The Controversial Book “ It Takes A Village ” ?

Hillary Clinton.

44. Name The Indian Language In Which Early Buddhist Literature Was Written?

Pali

45. What Is Lexicography ?

The act of writing or compiling words and their meanings for the creation of a dictionary is lexicography.

46. Which Is The Mother Language Of Malayalam ?

Tamil

47. Which Italian Poet Said, “ Nature Is The Art Of God ” ?

Dante

48. What Is Poem Of Fourteen Lines Called ?

Sonnet

49. Who Is The American Writer Won The Pulitzer Prize For Her Novel ‘ The Good Earth ’ ?

Pearl S. Buck

50. Who Is The American Author Of The Famous Novel “ Portrait Of A Lady ” ?

Henry James.

51. Who Is The First Recipient Of The Prestigious Jnanapeeth Award ?

Sankara Kurup

52. Who Is The First Indian To Win Nobel Prize ?

Ravindranath Tagore.

53. What Are The Names Of The Three Musketeers In Alexander Dumas’s Book ?

Athos, porthos and aramis.

54. What Is The Name Of Gulliver In Swift’s Book Gulliver’s Travels ?

Lemuel

55. Who Is The First Kannada Poet Who Won Jnanapeeth Award ?

Dr. K.V. Puttappa

56. Who Is The Miserly Hero Of Charles Dickens’s Book ‘a Chritmasc Carol ’ ?

Ebenezer Scrooge

57. Which Ancient Dravidean Language In India Is Still Used ?

Tamil

58. Which Dictionary Of Malayalam – English Type Is Considered As The First Authoritative And Authentic One ?

It is Gundert Nikhantu ( dictionary ) prepared by Dr. Herman Gundert.

59. What Is Orthography ?

Any method of speeling is termed by this word.

60. What Is Transliteration ?

It is way of writing or speeling a word using the alphabet of another language.

61. How Many Writers In Kannda Have Received Jnanapeeth Award Till 1998 ?

Six

62. Who Was The Creator Of The Character “ Tarzan ” ?

Edgar Rice Burroughs.

63. The Author Of Ashtadhyayi ?

Panini

64. Shakespear’s Last Play ?

The tempest.

65. When Was First Crossword Puzzle Published ?

In 1913 in new york sunday world.

66. Which Is The Oldest Continuously Published Newspaper In The World ?

Post och Inrikes Tidningar, since 1645 in sweden.

67. What Is An Abbrevation ?

An abbrevation is a shortened form a long word or a group of words.

68. What Is Slang ?

Slang is an informal use of language and it is short – lived. It is generally a use of language related to some work, way of life etc.. In slang, words are coined and new meanings are given to words.

69. In Which Century Did Omar Khayyam Write His “ Rubaiyat ” ?

Omar Khayyam wrote “ Rubaiyat ” in eleventh century.

70. He Was A Doctor Turned Detective Writer, Finally He Gave Up His Pratice And Became A Full Time Writer. Who Is He ?

ISir Arthur Conan Doyle.

71. “ What Is The Name ” ? Who Said This ?

Shakespeare.

72. Who Is Author Of “ Endymion ” ?

Keats wrote “ endymion ” at the age of 24.

73. Who Wrote The Famous Hindi Poem ‘ A Mere Vatan Ki Logo ’ ?

Pradeep.

74. She Was Called The Night Angle Of India. She Was A Poet Besides A Politican Mention Her Name?

Sarojini Naidu

75. Sappho Was A Greek Poetess. She Lived In About 600 B.c. On Which Island Did She Live ?

Lesbos.

76. A Dog Is One Of The Characters Of The Shalespearean Play. Name The Play ?

Two gentlemen of verona.

77. His Own Is The Pseudonym Of The British Author. Who Is The Author ?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

78. Men Are April When They Woo, December When They Wed. This Is A Dialogue In One Of The Plays Of Shakespeare. Name The Play ?

As you like it.

79. What Is Dialect ?

Dialect is the form of a spoken language peculiar to a region, community, social group, occupational group etc.

80. What Is Colloquial Language ?

Colloquial language is the informal use of language in which words, phrases, idioms and everything is designated the form of informal speech and writing.

81. What Is Coinage ?

Coinage is used for a word or expression invented.

82. Who Is A Grammarian ?

A grammarian is a specialist or expert in grammar.

83. What Is Length Of The Longest Word ?

It consists of 100 letters.

84. His Works Demonstrate His Brilliant Wit. He Won Nobel Prize For Literature In 1925. Who Was He ?

George Bernard Shaw.

85. Pearl S. Buck Won Nobel Prize In 1938. What Are Her Earlier Name ?

Pearl Sydenstricker

86. Mention One Of The Famous Novels Of Jane Austen ?

Pride and Prejudice

87. In Which Country Did The Famous Dramatic Genre Called Commedia Dell Arte Originate ?

Italy

88. Who Coined The Word “ Wive ” And What Does It Mean ?

Shakespeare coined this term and it means to marry.

89. The Pen Name Of English Novelist Who Wrote “ Animal Farm ” Is George Orwell. What Is The His Original Name ?

Eric Arthur Blair.

90. Which Country Does Aeschylus Belong To ?

Greece.

91. Which First Play Written By George Bernard Shaw ?

Widowers Houses.

92. Who Is Known As The Father Of English Poetry ?

Geoffrey Chaucer.

93. “ Water Water Everywhere, Not A Drop To Drink ”. Who Wrote These Famous Words In One Of His Poems ?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

94. Where Does The Longest Word Come From ?

The book Finnegans wake by James Joyce.

95. How Long Is The Word Second To The Longest One ?

45 letters long.

96. What Is The Length Of The Word Third To The Longest ?

29 letters long.

97. What Is The Length Of The Forth And Fifth Words Compared To The Longest One ?

28 letters and 27 letters respectively.

98. What Is The Prize Given Every Year To The Author Of The Best American Book For Children ?

Newberg Medal

99. Which Country Has The Most Languages ?

India

100. Which Country Has More Daily Newspapers ?

United States of America.

101. The Author Of “ Black Beauty ” Was A Campaigner Against Cruelty To Horses. What Was Her Name ?

Anna Sewell.

102. Who Is The Author Of The Kannada Novel “ Parva ” The Story Related To Mahabharatha ?

S.L. Byrappa

103. Name The First Woman Jnanapeeth Award Winner In India ?

Ashapoorna Devi

104. Which English Dramatist And Poet Was Born At Stratford – Upon – Avon In 1564 ?

William Shakespeare.

105. Shakespear Of India ?

Kalidasa 

106. Who Invented The Fictional Detective, Hercule Poirot ?

Agatha Christie. 

107. William Sydney Porter Was A Famous American Short Story Writer. What Pen Name Did He Use ?

O’Henry

108. What Is Blank Verse ?

It is a sequence of Iambic pentametres. But this is unrhymed.

109. What Is Quatrain ?

A quatrain is a stanza of four line in a poem. They can be rhymed or unrhymed.

110. What Is Terza Rima ?

It is Iambic pentametre ryhming aba beb cdc ded etc.

111. Which Is The Autobiography Of Adolf Hitler ?

Mein Kampf ( My life ).

112. Which Are The Two Long Poems Written By William Shakespeare ?

They are “ Venus and Adonis ” and “ The Rape of Lucrece ”. 

113. Who Wrote This Epitaph For His Own Grave ‘ Casta Cold Eye, On Life And Death, Horesman Pass By ’ ?

W.A. Yeats.

114. Who Wrote The Book “ Life Divine ” ?

Aravinda.

115. How May Sonnets Are There In Shakespeare’s Credit ?

There are one hundred and fifty four sonnets in his credit. 

116. Which Literary Work Of Salman Rushdhi Recently Provoked The Leaders Of Muslim Sect In Iran ?

MSatanic Verses.

117. What Is A Sonnet ?

A poem of fourteen Iambic pentametre lines is a sonnet.

118. What Is Elizabethan English ?

English language used during the period of elizabeth I of england is called elizabethan english.

119. What Does Victorian English Mean ?

The english language used during the period of queen Victoria.

120. What Is The Name Of The Villainous Pirate In Treasure Island By R.l. Stevenson ?

Long John Silver.

121. Who Was The Boy Brought Up By Wolves In Rudyard Kiplings “ The Jungle Book ” ?

Mowgli

122. What Is The Anthology Of 400 Tamil Poems On Valour By Various Poets Of Sanga Age Called ?

Purananooru

123. Which Composer Wrote Rhapsody In Blue ?

George Gershwin

124. Who Holds The Records For Fastest Speed In Hindi Shorthand ?

Ajay Gosh, a chief reporter of rajya sabha, has created a national record in hindi shortland with a speed of 230 wpm. His achievement has been entered in the limca book of records.

125. Widely Spoken Language ?

English

126. What Is American English ?

The english language spoken by the americans is termed as american english. 

127. What Is Known As English Sonnet ?

Shakespearean sonnet is called english sonnet.

128. What Are Triplets ?

Lines rhyming in sets of three in any metre are termed triples.

129. What Is Doggerel ?

This term is used to identify verse of loose and irregular measure.

130. What Is Heroic Couplet ?

Lines rhyming in pairs and are the iambic pentametre lines are termed by this word.

131. What Is The Biggest Dictionary In The World ?

“ Britanica of english language ”.

132. Which Is The Most Widely Used Dictionary Of American Language ?

Webster’s Dictionary.

133. What Was The Psuedonym Used By H.h.munro ?

Saki ( 1870 – 1960 ) he began his career writing political satires for the ‘ west minister gazette ’.

134. What Is Postscript ?

It is a part added to a letter after the signature.

135. Who Wrote The Great Treasury Of Tales In Sanskrit Called Kathasarithsagara ?

Somadeva

136. What Was The Name Of Sindbad The Sailor’s Enormous Bird ?

The roc

137. Which Literary Character Said “ If Everybody Minded Their Own Business The World Would Go Round A Great Deal Faster Than It Does ” ?

The duchess in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol.

138. In A Play Or Story, What Is Peripeteia ?

A sudden change of fortune, unexpected reversal of circumstances, eg., the down fall of antonio in ‘ The merchant of venice ’ .

139. What Is A Parenthesis ?

A word or a pharse inserted into a sentence, usually within bracket or between commas or hypens. It adds to the information of description but without it the sentence would still get grammatically complete.

140. What Is A Holograph ?

A single word which describes a document written in the handwriting of the person.

141. Who Is A Ghost – Writer ?

A person who writes a book, speech or an article on behalf of another. The credit is being given to the person for whom it is written.

142. Who Is A Freelance Writer ?

A writer who is not on the taff, or on contract of any particular organisation and may take assignments as he wishes.

143. What Is Gobbledygook ?

The use of long, involved and complicated word where simple ones would do eg. using the word “ terminological inexactitude ” where the simple wordlie would surface.

144. What Is An Epigram ?

A short poem or a verse, or a pointed statement on a subject ending in a witty thought.

145. From Which Language Does The Word “ Algebra ” Come ?

Arabic – al – jabr – which means the reduction.

146. By What Persian Name Is The Essential Oil Of Flowers Used In Perfumery Known ?

Attar – a word with the persian derived from arabic.

147. What Is The German Word For Germany ?

Deutschland.

148. How Did The Word In “ Juggernaut ” Come Into The English Language ?

It is corruption of jugganath, one of the forms of lord vishnu.

149. What Does The Name “ Eskimo ” Mean ?

Eater of raw flesh.

150. What Is The Origin Of The Word Robot ?

It comes from the Czechoslovakian word ‘ Robota ’ meaning compulsory or forced labour.

151. How Was The Name ‘ Bihar ’ Formed ?

From ‘ Vihara ’ which is the term of buddist monastery.

152. Who Is The Author Of The Remark, The Difference Between Journalism And Literature Is That Journalism Is Unreadable And Literature Is Not Read ?

Oscar wilde.

153. What Is The “ Nadu ” In Tamil Nadu ?

Nadu

154. ‘ Good Grief Is The Main Title Of The Biography Of A Popular Cartoonist. Whose Biography Is It ?

Charles M. Schulz, creator of peanuts.

155. In South Africa What Is The Literal Meaning Of The Word ‘ Apartheid ’ ?

‘ Apartness ’ and the term is used form racial segregation and discrimination. 

156. The Word ‘ Tip ’, The Sense Of A Gratuity For A Service Rendered, Is An Abbreviation. For What Did The T-i-p Stand ?

To insure prompyness. A small sum was put into a box or given in coffee shop from old days. This money was given to insure prompt service.

157. Of Which Word Is ‘ Bus ’ An Abbreviation ?

“ Omnibus ” – in latin it means for all.

158. From Where Did The Word ‘ Academy ’ Originate ?

From the greek word ‘ Akademeia ’ or ‘ Akademia ’ , the name of the gymnasium or school founded by plato.

159. In The Word “ Petroleum ”, To What Does The “ Petro ” Refer ?

Stone rock, from the greek word “ petros ” ( stone ) are “ petra ” ( rock ).

160. Which Foreign Poet Is So Far The Only Honorary Fellow Of The Sahitya Academy ?

Leopold Segar Senghor.

161. What Is Latin Word From Which The Word Salary Originated ?

‘ Salarium ’ which was the money paid to roman soldiers.

162. Which Is The Longest Poem In The World ?

The mahabharata an ancient epic has been labelled the longest poem in the world because of the fact that it 220,000 lines in length covering a total of 5,400 pages spread over 18 large volumes. This stupendous work was written between the years 400 B.C and 150 B.C.