GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Identification of Plays

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English

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All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

1 Diagnostic Test 158 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Example Questions

Example Question #10 : Identification Of World Plays Before 1925

Which eighteenth-century German poet and playwright was responsible for dramas such as Wilhelm Tell, The Maid of Orleans, The Robbers, and the Wallenstein trilogy?

Possible Answers:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Rainer Maria Rilke

Friedrich Schiller

Henrik Ibsen

Bertolt Brecht

Correct answer:

Friedrich Schiller

Explanation:

Friedrich Schiller, one of the most important playwrights of the 1700s, was known for shepherding in the artistic movement known as Weimar Classicism. He did so with the help of Goethe, a friend and literary rival, and with his own work, which include the lyrics to Beethoven’s famous Ode to Joy.

Example Question #51 : Identification Of Plays

Which four-part operatic masterpiece by the German composer Richard Wagner includes use of ancient Norse sagas, mythical structures, and musical elements such as the leitmotif?

Possible Answers:

Don Giovanni

The Ring of the Nibelung

Tristan und Isolde

Lohengrin

The Valkyries

Correct answer:

The Ring of the Nibelung

Explanation:

The dramatic work in question is the Ring cycle, known in German as Der Ring des Nibelungen. The work’s structure is modeled on the ancient Greek dramas that contained three tragedies and a satyr play, with a full performance lasting more than half a day. Characters include Wotan, Fricka, Freia, Siegmund, Sieglinde, Siegfried, Gunther, and Brünnhilde.

Example Question #52 : Identification Of Plays

Which famous Mozart opera is based on the legend of a seductive, lascivious Italian nobleman and has inspired such writers as Flaubert, Kierkegaard, and George Bernard Shaw?

Possible Answers:

The Magic Flute

Don Giovanni

La Bohème

The Marriage of Figaro

The Barber of Seville

Correct answer:

Don Giovanni

Explanation:

This is Don Giovanni, named after the title character. Don Giovanni (or Don Juan as he is known in legend) seduces and takes advantage of many other characters in the opera before he is confronted with a ghost that kills him and carries him down to hell. This character has served as an archetype and as a common cultural reference for a young male philanderer in literature.

Example Question #53 : Identification Of Plays

This Nobel Prize-winning Caribbean poet, author of Omeros and Sea Grapes, also wrote such plays as Dream on Monkey Mountain and The Capeman. Who is it?

Possible Answers:

Ama Ata Aidoo

Derek Walcott

Wole Solinka

Aimé Césaire

Stanley French

Correct answer:

Derek Walcott

Explanation:

This is the St. Lucian poet Derek Walcott, winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. Walcott often incorporates themes of post-colonialism and national identity as well as mythical and European elements into his writing. 

Example Question #54 : Identification Of Plays

This Caribbean writer’s best known play is A Tempest, based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and written with a postcolonial slant. Who is he?

Possible Answers:

Aimé Césaire

Stanley French

Ama Ata Aidoo

Fernando Arrabal

Mario Vargas Llosa

Correct answer:

Aimé Césaire

Explanation:

This is Aimé Césaire, a French-educated native of Martinique and an incipient member of the négritude ideology. His work is often preoccupied with power, colonial rule, and racial identity.

Example Question #55 : Identification Of Plays

One of Peru’s most important writers, this poet and playwright used works such as There Is No Happy Island and A Certain Tic Tac to highlight urban crime, poverty, lingering colonial influences, and conditions on the streets of Lima. Who is he?

Possible Answers:

Julio Cortázar

Sebastián Salazar Bondy

Fernando Arrabal

Mario Vargas Llosa

Aimé Césaire

Correct answer:

Sebastián Salazar Bondy

Explanation:

This is Sebastián Salazar Bondy, whose other notable works include Something That Wants to Die, There’s No Gasoline in Heaven, and Flora Tristán.

Example Question #56 : Identification Of Plays

This French playwright and champion of the Theatre of the Absurd movement was known for dramas including The Maids, The Balcony, and The Blacks.

Possible Answers:

Eugène Ionesco

Jean Genet

Harald Pinter

Samuel Beckett

Aimé Césaire

Correct answer:

Jean Genet

Explanation:

This is Jean Genet, whose work often features social misfits or people on the outskirts of a community. His work, which is heavily steeped in absurdism, investigates morality as well as the constructs of racial and social identities.

Example Question #57 : Identification Of Plays

Which avant-garde Romanian writer was a significant figure in the Theatre of the Absurd?

Possible Answers:

Constantin Brâncuși

Aimé Césaire

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Eugène Ionesco

Jean Genet

Correct answer:

Eugène Ionesco

Explanation:

This is Eugène Ionesco, whose works include The Rhinoceros, The Bald Soprano, and Exit the King. Ionesco plays often emphasize the pointlessness of human existence and utilize disorienting elements such as non-sequiturs, dreamlike storytelling, and jarring verbal feats.

Example Question #58 : Identification Of Plays

What is the name of the Ghanaian writer who wrote the play The Dilemma of a Ghost?

Possible Answers:

Wole Solinka

Ama Ata Aidoo

Stanley French

Derek Walcott

Aimé Césaire

Correct answer:

Ama Ata Aidoo

Explanation:

This is Ama Ata Aidoo, a poet, playwright, and novelist. She often incorporates elements of African legend, cultural identity, gender studies, and feminism into her work.

Example Question #59 : Identification Of Plays

This Nigerian poet and dramatist, the first African Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, is known for plays such as The Lion and the Jewel, Kongi’s Harvest, and Death and the King’s Horsemen.

Possible Answers:

Derek Walcott

Aimé Césaire

Stanley French

Wole Solinka

Ama Ata Aidoo

Correct answer:

Wole Solinka

Explanation:

The playwright in question is Wole Solinka. His work often concerns colonialism and contemporary African politics, government, and corruption. His plays have been said to be influenced by traditional Yoruba drama and theatre of the absurd.

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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