Francis Bacon – “Of Revenge” – Exam Based MCQs
1. “Of Revenge” is an essay written by: (UGC NET)
A) Charles Lamb
B) Joseph Addison
C) Francis Bacon
D) Thomas Browne
Ans: C) Francis Bacon
2. Francis Bacon belongs mainly to the: (SET)
A) Romantic age
B) Victorian age
C) Elizabethan/Jacobean age
D) Modern age
Ans: C) Elizabethan/Jacobean age
3. “Of Revenge” is included in Bacon’s collection: (PGTRB)
A) The Spectator
B) Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral
C) The Tatler
D) Table Talk
Ans: B) Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral
4. The chief theme of “Of Revenge” is: (UGC NET)
A) Friendship
B) Truth
C) Revenge and forgiveness
D) Study and travel
Ans: C) Revenge and forgiveness
5. Bacon opens the essay by saying: (SET)
A) Revenge is heroic
B) Revenge is a kind of wild justice
C) Revenge is divine mercy
D) Revenge is natural religion
Ans: B) Revenge is a kind of wild justice
6. When Bacon calls revenge “wild justice,” he means it is: (PGTRB)
A) Entirely lawful
B) A noble virtue
C) A raw, uncontrolled form of justice
D) A religious duty
Ans: C) A raw, uncontrolled form of justice
7. According to Bacon, the more men should weed out revenge, the more they preserve: (UGC NET)
A) Anger
B) Honour
C) Law
D) Wealth
Ans: C) Law
8. Bacon believes that private revenge: (SET)
A) Strengthens public justice
B) Puts the law out of office
C) Improves society
D) Is a kingly action
Ans: B) Puts the law out of office
9. Bacon says that in taking revenge, a man is but: (PGTRB)
A) Superior to his enemy
B) Even with his enemy
C) Worse than his enemy
D) Equal to the king
Ans: B) Even with his enemy
10. Bacon says that in passing over an offence, a man is: (UGC NET)
A) Weak
B) Careless
C) Superior
D) Foolish
Ans: C) Superior
11. According to Bacon, it is princely to: (SET)
A) Avenge every insult
B) Forgive and pass over offences
C) Challenge the offender publicly
D) Punish without law
Ans: B) Forgive and pass over offences
12. Bacon says Solomon, “I am sure, saith, it is the glory of a man”: (PGTRB)
A) To seek revenge
B) To hide his wealth
C) To pass by an offence
D) To conquer enemies in battle
Ans: C) To pass by an offence
13. Bacon compares the keeping of wrongs in memory to: (UGC NET)
A) A sharp sword
B) A kind of witchcraft
C) A holy duty
D) A kingly virtue
Ans: B) A kind of witchcraft
14. Bacon’s view suggests that dwelling on revenge mainly harms: (SET)
A) Only the enemy
B) The revenger himself
C) The king alone
D) The church only
Ans: B) The revenger himself
15. Bacon believes a man should take revenge only when: (PGTRB)
A) He is in great anger
B) It serves no law and no example
C) The wrong cannot otherwise be punished or corrected
D) His friends demand it
Ans: C) The wrong cannot otherwise be punished
16. Bacon says public revenges are mostly: (UGC NET)
A) Unlawful
B) Fortunate
C) Barbaric
D) Successful and justified as examples
Ans: D) Successful and justified as examples
17. In the essay, public revenge differs from private revenge because it: (SET)
A) Is always cruel
B) Is tied to justice or public example
C) Is based on hatred only
D) Ignores law
Ans: B) Is tied to justice or public example
18. Bacon gives examples such as the death of Caesar and others to illustrate: (PGTRB)
A) Romantic tragedy
B) Public revenge in history
C) Religious sacrifice
D) False friendship
Ans: B) Public revenge in history
19. Bacon says that a person who studies revenge keeps his own wounds: (UGC NET)
A) Secret
B) Fresh and green
C) Fully healed
D) Honoured by all
Ans: B) Fresh and green
20. The phrase “fresh and green” suggests wounds that are: (SET)
A) Forgotten
B) Spiritually purified
C) Unhealed and continually painful
D) Beautiful
Ans: C) Unhealed and continually painful
21. Bacon’s essay “Of Revenge” teaches that revenge should generally be replaced by: (PGTRB)
A) Silence only
B) Fear
C) Forgiveness and lawful justice
D) Public quarrel
Ans: C) Forgiveness and lawful justice
22. Bacon’s prose style in this essay is best described as: (UGC NET)
A) Sentimental and loose
B) Aphoristic and concise
C) Highly dramatic
D) Musical and lyrical
Ans: B) Aphoristic and concise
23. Bacon’s view of revenge is mainly: (SET)
A) Approving
B) Neutral
C) Moral and cautionary
D) Humorous
Ans: C) Moral and cautionary
24. “Revenge is a kind of wild justice” means revenge is: (PGTRB)
A) Perfect justice
B) A distorted substitute for real justice
C) A noble act of courage
D) A religious ceremony
Ans: B) A distorted substitute for justice
25. Bacon says that forgiving an offence shows: (UGC NET)
A) Weakness
B) Cowardice
C) Greatness of character
D) Political failure
Ans: C) Greatness of character
26. Bacon’s essays are known for combining: (SET)
A) Poetry and drama
B) Wisdom and brevity
C) Fantasy and romance
D) Song and satire
Ans: B) Wisdom and brevity
27. Bacon supports revenge when it serves: (PGTRB)
A) Private anger only
B) Public good or lawful correction
C) Family pride only
D) Personal vanity
Ans: B) Public good or lawful correction
28. According to Bacon, revenge is most blameworthy when it is: (UGC NET)
A) Public and lawful
B) Delayed by policy
C) Private and driven by personal passion
D) Used for example
Ans: C) Private and passionate
29. Bacon’s essay reflects Renaissance thinking because it values: (SET)
A) Human reason and moral control
B) Blind emotion
C) Revenge as instinct
D) Superstition only
Ans: A) Human reason and moral control
30. The essay ultimately argues that revenge: (PGTRB)
A) Is necessary for honour
B) Is sweeter than friendship
C) Harms both justice and the avenger
D) Brings spiritual peace
Ans: C) Harms justice and the avenger
31. Bacon’s use of historical examples shows his habit of: (UGC NET)
A) Writing fiction
B) Supporting ideas with learned references
C) Avoiding practical thought
D) Telling humorous tales
Ans: B) Supporting ideas with learned references
32. Bacon’s essay “Of Revenge” is best described as: (SET)
A) A reflective moral essay
B) A sonnet sequence
C) A comic sketch
D) A prose romance
Ans: A) A reflective moral essay
33. According to Bacon, revenge belongs more to: (PGTRB)
A) Human nobility
B) Uncontrolled passion
C) Divine justice
D) Pure wisdom
Ans: B) Uncontrolled passion
34. The person who refuses revenge is shown by Bacon as: (UGC NET)
A) Fearful
B) Inferior
C) Noble and prudent
D) Unambitious
Ans: C) Noble and prudent
35. Bacon says that men ought to take heed of revenge especially because it: (SET)
A) Is expensive
B) Disturbs the order of justice
C) Is too difficult
D) Is unpopular only
Ans: B) Disturbs the order of justice
36. The essay suggests that true greatness lies in: (PGTRB)
A) Retaliation
B) Endurance and forgiveness
C) Public anger
D) Harsh punishment
Ans: B) Endurance and forgiveness
37. Bacon is often called the father of the: (UGC NET)
A) English essay
B) English novel
C) English epic
D) English drama
Ans: A) English essay
38. Which statement best fits Bacon’s thought? (SET)
A) Revenge is wiser than law
B) Law should govern wrongs, not private passion
C) Forgiveness is weakness
D) Every insult must be repaid
Ans: B) Law should govern wrongs
39. Bacon’s overall tone in “Of Revenge” is: (PGTRB)
A) Humorous
B) Sentimental
C) Practical and morally instructive
D) Romantic
Ans: C) Practical and morally instructive
40. Bacon implies that revenge often arises from: (UGC NET)
A) Wisdom
B) Hurt pride and anger
C) Religious devotion
D) Political duty only
Ans: B) Hurt pride and anger
41. The value Bacon places above revenge is: (SET)
A) Wealth
B) Magnanimity
C) Silence
D) Popularity
Ans: B) Magnanimity
42. Bacon’s essay teaches that revenge should be avoided because it keeps alive: (PGTRB)
A) Love
B) Wealth
C) Pain and resentment
D) Friendship
Ans: C) Pain and resentment
43. “Of Revenge” is important because it explores: (UGC NET)
A) The morality of retaliation and the superiority of law and forgiveness
B) The beauty of war
C) The pleasures of hatred
D) The value of flattery
Ans: A) Morality of retaliation
44. Bacon’s method in this essay is to: (SET)
A) Argue through maxims and illustrations
B) Tell a long story
C) Use dramatic scenes
D) Write in verse
Ans: A) Argue through maxims and illustrations
45. Bacon presents revenge as something that belongs more to: (PGTRB)
A) Civilization
B) Wild nature
C) Philosophy
D) Religion
Ans: B) Wild nature
46. The best response to personal injury, according to Bacon, is usually: (UGC NET)
A) Immediate retaliation
B) Calm forgiveness or lawful correction
C) Public insult
D) Lifelong hatred
Ans: B) Calm forgiveness or lawful correction
47. Bacon’s “Of Revenge” shows him as a writer of: (SET)
A) Practical wisdom and moral reflection
B) Emotional fantasy
C) Romantic nature poetry
D) Comic drama
Ans: A) Practical wisdom and moral reflection
48. Which best summarizes Bacon’s main idea? (PGTRB)
A) Revenge is a right of every man
B) Revenge weakens justice, while forgiveness shows greatness
C) Revenge is the same as law
D) Revenge is necessary for friendship
Ans: B) Revenge weakens justice
49. Bacon’s essays remain memorable because of their: (UGC NET)
A) Lengthy narratives
B) Precision, wit, and wisdom
C) Musicality alone
D) Comedy alone
Ans: B) Precision, wit, and wisdom
50. “Of Revenge” finally upholds: (SET)
A) Hatred over mercy
B) Law, self-control, and moral superiority
C) Passion over reason
D) Violence over justice
Ans: B) Law, self-control, and moral superiority
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