Sir Philip Sidney – “An Apology for Poetry” – Exam Based MCQs
1. An Apology for Poetry was written by: (UGC NET)
A) Francis Bacon
B) Ben Jonson
C) Sir Philip Sidney
D) John Dryden
Ans: C) Sir Philip Sidney
2. Another title of An Apology for Poetry is: (SET)
A) The Art of English Poesy
B) The Defence of Poesy
C) Of Studies
D) Preface to Lyrical Ballads
Ans: B) The Defence of Poesy
3. Sir Philip Sidney belongs to the: (PGTRB)
A) Restoration Age
B) Victorian Age
C) Elizabethan Age
D) Modern Age
Ans: C) Elizabethan Age
4. An Apology for Poetry is mainly a work of: (UGC NET)
A) Epic poetry
B) Literary criticism
C) Historical chronicle
D) Dramatic satire
Ans: B) Literary criticism
5. Sidney wrote this work mainly to defend poetry against the attacks of: (SET)
A) Scientists
B) Puritans and moral critics
C) Roman emperors
D) Romantic poets
Ans: B) Puritans and moral critics
6. The immediate attack on poetry that Sidney responds to came especially from: (PGTRB)
A) Stephen Gosson
B) John Milton
C) Samuel Johnson
D) William Wordsworth
Ans: A) Stephen Gosson
7. Stephen Gosson’s work that attacked poetry was: (UGC NET)
A) School of Abuse
B) The Arte of English Poesie
C) Defence of Poesy
D) The Advancement of Learning
Ans: A) School of Abuse
8. Sidney calls the poet: (SET)
A) A mere imitator of facts only
B) The monarch of all sciences
C) The maker
D) A useless dreamer
Ans: C) The maker
9. The word “poet” according to Sidney comes from the Greek word meaning: (PGTRB)
A) Singer
B) Maker
C) Teacher
D) Preacher
Ans: B) Maker
10. Sidney argues that poetry is superior because it: (UGC NET)
A) Only describes the past
B) Combines delight with teaching
C) Rejects imagination
D) Is always historical truth
Ans: B) Combines delight with teaching
11. The famous formula associated with Sidney’s view of poetry is that poetry should: (SET)
A) Frighten and punish
B) Delight and teach
C) Entertain and confuse
D) Praise and flatter
Ans: B) Delight and teach
12. Sidney places the poet above the philosopher because the poet: (PGTRB)
A) Uses pure logic only
B) Moves men to virtuous action more effectively
C) Rejects moral truth
D) Avoids all examples
Ans: B) Moves men to virtuous action
13. Sidney places the poet above the historian because the poet: (UGC NET)
A) Is confined to facts
B) Deals with what may and should be, not only what was
C) Knows more dates
D) Avoids moral instruction
Ans: B) Deals with what may and should be
14. According to Sidney, the philosopher teaches by: (SET)
A) Delightful examples only
B) Abstract precepts
C) Dramatic imitation only
D) Songs and music
Ans: B) Abstract precepts
15. According to Sidney, the historian teaches by: (PGTRB)
A) Imaginary examples
B) Philosophical abstraction
C) Particular examples from history
D) Religious prophecy only
Ans: C) Particular examples from history
16. Sidney says the poet is the best teacher because he unites: (UGC NET)
A) History and geography
B) Philosophy’s precept and history’s example
C) Religion and science
D) War and politics
Ans: B) Philosophy’s precept and history’s example
17. Sidney’s view of poetry is strongly influenced by: (SET)
A) Aristotle and classical criticism
B) Only medieval theology
C) Modern psychology
D) Pure Puritanism
Ans: A) Aristotle and classical criticism
18. The concept of poetry as imitation in Sidney is close to the Greek term: (PGTRB)
A) Catharsis
B) Hamartia
C) Mimesis
D) Peripeteia
Ans: C) Mimesis
19. Sidney argues that poetry does not lie because: (UGC NET)
A) It only reports facts
B) The poet never affirms literal truth claims
C) Poets are saints
D) Poetry is always history
Ans: B) The poet never affirms literal truth claims
20. Sidney’s answer to the charge that poetry is the “mother of lies” is that: (SET)
A) Poetry is equal to law
B) The poet only feigns and does not claim factual truth
C) All poets are historians
D) Lies are necessary for art
Ans: B) The poet only feigns
21. Sidney divides poetry into several types. One of them is: (PGTRB)
A) Scientific poetry
B) Religious or divine poetry
C) Political journalism
D) Legal poetry
Ans: B) Religious or divine poetry
22. Sidney especially praises heroic poetry because it: (UGC NET)
A) Avoids moral action
B) Inspires noble deeds
C) Is purely musical
D) Rejects virtue
Ans: B) Inspires noble deeds
23. Sidney criticizes contemporary English drama for violating: (SET)
A) Only rhyme
B) Decorum and dramatic principles
C) Religious law only
D) Political obedience
Ans: B) Decorum and dramatic principles
24. One of Sidney’s complaints against English tragedy and comedy is that they are often: (PGTRB)
A) Too short
B) Mixed together improperly
C) Too philosophical
D) Too historical
Ans: B) Mixed together improperly
25. Sidney’s critical outlook is mainly: (UGC NET)
A) Classical and humanistic
B) Purely romantic
C) Entirely Puritan
D) Scientific and materialist
Ans: A) Classical and humanistic
26. Sidney believes poetry’s final aim is to: (SET)
A) Display verbal ornament only
B) Move men toward virtue
C) Provide entertainment alone
D) Attack religion
Ans: B) Move men toward virtue
27. According to Sidney, nature never set forth the earth in so rich tapestry as divers poets have done because poets: (PGTRB)
A) Reject imagination
B) Improve upon nature through imagination
C) Copy nature mechanically
D) Avoid beauty
Ans: B) Improve upon nature
28. Sidney says the poet “nothing affirms,” which means: (UGC NET)
A) The poet has no knowledge
B) The poet is not bound to factual assertion
C) The poet rejects imagination
D) The poet opposes truth
Ans: B) The poet is not bound to factual assertion
29. In Sidney’s view, poetry is more universal than history because it deals with: (SET)
A) Only dates and events
B) General truths and ideal possibilities
C) Church doctrine only
D) Literal fact alone
Ans: B) General truths and ideal possibilities
30. Sidney’s defence of poetry is important because it is one of the earliest great works of: (PGTRB)
A) English literary criticism
B) English fiction
C) English drama
D) English satire
Ans: A) English literary criticism
31. Sidney’s prose style in this work is best described as: (UGC NET)
A) Dry and scientific
B) Rhetorical, learned, and elegant
C) Colloquial and simple only
D) Entirely comic
Ans: B) Rhetorical, learned, and elegant
32. Sidney is a Renaissance humanist because he values: (SET)
A) Human excellence, virtue, and classical learning
B) Blind obedience only
C) Pure dogma
D) Rustic ignorance
Ans: A) Human excellence, virtue, and classical learning
33. Sidney’s defence of poetry mainly opposes the idea that poetry is: (PGTRB)
A) Moral and useful
B) Delightful and instructive
C) Corrupting and useless
D) Imaginative and noble
Ans: C) Corrupting and useless
34. Sidney places poetry first among branches of learning because: (UGC NET)
A) It alone gives wealth
B) It leads men most effectively to virtue
C) It is easy to write
D) It avoids imagination
Ans: B) It leads men to virtue
35. The phrase “speaking picture” used by Sidney refers to: (SET)
A) Sculpture
B) Poetry
C) Painting only
D) Music
Ans: B) Poetry
36. Sidney says poetry is a “speaking picture” with the end of: (PGTRB)
A) Mere delight
B) To teach and delight
C) Pure imitation only
D) Historical accuracy
Ans: B) To teach and delight
37. Sidney criticizes those who abuse poetry by saying the fault lies in: (UGC NET)
A) Poetry itself
B) The abuse of poetry, not poetry itself
C) Classical learning only
D) All imagination
Ans: B) The abuse of poetry
38. The argument that poetry is immoral is answered by Sidney by saying: (SET)
A) All poetry is law
B) Poetry properly used encourages virtue
C) Morality does not matter in art
D) Only religion teaches virtue
Ans: B) Poetry properly used encourages virtue
39. Sidney’s work is important in criticism because it: (PGTRB)
A) Rejects all classical ideas
B) Gives a strong Renaissance defence of imaginative literature
C) Opposes moral purpose in art
D) Supports Puritan hostility to drama
Ans: B) Strong Renaissance defence
40. Sidney’s view of poetry may best be called: (UGC NET)
A) Humanistic and moral
B) Purely aesthetic and detached
C) Scientific and empirical
D) Cynical and skeptical
Ans: A) Humanistic and moral
41. Sidney attacks contemporary English tragedy and comedy mainly for lack of: (SET)
A) Emotion
B) Rules, decorum, and artistic discipline
C) Patriotism
D) Rhyming couplets
Ans: B) Rules, decorum, and discipline
42. Sidney’s literary criticism aims finally at promoting: (PGTRB)
A) Idle pleasure
B) Virtuous action through imaginative literature
C) Mere ornament in style
D) Historical accuracy only
Ans: B) Virtuous action
43. The best summary of Sidney’s argument is that poetry: (UGC NET)
A) Is pleasant but useless
B) Is the most effective art for teaching virtue through delight
C) Should imitate history only
D) Is inferior to philosophy
Ans: B) Most effective art for teaching virtue
44. Sidney’s criticism is rooted in: (SET)
A) Medieval superstition
B) Classical rhetoric and Renaissance idealism
C) Modern psychoanalysis
D) Pure Puritan theology
Ans: B) Classical rhetoric and Renaissance idealism
45. Sidney suggests poetry surpasses philosophy because it: (PGTRB)
A) Avoids moral issues
B) Makes virtue attractive and active
C) Rejects reason
D) Refuses examples
Ans: B) Makes virtue attractive
46. Sidney suggests poetry surpasses history because it: (UGC NET)
A) Is always factual
B) Presents ideal examples beyond mere facts
C) Avoids moral truth
D) Is easier to memorize
Ans: B) Presents ideal examples
47. Sidney’s An Apology for Poetry remains important because it is: (SET)
A) A central Renaissance statement on the value of literature
B) A work of fiction
C) A religious sermon
D) A political pamphlet only
Ans: A) A central Renaissance statement
48. Which best describes Sidney’s final stance on poetry? (PGTRB)
A) Poetry is dangerous and should be banned
B) Poetry is noble, useful, and essential to civilized culture
C) Poetry is inferior to all sciences
D) Poetry is valuable only for pleasure
Ans: B) Poetry is noble and useful
49. The work is often studied as a landmark in: (UGC NET)
A) English literary criticism
B) English drama
C) English fiction
D) Religious prose only
Ans: A) English literary criticism
50. The most suitable critical description of An Apology for Poetry is: (SET)
A) A Renaissance defence of poetry as imaginative, moral, and civilizing
B) A satire against poets
C) A medieval dream vision
D) A dramatic monologue on politics
Ans: A) A Renaissance defence of poetry as imaginative, moral, and civilizing
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