Allen Tate – “Tension in Poetry” – Exam Based MCQs
1. Allen Tate is most closely associated with the critical movement known as: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Romanticism
B) New Criticism
C) Postcolonialism
D) Structuralism
Ans: B) New Criticism
2. “Tension in Poetry” is best known as: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2015)
A) A novel
B) A critical essay
C) A play
D) A manifesto of Romanticism
Ans: B) A critical essay
3. In Tate’s usage, “tension” in poetry primarily refers to the relationship between: (UGC NET 2017; PGTRB 2019; SET 2020)
A) Author and biography
B) Denotation and connotation
C) Printer and publisher
D) Rhyme and metre only
Ans: B) Denotation and connotation
4. Tate’s concept of “tension” is most similar to the New Critical emphasis on: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2016; PGTRB 2021)
A) Paraphrase as the goal of reading
B) The poem as a self-contained verbal object
C) Historical sources as the only meaning
D) Author’s intention as final authority
Ans: B) The poem as a self-contained verbal object
5. In “Tension in Poetry,” Tate argues that good poetry achieves unity through: (PGTRB 2020; SET 2019)
A) Single plain statement
B) The interplay of meanings within the poem
C) Author’s personal confession only
D) Historical references alone
Ans: B) The interplay of meanings within the poem
6. Tate defines “denotation” most closely as: (UGC NET 2015; SET 2017; PGTRB 2018)
A) The emotional suggestion of a word
B) The literal or dictionary meaning of a word
C) The rhythm pattern
D) The author’s private meaning
Ans: B) The literal or dictionary meaning of a word
7. Tate defines “connotation” most closely as: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2016)
A) The literal meaning only
B) The associated or suggested meanings and feelings
C) The grammatical function
D) The printing style
Ans: B) The associated or suggested meanings and feelings
8. Tate’s “tension” can be described as the total meaning produced by: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2020; UGC NET 2017)
A) Title alone
B) Interaction of literal and figurative elements
C) Author biography
D) Reader’s personal feelings only
Ans: B) Interaction of literal and figurative elements
9. Tate’s view opposes a purely “prosaic” reading because such reading: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019)
A) Emphasizes rhythm and sound
B) Reduces poetry to a single paraphrasable statement
C) Values ambiguity
D) Focuses on metaphor
Ans: B) Reduces poetry to a single paraphrasable statement
10. The idea that a poem resists “paraphrase” is closely linked to: (PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2016)
A) The heresy of paraphrase (Cleanth Brooks)
B) Marxist criticism
C) Psychoanalytic criticism
D) Reader-response theory
Ans: A) The heresy of paraphrase (Cleanth Brooks)
11. Tate’s concept of tension is most directly concerned with: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) The poet’s childhood
B) The poem’s internal structure of meanings
C) The social class of the writer
D) The author’s intentions outside the text
Ans: B) The poem’s internal structure of meanings
12. Tate’s theory supports which New Critical practice? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2020)
A) Close reading
B) Pure biography study
C) Historical determinism only
D) Political propaganda reading only
Ans: A) Close reading
13. Tate’s “tension” is NOT simply the same as: (SET 2019; UGC NET 2018)
A) Total meaning
B) A single literal summary
C) Interplay of meanings
D) Structure of denotation and connotation
Ans: B) A single literal summary
14. The “tension” of a poem increases when: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2018)
A) It avoids imagery
B) It balances literal sense with figurative complexity
C) It uses only simple statements
D) It removes ambiguity
Ans: B) It balances literal sense with figurative complexity
15. In Tate’s framework, a poem’s meaning is produced by: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) One-to-one equivalence with prose
B) A pattern of relations between words and images
C) Author’s diary
D) Reader’s biography
Ans: B) A pattern of relations between words and images
16. “Tension in Poetry” is commonly taught under the umbrella of: (PGTRB 2018; UGC NET 2017)
A) New Criticism and formalist approaches
B) Postmodern historiography
C) Deconstruction alone
D) Eco-criticism
Ans: A) New Criticism and formalist approaches
17. Tate’s “tension” is closest to the idea that poetry holds together: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2016)
A) Contradictory impulses in a unified form
B) Only one fixed message
C) Pure scientific facts
D) Only historical data
Ans: A) Contradictory impulses in a unified form
18. Which term is most compatible with Tate’s “tension”? (UGC NET 2018; PGTRB 2021)
A) Ambiguity
B) Monosemy (single meaning)
C) Literalism only
D) Moral preaching
Ans: A) Ambiguity
19. Tate’s approach asks the reader to focus primarily on: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) The poem’s language and internal relations
B) The poet’s political party
C) The poet’s travel history
D) The publisher’s biography
Ans: A) The poem’s language and internal relations
20. Tate’s “tension” can be reduced to which formula-like description? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018)
A) Denotation + Connotation
B) Biography + History
C) Author + Audience
D) Publisher + Printer
Ans: A) Denotation + Connotation
21. In New Critical terms, Tate’s “tension” helps explain why poems often contain: (PGTRB 2019; UGC NET 2016; SET 2020)
A) Only factual statements
B) Multiple layers of meaning
C) No imagery
D) Only simple moral lessons
Ans: B) Multiple layers of meaning
22. Tate’s argument implies that the “meaning” of a poem is best found by: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2021)
A) Rewriting it as prose
B) Analyzing its language, imagery, and structure
C) Reading only the poet’s letters
D) Ignoring figurative language
Ans: B) Analyzing its language, imagery, and structure
23. “Tension” is most likely to be weak in a poem that: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019)
A) Has rich imagery and layered meaning
B) Is purely didactic and paraphrasable
C) Uses irony
D) Has symbolic density
Ans: B) Is purely didactic and paraphrasable
24. The “tension” of poetry encourages a reader to avoid: (PGTRB 2020; SET 2018)
A) Close reading
B) Oversimplified paraphrase
C) Attention to imagery
D) Attention to diction
Ans: B) Oversimplified paraphrase
25. Tate’s essay is often linked to the broader New Critical concern with: (UGC NET 2017; PGTRB 2019; SET 2020)
A) Organic unity
B) Author’s political manifesto
C) Economic determinism
D) Reader’s autobiography
Ans: A) Organic unity
26. Tate’s “tension” is closely related to the idea that poetry uses language: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2016)
A) Only literally
B) In a complex, multi-dimensional way
C) Only scientifically
D) Only as plain instruction
Ans: B) In a complex, multi-dimensional way
27. Tate’s essay supports the view that poetic language is: (PGTRB 2021; SET 2019)
A) Purely referential and transparent
B) Intensified and structured by figurative relations
C) Identical to everyday speech
D) Meaningless decoration
Ans: B) Intensified and structured by figurative relations
28. “Tension” in Tate is best understood as a feature of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) External historical background
B) Internal meaning-structure of the poem
C) Publishing history
D) The poet’s private life
Ans: B) Internal meaning-structure of the poem
29. Tate’s “tension” is most effectively studied through: (PGTRB 2019; UGC NET 2017; SET 2018)
A) Close reading of diction and imagery
B) Census records
C) Author interviews only
D) The poet’s birthplace
Ans: A) Close reading of diction and imagery
30. A poem with strong “tension” typically avoids being: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2016)
A) Multi-layered
B) A simple statement with one-level meaning
C) Ironic
D) Symbolic
Ans: B) A simple statement with one-level meaning
31. Tate’s framework implies that poetic meaning is best described as: (PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2018; SET 2019)
A) Fixed and singular
B) A unified complexity
C) Only historical
D) Only moral
Ans: B) A unified complexity
32. The “tension” between denotation and connotation is strongest when language is: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Completely literal and flat
B) Figurative, ironic, and context-rich
C) Only technical
D) Only repetitive
Ans: B) Figurative, ironic, and context-rich
33. Tate’s “tension” encourages readers to see a poem’s words as: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018)
A) Replaceable synonyms
B) Functioning within an interdependent system
C) Unrelated to each other
D) Meaningless ornaments
Ans: B) Functioning within an interdependent system
34. Which pair best fits Tate’s core idea? (PGTRB 2019; UGC NET 2016; SET 2019)
A) Denotation vs Connotation
B) Publisher vs Printer
C) Biography vs Geography
D) Grammar vs Spelling
Ans: A) Denotation vs Connotation
35. Tate’s essay aligns with New Criticism’s resistance to: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) Close reading
B) Reducing poems to external context only
C) Studying imagery
D) Studying irony
Ans: B) Reducing poems to external context only
36. Tate’s “tension” helps explain why a poem can mean more than: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Its literal statement
B) Its printer’s name
C) Its publication date
D) Its author’s birthplace
Ans: A) Its literal statement
37. Tate’s discussion suggests that metaphor contributes to tension by: (PGTRB 2021; SET 2019; UGC NET 2017)
A) Eliminating meaning
B) Expanding meaning beyond literal sense
C) Making language purely factual
D) Removing ambiguity
Ans: B) Expanding meaning beyond literal sense
38. Which of the following best describes a poem with high tension? (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018)
A) Easily paraphrasable and flat
B) Complex, layered, unified
C) Only factual and direct
D) Purely autobiographical
Ans: B) Complex, layered, unified
39. Tate’s “tension” is a concept used primarily to evaluate: (PGTRB 2019; UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Scientific writing
B) Poetic language and meaning
C) Legal documents
D) Newspaper editorials
Ans: B) Poetic language and meaning
40. Tate’s essay implies that the best poems achieve a balance between: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Literal sense and figurative resonance
B) Biography and gossip
C) Printing and binding
D) Dates and facts
Ans: A) Literal sense and figurative resonance
41. Tate’s “tension” is conceptually close to the New Critical focus on: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Organic unity
B) Pure plot summary
C) Author worship
D) Historical determinism only
Ans: A) Organic unity
42. In Tate’s framework, a poem’s “total meaning” emerges from: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2016)
A) Interactions of meanings within its language
B) External facts alone
C) Author’s intention only
D) Reader’s mood only
Ans: A) Interactions of meanings within its language
43. Tate’s “tension” is best understood as a feature of: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2018; UGC NET 2017)
A) The poem’s internal structure
B) The poet’s family history
C) Publishing trends
D) The reader’s handwriting
Ans: A) The poem’s internal structure
44. Tate’s concept helps explain why poetic meaning is often: (UGC NET 2018; PGTRB 2020; SET 2019)
A) Single-layered
B) Multi-layered and unified
C) Only literal
D) Only autobiographical
Ans: B) Multi-layered and unified
45. Tate’s essay implies that analysis should focus on: (SET 2020; UGC NET 2016)
A) Language, imagery, and meaning-relations
B) Poet’s horoscope
C) Reader’s biography
D) Publisher’s profit
Ans: A) Language, imagery, and meaning-relations
46. Tate’s notion of tension supports the claim that poetry: (PGTRB 2021; SET 2019; UGC NET 2017)
A) Is fully translatable into plain prose without loss
B) Produces meaning through complex verbal structure
C) Is only emotional outburst
D) Is only historical document
Ans: B) Produces meaning through complex verbal structure
47. “Tension in Poetry” is most useful for teaching students to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Memorize poet biographies
B) Practice close reading and interpret layered meanings
C) Avoid figurative language
D) Focus only on moral lessons
Ans: B) Practice close reading and interpret layered meanings
48. Tate’s critical vocabulary here connects most with the New Critical attention to: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) “How the poem works”
B) “Who the poet met”
C) “Which party the poet joined”
D) “Which city the poem was printed in”
Ans: A) “How the poem works”
49. According to Tate, the value of a poem depends largely on: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Its ability to be summarized in one sentence
B) The richness of its internal meaning-relations
C) The fame of its publisher
D) The poet’s personal diary
Ans: B) The richness of its internal meaning-relations
50. Overall, “tension” in Tate’s essay suggests that poetry is: (PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2019; SET 2020)
A) Best read only for plot
B) A complex verbal structure where meanings interact to create unity
C) Only biography in verse
D) Only moral preaching
Ans: B) A complex verbal structure where meanings interact to create unity
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