Aristotle – Poetics – Exam Based MCQs
1. “Poetics” is attributed to: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Plato
B) Aristotle
C) Horace
D) Longinus
Ans: B) Aristotle
2. Aristotle defines poetry primarily as: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018)
A) Moral preaching
B) Imitation (mimesis)
C) Mere ornamentation
D) History in verse
Ans: B) Imitation (mimesis)
3. According to Aristotle, tragedy is an imitation of: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2020)
A) Low actions
B) Serious, complete action of certain magnitude
C) Only comic incidents
D) Random events
Ans: B) Serious, complete action of certain magnitude
4. The end of tragedy, according to Aristotle, is: (UGC NET 2015; SET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) Laughter
B) Catharsis of pity and fear
C) Instruction only
D) Surprise only
Ans: B) Catharsis of pity and fear
5. “Catharsis” is best understood as: (SET 2016; UGC NET 2018)
A) Complete boredom
B) Purification / purgation of emotions
C) Only moral lesson
D) Decorative language
Ans: B) Purification / purgation of emotions
6. The most important element of tragedy, according to Aristotle, is: (UGC NET 2014; PGTRB 2018)
A) Spectacle
B) Plot (mythos)
C) Diction
D) Song
Ans: B) Plot (mythos)
7. Aristotle lists the six elements of tragedy as: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2019)
A) Plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, song
B) Plot, rhyme, meter, simile, chorus, comedy
C) Hero, villain, chorus, fate, gods, war
D) Unity of time, place, action, style, theme, moral
Ans: A) Plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, song
8. “Hamartia” in Aristotle most commonly refers to: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018)
A) A comic trick
B) Error / flaw leading to downfall
C) A rhetorical figure
D) A happy ending
Ans: B) Error / flaw leading to downfall
9. “Peripeteia” means: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Long speech
B) Reversal of fortune
C) Comic relief
D) Chorus song
Ans: B) Reversal of fortune
10. “Anagnorisis” refers to: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2017)
A) A dance
B) Recognition / discovery
C) A battle
D) A prologue
Ans: B) Recognition / discovery
11. The ideal tragic hero should be: (UGC NET 2015; SET 2019)
A) Completely evil
B) Neither completely good nor completely bad
C) Always a god
D) Always a clown
Ans: B) Neither completely good nor completely bad
12. Aristotle contrasts poetry with history by stating that poetry deals with: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) Particular facts
B) Universal truths
C) Only politics
D) Only dates
Ans: B) Universal truths
13. Aristotle says tragedy should have: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) A beginning, middle, and end
B) Only an end
C) Only spectacle
D) No plot
Ans: A) A beginning, middle, and end
14. The “unity of action” in Aristotle means: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2018)
A) One location only
B) One main plot without irrelevant episodes
C) One day only
D) One actor only
Ans: B) One main plot without irrelevant episodes
15. Aristotle prefers complex plots because they include: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Chorus only
B) Peripeteia and anagnorisis
C) Only speeches
D) Only songs
Ans: B) Peripeteia and anagnorisis
16. “Diction” in Aristotle refers to: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021)
A) Stage arrangement
B) Choice of words / style of speech
C) The plot
D) Audience reaction
Ans: B) Choice of words / style of speech
17. “Thought” (dianoia) in tragedy mainly means: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2021)
A) The poet’s biography
B) Ideas, reasoning, and themes expressed
C) Costume design
D) Music alone
Ans: B) Ideas, reasoning, and themes expressed
18. Aristotle ranks “spectacle” as: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018)
A) The most important element
B) The least artistic element
C) Equal to plot
D) More important than character
Ans: B) The least artistic element
19. Aristotle’s “mimesis” means: (PGTRB 2020; SET 2019)
A) Imitation / representation
B) Moral preaching
C) Rhyme
D) Satire
Ans: A) Imitation / representation
20. Aristotle says epic and tragedy are similar because both: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2020)
A) Use prose only
B) Imitate serious action
C) Avoid plot
D) Always have happy endings
Ans: B) Imitate serious action
21. Aristotle’s preferred language for tragedy should be: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2019)
A) Completely plain
B) Elevated but clear
C) Only slang
D) Only dialect
Ans: B) Elevated but clear
22. Aristotle’s “probable impossibility” is preferred to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019)
A) Logical contradiction
B) Improbable possibility
C) Randomness
D) Silence
Ans: B) Improbable possibility
23. “Tragic pleasure” for Aristotle comes from: (SET 2016; UGC NET 2017)
A) Only laughter
B) Pity and fear leading to catharsis
C) Only violence
D) Pure spectacle
Ans: B) Pity and fear leading to catharsis
24. Aristotle’s ideal tragedy should avoid showing: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021)
A) Suffering caused by chance alone
B) Moral consequences
C) Recognition scenes
D) Reversal scenes
Ans: A) Suffering caused by chance alone
25. Aristotle believes character is important mainly because it supports: (PGTRB 2021; SET 2019)
A) Stage scenery
B) Plot/action
C) Only diction
D) Rhyme
Ans: B) Plot/action
26. Aristotle says tragedy should arouse: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2022)
A) Anger and joy
B) Pity and fear
C) Only joy
D) Only hatred
Ans: B) Pity and fear
27. Aristotle’s term for plot is: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2018)
A) Ethos
B) Mythos
C) Pathos
D) Logos
Ans: B) Mythos
28. Aristotle considers tragedy superior to epic because tragedy: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2020)
A) Has more length
B) Has greater unity and concentration
C) Uses more narration
D) Has no plot
Ans: B) Has greater unity and concentration
29. “The tragic hero should not be eminently good” because it would: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Cause laughter
B) Fail to arouse pity and fear properly
C) Increase suspense
D) Make plot complex
Ans: B) Fail to arouse pity and fear properly
30. Aristotle’s “unity” is primarily about: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019)
A) One action
B) One place
C) One day
D) One actor
Ans: A) One action
31. Aristotle says tragedy should show events happening: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018)
A) Randomly
B) According to probability or necessity
C) Without causality
D) Only by chance
Ans: B) According to probability or necessity
32. Aristotle believes the best tragic plots involve: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2021)
A) A villain succeeding
B) A reversal from good fortune to bad due to error
C) A hero becoming richer
D) A random happy ending
Ans: B) A reversal from good fortune to bad due to error
33. Aristotle says poetry is more philosophical than history because it: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Uses rhyme
B) Speaks of universals
C) Is always true
D) Has no plot
Ans: B) Speaks of universals
34. Aristotle’s “recognition” is most effective when it occurs with: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2018)
A) A song
B) Reversal (peripeteia)
C) A chorus dance
D) A prologue
Ans: B) Reversal (peripeteia)
35. Aristotle’s “simple plot” is one without: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020)
A) Diction
B) Reversal and recognition
C) Character
D) Chorus
Ans: B) Reversal and recognition
36. Aristotle says the poet should prefer: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2022)
A) The impossible but probable
B) The possible but improbable
C) Random events
D) Pure spectacle
Ans: A) The impossible but probable
37. Aristotle’s tragedy must be performed, not narrated, because it uses: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2019)
A) Dramatic action
B) Only description
C) Only history
D) Only biography
Ans: A) Dramatic action
38. Aristotle’s ideal tragic hero is usually: (PGTRB 2020; SET 2018)
A) A very wicked person punished
B) A man of high status with an error
C) A clown rewarded
D) A god without mistake
Ans: B) A man of high status with an error
39. Aristotle’s “pathos” in tragedy refers to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2021)
A) A scene of suffering
B) A joke
C) A metaphor
D) A chorus speech
Ans: A) A scene of suffering
40. Aristotle says tragedy should avoid “episodic” plots because they: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Are too logical
B) Lack causal connection
C) Are too short
D) Have too much unity
Ans: B) Lack causal connection
41. Aristotle’s Poetics mainly discusses: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2020)
A) Drama and epic
B) Novel and essay
C) Short story
D) Travelogue
Ans: A) Drama and epic
42. Aristotle classifies poetry by: (SET 2017; PGTRB 2019)
A) Medium, objects, and manner of imitation
B) Only rhyme patterns
C) Only moral message
D) Only biography of poets
Ans: A) Medium, objects, and manner of imitation
43. Aristotle’s “magnitude” of tragedy suggests: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020)
A) Plot should be long without limit
B) Plot should be of suitable length to be grasped as a whole
C) Plot should have no end
D) Plot should be very short always
Ans: B) Plot should be of suitable length to be grasped as a whole
44. Aristotle holds that tragedy can achieve its end even without: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018)
A) Plot
B) Spectacle
C) Action
D) Character
Ans: B) Spectacle
45. Aristotle says chorus should be treated as: (PGTRB 2020; SET 2019)
A) An outsider
B) One of the actors / integral part of the whole
C) Only background music
D) Only decoration
Ans: B) One of the actors / integral part of the whole
46. Aristotle’s “poetic justice” is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2021)
A) Explicitly central in Poetics
B) Not a key Aristotelian term (later critical idea)
C) Defined as catharsis
D) Same as hamartia
Ans: B) Not a key Aristotelian term (later critical idea)
47. Aristotle’s “fear” in tragedy is fear for: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2022)
A) The villain only
B) Ourselves, seeing we are like the hero
C) Only gods
D) Only animals
Ans: B) Ourselves, seeing we are like the hero
48. Aristotle’s “pity” arises when suffering is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Deserved
B) Undeserved
C) Funny
D) Trivial
Ans: B) Undeserved
49. Aristotle says the tragic hero falls into misfortune because of: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2021)
A) Pure wickedness
B) Hamartia (error)
C) Only fate without action
D) Random chance only
Ans: B) Hamartia (error)
50. Overall, Aristotle’s Poetics is most influential for its theory of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Tragedy and mimesis
B) Novel form
C) Postmodernism
D) Structural linguistics
Ans: A) Tragedy and mimesis
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