Northrop Frye – “The Archetypes of Literature” – Exam Pattern MCQs
1. Northrop Frye is best known for developing: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Reader-response criticism
B) Myth and archetype criticism
C) Postcolonial criticism
D) New Historicism
Ans: B) Myth and archetype criticism
2. Frye’s archetypal approach is closely linked with the study of: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2015; PGTRB 2019)
A) Author’s biography
B) Myths, symbols and recurring patterns
C) Textual editing
D) Pure linguistics
Ans: B) Myths, symbols and recurring patterns
3. The essay “The Archetypes of Literature” is associated with Frye’s broader work: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Culture and Anarchy
B) Anatomy of Criticism
C) The Well Wrought Urn
D) The Sacred Wood
Ans: B) Anatomy of Criticism
4. According to Frye, archetypes in literature are primarily: (SET 2016; UGC NET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Random personal images
B) Recurring narrative designs, symbols, or character types
C) Printing errors
D) Purely historical facts
Ans: B) Recurring narrative designs, symbols, or character types
5. Frye’s method mainly aims to find: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) One correct moral lesson
B) Recurrent structures across many texts
C) The author’s private intentions
D) Only political meanings
Ans: B) Recurrent structures across many texts
6. Frye sees myth as: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2017; PGTRB 2018)
A) Only false stories
B) A central organizing framework for literature
C) A modern invention
D) An irrelevant element
Ans: B) A central organizing framework for literature
7. Frye’s “myth criticism” studies literature as part of: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) A system of recurring narratives and symbols
B) A list of dates
C) A biography collection
D) A political party document
Ans: A) A system of recurring narratives and symbols
8. Frye’s criticism is often described as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Archetypal / myth-based
B) Purely reader-response
C) Purely feminist
D) Purely postcolonial
Ans: A) Archetypal / myth-based
9. In Frye’s view, literature forms a coherent system because of: (PGTRB 2019; SET 2020; UGC NET 2017)
A) Shared archetypes and mythic patterns
B) Common author biographies
C) Identical historical contexts
D) Only linguistic rules
Ans: A) Shared archetypes and mythic patterns
10. Frye distinguishes “archetype” from a private symbol by saying archetypes are: (UGC NET 2015; SET 2017; PGTRB 2019)
A) Personal and unique
B) Communicable and widely shared
C) Meaningless
D) Only political
Ans: B) Communicable and widely shared
11. Frye connects many archetypes to: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2016; PGTRB 2020)
A) The natural cycle and seasonal symbolism
B) Stock market changes
C) Printing technology
D) Only politics
Ans: A) The natural cycle and seasonal symbolism
12. A key idea in Frye’s archetypal criticism is that literature is shaped by: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) A random set of styles
B) Repeating mythic structures and conventions
C) Pure author intention
D) Only reader emotions
Ans: B) Repeating mythic structures and conventions
13. Frye’s concept of “mythos” is often used to mean: (SET 2019; UGC NET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Plot / narrative structure
B) Footnote
C) Biography
D) Grammar rule
Ans: A) Plot / narrative structure
14. Frye classifies literary modes partly using the relation between: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2021)
A) Hero and environment
B) Author and publisher
C) Reader and market
D) Printer and paper
Ans: A) Hero and environment
15. In Frye’s seasonal archetype system, comedy is most often linked with: (PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Winter
B) Spring
C) Autumn
D) Night
Ans: B) Spring
16. In Frye’s seasonal archetypes, romance is generally linked with: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2015; PGTRB 2018)
A) Summer
B) Winter
C) Autumn
D) Spring
Ans: A) Summer
17. In Frye’s pattern, tragedy is most commonly associated with: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Spring
B) Summer
C) Autumn
D) Morning
Ans: C) Autumn
18. In Frye’s seasonal system, irony/satire corresponds most with: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2019)
A) Spring
B) Winter
C) Summer
D) Autumn
Ans: B) Winter
19. Frye’s archetypal criticism treats literature as: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) A collection of isolated works
B) An interrelated system of genres and myths
C) Pure history
D) Only biography
Ans: B) An interrelated system of genres and myths
20. Frye’s approach is MOST different from: (PGTRB 2019; UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Purely historical criticism focused only on external context
B) Archetypal criticism
C) Myth criticism
D) Genre study
Ans: A) Purely historical criticism focused only on external context
21. Frye argues that archetypes are important because they help explain: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2017; PGTRB 2021)
A) The shared conventions of literature
B) Printing history
C) Only author psychology
D) Only reader taste
Ans: A) The shared conventions of literature
22. Frye believes that myths and archetypes are often rooted in: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Universal human experience and ritual patterns
B) Random inventions
C) Only politics
D) Only grammar
Ans: A) Universal human experience and ritual patterns
23. Frye’s term “dianoia” is closest to: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Theme / idea
B) Paper quality
C) Printer ink
D) Biography
Ans: A) Theme / idea
24. Frye’s term “lexis” is closest to: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2018)
A) Diction / verbal texture
B) Historical date
C) Political idea
D) Printing press
Ans: A) Diction / verbal texture
25. Frye argues that genres can be studied systematically because they have: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) No patterns
B) Recurrent archetypal structures
C) Only political aims
D) Only biographical origins
Ans: B) Recurrent archetypal structures
26. Frye’s archetypal criticism is sometimes called: (PGTRB 2022; SET 2020; UGC NET 2019)
A) Mythological / mythopoeic criticism
B) Textual editing
C) Stylistics
D) Deconstruction
Ans: A) Mythological / mythopoeic criticism
27. Frye’s idea that literature forms a “total order of words” emphasizes: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) The autonomy and systematic nature of literature
B) The superiority of biography
C) The dominance of politics
D) The irrelevance of genre
Ans: A) The autonomy and systematic nature of literature
28. For Frye, the critic’s task is mainly to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Judge morality of authors
B) Describe and classify literary structures
C) Collect biographies
D) Promote politics
Ans: B) Describe and classify literary structures
29. Frye’s system connects archetypes to: (PGTRB 2021; SET 2019; UGC NET 2017)
A) Ritual and myth patterns
B) Stock market patterns
C) Grammar only
D) Printing technology only
Ans: A) Ritual and myth patterns
30. Frye distinguishes “myth” from “history” by arguing that myth is primarily: (SET 2020; UGC NET 2019; PGTRB 2022)
A) A narrative structure expressing human concerns
B) A list of dates only
C) A legal record
D) A newspaper report
Ans: A) A narrative structure expressing human concerns
31. In Frye’s archetypal criticism, “quest” narratives commonly belong to: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Romance archetype patterns
B) Only satire
C) Only realism
D) Only biography
Ans: A) Romance archetype patterns
32. Frye’s archetypal “hero” patterns are used to classify: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Literary modes and genres
B) Paper types
C) Printing machines
D) Only author biographies
Ans: A) Literary modes and genres
33. Frye’s criticism is often called “synoptic” because it: (SET 2019; UGC NET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Takes a wide, systematic view of literature
B) Studies only one poem
C) Focuses only on biography
D) Rejects patterns
Ans: A) Takes a wide, systematic view of literature
34. Frye’s approach mainly emphasizes: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Intertextual patterns and structures
B) Only author psychology
C) Only politics
D) Only reader feelings
Ans: A) Intertextual patterns and structures
35. Frye’s “archetype” is best defined as a: (PGTRB 2022; UGC NET 2019; SET 2020)
A) Private symbol with personal meaning
B) Recurring symbol/image/pattern with shared cultural meaning
C) Random metaphor
D) Pure historical detail
Ans: B) Recurring symbol/image/pattern with shared cultural meaning
36. Frye’s archetypal criticism tends to connect literature with: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Ritual and myth
B) Pure economics
C) Only phonetics
D) Only biography
Ans: A) Ritual and myth
37. In Frye’s system, “demonic imagery” is generally linked with: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Utopian / idealized worlds
B) Night, winter, sterility, bondage
C) Spring renewal only
D) Harvest celebration only
Ans: B) Night, winter, sterility, bondage
38. Frye’s “apocalyptic imagery” commonly suggests: (PGTRB 2022; SET 2020; UGC NET 2019)
A) Ideal order, fulfillment, unity
B) Only political propaganda
C) Random imagery
D) Newspaper reports
Ans: A) Ideal order, fulfillment, unity
39. Frye’s archetypal criticism is MOST useful for studying: (SET 2020; UGC NET 2018; PGTRB 2021)
A) Repeated symbols and narrative patterns across texts
B) Only punctuation
C) Only spelling reform
D) Only publishing history
Ans: A) Repeated symbols and narrative patterns across texts
40. Frye’s theory suggests that literature evolves by: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Recombining existing archetypes and conventions
B) Eliminating all tradition
C) Copying biography
D) Rejecting patterns completely
Ans: A) Recombining existing archetypes and conventions
41. Frye’s archetypal criticism treats “symbol” in a poem as: (PGTRB 2019; UGC NET 2017; SET 2018)
A) A private code only
B) Potentially connected to wider mythic meanings
C) Always meaningless
D) Only decorative
Ans: B) Potentially connected to wider mythic meanings
42. In Frye’s view, criticism should aim to be: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) A systematic discipline
B) Pure moral judgement
C) Only biography
D) Only politics
Ans: A) A systematic discipline
43. Frye’s approach is sometimes contrasted with New Criticism because Frye focuses more on: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Intertextual mythic structures
B) Biographical intention only
C) Reader emotions only
D) Political activism only
Ans: A) Intertextual mythic structures
44. Frye’s “archetypes” can be found across: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Many cultures and literary traditions
B) Only one author
C) Only modern texts
D) Only political speeches
Ans: A) Many cultures and literary traditions
45. Frye’s archetypal criticism suggests that genres are shaped by: (SET 2017; UGC NET 2015; PGTRB 2019)
A) Recurrent mythic plots
B) Only author education
C) Only printing technology
D) Only reader taste
Ans: A) Recurrent mythic plots
46. Frye’s criticism is best suited to identify: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Motifs and archetypal images
B) Only grammar mistakes
C) Only spelling changes
D) Only publisher details
Ans: A) Motifs and archetypal images
47. In Frye’s system, the “green world” is commonly related to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Comic renewal and transformation
B) Pure tragedy
C) Only satire
D) Only history
Ans: A) Comic renewal and transformation
48. Frye argues that archetypes are “typical” because they are: (SET 2018; UGC NET 2017; PGTRB 2020)
A) Widely recognizable and repeat across texts
B) Secret codes
C) Only modern slang
D) Only personal memories
Ans: A) Widely recognizable and repeat across texts
49. Overall, Frye’s archetypal criticism shows that literature is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) A closed and fixed system
B) A patterned system shaped by myths and archetypes
C) Only biography
D) Only politics
Ans: B) A patterned system shaped by myths and archetypes
50. Frye’s “The Archetypes of Literature” ultimately supports the idea that literary study should: (PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2019; SET 2020)
A) Ignore patterns and myths
B) Identify recurring structures to understand literature systematically
C) Focus only on author intentions
D) Replace literature with history
Ans: B) Identify recurring structures to understand literature systematically
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