Vijay Tendulkar – “Silence! The Court is in Session” – Exam Based MCQs
1. “Silence! The Court is in Session” is a play written by: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Girish Karnad
B) Vijay Tendulkar
C) Badal Sircar
D) Mahesh Dattani
Ans: B) Vijay Tendulkar
2. The original Marathi title of the play is: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Tughlaq
B) Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe
C) Ghashiram Kotwal
D) Hayavadana
Ans: B) Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe
3. The central character who becomes the accused in the mock trial is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Sukhatme
B) Miss Benare
C) Kashikar
D) Ponkshe
Ans: B) Miss Benare
4. The play is structured around a: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Royal coronation
B) Mock trial / courtroom game
C) Mythic war
D) Village festival
Ans: B) Mock trial / courtroom game
5. The main theme of the play is the: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Glory of kings
B) Oppression and hypocrisy of society
C) Celebration of romance
D) Praise of war heroes
Ans: B) Oppression and hypocrisy of society
6. Miss Benare is by profession a: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Lawyer
B) Teacher
C) Doctor
D) Journalist
Ans: B) Teacher
7. The play belongs to the genre of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Modern Indian theatre / social drama
B) Old English mystery play
C) Romantic comedy
D) Epic tragedy of Greece
Ans: A) Modern Indian theatre / social drama
8. The “court” in the play is actually formed by: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Real judges and lawyers
B) An amateur theatre group rehearsing
C) Police officials
D) University professors
Ans: B) An amateur theatre group rehearsing
9. The character who acts as the judge in the mock trial is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Sukhatme
B) Kashikar
C) Ponkshe
D) Rokde
Ans: B) Kashikar
10. The play exposes how society treats women through: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Praise and rewards
B) Moral policing and cruelty
C) Equality and justice
D) Celebration and freedom
Ans: B) Moral policing and cruelty
11. “Silence! The Court is in Session” was originally written in: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) English
B) Marathi
C) Hindi
D) Bengali
Ans: B) Marathi
12. The title “Silence!” in the play mainly suggests: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Total peace in society
B) The suppression of the individual’s voice
C) A musical performance
D) Village celebration
Ans: B) The suppression of the individual’s voice
13. The character who acts as the prosecutor in the mock trial is: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Sukhatme
B) Kashikar
C) Ponkshe
D) Samant
Ans: A) Sukhatme
14. The outsider who becomes disturbed by the mock trial is: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Samant
B) Rokde
C) Ponkshe
D) Karnik
Ans: A) Samant
15. The play is an example of theatre that critiques: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Social hypocrisy and patriarchal morality
B) The beauty of nature
C) Mythic heroism
D) Courtly romance
Ans: A) Social hypocrisy and patriarchal morality
16. Vijay Tendulkar is known chiefly as a: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Modern Indian playwright
B) Metaphysical poet
C) Romantic critic
D) Victorian novelist
Ans: A) Modern Indian playwright
17. The play is often interpreted using the idea of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021)
A) “Play within a play” / metatheatre
B) Pure epic narration
C) Pastoral tradition
D) Courtly romance
Ans: A) “Play within a play” / metatheatre
18. The mock trial turns serious because it reveals: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Hidden truths and cruelty
B) Village folklore
C) Royal secrets
D) Scientific discoveries
Ans: A) Hidden truths and cruelty
19. The play’s climax involves Miss Benare’s: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Escape to another country
B) Emotional breakdown and powerful speech
C) Wedding celebration
D) Royal coronation
Ans: B) Emotional breakdown and powerful speech
20. The play’s overall message highlights: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Society’s injustice towards women
B) The glory of kings
C) The greatness of war
D) The beauty of nature
Ans: A) Society’s injustice towards women
21. The mock trial in the play is primarily a device to show: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Social cruelty disguised as entertainment
B) True legal justice
C) Royal punishment
D) Mythic judgement
Ans: A) Social cruelty disguised as entertainment
22. The character Samant represents: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) An outsider’s moral conscience
B) A strict judge
C) The main villain
D) A police officer
Ans: A) An outsider’s moral conscience
23. The play is often used to discuss: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Patriarchy and moral hypocrisy
B) Medieval chivalry
C) Romantic imagination
D) Old English alliteration
Ans: A) Patriarchy and moral hypocrisy
24. The play is an example of modern Indian drama written originally in: (SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Marathi
B) Sanskrit
C) Latin
D) French
Ans: A) Marathi
25. The most intense moment in the play is Miss Benare’s: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021)
A) Comic song
B) Final speech/monologue
C) Dance performance
D) Royal announcement
Ans: B) Final speech/monologue
26. The play’s “trial” is NOT a real court trial but a: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) Rehearsal/game by theatre group
B) Police investigation
C) Political rally
D) University exam
Ans: A) Rehearsal/game by theatre group
27. The play ends with the group’s return to: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Normal rehearsal as if nothing happened
B) Jail punishment
C) Royal pardon
D) War declaration
Ans: A) Normal rehearsal as if nothing happened
28. The title highlights the idea of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Silencing truth and individuality
B) Celebrating freedom
C) Praising kingship
D) Describing nature
Ans: A) Silencing truth and individuality
29. The play is considered powerful because it combines: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Comedy with harsh social criticism
B) Myth with romance only
C) Epic heroism only
D) Pastoral beauty only
Ans: A) Comedy with harsh social criticism
30. Vijay Tendulkar is often associated with: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Socially committed modern Indian theatre
B) Victorian romance
C) Old English epic
D) Elizabethan court drama
Ans: A) Socially committed modern Indian theatre
31. Miss Benare’s suffering is mainly caused by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Social judgement and hypocrisy
B) Natural disaster
C) War
D) Scientific failure
Ans: A) Social judgement and hypocrisy
32. The play is often categorized as: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Social satire / problem play
B) Metaphysical poetry
C) Romantic epic
D) Old English elegy
Ans: A) Social satire / problem play
33. The mock court punishes Benare mainly for: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Violating moral codes of patriarchy
B) Stealing money
C) Committing murder
D) Treason against a king
Ans: A) Violating moral codes of patriarchy
34. The play is significant for its portrayal of: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Gender politics and social cruelty
B) Mythic romance
C) Royal heroism
D) Pastoral beauty
Ans: A) Gender politics and social cruelty
35. The play’s dramatic method includes: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Play-within-a-play technique
B) Epic invocation to Muse
C) Only lyrical narration
D) Only mythic setting
Ans: A) Play-within-a-play technique
36. The play is often read as an attack on: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Middle-class morality and hypocrisy
B) Nature worship
C) Mythic gods
D) Romantic imagination
Ans: A) Middle-class morality and hypocrisy
37. The accused “crime” in the mock trial is related to: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Motherhood outside marriage
B) Royal betrayal
C) War rebellion
D) Land theft
Ans: A) Motherhood outside marriage
38. The play is often discussed in relation to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020)
A) Feminist criticism
B) Old English philology
C) Metaphysical wit
D) Neo-classical satire only
Ans: A) Feminist criticism
39. The play highlights how “justice” can become: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) A tool of oppression
B) Perfect fairness
C) Royal blessing
D) Scientific truth
Ans: A) A tool of oppression
40. The play’s setting is mainly a: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Hall/room where theatre group rehearses
B) Royal palace
C) Battlefield
D) Temple forest
Ans: A) Hall/room where theatre group rehearses
41. The play’s tension arises from the shift from: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021)
A) Game to real cruelty
B) War to peace
C) Myth to romance
D) Nature to science
Ans: A) Game to real cruelty
42. The play is significant because it exposes: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Patriarchal cruelty
B) Royal heroism
C) Mythic power
D) Pastoral beauty
Ans: A) Patriarchal cruelty
43. The play can be described as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Social satire with tragic impact
B) Romantic comedy only
C) Epic romance only
D) Mythic allegory only
Ans: A) Social satire with tragic impact
44. The play’s dramatic irony is that the “court” is run by: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Ordinary people acting out authority
B) Real judges
C) Royal ministers
D) Foreign officers
Ans: A) Ordinary people acting out authority
45. The harshest critique in the play is directed at: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019)
A) Social morality and hypocrisy
B) Nature poetry
C) Mythic heroes
D) Romantic love
Ans: A) Social morality and hypocrisy
46. Benare’s final speech mainly expresses: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Her pain and the injustice done to her
B) Royal ambition
C) War plans
D) Nature worship
Ans: A) Her pain and the injustice done to her
47. The play is a landmark in: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Modern Indian theatre
B) Old English poetry
C) Renaissance drama
D) Romantic epic
Ans: A) Modern Indian theatre
48. The play is often taught along with other modern Indian dramatists like: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) Girish Karnad
B) Geoffrey Chaucer
C) John Milton
D) Alexander Pope
Ans: A) Girish Karnad
49. The play’s realism lies in its exposure of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) Social injustice and cruelty
B) Mythic gods
C) Royal romance
D) Pastoral beauty
Ans: A) Social injustice and cruelty
50. Overall, “Silence! The Court is in Session” highlights: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) How society silences women through moral hypocrisy
B) The glory of monarchy
C) The beauty of pastoral life
D) Mythic heroism
Ans: A) How society silences women through moral hypocrisy
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