P. B. Shelley – Prometheus Unbound – Exam Based MCQs
1. Prometheus Unbound is written by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) John Keats
B) Percy Bysshe Shelley
C) William Blake
D) Lord Byron
Ans: B) Percy Bysshe Shelley
2. The work is best described as a: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Epic in heroic couplets
B) Realist novel
C) Short lyric only
D) Lyrical drama
Ans: D) Lyrical drama
3. Prometheus Unbound is divided into: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Four acts
B) Three acts
C) Five acts
D) Two acts
Ans: A) Four acts
4. The first publication year of Prometheus Unbound is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) 1816
B) 1819
C) 1820
D) 1830
Ans: C) 1820
5. The drama is inspired mainly by Aeschylus’s: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Agamemnon
B) Prometheus Bound
C) Medea
D) Oedipus Rex
Ans: B) Prometheus Bound
6. In Shelley’s version, the tyrant-god opposed by Prometheus is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Apollo
B) Neptune
C) Mars
D) Jupiter
Ans: D) Jupiter
7. The opening scene places Prometheus bound to a precipice in the: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Indian Caucasus (icy ravine)
B) Alps of Switzerland
C) Forest of Arden
D) Streets of London
Ans: A) Indian Caucasus (icy ravine)
8. The drama is often called a “closet drama” because it was mainly meant for: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Street performance
B) Royal court staging only
C) Reading/imagined performance rather than stage
D) Puppet theatre
Ans: C) Reading/imagined performance rather than stage
9. Prometheus is punished mainly because he: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Stole gold from heaven
B) Defied Jupiter and helped humankind (fire/knowledge)
C) Betrayed Asia
D) Refused to fight in war
Ans: B) Defied Jupiter and helped humankind (fire/knowledge)
10. The messenger of Jupiter who appears to pressure Prometheus is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Atlas
B) Pan
C) Dionysus
D) Mercury
Ans: D) Mercury
11. The tormenting spirits who torture Prometheus psychologically are: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) The Furies
B) The Muses
C) The Graces
D) The Harpies
Ans: A) The Furies
12. Asia in the drama is most closely associated with: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Jupiter’s queen
B) A mortal queen of Athens
C) Love/ideal spirit linked with Prometheus
D) A comic servant
Ans: C) Love/ideal spirit linked with Prometheus
13. Asia’s close companion/sister figure in the drama is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Helen
B) Panthea
C) Clytemnestra
D) Miranda
Ans: B) Panthea
14. Ione in the drama is best identified as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Jupiter’s mother
B) A mortal queen
C) Prometheus’s jailer
D) An Oceanid/attendant figure near Asia & Panthea
Ans: D) An Oceanid/attendant figure near Asia & Panthea
15. Demogorgon is most closely linked with: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) A mysterious underworld power that overthrows Jupiter
B) A comic shepherd
C) A Roman emperor
D) A sailor in exile
Ans: A) A mysterious underworld power that overthrows Jupiter
16. A major theme of the drama is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Colonial trade and commerce
B) Detective mystery
C) Liberation from tyranny and moral regeneration
D) Domestic realism
Ans: C) Liberation from tyranny and moral regeneration
17. Shelley’s Prometheus does NOT reconcile with Jupiter; instead Jupiter: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Marries Asia
B) Falls from power
C) Becomes a mortal
D) Wins the final battle
Ans: B) Falls from power
18. The drama strongly belongs to which literary movement? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Restoration
B) Augustan
C) Victorian Realism
D) Romanticism
Ans: D) Romanticism
19. Prometheus in Shelley is typically presented as a symbol of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Human resistance to oppression and moral idealism
B) Comic greed
C) Military conquest
D) Passive surrender
Ans: A) Human resistance to oppression and moral idealism
20. In Act I, Prometheus’s key change is that he: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Praises Jupiter
B) Becomes a warrior
C) Withdraws/recalls his curse on Jupiter
D) Kills Mercury
Ans: C) Withdraws/recalls his curse on Jupiter
21. Asia’s journey in Act II leads her toward: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) The royal palace in Athens
B) The cavern/realm of Demogorgon
C) The battlefield of Troy
D) A London court
Ans: B) The cavern/realm of Demogorgon
22. The overthrow of Jupiter occurs mainly in: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Act I
B) Act II
C) Act IV
D) Act III
Ans: D) Act III
23. Prometheus is finally physically unbound (released) with the help of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Hercules
B) Hamlet
C) Aeneas
D) Orestes
Ans: A) Hercules
24. The overall ending (Act IV) mainly celebrates: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A tragic massacre
B) A comic marriage farce
C) A new age of freedom, harmony, and love
D) Total silence and despair
Ans: C) A new age of freedom, harmony, and love
25. A key technique of the drama is its heavy use of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Newspaper realism
B) Symbolism and lyrical poetry within drama
C) Only prose dialogue
D) Stage directions for comedy timing
Ans: B) Symbolism and lyrical poetry within drama
26. Jupiter in the drama mainly symbolizes: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Nature’s innocence
B) Artistic imagination
C) Comic relief
D) Tyranny and oppressive power
Ans: D) Tyranny and oppressive power
27. The drama’s tone and vision are strongly: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Idealistic and utopian in its hopes for humanity
B) Purely cynical and nihilistic
C) Only comic satire
D) Strictly documentary
Ans: A) Idealistic and utopian in its hopes for humanity
28. The best “central conflict” can be stated as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Husband vs wife in a home
B) Merchant vs king
C) Oppressive authority vs moral freedom/renewal
D) Student vs teacher
Ans: C) Oppressive authority vs moral freedom/renewal
29. Asia is often read as the spirit of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Greed
B) Love and beauty (regenerative power)
C) War
D) Legal authority
Ans: B) Love and beauty (regenerative power)
30. The action of the play is drawn from: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) A modern detective novel
B) A medieval romance
C) A Renaissance history play
D) Greek myth (Prometheus story)
Ans: D) Greek myth (Prometheus story)
31. The most dominant poetic quality of the work is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Rich lyrical imagery and musical language
B) Only plain facts
C) Pure business language
D) Only legal argument
Ans: A) Rich lyrical imagery and musical language
32. The work was originally published in London by: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) John Murray
B) Smith, Elder & Co.
C) C. and J. Ollier
D) Macmillan
Ans: C) C. and J. Ollier
33. A notable feature of Shelley’s ending is the emphasis on: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Revenge as final victory
B) Forgiveness/inner change leading to freedom
C) Pure military conquest
D) Money and inheritance
Ans: B) Forgiveness/inner change leading to freedom
34. Demogorgon is associated with: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) A sea voyage
B) Courtroom debate
C) Comic marriage
D) The underworld / mysterious primal force
Ans: D) The underworld / mysterious primal force
35. The play imagines a world where the fall of tyranny leads to: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Transformation of nature and human society
B) Total darkness forever
C) No change at all
D) Only economic recession
Ans: A) Transformation of nature and human society
36. In Act I, Prometheus refuses to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Speak at all
B) Remember his past
C) Submit to Jupiter’s terms/authority
D) Leave the underworld
Ans: C) Submit to Jupiter’s terms/authority
37. The “Spirit of the Earth” and similar voices in the play suggest: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Only comic entertainment
B) A cosmic/moral dimension beyond human politics
C) A police investigation
D) A domestic quarrel
Ans: B) A cosmic/moral dimension beyond human politics
38. The play’s imagery often connects freedom with: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Light, music, and renewal
B) Only prison walls
C) Only money
D) Only war
Ans: A) Light, music, and renewal
39. Which statement best fits Shelley’s Prometheus? (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) He is a comic trickster only
B) He is a selfish tyrant
C) He is a greedy merchant
D) He is a suffering rebel who grows morally stronger
Ans: D) He is a suffering rebel who grows morally stronger
40. The drama’s climax is connected with: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A courtroom verdict
B) A shipwreck
C) The fall of Jupiter and Prometheus’s liberation
D) A comedy festival
Ans: C) The fall of Jupiter and Prometheus’s liberation
41. A major philosophical idea in the play is that real revolution requires: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Inner transformation along with outward change
B) Only violence
C) Only money
D) Only silence
Ans: A) Inner transformation along with outward change
42. The “Romantic” quality of the drama is strongly seen in its: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Focus on trade laws
B) Pure newspaper style
C) Strict classical unities only
D) Imagination, symbolism, and ideal freedom
Ans: D) Imagination, symbolism, and ideal freedom
43. The character who represents oppressive “law/power” against Prometheus is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Asia
B) Panthea
C) Jupiter
D) Ione
Ans: C) Jupiter
44. The drama’s final act is chiefly: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A murder mystery
B) A choral/visionary celebration of the new world
C) A strict political speech only
D) A domestic realism scene
Ans: B) A choral/visionary celebration of the new world
45. Which is TRUE about the play’s source material? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) It reimagines the Prometheus myth rather than copying Aeschylus exactly
B) It is a sequel to Shakespeare’s Tempest
C) It is a direct translation of Homer
D) It is a Victorian realist novel
Ans: A) It reimagines the Prometheus myth rather than copying Aeschylus exactly
46. The work is often praised as one of Shelley’s: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Comic sketches
B) Political pamphlets
C) Greatest imaginative/poetic achievements
D) Travel diaries
Ans: C) Greatest imaginative/poetic achievements
47. Which pair best represents “love + wisdom” aiding liberation in the drama? (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Jupiter and Mercury
B) Furies and Jupiter
C) Mercury and Hercules
D) Asia and Prometheus
Ans: D) Asia and Prometheus
48. The play’s world includes many non-human speakers (spirits) mainly to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Provide legal evidence
B) Create a cosmic chorus and symbolic meaning
C) Tell a detective story
D) Write a business report
Ans: B) Create a cosmic chorus and symbolic meaning
49. In the drama, the fall of Jupiter suggests that tyranny is defeated by: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) A deeper force of necessity/time/change (Demogorgon)
B) A comic misunderstanding
C) A banking collapse
D) A legal loophole only
Ans: A) A deeper force of necessity/time/change (Demogorgon)
50. The title Prometheus Unbound directly points to: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) A love triangle
B) A war victory
C) Prometheus’s release from bondage
D) A city election
Ans: C) Prometheus’s release from bondage
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