William Hazlitt – My First Acquaintance with Poets – Exam Based MCQs
1. “My First Acquaintance with Poets” is written by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Charles Lamb
B) Thomas De Quincey
C) William Hazlitt
D) William Godwin
Ans: C) William Hazlitt
2. The essay was first published in: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) The Liberal (No. 3), 1823
B) The Spectator, 1711
C) The Tatler, 1709
D) The Times, 1832
Ans: A) The Liberal (No. 3), 1823
3. Hazlitt’s first “acquaintance” described most prominently is with: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Lord Byron
B) John Keats
C) P. B. Shelley
D) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Ans: D) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
4. Hazlitt first heard Coleridge when Coleridge was: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Delivering a lecture on Shakespeare in London
B) Preaching at a Unitarian chapel in Shrewsbury
C) Reading poetry at Oxford
D) Debating in Parliament
Ans: B) Preaching at a Unitarian chapel in Shrewsbury
5. The year linked to Hazlitt’s first meeting with Coleridge is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) 1798
B) 1815
C) 1774
D) 1832
Ans: A) 1798
6. Hazlitt describes his father chiefly as a: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Navy officer
B) Merchant
C) Dissenting/Unitarian minister
D) Actor
Ans: C) Dissenting/Unitarian minister
7. Hazlitt praises Coleridge’s speaking as a fusion of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Law and economics
B) Politics and satire
C) Science and mathematics
D) Poetry and philosophy
Ans: D) Poetry and philosophy
8. Hazlitt later calls Coleridge “the only person I ever knew who answered to the idea of a”: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Perfect saint
B) Man of genius
C) Great soldier
D) Great scientist
Ans: B) Man of genius
9. The essay belongs mainly to the genre of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Epic poem
B) Gothic novel
C) Personal/critical reminiscence (familiar essay)
D) One-act play
Ans: C) Personal/critical reminiscence (familiar essay)
10. Hazlitt’s essay is often studied under: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Romantic-period prose / literary criticism
B) Medieval allegory
C) Restoration comedy
D) Victorian detective fiction
Ans: A) Romantic-period prose / literary criticism
11. In the essay, Hazlitt travels to meet Coleridge’s circle and later meets: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Alexander Pope
B) John Dryden
C) T. S. Eliot
D) William Wordsworth
Ans: D) William Wordsworth
12. The essay offers a vivid portrait of Coleridge mainly through: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Purely statistical data
B) Conversation, scenes, and personal impressions
C) Newspaper headlines
D) Courtroom testimony
Ans: B) Conversation, scenes, and personal impressions
13. The setting of Hazlitt’s early life mentioned at the start includes Shropshire and: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Dublin
B) Paris
C) Wem
D) Rome
Ans: C) Wem
14. The essay’s overall tone is best described as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Warm admiration mixed with later critical distance
B) Pure hatred from beginning to end
C) Only comic parody
D) Only scientific neutrality
Ans: A) Warm admiration mixed with later critical distance
15. One key function of the essay is to record Hazlitt’s: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Political election results
B) Legal judgments
C) Scientific experiments
D) First-hand encounter with Romantic poets
Ans: D) First-hand encounter with Romantic poets
16. Hazlitt describes hearing Coleridge preach as almost like hearing: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Cannon fire
B) “the music of the spheres”
C) A street market
D) A courtroom verdict
Ans: B) “the music of the spheres”
17. The essay is most directly connected to which literary period? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Anglo-Saxon
B) Renaissance
C) Romantic period
D) Postmodernism only
Ans: C) Romantic period
18. The essay ends with an affectionate tribute especially to: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Jonathan Swift
B) Henry Fielding
C) Jane Austen
D) Charles Lamb
Ans: D) Charles Lamb
19. The essay is valued for Hazlitt’s skill in: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Character sketching and critical description
B) Writing algebra proofs
C) Charting maps
D) Composing operas
Ans: A) Character sketching and critical description
20. “My First Acquaintance with Poets” is best classified as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) A sonnet sequence
B) An autobiographical essay
C) A historical drama
D) A scientific report
Ans: B) An autobiographical essay
21. Hazlitt’s admiration for Coleridge is strongest in his description of Coleridge’s: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Banking skills
B) Military discipline
C) Courtroom tactics
D) Eloquence and imaginative intellect
Ans: D) Eloquence and imaginative intellect
22. The essay shows Hazlitt’s belief that true genius is: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Rare and unforgettable when encountered
B) Always wealthy
C) Always politically powerful
D) Always scientifically trained
Ans: A) Rare and unforgettable when encountered
23. In Hazlitt’s view, Coleridge in 1798 was still largely known as a: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Famous novelist
B) Royal ambassador
C) Minister/preacher (before later wide fame)
D) Stage actor
Ans: C) Minister/preacher (before later wide fame)
24. Hazlitt’s prose in the essay is famous for its: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Purely technical jargon
B) Vivid imagery and conversational energy
C) Latin-only sentences
D) Strict legal format
Ans: B) Vivid imagery and conversational energy
25. The essay is important to students mainly because it provides: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A list of poetic meters only
B) A dictionary of Romantic terms
C) A complete biography of Byron
D) First-person portraits of Romantic poets (Coleridge/Wadsworth/Lamb)
Ans: D) First-person portraits of Romantic poets (Coleridge/Wadsworth/Lamb)
26. Hazlitt’s “first acquaintance” is narrated through the technique of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Memoir-like retrospective narration
B) Science fiction framing
C) Court cross-examination
D) Epic invocation to a muse
Ans: A) Memoir-like retrospective narration
27. Which statement is TRUE about the essay’s publication? (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) It first appeared in 1712
B) It was first published as a novel in three volumes
C) It first appeared in a periodical called The Liberal (1823)
D) It was first printed in a medieval manuscript
Ans: C) It first appeared in a periodical called The Liberal (1823)
28. The essay can be read as Hazlitt’s celebration of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Industrial progress
B) The living presence of genius and imagination
C) Colonial conquest
D) Court politics
Ans: B) The living presence of genius and imagination
29. Hazlitt’s experience in 1798 is presented as a turning point in his: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Military career
B) Medical training
C) Bank employment
D) Intellectual and artistic development
Ans: D) Intellectual and artistic development
30. The essay is notable for blending literary criticism with: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Personal memory
B) Astronomical charts
C) Court depositions
D) Chemical formulas
Ans: A) Personal memory
31. One major Romantic value highlighted in the essay is: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Pure rationalism only
B) Mechanical efficiency
C) Imagination and creative power
D) Strict classical rules only
Ans: C) Imagination and creative power
32. Hazlitt’s portraits of poets are best described as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Purely fictional characters
B) Lively, impressionistic character sketches
C) Government records
D) Mythological legends only
Ans: B) Lively, impressionistic character sketches
33. The essay is particularly useful for understanding: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) The social/literary networks of English Romantic writers
B) Greek epic conventions
C) Medieval morality plays
D) Modern cyberpunk fiction
Ans: A) The social/literary networks of English Romantic writers
34. Which pair is central to Hazlitt’s essay? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Pope & Swift
B) Dryden & Johnson
C) Chaucer & Spenser
D) Coleridge & Wordsworth
Ans: D) Coleridge & Wordsworth
35. The essay shows Hazlitt’s interest in how genius appears in: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Battle strategy
B) Everyday conversation and lived experience
C) Bank ledgers
D) Scientific instruments
Ans: B) Everyday conversation and lived experience
36. “My First Acquaintance with Poets” is NOT primarily a: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Reminiscence
B) Character sketch
C) Formal scientific treatise
D) Critical personal essay
Ans: C) Formal scientific treatise
37. The essay suggests that Coleridge’s presence made Hazlitt feel: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Intellectually awakened and inspired
B) Completely uninterested
C) Only frightened
D) Only bored
Ans: A) Intellectually awakened and inspired
38. A major stylistic feature of Hazlitt’s prose here is its: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Purely legal diction
B) Mathematical proofs
C) Only short telegram-like sentences
D) Energetic, metaphorical, conversational rhythm
Ans: D) Energetic, metaphorical, conversational rhythm
39. Hazlitt’s essay is a key example of Romantic-era: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Epic theatre
B) Familiar essay / personal criticism
C) Scientific journalism
D) Medieval romance
Ans: B) Familiar essay / personal criticism
40. The essay’s value for students comes mainly from: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Exact grammar rules only
B) A list of poetic devices only
C) Eye-witness impressions of key Romantic writers
D) A detective story plot
Ans: C) Eye-witness impressions of key Romantic writers
41. Hazlitt’s writing in this essay is best described as: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Imaginative criticism rooted in lived moments
B) A strict classical imitation
C) An administrative report
D) A medieval sermon
Ans: A) Imaginative criticism rooted in lived moments
42. Which is TRUE about Hazlitt’s encounter described in the essay? (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) He first met Coleridge during a naval battle
B) He first met Coleridge in Paris in 1830
C) He first met Coleridge at a royal court
D) He first heard Coleridge preaching as a minister
Ans: D) He first heard Coleridge preaching as a minister
43. The essay reflects Hazlitt’s broader role as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A chemist
B) An essayist and literary critic
C) A parliamentarian
D) A mathematician
Ans: B) An essayist and literary critic
44. The essay “My First Acquaintance with Poets” is MOST closely linked with: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Anglo-Saxon riddles
B) Metaphysical poetry
C) English Romanticism and its leading poets
D) Victorian realism only
Ans: C) English Romanticism and its leading poets
45. The essay’s method is best described as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Blending narrative + critical reflection
B) Only rule-based analysis
C) Only plot summary
D) Only dictionary definitions
Ans: A) Blending narrative + critical reflection
46. The essay is primarily remembered for Hazlitt’s portrait of: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Queen Victoria
B) John Milton
C) Geoffrey Chaucer
D) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Ans: D) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
47. Hazlitt’s tribute to Lamb at the end highlights Lamb’s: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Military rank
B) Humanity and personal charm
C) Scientific inventions
D) Royal ancestry
Ans: B) Humanity and personal charm
48. The essay helps readers understand the Romantic poets as: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Mythical gods only
B) Completely unreachable legends
C) Living personalities with habits, talk, and temperament
D) Purely political office-holders
Ans: C) Living personalities with habits, talk, and temperament
49. The essay’s title signals that the focus is on: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Personal meetings and first impressions
B) A complete history of English poetry
C) A grammar handbook
D) A political manifesto
Ans: A) Personal meetings and first impressions
50. Which statement is TRUE about “My First Acquaintance with Poets”? (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) It is a satire on medieval knights
B) It is a scientific essay on astronomy
C) It is a one-act play
D) It is an autobiographical essay recalling meetings with Romantic poets
Ans: D) It is an autobiographical essay recalling meetings with Romantic poets
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