Thomas Carlyle – On Heroes (Lecture III: Shakespeare) – Important MCQs (UGC NET / SET / PGTRB)

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Description: Practice 50 exam-oriented MCQs on Thomas Carlyle’s On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History (Lecture III: Shakespeare). Useful for UGC NET, SET, and PGTRB exams. Each question has a “Show Answer” button.

Thomas Carlyle – On Heroes (Lecture III: Shakespeare) – Exam Based MCQs

1. Lecture III in Carlyle’s On Heroes is titled: (UGC NET)

A) The Hero as Divinity

B) The Hero as Poet

C) The Hero as Priest

D) The Hero as King

Ans: B) The Hero as Poet

2. In Lecture III, Carlyle’s chief example of the “Hero as Poet” is: (SET)

A) John Milton

B) Alexander Pope

C) Geoffrey Chaucer

D) William Shakespeare

Ans: D) William Shakespeare

3. Carlyle delivers On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History as a series of: (PGTRB)

A) Lectures

B) Sonnets

C) Stage plays

D) Scientific papers

Ans: A) Lectures

4. Carlyle’s main purpose in Lecture III is to show that the poet is a: (UGC NET)

A) Mere entertainer

B) Political agitator only

C) Spiritual hero who reveals truth

D) Court historian

Ans: C) Spiritual hero who reveals truth

5. Carlyle’s view of Shakespeare in Lecture III is mainly: (SET)

A) Critical and dismissive

B) Reverential and celebratory

C) Neutral and detached

D) Satirical

Ans: B) Reverential and celebratory

6. According to Carlyle, Shakespeare’s greatness lies especially in his: (UGC NET)

A) Scientific reasoning

B) Political speeches

C) Religious sermons

D) Universal insight into human nature

Ans: D) Universal insight into human nature

7. Carlyle frequently contrasts Shakespeare with another poet-hero in Lecture III. That poet is: (PGTRB)

A) Dante

B) Byron

C) Keats

D) Tennyson

Ans: A) Dante

8. Carlyle describes Dante as a “Hero as Poet” who is: (SET)

A) Purely comic

B) A court entertainer

C) Stern, moral, and prophetic

D) Only a playwright

Ans: C) Stern, moral, and prophetic

9. Carlyle presents Shakespeare as more: (UGC NET)

A) Sectarian and dogmatic

B) Many-sided and tolerant

C) Narrow and doctrinal

D) Cynical and bitter

Ans: B) Many-sided and tolerant

10. Lecture III treats Shakespeare primarily as: (PGTRB)

A) A politician

B) A religious reformer

C) A philosopher only

D) A hero-poet and world-voice

Ans: D) A hero-poet and world-voice

11. Carlyle considers the poet’s function as: (SET)

A) Revealing reality/truth through imagination

B) Recording trade statistics

C) Writing legal judgments

D) Inventing machines

Ans: A) Revealing reality/truth through imagination

12. Carlyle’s hero-worship theory mainly argues that history is shaped by: (UGC NET)

A) Random chance alone

B) Economics only

C) Great individuals (“heroes”)

D) Nature’s seasons

Ans: C) Great individuals (“heroes”)

13. Carlyle’s overall approach to Shakespeare is an example of: (PGTRB)

A) Strict formalist criticism

B) Romantic/Victorian hero-worship criticism

C) Structural linguistics

D) Postmodern deconstruction

Ans: B) Romantic/Victorian hero-worship criticism

14. Carlyle praises Shakespeare’s “truth” mainly as: (SET)

A) Scientific proof

B) Political strategy

C) Religious dogma

D) Deep understanding of life and character

Ans: D) Deep understanding of life and character

15. Carlyle is often placed in which literary period? (UGC NET)

A) Victorian

B) Elizabethan

C) Augustan

D) Metaphysical

Ans: A) Victorian

16. Carlyle calls Shakespeare a kind of “priest” because he: (PGTRB)

A) Preached in church

B) Wrote only religious plays

C) Interprets life and reveals meaning

D) Founded a religion

Ans: C) Interprets life and reveals meaning

17. Carlyle’s Shakespeare is celebrated for being: (SET)

A) Mostly satirical only

B) The most universal of poets

C) A narrow moralist

D) Only a comic writer

Ans: B) The most universal of poets

18. Carlyle emphasizes that Shakespeare “does not preach,” but instead: (UGC NET)

A) Gives sermons

B) Writes legal commands

C) Uses scientific formulas

D) Shows life as it is through drama

Ans: D) Shows life as it is through drama

19. In Carlyle’s view, Shakespeare’s “silent” nature suggests: (PGTRB)

A) Greatness without self-advertisement

B) Lack of talent

C) Fear of the public

D) Refusal to write plays

Ans: A) Greatness without self-advertisement

20. Carlyle’s admiration for Shakespeare is tied to the belief that poetry is: (SET)

A) Mere ornament

B) Pure entertainment

C) A form of truth-telling

D) Only social satire

Ans: C) A form of truth-telling

21. Carlyle’s hero is best defined as: (UGC NET)

A) A wealthy merchant

B) A great soul who sees and speaks truth

C) A skilled engineer

D) A powerful army general only

Ans: B) A great soul who sees and speaks truth

22. Carlyle presents Shakespeare as “king” of poets mainly because: (PGTRB)

A) He ruled England

B) He founded a university

C) He wrote political speeches

D) His genius is unmatched and comprehensive

Ans: D) His genius is unmatched and comprehensive

23. Carlyle argues that Shakespeare’s drama contains the “voice” of: (SET)

A) Humanity at large

B) Only the English court

C) Only religious doctrine

D) Only the working class

Ans: A) Humanity at large

24. Carlyle treats Shakespeare’s biography as: (UGC NET)

A) Fully documented and complete

B) More important than the works

C) Less important than the works’ spiritual truth

D) A political manifesto

Ans: C) Less important than the works’ spiritual truth

25. In Lecture III, Carlyle emphasizes Shakespeare’s “naturalness” meaning: (PGTRB)

A) Lack of skill

B) Effortless power and authenticity

C) Only rural themes

D) Absence of imagination

Ans: B) Effortless power and authenticity

26. Carlyle sees Shakespeare’s plays as: (SET)

A) Simple moral lessons only

B) Unimportant entertainment

C) Political propaganda

D) Living pictures of human life

Ans: D) Living pictures of human life

27. Carlyle believes Shakespeare’s “secret” is primarily his: (UGC NET)

A) Sincerity and depth of vision

B) Wealth and status

C) Political connections

D) Military service

Ans: A) Sincerity and depth of vision

28. Carlyle’s style in Lecture III is best called: (PGTRB)

A) Purely scientific

B) Minimalist and detached

C) Rhetorical, passionate, and prophetic

D) Comic and playful

Ans: C) Rhetorical, passionate, and prophetic

29. Carlyle’s concept of “Hero-worship” is closest to: (SET)

A) Mocking famous people

B) Revering greatness as spiritually valuable

C) Rejecting all leadership

D) Ignoring moral values

Ans: B) Revering greatness as spiritually valuable

30. Carlyle argues that Shakespeare’s influence is like a: (UGC NET)

A) Temporary fashion

B) Political slogan

C) Market advertisement

D) Permanent spiritual force

Ans: D) Permanent spiritual force

31. In Carlyle’s view, Shakespeare’s greatest “virtue” is his: (SET)

A) Truthfulness

B) Political ambition

C) Wealth

D) Scientific method

Ans: A) Truthfulness

32. Lecture III contributes to Carlyle’s overall argument that: (UGC NET)

A) Poets should be avoided

B) Literature is only entertainment

C) Poets are among the true leaders of mankind

D) History is meaningless

Ans: C) Poets are among the true leaders of mankind

33. Carlyle’s Shakespeare is not praised chiefly for: (PGTRB)

A) Drama and character creation

B) Strict classical rules and decorum

C) Insight into human nature

D) Universality

Ans: B) Strict classical rules and decorum

34. Carlyle sees Shakespeare’s works as lasting because they are: (SET)

A) Politically useful

B) Written for kings only

C) Focused only on England

D) Rooted in permanent human realities

Ans: D) Rooted in permanent human realities

35. Carlyle connects Shakespeare’s genius with: (UGC NET)

A) Sincerity + imagination + insight

B) Wealth + politics

C) Military discipline

D) Scientific experiments

Ans: A) Sincerity + imagination + insight

36. Carlyle’s overall work is best classified as: (PGTRB)

A) A collection of sonnets

B) A stage comedy

C) Victorian prose criticism / lecture-essay

D) A modernist manifesto

Ans: C) Victorian prose criticism / lecture-essay

37. Carlyle’s “hero as poet” suggests poets guide society by: (SET)

A) Passing laws in parliament

B) Shaping imagination and moral vision

C) Building factories

D) Running armies

Ans: B) Shaping imagination and moral vision

38. Carlyle’s Shakespeare is described as “unconscious” in the sense of: (UGC NET)

A) Ignorant

B) Sleepwalking

C) Politically unaware

D) Creating naturally without self-display

Ans: D) Creating naturally without self-display

39. Carlyle thinks Shakespeare’s greatness is “not of one age,” but: (PGTRB)

A) For all time / universal

B) Only for Elizabethan England

C) Only for the theatre

D) Only for scholars

Ans: A) For all time / universal

40. Carlyle’s admiration implies that Shakespeare is a “hero” because he: (SET)

A) Led an army

B) Became a king

C) Expressed the deepest human truths in art

D) Built an empire

Ans: C) Expressed the deepest human truths in art

41. Carlyle’s Shakespeare is closest to which concept? (UGC NET)

A) Poet as mere entertainer

B) Poet as world-interpreter

C) Poet as legal judge

D) Poet as industrialist

Ans: B) Poet as world-interpreter

42. Carlyle’s criticism is most closely aligned with: (PGTRB)

A) New Criticism

B) Russian Formalism

C) Structuralism

D) Romantic/Victorian moral-spiritual criticism

Ans: D) Romantic/Victorian moral-spiritual criticism

43. Carlyle suggests Shakespeare’s true “biography” is found in: (SET)

A) His works

B) Court records only

C) Wars and politics

D) Church sermons

Ans: A) His works

44. Carlyle’s approach often elevates Shakespeare to a: (UGC NET)

A) Local celebrity

B) Simple entertainer

C) Near-sacred cultural figure

D) Political party leader

Ans: C) Near-sacred cultural figure

45. Carlyle’s Shakespeare is “tolerant” meaning he: (PGTRB)

A) Supports only one ideology

B) Condemns everyone equally

C) Avoids human character

D) Understands many kinds of people without hatred

Ans: D) Understands many kinds of people without hatred

46. Carlyle argues that Shakespeare’s language is powerful because it is: (SET)

A) Purely scientific

B) Natural, vivid, and true

C) Always strictly classical

D) Always political

Ans: B) Natural, vivid, and true

47. Lecture III supports Carlyle’s belief that literature is a: (UGC NET)

A) Spiritual force shaping civilization

B) Mere pastime

C) Market commodity only

D) Legal document

Ans: A) Spiritual force shaping civilization

48. Carlyle’s lecture implies that the most enduring leadership is: (PGTRB)

A) Military power

B) Economic wealth

C) Political office

D) Leadership of thought and imagination

Ans: D) Leadership of thought and imagination

49. Carlyle sees Shakespeare’s “heroism” as rooted in his: (SET)

A) Royal blood

B) Wealth

C) Genius for truth and representation

D) Military victories

Ans: C) Genius for truth and representation

50. Which statement best matches Carlyle’s argument in Lecture III? (UGC NET)

A) Poets are less important than politicians

B) Shakespeare is a hero because he reveals humanity through art

C) Literature should follow strict classical rules only

D) Drama is inferior to philosophy

Ans: B) Shakespeare is a hero because he reveals humanity through art