Biography and Model Questions for DSC and TET Exams on Famous Poets and their Works..
Kamala Das (1934-2009)
· An Indian poet, novelist and short story writer.
· Pen name - 'Madhavi Kutty'.
· Changed her name to 'Suraiya Begum' after embracing Islam.
· Nominated and shortlisted for Nobel Prize in 1984.
· She received "Sahitya Akademi Award" in 1985 and "Asian World Prize" in 2000 for her poetry.
Works:
· Summer in Calcutta (first volume of poetry; Kent's Award for Asian English Writing winner)
· The Descendants (second volume of poetry)
· The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (poetry)
· The Tattered Blanket (A Short story from Class -8)
Charles Dickens (1812-1870):
· One of the most popular Victorian Novelist
· published his first sketch about the London life in the Old Monthly Magazine.
· This gave rise to "Sketches by Boz" (A short story collection. Boz was Dickens' family name)
Works:
· 'Sketches by Boz" was followed by his first novel "the Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club" (also known as "Pickwick Papers") in 1836-37, it brought him great success.
· Oliver Twist (1837-39) his second novel
· Nicholas Nickleby (1838-39),
· The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41)
· David Copperfield (1849-50) (It was the most popular of Dickens' novels and it has a good deals of his autobiographical material. )
· Bleak House (1852)
· Hard Times (1854)
· Little Dorrit (1855-57)
· A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
· Great Expectations (1860-61)
· Our Mutual Friend (1864-65) (His last completed novel)
Elizabeth Barret Browing (1806-61):
· an English poet of the Victorian age
· Her love story and marriage with another major poet of the period, Robert Browning is a classic of romance in real life.
Works:
· "The Seraphim and Other Poems" (1838) - First collection
· "Poems" (1844)
· "Sonnets from the Portugese" (1850)
(It consists of 44 sonnets about the course of their love.)
· "Aurora Leigh" (1856) - it is a novel in verse.
· Her last two volumes of poetry were posthumous works. They were;
· Poems before Congress
· Last Poems
· 'The Cry of Children' is a lyric poem taken from 'Poems". (from class 8th)
Harindranath Chattopadhyay (1898-1990):
· the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu
· an Indian English poet, dramatist, mystic, actor, musician, composer, revolutionary and the member of the first Lok Sabha from Vijayawada Constituency.
Works:
· "The Feast Of Youth" (1918) - first collection of poems
· Shaper Shaped · Noon
· He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973.
Ravindranath Tagore (1861-1941):
· An Indian poet, novelist, short story writer, musician, actor, painter, dramatist and statesman.
· popularly known as Vishwa Kavi and Gurudev.
· received the Nobel Prize in literature for his Gitanjali, the Song of Offeringsin 1913.
· My Mother, Freedom, Where the Mind is without Fear are his well known poems.
· Famous novels: 1) The House of the World 2) The Wreck 3) Gora
· Important stories: 1) Home Coming 2) The Cabuliwallah 3) The Postmaster (these three stories are based on delicate human feelings, instincts and affections)
· His autobiography is "My Reminiscences".
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900):
· An Irish poet, novelist and playwright.
· Full name - Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde
Works:
· The Importance of Being Earnest (it's a social satirical play)
· The Picture of Dorian Gray (his famous novel)
· The Happy Prince and Other Tales (it's a collection of children's stories)
· The Selfish Giant (a short story from 8th class)
Abburi Chayadevi (1933 - …..)
· a Telugu fiction writer and also feminist writer.
· born in Rajamundry, East Godavari district of AP.
Works:
· Mritunjaya (a short autobiographical novel)
· Abburi Chayadevi Kathalu, (a short story collection)
· Tana Margam (a short story collection; Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005)
R.K.Narayan (1906-2001):
· one of the three greatest Indian novelists in English.(other two are Milk Raj Anandand Raja Rao)
· full name- Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami
· created the famous imaginary town - Malgudi
· first recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award (in 1961 for The Guide)
Novels:
· Swami and Friends
· The Bachelor of Arts
· The Man-Eater of Malgud
· The English Teacher
· Mr. Sampath · The Guide (1958)
Collection of Short Stories:
· Malgudi Days
· Dodu and Other Stories
Notable Short Stories:
· An Astrologers Day
· The Snake Song
· Man Hunt · A Hero
Model Questions
1. "Aurora Leigh" is novel in verse form written by____
1) Tagore
2) Elizabeth Barrett Browning 3) Charles Dickens 4) Kamala Das
2. The main theme of the poem "The Earthen Goblet" is ____
1) how nature is brutally treated by human beings.
2) the goblet's sense of sadness and helplessness on being shaped into the present form.
3) to know the likes and dislikes of a goblet.
4) to know the worth of true friendship.
3. A very eminent English Poet edited Dr. Ravindranath Tagor's "Gitanjali". Who is that poet?
1) W.B.Yeats 2) William Morris
3) AC Swinburne
4) DG Rosetti.
4. Match the following items in Column-A with those in Column - B:
Column-A
1. Summer in Calcutta
2. Shaper Shaped
3. Great Expectations
4. Last Poems
Column - B
P. Sarojini Naidu
Q. Kamala Das
R. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
S. Charles Dickens
T. Harindranath Chattopadhyay
1) 1-Q, 2-S, 3-R, 4-P
2) 2-Q, 1-S, 3-E, 4-P
3) 3-S, 2-T, 1-P, 4-R
4) 2-T, 3-S, 1-Q, 4-R
5. In Tagore's poem 'My Mother', which one of the following is time about the child's memory of his mother?
1) He listens to the songs she sang
2) He sees her pictures which he has preserved
3) He remembers her through sense associations
4) He associates her drawings with her touch
6. In the short story 'The Selfish Giant' with whom had the Giant been staying for seven long years, before returning to his castle?
1) His Irish brother
2) With no one 3) His mother
4) The Cornish Ogre.
7. Who, among the following Indian writers in English, has created an identifiable imagined locale ?
1) Mulk Raj Anand 2) Raja Rao 3) R.K. Narayan 4) Tagore
8. Which of the following is a gentle nostalgic poem?
1) In the Bazaars of Hyderabad.
2) My Mother
3) Freedom 4) Mother's Day
9. What does Oliver ask for more in the novel Oliver Twist?
1) entertainment 2) games
3) Holidays 4) gruel
10. A very popular film was made on one of the novels of RK Narayan. Which of these novels is that?
1) Waiting for the Mahatma
2) Malgudi Days
3) The Guide 4) Mr.Sampath
11. Identify the incorrect pair from the following:
1) My Life - Sarojini Naidu
2) Wings of Fire - Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam
3) A Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela.
4) My Life in My Words - Tagore
12. Who among the following is an Irish writer?
1) Elizabeth Barrett Browning
2) Oscar Wilde
3) Alfred Tennyson
4) Ruskin Bond
13. Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
1) Alfred Tennyson:In Memoriam
2) Charles Dickens. :Little Dorrit
3) Elizabeth Browning: Sonnets from the Portuguese
4) Oscar Wilde: The Testament of Beauty
14. Which of the following is NOT a character from 'The Tattered Blanket'?
1) Kamala 2) An Old Woman
3) Gopi 4) A boy
15. Which of the following work is a part of the book "The Happy Prince and the Other Tales"
1) The Selfish Giant
2) The Tattered Blanket
3) The Town Child.
4) The Gold Frame
16. A lyric poem which is a strong protest against the employment of children in coal-mines and factories____
1) My Mother
2) The Country Child
3) The Cry of Children
4) Freedom
17. Which of the following is not a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award?
1) Ruskin Bond 2) R.K.Narayan
3) Sarojini Naidu 4) Kamala Das
18. Match the following items in Column-A with those in Column - B:
Column-A
1. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad
2. The Earthen Goblet
3. Oliver Asks for More
4. The Cry of Children
Column - B
P. Sarojini Naidu Q. Kamala Das
R. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
S. Charles Dickens
T. Harindranath Chattopadhyay
1) 1-Q, 2-S, 3-R, 4-P
2) 2-Q, 1-S, 3-E, 4-P
3) 3-S, 2-T, 1-P, 4-R
4) 2-T, 3-S, 1-Q, 4-R
19. What are the main themes of RK Narayan's fiction?
1) the main character's search for identity
2) everyday village life in South India
3) simple people with simple lives living in a changing world
4) all of these
21. Which author helped R.K. Narayan get his novels published?
1) Graham Greene
2) Arundhati Roy 3) James Joyce
4) Salman Rushdie.
22. 'Swami' is the characters from ___
1) A Hero
2) Swami was Expelled from School
3) The Tattered Blanket
4) The Dear Departed
23. The autobiography of Kamala Das is____
1) My Life in My Words
2) My Life 3) My Story
4) My History
24. Name the author of The Gardener, The Fugitive, Chitra, Sacrifice, The Post Office is____
1) Rabindra Nath Tagore
2) Sarojini Naidu
3) RK Narayan 4) Oscar Wilde
25. The short story that presents how a mother craves for her son's love is____
1) My Mother 2) Mother's Day
3) The Tattered Blanket
4) Oliver Twist
KEY
1) 4 2) 1 3) 2 4) 4 5) 4 6) 3 7) 2 8) 4 9) 3 10) 4 11) 2 12) 3 13) 1 14) 3 15) 3 16) 2 17) 4 18) 1 19) 2 20) 4 21) 2 22) 4 23) 1 24) 3 25) 1