Insufficient Information Quiz

What is the term used to describe the group of writers who broke away from traditional theatre in the 1950s and 1960s?

Who wrote the book that helped shape the understanding of Absurdist Theatre?

Which of the following playwrights are considered early Absurdist Playwrights?

Absurdist plays are always well-received and loved by audiences.

According to Martin Esslin, what was the main reason audiences struggled to understand Absurdist Plays?

Absurdist playwrights saw themselves as part of a specific group or movement.

According to Albert Camus, what creates the feeling of absurdity?

What is Eugene Ionesco's definition of the absurd?

What did Martin Esslin believe Absurdist Plays conveyed?

What do Absurdist Plays often do with dialogue?

What is the term used to describe the mixture of tragedy and comedy often found in Absurdist Plays?

Expressionism focused on showing what people think and feel inside.

Dadaism was a reaction to the failures of rational thought, which many believed led to World War II.

Surrealism was a more positive approach to art, focusing on freeing the imagination.

Who argued that the term "Theatre of the Absurd" was a problematic label?

The "Angry Young Men" movement focused on criticizing traditional British society and its class system.

What is the name of John Osborne's play that is considered the defining work of the Angry Young Men movement?

What did the Royal Court Theatre become a hub for in 1956?

Harold Pinter is known for his "comedies of menace", focusing on working-class anxieties and power dynamics.

Which of the following plays is NOT written by Harold Pinter?

Tom Stoppard is known for blending absurdism and postmodernism in his plays.

Peter Shaffer's Equus and Amadeus are considered examples of the influence of the counterculture on British theatre.

The 1968 Theatres Act abolished state censorship of scripts in Britain.

Who is considered a pioneer in British Theatre, bringing working-class life and language to the stage in the 1950s?

What is the term often used to describe the era of writers who criticized traditional British society, particularly focusing on the social and economic plight of the working class?

The "New Left" movement emphasized a connection between cultural and political events.

Postcolonial literature emerged as a direct response to the events of World War II.

The term "Postmodern" is derived from "modernism" and suggests a rejection of its ideas and principles.

What is the name of the new phase of capitalism that emerged after World War II, marked by globalization and consumerism?

The internet meme is an example of postmodern text, demonstrating ideas of recycling and borrowing in contemporary culture.

Modernism believed that art was constantly evolving towards original and novel creations.

Postmodernism rejects the notion of artistic genius, arguing that all art is a product of borrowing and remixing existing ideas.

What is the term used to describe a fictional society that presents a negative view of a future world, often highlighting the dangers of social control, technology, or environmental decline?

The concept of Utopia was created by John Stuart Mill.

Dystopian literature is considered to have emerged as a direct response to the French Revolution?

In dystopian narratives, characters are always content and compliant with their oppressive society. They rarely rebel.

Who wrote The Time Machine, a key dystopian novel exploring class divisions and the impact of technology in society?

E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops (1909) critiques modernity and the dominance of technology in society, while suggesting a glimmer of hope for humanity's resilience.

What is the term used to describe a narrative technique where a text draws attention to its own fictional nature?

Modernist fiction places an emphasis on clear and objectively presented truths.

Modern Drama, as a trend, aimed to shock and alienate its audience, moving away from traditional naturalism and towards more experimental forms.

Who is considered a pioneer of modern drama, known for his work in expressing psychological depth and social commentary through humorous and witty comedies?

Who is known for introducing the "alienation effect" into drama, aiming to break the illusion of realism and encourage critical thinking?

Antonin Artaud is credited with developing the "theatre of cruelty", which emphasizes strong emotive responses from the audience.

Eugene Ionesco is known for his work in the "theatre of the absurd", which often features highly emotional and realistic depictions of human experience.

Joseph Conrad, a British author known for his introspective and morally complex narratives, is often considered a proto-Modernist writer who anticipated many of the themes and styles later explored in modernist fiction.

What is the name of the novel that is considered a landmark in Psychological and Political fiction?

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a linear narrative, following a straightforward chronology of events.

Conrad’s Marlow is a reliable narrator, who provides a clear and definitive understanding of the events he describes.

Heart of Darkness primarily focuses on the external events and actions within the story, offering straightforward explanations of the plot.

What is the name of the novel that features a war-torn Britain ruled by a police state, where an anarchist named V leads a rebellion against tyranny?

The Children of Men by P.D. James is a bleak dystopian novel that depicts a world where environmental disasters and societal collapse have led to a complete lack of hope.

Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is set in a world where individuals are treated as commodities or products, dehumanized by a system that treats them as disposable.

What is the name of the postcolonial novel that explores the experiences of migrants from the Caribbean and their struggles to adapt to life in London?

The 1990s saw a shift in postcolonial literature, with a growing focus on exploring the specific experiences of individual migrant communities and second-generation Britons.

Salman Rushdie is considered a key figure in postcolonial literature, known for his exploration of hybrid identities and challenging colonial narratives, as seen in his novel Midnight's Children.

Postcolonial writers often challenge traditional English literature, presenting alternatives to its inward-looking and defensive perspectives.

Postcolonial criticism emerged primarily from the study of literary texts, with little to no focus on historical, social, or political contexts.

The "mimicry" concept in postcolonial theory describes the process where colonized populations actively resist and reject the colonizers' cultural values.

The concept of the "uncivilized native", which was popularized in colonial literature, emphasizes the idea of the native as innocent and pure, untouched by the corruption of Western civilization

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale draws inspiration from similar themes of gender inequality and social control that are explored in Katharine Burdekin's Swastika Night.

George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is considered a landmark dystopian novel, focusing on the horrors of totalitarianism and the dangers of technology in shaping and controlling society.

The cultural control of society in Nineteen Eighty-Four relies heavily on surveillance and propaganda, but the characters still retain individual freedom and expression.

The New Wave Science Fiction movement of the 1960s emerged as a reaction against the counterculture and its social and political activism.

J.G. Ballard's works, such as Crash, Concrete Island, and High Rise, explore the psychological and emotional effects of a sterile and controlled environment.

The concept of individual loneliness is a central theme in modernist fiction, reflecting the era's anxieties about the loss of traditional societal structures and the search for meaning.

Modernist fiction often embraces open-ended narratives, reflecting the uncertainty and complexity of modern life.

Modernist writers often use a straightforward and consistent narrative voice, presenting a clear and objective understanding of events and characters.

The "theatre of the absurd" is a movement specifically focused on exploring the dangers and consequences of technological advancement.

Atonement by Ian McEwan is considered to be a significant work in the post-colonial literary tradition, focusing on the challenges of migration and cultural displacement.

Ian McEwan has written many novels and screenplays, dealing with the themes of social commentary, psychological depth, and morality.

In recent years, Ian McEwan has publicly denounced the actions of Hamas and Israel, expressing his concerns about the political landscape and the need for greater understanding and diplomacy.

The film adaptation of Atonement won several prestigious awards, including Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director.