BANKURA UNIVERSITY

B.A. 4th Semester (Major) Examination, 2026

Course Code: A/ENG-403/MJC-7 • Course ID: 40313

British Literature: 19th Century (NEP)

Time: 2 Hours

Full Marks: 40

The figures in the margin indicate full marks. Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as far as practicable.

1. Answer any one of the following questions from Unit I: (1 × 10 = 10)

Comment on Jane Austen's treatment of love and marriage in Emma. Do you think the novel supports marriages based on social equality over romantic passion?
Analyze the character of Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities as an embodiment of the unstoppable, vengeful fury of the French proletariat.
How does Charles Dickens use structural motifs such as "shadows", "echoes", and "footsteps" to create a sense of dark destiny in A Tale of Two Cities?
Critically discuss the element of self-deception in Jane Austen's Emma, examining how the protagonist's imaginative fabrications lead to social complications.

2. Answer any one of the following questions from Unit II: (1 × 10 = 10)

Examine how Robert Browning uses "The Last Ride Together" to formulate a unique concept of an ideal "now", where physical limitations are transcended by philosophical acceptance.
Evaluate Alfred Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" as an exploration of the fundamental binary between the world of reflections (shadows) and the world of lived experience.

3. Write short notes on any two of the following topics from Unit III (Victorian Period): (2 × 5 = 10)

The development of mid-Victorian literary criticism with reference to Matthew Arnold.
Main thematic and stylistic characteristics of Pre-Raphaelite poetry.
The rise of Periodical Literature and serialised fiction in the 19th century.
The representation of New Urban Spaces and industrial cityscapes in Victorian novels.

4. Answer any five of the following questions from Units I and II: (5 × 2 = 10)

Who is Mr. Martin, and how does Mr. Knightley view his character in Jane Austen's Emma?
What specific health obsession dictates the lifestyle of Emma's father, Mr. Henry Woodhouse?
What does the phrase "The Jackal" indicate about Sydney Carton's working dynamic with Stryver in Dickens's novel?
Identify the location and significance of "Tellson's Bank" in A Tale of Two Cities.
Briefly explain what Ulysses means by his reference to the "mariners" at the end of Tennyson's poem.
What does the Lady of Shalott write on the prow of her boat before she allows it to float down the river?
Why does the speaker in "The Last Ride Together" note that the crowns of statesmen and the lines of poets are often bypassed by history?
Identify "Miranda" and explain how Caliban perceives her relation to his master in Browning's poem.
How does D.G. Rossetti describe the speech of the angels in "The Blessed Damozel"?
What emotional action of the earthly lover is mirrored by the parenthetical statements in "The Blessed Damozel"?