Paper 1: Poetry
1. Discuss the role of personification in William Wordsworth's "Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." How does personification contribute to the poem's themes?
2. Analyze the use of imagery and symbolism in Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death." What do the images and symbols in the poem reveal about the speaker's attitude toward death?
3. Compare and contrast the portrayal of nature in John Milton's "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso." How do Milton's representations of nature reflect the different moods of the poems?
Paper 2: Drama
1. Discuss the tragic hero in Shakespeare's "Hamlet." How does Hamlet's character embody the qualities of a tragic hero?
2. Analyze the role of fate and free will in Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex." To what extent is Oedipus responsible for his own downfall?
3. Compare and contrast the comedic elements in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Aristophanes' "The Birds." How do these comedies use humor to critique societal norms?
Paper 3: Prose Fiction
1. Discuss the use of stream-of-consciousness narrative in James Joyce's "Ulysses." How does stream-of-consciousness contribute to the novel's portrayal of the characters' inner thoughts and emotions?
2. Analyze the role of magic realism in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." How does magic realism enhance the novel's exploration of themes such as love, loss, and family?
3. Compare and contrast the Bildungsroman elements in Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" and Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." How do these novels depict the characters' journeys of self-discovery and personal growth?
Paper 4: Literary Criticism and Theory
1. Discuss the major tenets of New Criticism and its impact on literary studies. How did New Criticism change the way we think about literature?
2. Analyze the concept of intertextuality and its significance in poststructuralist literary theory. How do intertextual references enrich our understanding of literary texts?
3. Compare and contrast the feminist and Marxist approaches to literary criticism. How do these critical approaches shed light on the social and political dimensions of literature?
These sample question papers provide a glimpse into the types of questions that an MPhil in English literature program might include. The actual questions and topics covered may vary depending on the specific curriculum and focus of the program.