Periodical Essay Practice Questions
19 free Periodical Essay practice questions for the English Literature. Tap an option to answer — you get instant feedback, the correct answer, and a detailed explanation for every question.
Which periodical is most closely associated with the rise of the eighteenth-century English periodical essay?
- A The Tatler
- B The Edinburgh Review
- C The Idler
- D The Criterion
Correct answer: The Tatler
The Tatler, founded by Richard Steele in 1709, played a major role in developing the periodical essay. It combined social observation, moral reflection, and urban commentary in a readable prose style.
Who founded The Spectator in 1711 along with Joseph Addison?
- A Alexander Pope
- B Jonathan Swift
- C Richard Steele
- D Samuel Johnson
Correct answer: Richard Steele
The Spectator was founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in 1711. It became one of the most influential periodicals of the Augustan age.
What was the main purpose of The Spectator according to its general moral aim?
- A To promote political rebellion against the ruling monarchy and social order
- B To bring philosophy out of closets and libraries into everyday life
- C To defend medieval romance
- D To attack all forms of prose fiction
Correct answer: To bring philosophy out of closets and libraries into everyday life
The Spectator aimed to make moral and philosophical ideas accessible to ordinary readers. Addison famously wanted to bring philosophy from private study into clubs, assemblies, tea-tables, and coffee-houses.
Which fictional club, featured in Addison and Steele's periodical essays, brings together characters from different walks of life?
- A The Mermaid Club
- B The Spectator Club
- C The Scriblerus Club
- D The Kit-Cat Club
Correct answer: The Spectator Club
The Spectator Club is a fictional group of characters used to represent different sections of society. Through this club, Addison and Steele explored manners, morals, commerce, religion, and social habits.
Who is the most famous fictional character created in The Spectator papers?
- A Sir Roger de Coverley
- B Lemuel Gulliver
- C Squire Tom Jones
- D Doctor Charles Primrose
Correct answer: Sir Roger de Coverley
Sir Roger de Coverley is the best-known character from The Spectator Club. He represents the country gentleman and is used with gentle humour and moral sympathy.
Which quality best describes Addison's prose style in his periodical essays?
- A Dense, obscure, heavily allusive, and symbolic
- B Simple, polished, balanced, and elegant
- C Violent, irregular, and fragmentary
- D Purely scientific and technical
Correct answer: Simple, polished, balanced, and elegant
Addison's prose is admired for its clarity, balance, urbanity, and graceful ease. His style became a model of eighteenth-century English prose.
Which social institution greatly supported the growth of periodical essays in Augustan England?
- A The monastery
- B The coffee-house
- C The feudal court
- D The medieval guild
Correct answer: The coffee-house
Coffee-houses were important centres of discussion, news, reading, and public debate in eighteenth-century England. Periodicals such as The Tatler and The Spectator were closely connected with coffee-house culture.
In the context of Augustan literature, satire was mainly used to
- A celebrate supernatural romance and medieval chivalry
- B correct social, moral, and political follies
- C reject all classical models
- D promote private emotional confession only
Correct answer: correct social, moral, and political follies
Augustan satire aimed to expose and correct human folly, vice, affectation, and corruption. Writers such as Pope, Swift, Addison, and Steele used satire as a tool of moral and social criticism.
Which writer is most closely associated with the severe and savage form of Augustan satire?
- A Joseph Addison
- B Richard Steele
- C Jonathan Swift
- D Oliver Goldsmith
Correct answer: Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift is known for his fierce, ironic, and often savage satire. Works like Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal expose human pride, cruelty, and social injustice.
The periodical essay is best defined as
- A a long narrative epic poem published only once every century in classical verse
- B a dramatic speech delivered only on stage
- C a private diary never intended for publication
- D a short prose essay published regularly in a magazine or newspaper
Correct answer: a short prose essay published regularly in a magazine or newspaper
A periodical essay is a short prose composition published at regular intervals in a periodical. It usually discusses manners, morals, society, literature, or everyday life.
Which of the following periodicals is associated with Samuel Johnson rather than Addison and Steele?
- A The Spectator
- B The Tatler
- C The Guardian
- D The Rambler
Correct answer: The Rambler
The Rambler was written mainly by Samuel Johnson between 1750 and 1752. It continued the tradition of the periodical essay but with a more serious, moral, and reflective tone.
What type of satire is Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock?
- A Mock-epic satire
- B Pastoral elegy in classical form
- C Gothic tragedy
- D Romantic lyric
Correct answer: Mock-epic satire
The Rape of the Lock is a mock-epic satire that treats a trivial social incident in the elevated style of classical epic. Pope uses this contrast to satirize fashionable society and its values.
Which Augustan ideal is most visible in the prose of Addison and Steele?
- A Excessive emotional disorder and unrestrained passion
- B Mysticism and supernatural terror
- C Rejection of social manners
- D Clarity, order, moderation, and reason
Correct answer: Clarity, order, moderation, and reason
The Augustan age valued reason, balance, decorum, and moral discipline. Addison and Steele reflected these ideals through polished prose and moderate social criticism.
Why were periodical essays important for the growth of the middle-class reading public?
- A They were written only in formal Latin prose intended solely for university-trained scholars
- B They avoided all social issues
- C They were limited to royal court audiences
- D They addressed everyday manners, morality, and social conduct in accessible English
Correct answer: They addressed everyday manners, morality, and social conduct in accessible English
Periodical essays appealed to the growing middle-class readership by discussing ordinary life, taste, manners, and morality. Their clear English prose made literary and ethical discussion widely accessible.
Which of the following best describes the tone of Addison's satire in The Spectator?
- A Gentle, corrective, and humorous
- B Brutal, violent, and utterly nihilistic
- C Purely tragic and emotional
- D Scientific and impersonal
Correct answer: Gentle, corrective, and humorous
Addison's satire is usually mild and corrective rather than harsh. He exposes follies and affectations with humour, good sense, and moral elegance.
The character Sir Roger de Coverley is mainly used to represent
- A a corrupt and grasping city merchant
- B a revolutionary soldier
- C a professional actor
- D a benevolent country gentleman
Correct answer: a benevolent country gentleman
Sir Roger de Coverley represents the old-fashioned but kindly country gentleman. Through him, Addison and Steele explore rural life, tradition, social virtue, and comic eccentricity.
Which statement best explains the relationship between periodical essays and Augustan satire?
- A Periodical essays completely avoided satire
- B Augustan satire appeared only in stage drama and never anywhere in prose writing
- C Satire in periodicals was limited to religious sermons
- D Periodical essays often used mild satire to reform manners and taste
Correct answer: Periodical essays often used mild satire to reform manners and taste
Periodical essays frequently used satire to correct social follies, false taste, vanity, and moral weakness. Their satire was often moderate and reformist, especially in Addison and Steele.
Which periodical was started by Addison and Steele in 1713 after The Spectator?
- A The Guardian
- B The Rambler
- C The Idler
- D The Examiner
Correct answer: The Guardian
The Guardian was launched in 1713 and was associated with Addison and Steele. It continued the tradition of moral and social essays developed in The Tatler and The Spectator.
Which feature made Augustan periodical essays especially suitable for public instruction?
- A Their exclusive and continuous use of ancient Greek language and syntax
- B Their dependence on stage performance
- C Their regular publication and familiar conversational style
- D Their refusal to discuss society
Correct answer: Their regular publication and familiar conversational style
Because periodical essays appeared regularly, they could shape public opinion over time. Their familiar and conversational style made moral instruction pleasant and easy to understand.