Literature in English Past Questions

Study and practice Literature in English past questions with answers and detailed explanations. Then test your knowledge using our interactive CBT practice platform and prepare confidently for your upcoming examinations.

49 questions JAMB 2378 WAEC 1459 CUSTOM 2
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Past Questions

49 questions
Question 1 of 20 49 total questions
Question 1
jamb 1982

The role of the Storyteller in The Marriage of Anansewa is that of a

Abearer of false rumours
Btrickster
Ccommentator
Dsuiter
EChiefs messenger
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 2
jamb 1982
In ' Salute to the Elephant the line 'The elephant's head is his burden which he balances' suggests that
Athe elephant's head is so big that it does not allow the animal to move elegantly
Bthe elephant has a big head yet it moves elegantly
Cthe elephant's head is so big that it makes the animal look clumsy
Dthe elephant's head is so big that it prevents the animal from moving from one part of the forest to the other
Ethe elephant's head is like a big instrument for weighing
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 3
jamb 1982

Which of the following comes closest to a correct interpretation of the symbol of the mine dumps in Mine Boy?

AThe hope of all workers
BAcknowledgement of the efforts of black South African workers
CThe enduring courage of black workers
DThe dignity of labour under an oppressive regime
EThe exploitation of black labour by an oppressive regime
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 4
jamb 1982

In The Narrow Path Nani is transferred very frequently because he is

Aa trained teacher
Ban untrained teacher
Ca lazy worker
Da devoted and hardworking teacher
Ea poor man's son
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 5
jamb 1982
Girls dance and sing. Men clap .The walls sing and press inward. They press the men and girls, they press inward. They press the men and girls they press John towards a centre of physical ecstasy .

Tom whom does 'they refer?
AMen
BGirls
CMen and Girls
DThe walls
EJohn and the girls
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 6
jamb 1982
This is my letter to the world
That never wrote to me
The simple news that Nature told
With tender majesty

Her message is committed
To hands I cannot see;
For love of her, sweet countrymen
Judge tenderly of me'

To whom does 'her' in line 5 refer?
Amajesty
Bworld
Ctender
DNature
Ethe poet's sister
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 7
jamb 1982

Which of the following is a major source of interest in As You Like It?

AThe effective use of disguise
BThe disappointment of lovers
CThe fidelity of Shakspeare's characters
DThe authors irreverent use of language
EThe consistency of roles
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 8
jamb 1982
I have thee not yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling, as to sight'
'fatal vision' in the second line is a reference to
Athe ghost of Banquo
Bthe ghost of Duncan
Cone of the three witches
Dan imaginary dagger
EKing Duncan's crown
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 9
jamb 1982

Kenneth Kaunda fought a much bigger boy from another school after a football match because he

Awas quarrelsome
Bwas aggressive and violet by nature
Cthough they lost the match through foul play
Dhad a great sense of honour and fair play
Edisliked the boys from the other school.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 10
jamb 1982

The other team was composed of much bigger boys than any we had in Galike and they chose the biggest of them all, sending him out like Goliath from the Philistines to challenge one of our team.
In this passage Kenneth Kaunda makes his account of the fight more vivid through the use of

Arepetitious statements
Bsymbolic reference
Cbiblical allusion
Ddelibrate distortion
Ehyperbolic comment.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 11
jamb 1982

When Di says of Eliza, 'That girl is tragedy already' she means

AEliza faces the threat of premature death
BEliza is a pathetic victim of culture conflict
CEliza is the tragic heroine of the novel
DEliza will not survive her illness
EEliza is suffering fron an undiagnosed diseases.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 12
jamb 1982

As non-fiction, V.S Naipaul's The Middle Passage belongs more properly to the genre of

Aautobiography
Bsermon
Ctravelogue
Depistle
Ebiography.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 13
jamb 1982

The dominant images in the above passage are

Acosmic
Bmetallic
Charsh
Dsensuous
Edomestic.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 14
jamb 1982

The above passage derives its theme from

Athe repetition of nature images
Bcontrastive use of images
Cthe consistency of its rhyme scheme
Dthe use of the same figures of speech
Ethe uses of apostrophyes.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 15
jamb 1982

The most important figure of speech in the above passage is

Aparadox
Bpersonification
Cmetaphor
Dsimile
Eonomatopoeia.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 16
jamb 1982

Kaunda's reminiscences of his boyhood in Lubwa were

Acompletely happy
Ba mixture in Lubwa and hatred of his playmates
Cdominated by entirely painful incidents
Da mixture od sad and happy expiriences
Ea combination of regret and hatred of the teachers
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 17
jamb 1982
''London''

I wander thro'' each charter''d street

Near where the charter''d Thames does flow,

And mark in every face i meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe



In every cry of every Man

In every infant''s cry of fear,

In every voice, in every ban,

The mind-forged manacles i hear.



How the chimney-sweeper''s cry

Every black''ning Church appalls;

And the hapless Soldier''s sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls.



But most thro'' midnight streets i hear

How the youthful Harlot''s curse

Blasts the new born infant''s tear,

And blights with plagues the marriage hearse.

The stanza form in ''London'' is referred to as
Aa quartet
Ba quatrain
Ca quadruple
Dquintet
Esestet.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 18
jamb 1982
'Local colour'in a novel or play is feature which
Adefines the nature of the vegetation of the setting
Bexplains the difference in patterns of behaviours of our characters
Crefers to the racial backgrounds of the major characters in the novels or play
Demphazises the customs, norms, values and setting of the novel or play
Ehighlights thye ethnic origins of the various characters in the novel or play.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 19
jamb 1982

In Mine Boy, the dominant shebeen queen who is described as 'tall and big, with the smooth yellowness of the Basuto women...'is

AMa Plank
BLeah
CEliza
DLena
EMaisy.
View Explanation & Discuss
Question 20
jamb 1982

In Zambia Shall Be Free Kaunda's 'wandering day's resulted from his

Adesire to visit other territories
Bneed to assert himself by being on his own
Cdisagreement with the members of his family
Dneed to join other political parties
Edisagreement eith his employers
View Explanation & Discuss
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