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.

48 questions JAMB 2378 WAEC 1459 CUSTOM 2
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Past Questions

48 questions
Question 1 of 20 48 total questions
Question 11
jamb 1998
This question is based on General Literary Principles.
Persona refers to the
Acentral character in a play
Bvoice of the character
Cthe image a character presents
Dthe personality of a character
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Question 12
jamb 1998

This question is based on Thomas Hardy''s The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Hardy makes the novel realistic by

Ainterspersing humour with seious narration
Bdenying the characters any from of transformation
Cadhering strictly to autolographical facts
Dnarrating the story in the first person
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Question 13
jamb 1998

This question is based on Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
By allowing Henchard to get drunk and sell off his wife, Hardy makes the point that

Alife is valueless
Bdrinking is disastrous
CHenchard is unpredictable
Dcruelty is part of life
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Question 14
jamb 1998

This question is based on Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Mrs. Newson refuses to reward the furmity seller for disclosing the whereabout of Henchard because she

Ahas little money for her
Bcondisers the trade in furmity unscrupulous
Cthinks it is not respectable to talk to the old women
Dhas learned what she wanted from the old woman
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Question 15
jamb 1998

This question is based on Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
The statement, 'Time the magician, had wrought much here' is made when

ASusan Newson sees Henchard at Casterbridge
BElizabeth-Jane discovers her true father
CFarfrae gets married to Elizabeth-Jane
DFarfrae becomes the Mayor of Casterbridge
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Question 16
jamb 1998

This question is based on Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
'''I, Michael Henchard, on this morning;..., do take an oath before God here in this Solemn place...
And this I swear upon the book before me;... !''
The oath above is taken when

AHenchard gets married to Susan
BHenchard collects five guineas as the prize for Susan
CHenchard swears to stop taking strong liquros
DNewson returns Susan to Henchard
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Question 17
jamb 1998

This question is based on Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn.
By allowing Sule to return to the village in spite of his earlier vow, the author suggests the existence of

Aa destiny that awaits mankind
Ba bond between man and his roots
Chomesickness in city dwellers
Dkind feelings in all villagers
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Question 18
jamb 1998

This question is based on Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn.
The tell-tale of Li's going to the dance is a

Aburnt finger
Bbroken promise
Ctorn dress
Dbroken fence
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Question 19
jamb 1998

This question is based on Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn.
In the novel, Faku deserts Garba for

Aprostitution
Bsurvival
Ccity life
Dvengeance
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Question 20
jamb 1998

This question is based on Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn.
Li's initial aspiration in the novel is to

Aescape from village life to the city
Bmarry a handsome man
Cjoin her husband in the city
Dremain in the peaceful village
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Question 21
jamb 1998

This question is based on Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn.
Like many other characters of her type, Li in the novel, is able to attain progress through her

Aprayers to God
Bcriticism of the system
Coptimistic attitude
Ddedication to duty
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Question 22
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
'I cannot rest from travel; I will drink life to the lees.'The lines above from Tennyson's 'Ulysses' reveal the persona as

Aadventurous
Bdrunken
Clively
Drestive
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Question 23
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
Browning's 'My Last Duchess'is

Aan epic
Ba sonnet
Can elegy
Da lyric
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Question 24
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
What is the poet-persona's feeling for the reaper in Wordsworth's 'The Solitary Reaper'?

APity
BAdmiration
CHatred
DDelight
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Question 25
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
In Mtshalis 'The Washerwoman's Prayer' the condition of the woman is portrayed through

Airony
Bjuxtaposition
Ccomparison
Dmetaphor
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Question 26
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.

''O incomprehensible God!

Shall my pilot be''

These lines in Okara''s ''The Call of the River Nun'' reveal a religious undertone which also expresses the

Amystery of existence
Bomnipotence of God
Cduality of life
Dinevitability of death
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Question 27
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
Dzogbesa Lisa in Kofi Awoonor's 'Songs of Sorrow' can be equated to

Asalvation
Bdespondence
Cpoverty
Dfate
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Question 28
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
Kofi Awoonor's 'Songs of Sorrow' is concerned with devastation because

Athe poet had fought in many wars
Bof the destruction of part of Africa by the weather
Cof the impact of white domination on parts of Africa
Dof the destruction of the shrines of the ancestors
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Question 29
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
''They too are the earth
Under snakeskin shoes and Mercedez tyres'.
Niyi Osundare uses the lines above to describe the

Amaterial for the shoes of the poor
Brepulsive snakeskin-like bodies of the poor
Chope of the oppressed for a better life
Doppression of the dispossessed
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Question 30
jamb 1998

This question is based on selected poems from D. Ker, C. Maduka et al (eds.): New Poetry from Africa, Wole Soyinka (ed.): Poems of Black Africa, K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.): A Selection of African Poetry and E.W. Parker (ed.): A Pageant of Longer Poems.
Who are they that 'live that the earth may die'in Nyi Osundare's ''They Too Are The Earth''?

Athe beggars sprawled in gutters
BThe millions who hew wood
CPeople who fritter the forest and harry the hills
DThose who hurl water
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