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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.

50 questions JAMB 2378 WAEC 1459 CUSTOM 2

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Past Questions

50 questions

Question 1 of 20 50 total questions

Question 11

jamb 1985

What distinguishes poetry from other forms of literature is its

Aemotion and feeling

Bungrammatical expressions

Cirony and paradox

Drhyme and verse

Erhyme and metaphor.

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Question 12

jamb 1985

In the poem 'Piano AND Drums' Okara uses the drums to symbolize

Asource of poetic inspiration

Btraditional African ways of life

Cthe complex rhythms of human life

Dfestivals which are held annually

Ethe noisy pastimes of hunters.

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Question 13

jamb 1985

David Diop's poem 'The Vultures', ends in a

Adenunciation of colonialism

Bresignation to oppression

Cvindication of apartheid

Drenunciation of African culture

Eproclamanation of hope.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 14

jamb 1985

In J.P Clarks 'Abiku' the word 'threshold' means

Aa line separating the living from the dead

Ba relic of Abiku's previous life

Ca mark of a healthy stock

Dthe home of the living

Ethe home of the dead

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Question 15

jamb 1985

The poem 'Viaticum' portrays a ritual preparation for

Alife's journey

Ba war dance

Cwrestling match

Dslaughtering cattle

Emoonlight game

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Question 16

jamb 1985

In the poem 'The Vultures', David Diop expresses his

Ahope that African will triumph over colonialism

Bhatred of Africans

Caffections of the colonial masters

Dlove of forced romances

Ehatred of women.

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Question 17

jamb 1985

The mood expressed in 'We Have Come Home' by Lenrie Peters is that of

Ahope and joy at one's return

Btension over the past and uncertainty of the future

Cjubilation and a sense of achievement

Dcautions optimism

Eapprehension and defeat

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Question 18

jamb 1985

When David Diop in 'The Vultures' says that 'civilization kicked us in the face' and 'holy water slapped our cringing brows', he is using

Aslapstick

Ba curse

Cinvective

Dpersonification

Esacrilege.

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Question 19

jamb 1985

In Soyinka's 'Abiku', the statement, 'The ripest fruit was saddest', is an example of

Ametaphysical conceit

Bequivocation

Cslasng

Da paradox

Ea proverb

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Question 20

jamb 1985

'... like some fish
Doped out of the deep
I have bobbed up bellywise
From stream of sleep'.
The above lines from 'Night Rain' are intended to emphasize the fact that the speaker

Adrank like a fishb

Btook a heavy dose of sleeping pills

Cslept with his belly facing upwards

Ddreamt of fish in deep streams

Ewas suddenly roused from sleep.

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Question 21

jamb 1985

'Serrating down your back and front
Like beak of the sword-fish,
And both your ears, notched
As a bondsman to this house...'

The dominant figure of speech in the above lines from J.P. Clark's 'Abiku' is

Aonomatopoeia

Bsynecdoche

Csimile

Dmetaphor

Everismilitude.

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Question 22

jamb 1985

In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare portrays the roman plebeians as

Afickle-minded

Bstrong-willed

Ccompassionate

Dmachiavellian

Eenterprising.

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Question 23

jamb 1985

'Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;
And, we like friends, will straightway go together'.

This statement by Julius Caesar is an example of

Adramatic dialogue

Bmonologue

Cmistaken identity

Ddramatic irony

Eparadox

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Question 24

jamb 1985

Brutus: This is sleepy tune. O murd'rous slumber!
Layest thou the leaden mace upon my boy,
That plays the music? Gentle knave, good night.
'Gentle knave' refers to

ALucius

BCassius

CPortia

DMessala

ELucuis

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Question 25

jamb 1985

'And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more of caesar's arm
When caesar's head is off'.
This means that Mark Antony

Awill be assassinated with Caesar

Bwill become harmless once Caesar is dead

Cis as powerless as Caesar's arm to control Caesar

Dis as dangerous as Caesar's arm

Ecannot do more harm as Caesar is capable of.

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Question 26

jamb 1985

Who persuades Caesar to disregard Calpurnia's appeal?

ADecius Brutus

BLucius

CCassius

DPortia

EOctavius.

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Question 27

jamb 1985

The narrator in Mission to Kala is

AMongo Beti

BMedza

CMama

DNiam

EZambo.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 28

jamb 1985

In Mission to Kala When Medza encounters Edima,
what strikes him about her is her

Aability to speak well

Bconfidence in her self

Cslender figure

Daggressiveness

Echildlike innicence

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Question 29

jamb 1985

'It was at this stage in the proceedings, before i had even had time to get my personal emotions quietened down a little-let alone sorted out-that my Helen, the real object of my mission, for whom i had been prepared to fight a second Troy before the walls of Kala, appeared on the scene.
In this passage from Mission to Kala, allusion is made to

ABrazilian legend

BGreek mythology

CFrench cosmology

DAmerican history

EAfrican folklore.

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Question 30

jamb 1985

As Medza was getting near to his village on his way from Kala he drinks at the palm wine bar because

Abecause he wants to patronize the local drink

Bhe is very happy to return to his village

Che is very thirsty

Dhe wants to pick up courage to face his father

Ehis journey has been very successful.

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