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Literature in English Past Questions

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2,378 questions

Question 1 of 20 2,378 total questions

Question 871

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
'I die, yet depart not,
I am bound, yet soar free;
Thou art and thou art not,
And ever shall be!'
'The City of Dreams' by Robert Buchanan. The literary device consciously used in the above extract is

Ametaphysical conceit

Bparadox

Coxymoron

Dmeiosis

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Question 872

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
'His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink,'
Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
The dominant device in this extract is

Aprogressive repetition

Bprogressive amplification

Cbold contrast

Drhyetorical emphasis

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Question 873

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
'Beautiful Kareendi, flower of my heart. No one but you can type them. For I want to send them care of the address of your heart, by the post of your heart, to be read by the eye of your heart, thereafter to be kept within your heart, sealed there forever and ever'.
Devil on the Cross by Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
The aesthetic appeal of this seduction emanates from the predominant use of

Asimile

Bmetaphor

Cmetonymy

Dsynecdoche

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Question 874

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
A necessary quality of every work of literature is that it

Ashows a creative use of language

Bhas to be publishable in order to gain wide acceptance

Cteaches a moral lesson

Dcharacters or actors

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Question 875

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
In literary criticism, a casual reference to a figure or an event is regarded as an

Aalliteration

Ballegory

Callusion

Dambiguity

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Question 876

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
A paradox is

Aapplied to a word or combination of words whose sound resembles the sense

Ba statement which seems self-contraditory or absurd, yet turns out to have a valid meaning

Can episode of pantomime introduced through gesture and bodily movement in a play

Dan elaborately conceived poem expressing an urban poet's nostalgia for life in the country

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Question 877

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
Which of the following could be applicable to all genres?

ASymbolism

BRhythm

CAction

DNarration

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Question 878

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
Which of the following is central to narrative fiction?

ASequence of events

BDialogue

CObjectivity

DSubjectivity

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Question 879

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
A statement whose meaning is contrary to that openly expressed is an example of

Ametaphor

Boxymoron

Cirony

Dpersonification

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Question 880

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
When a character in a literary work exists primarily to enhance, through contrast, the portrayal of the personal traits of another character is a

Aprotagonist

Bantagonist

Cmirror character

Dfoil

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Question 881

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
The epilogue in a literary composition is

Aat the beginning

Bin the middle

Cat the end

Djust before the end

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Question 882

jamb 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation.
The basic idea of any given work of art is its

Aimagery

Bstyle

Ctheme

Dtone

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Question 883

jamb 1990

This question is based on Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter
The letter from used in the novel is particularly effective because it

Ais dramatic in impact

Bdispenses with dialogue

Cis an intimate form of expression

Dis tragic in content

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Question 884

jamb 1990

This question is based on Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter
'... In spite of your voice and your gift of oratory, you preferred obscure work, less well paid but constructive for your country,...
This description refers to

AModou Fall

BMawdo Ba

CDaouda Dieng

DAissatou

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Question 885

jamb 1990

This question is based on Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter
'Friendship has splendours that love knows not.
It grows stronger when crossed, whereas obstacles kill love. Friendship resists time, which wearies and severs couples. It has heights unknown to love'.
The friendship referred to in these lines is that between

ABinetou and Modou Fall

BRamatoulaye and Daouda Dieng

CModou Faill and Mawdo Ba

DAissatou and Ramatoulaye

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Question 886

jamb 1990

This question is based on Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter
Aunty Nabou's subtle influence over young Nabou was developed and effected through

Aformal education

Bfamily ties

Coral education

Dmaternal authority

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Question 887

jamb 1990

This question is based on Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter
What is the source of Aissatou's success in life?

AVengeance

BFeminine courage

CSocial connections

DLuck

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Question 888

jamb 1990

This question is based on Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God
''...It is praiseworthy to be brave and fearless, my son, but sometimes it is better to be a coward.
We often stand in the compound of a coward to point at the ruins where a brave man used to live. soon submit to the burial mat.''
In this passage, Ezeulu is pointing out to his son the wisdom in

Amoderation

Bbravery

Ccowardice

Dsitting on the fence

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Question 889

jamb 1990

This question is based on Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God
The immediate cause of the war between Umuaro and Okperi was the

Aland dispute

Bmurder of Akukalia

Cintervention of Captain Winterbottom

Dsiting of the colonial adminstrative headquarters at Okperi

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Question 890

jamb 1990

This question is based on Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God
'''It is good for a misfortune like this to happen once in a while,'he said, 'so that we can know the thoughts of our friends and neighbours. Unless the wind blows we do not see the fowl's rump.''
The 'misfortune' referred to in this extract was the

Amisunderstanding between Akueke and her husand

Boutrage which Oduche committed against the sacred python

Csending away of Ezeulu's sons to worship the whiteman's God

Dominous vist of Ezeulu's in-laws to his compound

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