Classroom

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.

2,378 questions JAMB 2378 WAEC 1459 CUSTOM 2

Select subject

Download PHP app Ask a Question Check Syllabus Past Question Videos Topic Video Lessons

Take a test

Custom CBT

Create and set up a CBT environment with your preferred subjects.

JAMB CBT Simulator

Practice JAMB CBT with real UTME past questions in CBT format.

WAEC CBT Practice 2026 Simulator

CB-WASSCE styled past question practice.

NECO CBT Practice 2026 Simulator

SSCE & GCE styled past question practice.

Past Questions

2,378 questions

Question 1 of 20 2,378 total questions

Question 971

jamb 1986

A poem of mourning and dedicated written on the death of an individual is called

Aam elegy

Ban eulogy

Ca sonnet

Dan ode.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 972

jamb 1986

The literary device which uses ridicule to correct social ills is known as

Asatire

Bparadox

Chyperbole

Depigram.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 973

jamb 1986

Which of the following terms is exclusive to drama?

ADialogue

BPlot

CProtagonist

DSoliloquy.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 974

jamb 1986

Which of the following could be said to be a permanent feature of a poem?

ARhyme

BRepetition

CRhythm

DSymbolism.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 975

jamb 1986

Reversal of fortune as used in the criticism of a literary work describes the

Arise to fame of the central character

Bsuccess of the hero or heroine

Creward of the hero

Dsudden change in the fate of the central character.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 976

jamb 1986

Which of the following is NOT a form of poetic expression

ASestet

BLyric

CSonnet

DElegy.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 977

jamb 1986

The epilogue in a play refers to the

Aconflict in the play

Btail-piece

Copening chorus

Ddramatic action.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 978

jamb 1986

When the speech is written so as to be understood in one way by a certain character, while the audience or another character understands it to have some secret and special meaning, the literary device used in this context is called

Adramatic irony

Bparadox

Callusion

Dhyperbole.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 979

jamb 1986

'No; This my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine
Making the green and red .'
In the above lines the figure of speech used is

Ametaphor

Bsimile

Chyperbole

Dparadox

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 980

jamb 1986

Tunde's long and vigorous speech was followed by a deafening silence.
The phrase deafening silence is used as a figure of speech called

Aoxymoron

Bmetaphor

Csimile

Dhyperbole.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 981

jamb 1986

The theme of Gabriel Okara's 'Piano and Drums' is usually summed up in the phrase

Aclash of cultures

Bprimal youth of the African

Cbeauty of the Concerto

Dthe decay of African Civilization.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 982

jamb 1986

The gurgling drums
Echo the stars
The forest howls
And between the tress
The dark sun appears.
The dominant figure of speech in the above lines from Lenrie Peter's 'We Have Come Home' is

Asynecdoche

Bsimile

Cmetaphor

Dpersonification.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 983

jamb 1986

Much of the poetic effect of Birago Diop's 'Viaticum' is gained by the poet's use of

Arepetition of symbolic references

Brhetorical questions

Cexaggeration

Dflowering language.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 984

jamb 1986

'The Vultures built in the shadow of their talons
The blood-stained monument of tutelage.'
The image used in the above lines associates the civilizing missions with

Aredemption from ignorance

Bviolence and oppression

Cconversion from paganism

Dthe building of beautiful edifices.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 985

jamb 1986

In the poem 'The Vultures', David Diop suggests that the Christians missionaries were agents of

Aagrarian revolution

Bbaptism

Cjustics

Dcolonialism.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 986

jamb 1986

Which of the following statement is NOT true of the two 'Abiku' poems by J.P Clark and Wole Soyinka?

Ain each of the two poems, the voice of the Abiku is heard

Bwhile the tone of Clark's poem is conciliatory, that of Soyinka is defiant

Cit would appear that making body marks on the two Abiku has not served the customary purpose of stopping them from coming again

Das the two poet portray them, Clark's Abiku can choose to stay or not to stay, but Soyinka's Abiku cannot.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 987

jamb 1986

The tone of Wole Soyinka's 'Abiku is

Aarrogant and cynical

Bmysterious and cunning

Cunderstanding but cynical

Dkind and thoughtful.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 988

jamb 1986

From the poem itself, it is easy to tell that J.P. Clark's Abiku' is set in

Aancient times

Ba hut in a riverine village

Ca modern city by the sea

Dthe only mansion in the village.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 989

jamb 1986

The impression created of the rain in J.P. Clark's 'Night Rain' is that of

Aan implacable destructive force

Ban invading but paradoxically welcome force

Ca welcome and benevolent force

Da sinister and ominous force.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question 990

jamb 1986

The dominant mood in J.P. Clark's 'Night Rain' is that of

Aindignation

Bsorrow

Cjoy

Doptimism.

View Explanation & Discuss

Question Navigator

Current

Literature in English Past Questions

Take a test

Custom CBT

JAMB CBT Simulator

WAEC CBT Practice 2026 Simulator

NECO CBT Practice 2026 Simulator

Past Questions

Question Navigator

MathsFaculty