JAMB Literature in English 1980 past questions and answers

Kongi's Harvest.

1. A.Kongi is a democratic ruler
2. B.Kongi is a socialist
3. C.Kongi is a dictator
4. D.Kongi is a respecter of tradition
5. E.none of the above.

Which one of the following statements is true of Lady Macheth?

1. A.She is wicked and hates her husband
2. B.She tells lies against Duncan
3. C.She does not receive Duncan warmly
4. D.She conspires with those guarding Duncan
5. E.She is a loving wife to her husband.

One of the themes of Macbeth is

1. A.how to become a thane
2. B.the prophecy of the weird sisters
3. C.the fight with Macduff
4. D.the defeat of evil by good
5. E.the death of Duncan.

One of the themes of As You Like It is

1. A.life in the forest
2. B.wrestling matches
3. C.disguise
4. D.the meaning of true love
5. E.banishment.

One of the differences between tragedy and comedy is

1. A.there is humour in comedy but not in tragedy
2. B.there is suffering in tragedy but not in comedy
3. C.there is feasting in comedy but not in tragedy
4. D.there is a happy ending in comedy but not in tragedy
5. E.none of the above.

The main purpose of drama is to

1. A.tell the story of dead people
2. B.teach us how to write
3. C.educate us
4. D.entertain us
5. E.both educate and entertain us.

'There is a devil in me that wants things I cannot get' The speaker in the novel Mine Boy' is

1. A.Lena
2. B.Drunk Liz
3. C.Malsey
4. D.Paddy
5. E.Eliza.

The difficulties of his early life taught Kaunda the value of

1. A.self interest
2. B.economy
3. C.changing jobs
4. D.self help
5. E.political protest.

From Macbeth (Shakespeare)

This is the night

1. A.when Banquo was murdered
2. B.before Macbeth was killed
3. C.when Duncan and his men were fighting the enemy
4. D.when Macbeth went to see the witches
5. E.when Duncan was murdered.

Kofi had to live under a master and go to school in Keta because

1. A.his mother lived in Keta
2. B.his father was transferred to Abor
3. C.he lost his school fees to gamblers
4. D.his father's school was a junior school
5. E.his father wanted to punish him.

Ananse knew who loved his daughter most through

1. A.the quality of gifts they sent to him
2. B.the eagerness which each showed to marry her
3. C.their reactions to the news of Anansewa's death
4. D.the words of their messengers
5. E.the letters the chiefs wrote to him.

Orlando addressed the banished duke and his men roughly because

1. A.he was hungry
2. B.he was greedy
3. C.he was afraid
4. D.he thought they were wild
5. E.they refused to give him food.

In As You Like It Orland's defeat of Charles, the Duke's wrestler made his brother Oliver

1. A.decide to reconcile with him
2. B.plan to kill him
3. C.hate him more
4. D.ask the servant, Adam to drive him away
5. E.give him his deserved inheritance.

'To be thus is nothing But to be safely thus Our fear in Banquo stick deep'. Soon after these words, Macbeth is dramatically 'attended' by

1. A.Banquo and his son
2. B.two murderers
3. C.Lady Macbeth
4. D.Lady Macbeth and a servant
5. E.Banquo.

'Thou losest labour As easy mayst thou the interenchant air with thy keen sword impress as make me bleed'. Macbeth's contempt from Macduff's efforts in this battle scene arises from

1. A.the quality of his military uniform
2. B.the fact that he cannot be hurt by mortals
3. C.the fact that the witches have given him charms
4. D.the fact that the witches have made him think no mortal can hurt him
5. E.the fact that he is as light as air.

Eliza in Mine Boy is representative of

1. A.European female sophistication
2. B.the disaster of an African wishing to be European
3. C.moral decadence in South Africa where women smoke
4. D.the hardships of a black female teacher
5. E.the loneliness of a female teacher in Malay Camp.

Which of these characters in Abraham's Mine Boy is notorious for playing with a knife?

1. A.Xuma
2. B.Leah
3. C.Ma Plank
4. D.Dladla
5. E.Joseph.

'The doctors looked at Chris and Johannes. They were both dead. 'They kept the place up with their bodies so that we could get out!' a mine boy cried and began to sob (Mine Boy). The death of Chris and Johannes is symbolic because

1. A.it shows how black and white can and ought to make sacrifices for mutual benefit
2. B.it leads to the arrest of the miners by the police
3. C.it shows the bad conditions of the mines
4. D.it is the result of panic
5. E.it keeps Xuma out of trouble.

In Mine Boy Peter Abrahams is of the view that apartheid would cease to exist in South Africa if

1. A.the blacks forced out the whites
2. B.the whites packed their bags and went away peacefully
3. C.the whites became more generous and gentle to the blacks
4. D.black and white stopped regarding people primarily by the colour of the skin
5. E.unequal treatment of black and white at the mines was discontinued.

Kongi wants to eat the New Yam during the Harvest Festival because

1. A.he was very hungry after his period of fasting
2. B.the Yam won the agriculture contest
3. C.it belonged to the Royal House
4. D.it symbolized the acquisition of power
5. E.he wanted to reconcile with Oba Danlola.

In As You Like It, the verse which begins. 'Blow blow thou winter wind' is about

1. A.a storm in winter
2. B.man's ingratitude
3. C.Duk Senior's cave
4. D.Le Beau's love for Snowballs
5. E.Orlando's love for Rosalind.

Kongi's Harvest is

1. A.a political drama
2. B.a social comedy
3. C.a play about natural rulers
4. D.a historical tragedy
5. E.a domestic comedy.

From Macbeth (Shakespeare)

In these lines Shakespeare uses

1. A.hyperbole
2. B.metonymy
3. C.onomatopoeia
4. D.simile
5. E.apostrophe.

These lines fairly represent the attitude of Ulysses' life. This attitude may be described as

1. A.complaining continually about life
2. B.unwillingness to agree and work with others.
3. C.ceaseless labour and search for challenges
4. D.dislike of one's country or home
5. E.roaming and idling.

The poetic beauty of the last line owes to the use of

1. A.simile
2. B.onomatopoeia
3. C.metaphor
4. D.archaism
5. E.metonymy.

In 'Ode to a Nightingale' Keats celebrates the beauty of

1. A.a particular 'immortal Bird'
2. B.all nightingales
3. C.artistic expression
4. D.philosophical statement
5. E.the nightingale Ruth heard.

In 'Procession I–Hanging Day', Soyinka writes about

1. A.what he actually witnessed
2. B.an imaginary event
3. C.what he read about in the papers
4. D.what the prison warder told him
5. E.what everyone knows.

When the Franklin declares in the prologue to his tale that he has 'not slept on Mount Parnassus' he meant that

1. A.his bed has always been uncomfortable
2. B.he has sleepless nights
3. C.he has no literary pretensions
4. D.he is well-versed in rhetorics
5. E.he is a poor sleeper.

The dominant images in Kalu Uka's 'Earth to Earth' are those of

1. A.love and beauty
2. B.youth and joy
3. C.death and burial
4. D.the sweetness of wooing
5. E.the richness of a man's memory.

'The Tiger' of William Blake is made up of a series of

1. A.analogies
2. B.rhetorical questions
3. C.apostrophes
4. D.exaggerations
5. E.similes.

Verse extract (Question 35)

An appropriate title for these lines is...

1. A.The end
2. B.A Lover's Hopes
3. C.Joys of Being in Love
4. D.The Journey of Life
5. E.Glad Lover.

This passage achieves realism through the use of

1. A.details
2. B.simple words
3. C.the long sentence
4. D.the past tense
5. E.punctuation.

In 'The World is Too Much With Us', Wordsworth wishes that people could

1. A.become pagans
2. B.appreciate the beauty of Nature more
3. C.go to see Proteus and Triton
4. D.become part of Nature
5. E.give their 'hearts away'.

Verse extract (Question 38)

The images in the passage mostly draw attention to

1. A.fun
2. B.ill health
3. C.carelessness
4. D.sacrifice
5. E.dicting.

It is suggested in these lines that

1. A.the beauty of the morning gains from the beauty of the city
2. B.the beauty of the city gains from the beauty of the morning
3. C.the beauty of the city and the beauty of the morning are unrelated
4. D.the beauty of the same has nothing to do with either the city or the morning
5. E.there is no beauty on earth.

Line 3 is made memorable by the use of

1. A.simile
2. B.metaphor
3. C.polysyndeton
4. D.monosyndeton
5. E.alliteration.

The feeling in the poem 'Nightfall in Soweto' is one of

1. A.gratitude
2. B.love
3. C.hate
4. D.joy
5. E.safety.

The subject matter of 'A Troubadour I Traverse' is

1. A.suffering and oppression
2. B.laughter and happiness
3. C.singing and merry making
4. D.love for a woman
5. E.long journey.

Poetry deals with one of the following

1. A.emotion only
2. B.death only
3. C.ideas only
4. D.emotion and ideas
5. E.beauty only.

From Kalu Uka's 'Earth to Earth'

The rhyme scheme in this passage from Kalu Uka's 'Earth to Earth' is

1. A.alternate rhymes
2. B.triplets
3. C.Couplets
4. D.free verse
5. E.blank verse.

All the images used to describe where the poet always stops in Lenrie Peter's 'The Fence' are suggestive of the character's

1. A.cleverness
2. B.versatility
3. C.moral weakness
4. D.romantic disposition
5. E.evil nature.

In Gray's 'Elegy' the poor are

1. A.abused
2. B.accursed
3. C.romanticized
4. D.praised
5. E.admonished.

Chaucer presents The Franklin as

1. A.a great noble man
2. B.a devout Christian
3. C.an epicurian in taste
4. D.a jovial character
5. E.an ambitious man.