JAMB Literature in English 1984 past questions and answers

In Julius Caesar, we learn that political success depends largely on

1. A.virtue, honesty, and patriotism
2. B.cunning and a readiness to make use of others
3. C.a strong body and a good career as a soldier
4. D.a sound training in political science and public speaking
5. E.having a generous, sympathetic and God-fearing spirit.

'Hence! Wilt thou lift up Olympus?' is a memorable lines from Julius Caesar by

1. A.Brutus
2. B.Mark Antony
3. C.Octavius Caesar
4. D.Cassius
5. E.Julius Caesar.

From Julius Caesar (Shakespeare)

The incident referred to in these lines is

1. A.Caesar's victorious return to Rome
2. B.Calpurnia's hideous dream
3. C.Mark Antony's oration at Caesar's funeral
4. D.the plebeians' reaction to Caesar's death
5. E.the soothsayer's meeting with Portia.

The combined reactions of the plebeians after the separate speeches of Brutus and Antony show that the common man as portrayed in Julius Caesar

1. A.is knowledgeable, has a mind of his own, and is reliable
2. B.is fickle-minded, changeable and not dependable
3. C.considers Caesar a tyrant and wants him killed
4. D.does not consider Caesar an over-ambitious man deserving death
5. E.is actually unconcerned whether Caesar lives or dies.

Brutus joined the conspiracy against Caesar because he

1. A.knew that Caesar was ambitious
2. B.was a great lover of freedom
3. C.was made to believe that Caesar was ambitious
4. D.respected Casca and had a high opinion of Cassius
5. E.was greatly loved by the Romans.

What literary mode best describes Soyinka's The Trials of Brother Jero?

1. A.Tragedy
2. B.Satire
3. C.Tragi-comedy
4. D.Epic
5. E.Baroque.

Brother Jero's attitude to his vocation is

1. A.self-denying
2. B.commercial
3. C.philanthropic
4. D.nonchalant
5. E.messianic.

Of the issues raised by Wole Soyinka in The Trials of Brother Jero, the most central deals with the

1. A.frustrations of an incompatible marriage
2. B.rivalry of religious sects
3. C.negative qualities of women
4. D.evils of religious demagogy
5. E.disadvantages of the over-ambitious, naive personality.

The 'curse' the old master put on Brother Jero is that he would

1. A.drown in water
2. B.be killed by armed robbers
3. C.come to ruin by women
4. D.loss his prophetic vision
5. E.die in a road mishap.

'Vanished. Transported. Utterly transmuted. I knew it. I knew I stood in the presence of God ...' This statement of ecstasy was made in The Trials of Brother Jero by

1. A.Brother Jero
2. B.Chume
3. C.the old prophet
4. D.the unnamed penitent woman
5. E.the unnamed member of parliament.

The dominant mood in Senghor's poem 'In Memoriam' is one of

1. A.nostalgia
2. B.sadness
3. C.despair
4. D.joy
5. E.frustration.

In 'Nuit de Sine,' the word 'dark' in 'listen to our dark blood beat' is used

1. A.figuratively
2. B.scientifically
3. C.literally
4. D.imaginatively
5. E.culturally.

From Senghor's 'Nuit de Sine'

The dang in the verse from 'Nuit de Sine' refers to

1. A.wheels for spinning cotton into yarn
2. B.sea-weed, full of salt
3. C.a Wolof word for granulated flour meal, known also as couscous
4. D.a Northern Ugandan local brew, usually strong and meant for men
5. E.a kind of narcotic or stimulant.

'Nkosi Sikekela' in Brutus' 'After Exile', refers to a

1. A.general in the Zulu army
2. B.Zulu song used as a national anthem by Africans south of Zambezi
3. C.soldier in the Zulu army
4. D.Zulu poem
5. E.Zulu poet.

The speaker in 'When a Strainer Takes in Water' invokes a series of natural impossibilities in order to

1. A.display his magical powers as a traditional priest
2. B.show the poetic beauty of incantatory songs
3. C.show the marvel about natural objects
4. D.practise witchcraft on his enemies
5. E.psychologically and magically disarm his enemies.

From Kofi Awoonor's 'More Messages'

The most obvious sound device in these lines from Kofi Awoonor's 'More Messages' is

1. A.onomatopoeia
2. B.repetition
3. C.assonance
4. D.alliteration
5. E.consonance.

In the poem 'Night' Soyinka considers nightfall as

1. A.welcome and totally pleasant
2. B.unwelcome and unpleasant
3. C.dangerous and uninviting
4. D.seductive and threatening
5. E.beautiful and wholesome.

Verse extract (Question 20)

The general atmosphere portrayed in the above passage is one of

1. A.peace and quiet
2. B.contentment and calm
3. C.anger and anxiety
4. D.commotion and confusion
5. E.poverty and want.

In Animal Farm, the commandments originally drawn up by Snowball and Napoleon sought to declare

1. A.the supremacy of animal over man
2. B.that animals shall in no way imitate human activities
3. C.that man is infinitely superior
4. D.that animal and man are equal
5. E.that animals are inferior to humans.

Poem from Animal Farm (George Orwell)

The poem (in Animal Farm) refers to

1. A.Squealer
2. B.Snowball
3. C.Napoleon
4. D.Boxer
5. E.Clover.

In Animal Farm, the song was first sung by

1. A.Snowball
2. B.Squealer
3. C.Old Major
4. D.Napoleon
5. E.Bluebell.

Since George Orwell was in fact writing about men while pretending to be writing about animals, his novel, Animal Farm, can be classified as

1. A.a realistic novel
2. B.an allegorical novel
3. C.a naturalistic novel
4. D.a novel of adventure
5. E.a sentimental novel.

'All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.' In the context of Animal Farm this statement means that equality

1. A.is possible only under socialism
2. B.is possible only under capitalism
3. C.is not desirable
4. D.was possible only in the past
5. E.is desirable but impossible.

Achebe's Things Fall Apart can be described as a

1. A.regional novel
2. B.detective novel
3. C.romantic novel
4. D.historical novel
5. E.novel of social criticism.

From Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)

This passage from Things Fall Apart suggests that one of the reasons why traditional African society disintegrated was that Africans are

1. A.weary, lazy people
2. B.very docile people
3. C.peace-loving people
4. D.militarily weak people
5. E.inferior beings compared to white people.

The mood described in this passage from Things Fall Apart had been brought on by the

1. A.death of Unoka
2. B.killing of Ikemefuna
3. C.exiling of Okonkwo
4. D.transfer of Mr. Brown
5. E.imprisonment of Okonkwo.

The episode in which the priestess of Agbala takes Ezinma to the shrine at night is meant to demonstrate how

1. A.daring Okonkwo is
2. B.much the priestess dislikes Okonkwo's family
3. C.much concerned for his family Okonkwo is
4. D.disrespectful to traditional office-holders Umuofia is
5. E.rude and unfeeling the priestess is.

From Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)

In this passage, as in many other parts of Things Fall Apart, Achebe celebrates

1. A.living according to nature
2. B.the spirit of communal living
3. C.the ancestral spirit
4. D.the virtues of self-reliance
5. E.traditional festivals.

'We can take you where he is, and perhaps your men will help us.' In the above sentence taken from Achebe's Things Fall Apart, the pronoun he refers to

1. A.Obierika
2. B.Okoli
3. C.Odukwe
4. D.Okonkwo
5. E.Ezenwa.

A question put, not chiefly to elicit an answer, but to make an emphatic statement is known as

1. A.paradoxical
2. B.metaphysical
3. C.logical
4. D.rhetorical
5. E.leading.

Writing about an abstract object as though it had human qualities is known as

1. A.apostrophe
2. B.personification
3. C.denotation
4. D.allusion
5. E.imitation.

A short, emphatic, witty saying, often involving antithesis or paradox is an

1. A.epithet
2. B.epigram
3. C.invective
4. D.impression
5. E.analogy.

The plot of a story generally refers to the

1. A.intrigue made by a character against the hero
2. B.intrigue made by a hero against a character
3. C.way the writer begins the story
4. D.way the writer ends the story
5. E.way in which the events of the story are organized.

The protagonist of a story is generally

1. A.the protest made by the principal character against his adversaries
2. B.the principal character of the story
3. C.the theme of the story
4. D.one of the minor characters in the story
5. E.the protest made by a character against the hero.

What we call 'tragic flaw' is the

1. A.element of plot that makes a work dramatic
2. B.typographical error occurring in a work of drama
3. C.pronunciation error made by an actor on stage
4. D.unsuccessful play written by an otherwise great dramatist
5. E.weakness in character responsible for the downfall of a dramatic hero.

A wellknown epic in English literature is

1. A.Robinson Crusoe
2. B.The Merchant of Venice
3. C.Sons and Lovers
4. D.Treasure Island
5. E.Paradise Lost.

'Assonance' is the product of a poet's use of

1. A.masculine rhyme
2. B.many consonant
3. C.regular rhythm
4. D.similar sounding vowels
5. E.imaginative metaphors.

To be complete, a play MUST have

1. A.a prologue
2. B.an epilogue
3. C.dramatic irony
4. D.a conflict
5. E.several soliloquies.

Which of the following novels was written by a Nigerian?

1. A.The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born
2. B.Weep Not Child
3. C.Mine Boy
4. D.A Man of the People
5. E.Mission to Kala.

Verse extract (Question 43)

In this passage 'contrition' is

1. A.personified
2. B.satirized
3. C.exaggerated
4. D.modified
5. E.emphasized.

The description of the town in this passage suggests

1. A.peaceful co-existence
2. B.lack of progress
3. C.warmth and friendliness
4. D.organized living
5. E.monotony.

The mood captured in this passage is one of

1. A.nostalgia
2. B.despair
3. C.confidence
4. D.hope
5. E.joy.

The writer here is suggesting that political language is

1. A.convincing
2. B.deceptive
3. C.interesting
4. D.destructive
5. E.commendable.

In describing the action of the climber, the writer has used the literary device of

1. A.simile
2. B.hyperbole
3. C.irony
4. D.onomatopoeia
5. E.personification.

In recounting his criminal life, this speaker's tone is

1. A.repentant
2. B.boastful
3. C.regretful
4. D.subdued
5. E.remorseful.

The last statement in this passage is an example of

1. A.understatement
2. B.overstatement
3. C.hyperbole
4. D.sarcastic humour
5. E.poetic diction.

'The gate of polished reed closes behind them And the west is let in.' The above are the last two lines of David Rubadiri's 'Stanley Meets Mutesa' and they suggest that

1. A.the sun set after the arrival of Stanley
2. B.Stanley was shut out of Western civilization
3. C.Stanley symbolizes the advent of colonization
4. D.Stanley was very well received
5. E.Stanley thought he would be eaten up by the natives.