JAMB Literature in English 1987 past questions and answers

In the play The Gods Are Not To Blame, Odewale became king of Kutuje by

1. A.usurpation in a typical Ijekun manner
2. B.deserting the people of Ikolu whose army he led
3. C.divulging the war secrets of Ikolu to Kutuje
4. D.leading Kutuje in a war against Ikolu.

From The Gods Are Not to Blame (Ola Rotimi)

The consolation referred to by the narrator in The Gods Are Not To Blame is the

1. A.great peace that reigned in the land of Kutuje
2. B.subjugation of the warlike people of Ikolu
3. C.pregnancy of Aburo, Odewale's second wife
4. D.birth of Aderopo by Ojuola.

FIRST BODYGUARD: A madman wanting to see the King! The world, indeed, is mad OJUOLA: How do you know he is a madman? Which of the following is the answer given by the Second Bodyguard to Ojuola in The Gods Are Not To Blame?

1. A.Everyone can see he is mad, your highness
2. B.Only a madman would want to see the King now, your highness
3. C.We all know him very well, your highness
4. D.He is not a man of our tribe, your highness.

'From forth the fatal lions of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life...' These lines from Romeo and Juliet suggest that the

1. A.tragedy could have been averted
2. B.tragedy was predestined
3. C.tragedy was brought on by enmity
4. D.lovers brought misfortune on themselves.

From Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)

In these lines Juliet's beauty is presented

1. A.in contrast to the dark night
2. B.as a source of envy to all
3. C.in terms of riches
4. D.as being unparalleled in the kingdom.

'The all-seeing sun Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun' The above lines were spoken in Romeo and Juliet by

1. A.Count Paris in praise of Juliet
2. B.Romeo in praise of Juliet
3. C.Romeo in praise of Rosaline
4. D.Lady Capulet in praise of Rosaline.

Which of the following illustrates the element of chance in Romeo and Juliet?

1. A.Friar John's delay in giving Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo
2. B.Rosaline's rejection of Romeo's love
3. C.Juliet's confiding in her nurse
4. D.The death of Lady Mountague.

The tragedy in Romeo and Juliet occurs as a result of

1. A.a flaw in the character of Romeo
2. B.a flaw in the character of Juliet
3. C.Friar Lawrence's advice
4. D.circumstances rather than flaws in character.

In 'Abiku', the statement 'Yams do not sprout in amulets To earth Abiku's limbs...' simply means

1. A.Abiku should not be buried with amulets
2. B.yams and amulets are repugnant to Abiku
3. C.Abiku cannot be appeased
4. D.yams cannot grow on Abiku's grave.

From Lenrie Peters' 'We Have Come Home'

Lenrie Peters in his poem, 'We Have Come Home' makes this statement because

1. A.the future is unpredictable
2. B.past sufferings are best forgotten
3. C.there is no point crying over spilled milk
4. D.mourning can be postponed.

In David Diop's 'The Vultures', the statement 'And the monotonous rhythm of the paternoster Drowned the howling on the plantations,' suggests that

1. A.music was more important than work
2. B.boredom received more attention than suffering
3. C.music was more pleasant than cries
4. D.religion received more attention than the suffering slaves.

At the end of the poem 'Pianos and Drums', the protagonist is best described as

1. A.an authentic African
2. B.a cultural mulatto
3. C.a sophisticated African
4. D.a cultured youth.

In J.P. Clark's 'Olokun', the line 'So drunken like ancient walls' means that the worshippers are drunken with

1. A.wine served at Olokun's altar
2. B.sacred water since Olokun rules the sea
3. C.desire for the bounties to be bestowed by Olokun
4. D.intense awe of Olokun.

'I shall sleep under the roof of other heads of hair in shelter from storms'. In Leopold Senghor's poem 'Long long you have held between your hands', the word 'storms' in the above line refers to

1. A.sea storms
2. B.rain storms
3. C.storming raids by the racist police
4. D.storms of passion.

The sufferings of the protagonists in Birago Diop's 'Vanity' are

1. A.caused by circumstance
2. B.Self-inflicted
3. C.imposed on them by enemies
4. D.the act of fate.

In 'Vanity', Birago Diop portrays the African predicament as arising from

1. A.sad complaining voices of beggars
2. B.pitiful anger bowing like a tumour
3. C.not listening to the dead
4. D.clamouring and crying roughly over our torments.

In The Victims, the two old women play the role of

1. A.guardians of tradition
2. B.eavesdroppers
3. C.witches
4. D.chorus.

In The Victims, the affection between Ubaka and Bomboy is significant because it

1. A.results in the death of Ubaka
2. B.shows that young people are more affectionate than their elders
3. C.contrasts with the general hatred in their family
4. D.leads to reconciliation in the family.

In Great Expectations, Pip's nursing of Magwitch is significant because it

1. A.prevents Magwitch's immediate death by prolonging his life
2. B.enables Magwitch to confirm Pip as his heir
3. C.recalls Herbert's nursing of Pip
4. D.shows Pip's moral regeneration.

At the very end of Great Expectations, Estella disclosed to Pip that the source of her present maturity and wisdom was

1. A.the sound education she had at school
2. B.her pleasant association with Mrs. Harvisham
3. C.the suffering she had experienced in life
4. D.her long exposure to high society.

In Great Expectations, while Pip was going away from home to take the coach to London, Joe and Biddy threw old shoes at him because

1. A.Pip had in a haste forgotten to pack those old shoes of his
2. B.they wanted to play a practical joke on Pip for the last time
3. C.Pip had made them angry by his joy to leave home
4. D.they believed that the act would bring him good luck.

Pip's flippant remarks concerning the tombstones in the opening chapter of Great Expectations indicate

1. A.his longing for death
2. B.the child's inability to understand
3. C.his yearning for his parents
4. D.his fascination for inscriptions on stonework.

Caricature is used to

1. A.ridicule a person by distorting his most prominent features
2. B.censure an individual by emphasizing his weakness
3. C.expose the folly in literature
4. D.elicit the artistic potential of dramatists.

The substitution of a mild and pleasant expression for a harsh and blunt one is called

1. A.ambiguity
2. B.climax
3. C.peripety
4. D.euphemism.

Any work of Literature which sets out to instruct may be called

1. A.dialetic
2. B.decadent
3. C.definitive
4. D.didactic.

The novel, The Novella and the Short Story are the major sub-genres of

1. A.non-fiction
2. B.prose fiction
3. C.poetry
4. D.drama.

An antagonist is a character in a narrative who

1. A.uses abusive language to antagonize other characters
2. B.works against the interests of the protagonist
3. C.works against the interests of other characters
4. D.champions the cause of the protagonist.

A sonnet is a poem of

1. A.fourteen lines
2. B.ten lines
3. C.seven stanzas
4. D.six stanzas.

A couplet is a

1. A.succession of three rhyming lines
2. B.succession of two rhyming lines
3. C.poem of two stanzas
4. D.poem of three stanzas.

An allegory is a story

1. A.in which people or things or events have another meaning
2. B.which aims at teaching a moral lesson
3. C.in which allegations are made about the characters
4. D.told in verse.

An ode is best described as a

1. A.story told in poetic form
2. B.poetic composition of fourteen lines
3. C.narration about nature and natural objects
4. D.lyrical poem addressed to some persons or things.

Dialogue (Question 41)

In this brief dialogue, the first line contains the device known as

1. A.synecdoche
2. B.paradox
3. C.oxymoron
4. D.hyperbole.

The dominant literary device in this passage is

1. A.metaphor
2. B.oxymoron
3. C.synecdoche
4. D.personification.

The dominant figure of speech in the above passage is

1. A.synecdoche
2. B.rhetorical question
3. C.parody
4. D.apostrophe.

The phrase 'darkness visible' in the above lines is an example of

1. A.metaphor
2. B.hyperbole
3. C.oxymoron
4. D.litotes.

'Olu hissed, slammed the door and dashed out screaming'. The dominant figure of speech in the above sentence is

1. A.zeugma
2. B.oxymoron
3. C.hyperbole
4. D.onomatopoeia.

Verse extract (Question 46)

The tone in these lines suggest

1. A.the author's desire to accomplish more in life
2. B.anxiety and tension
3. C.tediousness and boredom
4. D.anger and exasperation.

The passage gives ample evidence of the poet's

1. A.sensuous description
2. B.meticulous attention to matters concerning women
3. C.mastery of the Spenserian stanza
4. D.sensual feelings and emotions.

The passage indicates that the author's experience in marriage was

1. A.exhilarating like skiing
2. B.steeped in boredom and monotony
3. C.full of fear of the unknown
4. D.fraught with grief and despair.

In the above lines, the poet achieves special effect by the use of

1. A.transferred epithet
2. B.synecdoche
3. C.alliteration
4. D.simile.

The passage directs its appeal primarily to the sense of

1. A.hearing
2. B.sight
3. C.touch
4. D.smell.