JAMB Literature in English 1989 past questions and answers

From The Lion and the Jewel (Wole Soyinka)

What custom does Lakunle refer to in the above excerpt?

1. A.The seduction of a maiden
2. B.Wrestling contests as an exercise
3. C.The practice of polygamy
4. D.The payment of bride price.

In the light of subsequent happenings, these words reveal that the speaker

1. A.abhors polygamy
2. B.has become impotent
3. C.is a crafty seducer
4. D.is disgusted with life.

What is the nature of the balm referred to by the speaker?

1. A.An antiseptic ointment
2. B.A special method of massage
3. C.News about Sidi
4. D.A gourd of palm wine.

The immediate consequence of the publication of Sidi's pictures is to make her

1. A.want to marry the photographer
2. B.feel more important than Baroka
3. C.want to go to the city
4. D.appreciate Lakunle's learning.

From Arms and the Man (George Bernard Shaw)

These questions are addressed to

1. A.Louka
2. B.Sophia
3. C.Raina
4. D.Catherine.

'Excuse me Bluntschli, what did you say had spoiled your chances in life?' According to Bluntschli what had spoiled his chances in life was

1. A.an irrepressible Casanovan trait
2. B.a chronic baromial temperament
3. C.a hard boiled classical disposition
4. D.an incurably romantic disposition.

The initial reluctance of the Petkoff's family to accept Bluntschli's marriage proposition to Raina was on the account of his

1. A.lowly birth
2. B.low military status
3. C.inadequate material possession
4. D.strange origin.

Which of the following characters fight against vague idealism in life?

1. A.Major Petkoff
2. B.Captain Bluntschli
3. C.Catherine
4. D.Raina.

The play ends on a note of

1. A.cynicism
2. B.idealism
3. C.realism
4. D.despair.

From Birago Diop's 'Vanity'

'Vanity' expresses

1. A.regret and disappointment
2. B.disillusion and despair
3. C.disdain and disgust
4. D.satisfaction and pleasure.

The oilbean in Christopher Okigbo's 'The Passage' refers to

1. A.one of the totems of Idoto
2. B.the only totem of Idoto
3. C.the abundance of oilbean trees by the river
4. D.the use of the oilbean for magical purposes.

From Theo Luzuka's 'The Motoka'

The above stanza from Theo Luzuka's 'The Motoka' demonstrates that the minister is

1. A.corrupt and immoral
2. B.a gifted doctoral graduate of Makerere
3. C.an owner of a motor-car which is laden with whisky
4. D.undeserving of the literate thighs of an undergraduate.

In Odia Ofeimun's 'The Prodigals', the attitude of the returnees is best described as

1. A.remorseful
2. B.unrepentant
3. C.hopeful
4. D.despondent.

The lesson learnt from 'The Fulani Creation Story' is that Doondari cannot tolerate

1. A.man
2. B.blindness
3. C.sleep
4. D.pride.

J.P. Clark's 'Streamside Exchange', depicts an interplay of

1. A.anxiety and passion
2. B.ignorance and wisdom
3. C.excitement and passion
4. D.anxiety and ignorance.

'... Horrors were your flowers then, the bright red bougainvilla'. The above lines from Kwesi Brew's 'The Executioner's Dream' depict the executioner's

1. A.attractiveness
2. B.beauty consciousness
3. C.gentleness
4. D.callousness.

'... and we learn to sing half familiar half strange songs. We learn to dance to half familiar half strange rhythms...'

1. A.songs compositional complexity
2. B.singers' weakness of perception
3. C.singers' cultural problems
4. D.singers' innate stupidity.

Nwaka's hostility to Ezeulu is attributable to

1. A.his great wealth and sense of importance
2. B.the rivalry between Umuneora and Umuachala
3. C.the instigation of Ezidemili
4. D.his jealousy of Ezeulu's mysterious powers.

Ezeulu sent his son, Oduche, to join the Christians because

1. A.of his great love for the whiteman
2. B.he had come to distrust the power of Ulu
3. C.he did not want Oduche to succeed him as chief priest
4. D.he wanted a representative in the group in case they became powerful.

The lesson which emerges from the fate of Ezeulu is that

1. A.the will of the priest is the will of his god
2. B.Christianity is superior to traditional religion
3. C.no man ever won judgement against his clan
4. D.Captain Winterbottom was right afterall.

'... a man who brings ant-ridden faggots into his hut should expect the visit of lizards...' What does Nwaka refer to as 'ant-ridden faggots' in this context?

1. A.The visit of the court messenger
2. B.The unexpected consultation of Ezeulu with the chiefs of Umuaro
3. C.The friendship between Ezeulu and the whiteman
4. D.Ezeulu's rejection of the kind gesture of some chiefs to accompany him to Okperi.

From Arrow of God (Chinua Achebe)

The above statement was made by Ofoka about

1. A.Nwaka
2. B.Akuebue
3. C.Ezeulu
4. D.Obika.

Whom do you consider to be Ezeulu's closest friend and confidant in Umuaro?

1. A.Nwaka of Umuneora
2. B.Ogbuefi Akuebue
3. C.Nwokeke Nnaberi
4. D.The priest of Idemili.

What special function does Ramatoulaye's diary perform?

1. A.It is a record of her personal experiences
2. B.It brings succour to her in distress
3. C.It helps her understand current events
4. D.It aids her memory of past events.

From So Long a Letter (Mariama Ba)

In the above excerpt from her letter to Mawdo Ba, Aissatou sees society as

1. A.benefiting the ruling classes
2. B.unequal and unjust
3. C.oppressing the working classes
4. D.giving every person his just deserts.

'Was it madness, weakness, irresistible love? What inner confusion led Modou Fall to marry Binetou?...' Ramatoulaye finds the answers to these questions in

1. A.the inherent weakness of man
2. B.the Islamic tradition
3. C.human destiny
4. D.the fickleness of human nature.

Ramatoulaye's attitude to her co-wife is that of

1. A.jealousy
2. B.anger
3. C.contempt
4. D.pity.

In a work of literature, plot is constructed on

1. A.the principles of conflict
2. B.exciting and memorable episodes
3. C.the use of figurative language
4. D.recurring events.

In literary work, setting refers to the

1. A.starting point of the story
2. B.sum total of physical, social and historical circumstances
3. C.orderly arrangement of episodes
4. D.point at which the fortunes of the hero begin to decline.

The prologue of any work is the

1. A.conclusion
2. B.introduction
3. C.middle
4. D.turning point.

Otivation in any work is the

1. A.special figure of speech that is used in the work
2. B.ovation encountered in the work
3. C.difficult expression found in the work
4. D.explanation of the behaviour of the characters.

In a comic-tragedy, the unknotting of the plot, the resolution of the mystery and the resolution of the misunderstanding is called

1. A.peripety
2. B.exposition
3. C.denouement
4. D.catharsis.

Which of the following BEST describes a ballad?

1. A.Short literary song
2. B.Short literary story
3. C.Short story that contains a song
4. D.Short song that tells a story.

A story, exemplifying a moral thesis, in which animals talk and act like human beings, is called

1. A.an anecdote
2. B.a parable
3. C.a fable
4. D.an exemplum.

The main distinguishing feature of literature is that it

1. A.tells untrue stories
2. B.is relevant to life
3. C.deals with exciting and memorable events
4. D.presents fictional accounts of human experience.

A poem written in honour and praise of somebody else is

1. A.a eulogy
2. B.an epic
3. C.an epigram
4. D.a lyric.

In literary criticism, the vocabulary or language used by a writer is generally known as

1. A.diction
2. B.figures of speech
3. C.characterization
4. D.rhythms.

'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by S.T. Coleridge

The dominant figure of speech in the above passage is

1. A.paradox
2. B.repetition
3. C.alliteration
4. D.antithesis.

The main figure of speech in the above passage is

1. A.apostrophe
2. B.hyperbole
3. C.euphemism
4. D.metonymy.

The literary term used for this kind of writing is

1. A.biography
2. B.autograph
3. C.orthography
4. D.autobiography.

The above lamentation is an example of a

1. A.simile
2. B.metaphor
3. C.personification
4. D.zeugma.

'Hee, thou great Anna! whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes counsel take – and sometimes tea'. The literary device used in this passage is

1. A.antithesis
2. B.climax
3. C.epigram
4. D.anticlimax.

'In the morning Benjamin complained of a headache; at noon he collapsed; by midnight he was as dead and cold as a stone'. The dominant literary device in the above statement is

1. A.simile
2. B.epigram
3. C.climax
4. D.anticlimax.

'Ode – Intimations of Immorality' by William Worthsworth

The above lines convey a sense of

1. A.dejection
2. B.uneasy acceptance
3. C.deep distress
4. D.nostalgia.

The style of writing in the passage can be described as

1. A.introspective
2. B.confused
3. C.confrontational
4. D.passive.

The person described in the passage is

1. A.a lackadaisical person
2. B.unsaver
3. C.uninteresting
4. D.a finicky individual.

The poem ends on a note of

1. A.indecision
2. B.despair
3. C.hope
4. D.determination.