WAEC Literature in English 2001 past questions and answers

She Stoops to Conquer is subtitled 'The Mistakes of a Night'.

The three genres are prose, poetry and drama.

A paradox seems absurd or contradictory but contains a truth.

People who watch a play are the audience.

Poetry packs meaning into few, carefully chosen words: condensed language.

Actors, stage and dialogue belong to drama; chapters belong to the novel.

An autobiography is the story of one's own life; a biography is written about someone else.

A lyric is a short, song-like poem expressing personal feeling.

A euphemism replaces an unpleasant fact with a gentler expression. 'First from behind' is a soft way of saying Biodun came last.

The Gods Are Not to Blame is a play; the others are prose works.

Satire ridicules human follies and vices to correct them.

'Dry saliva' puts two contradictory words together: an oxymoron.

An allegory uses characters and events to stand for ideas, like Animal Farm.

A cruel place that is also a haven seems contradictory but can be true: paradox.

An elegy mourns the dead, expressing sorrow and grief.

Eating a whole cow is a deliberate exaggeration: hyperbole.

Alliteration repeats consonant sounds at the beginning of nearby words.

The princess is called 'heaven' directly: a metaphor.

I WALK | up ON | the THORNS | of LIFE: unstressed then stressed syllables, iambic.

An ode praises or celebrates a person, thing or event.

The writer takes a side: whaling is cruel and, more importantly, unnecessary because substitutes exist and the products are worth little. Making a case like this is argumentative writing.

The writer stresses that 'the killing is quite unnecessary'.

Calling it 'inhumane' shows the writer dislikes (has an aversion to) whaling.

'Gentle' shows the whale as huge but harmless: tame.

The comparison uses 'like': a simile.

'Thou art the judge of man' addresses time directly: apostrophe.

'You are the patient Judge' is repeated at the end of each stanza: a refrain.

Time 'smiles and laughs', 'frowns his face' and 'consults with fate': personification.

The patient judge who sees nations' follies, and 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow', is time.

Time judges our plans and shows our follies, so we should use it wisely.

Shipwrecked Viola wishes she could serve Olivia until she is ready to reveal who she is.

The Captain has just told Viola about Olivia.

Viola is talking to the Captain who saved her.

She does not want her identity 'delivered' (revealed) to the world yet.

Sir Toby is so pleased with Maria's trick that he says he could marry her.

Sir Andrew echoes everything Sir Toby says ('So could I too').

They praise Maria, the 'noble gull-catcher' whose forged letter fooled Malvolio.

Sir Andrew simply copies Sir Toby: he is easily led.

Viola (Cesario) greets Feste and his music on her way to Olivia.

Feste, Olivia's clown, puns that he 'lives by the church'.

'Live by' means both 'earn a living from' and 'live near': a pun.

Act III Scene I takes place in Olivia's garden.

Feste, disguised as Sir Topas the curate, torments the imprisoned Malvolio.

Malvolio, locked in a dark room, calls the speaker 'Sir Topas'.

Feste pretends Malvolio is mad and possessed by the devil.

Sir Topas is supposed to be a curate (parson) visiting the 'madman'.

Sebastian apologises to Olivia, his new wife, for wounding her kinsman Sir Toby.

Even if Sir Toby had been his own brother, Sebastian would have fought him.

Sebastian and Olivia have just been married.

Orsino replies, amazed at seeing 'one face, one voice, one habit, and two persons'.

Prologue and dramatic irony: audience knows the end, watches Odewale move towards it.
Suspense: the slow search for Adetusa's murderer; each witness adds a piece.
Flashback of the killing at Ede.
Odewale's character (anger, pride) makes his fall believable.
Language: proverbs, curses, Baba Fakunle's riddles ('bedsharer').
Spectacle: plague, crowds, Ojuola's suicide, Odewale blinding himself.

Name the devices and show how each keeps tension.

Plague prompts Odewale to send to Ife; oracle says the murderer of Adetusa is in the land.
Odewale curses the murderer and starts an inquiry.
Baba Fakunle names Odewale; Odewale suspects a plot by Aderopo.
Flashback of Odewale killing a man at Ede over land.
Alaka reveals Odewale was not Ogundele's son; Gbonka confirms he spared the baby and witnessed the killing.
Truth: Odewale killed his father and married his mother.

Trace the steps of the investigation.

Ananse sends Anansewa's photo to four chiefs including Chief-Who-Is-Chief.
He sends generous gifts and money and fixes a date for the head-drink.
Clash of dates forces Ananse to stage Anansewa's death.
Chief-Who-Is-Chief's messenger brings rich funeral gifts and says the chief regarded her as his wife; offers to pay for the funeral.
Ananse 'revives' her through his love; the chief performs the marriage rites and wins her.

Narrate the steps clearly.

Mix of English with Akan words and names; local colour.
Storyteller's narration and songs (mboguo); audience participation.
Proverbs and wise sayings; humour and wordplay.
Letters and formal language in contrast with everyday speech.
Ananse's persuasive, flattering speech shows his cunning.
Effect: Anansegoro storytelling style, humour and realism.

Identify features with examples and effect.

Old, practical servant of the Petkoffs; engaged to Louka.
Warns Louka to know her place; keeps family secrets.
Helps hide the coat episode and returns it; covers for Raina.
Gives up Louka to Sergius, enabling the final match.
His ambition to open a shop; Bluntschli admires his ability.
Represents servile but realistic attitude; supports comic resolution.

Show his actions and their effect on the plot.

Marriage linked to social status: Raina engaged to Sergius, a rich officer.
Petkoffs proud of position (library, bell).
Louka refuses to stay a servant; marries Sergius to rise.
Bluntschli's wealth (hotels, horses) makes him acceptable to the parents.
Shaw mocks snobbery; true love and character should matter more.

Show examples of how class shapes marriage choices.

Hardcastle and Kate: loving, respectful, compromise over dress; he trusts her judgement.
Mrs Hardcastle and Tony: she spoils him, he mocks and tricks her.
Sir Charles and Marlow: arranged match; father respects son's choice in the end.
Mrs Hardcastle and Constance (guardian): controlling, holds her jewels.
Comment: some relationships warm, others strained; parents' plans versus children's wishes.

Discuss each pair with examples.

At the Three Pigeons, Tony entertains the drinkers with songs.
Shows Tony's character and popularity.
Marlow and Hastings arrive lost; Tony tricks them into treating Hardcastle's house as an inn.
Sets off the 'mistakes of a night': all later confusion follows.
Comic contrast between rustic and town life; satire of sentimental comedy.

Explain the scene and what it starts.

David Rubadiri's poem on Stanley's journey into Africa to meet Kabaka Mutesa.
Hardships: heat, thirst, desertion, fever, death of porters.
Weary march up the hills; joy at seeing Mutesa's court.
Welcome by Mutesa; irony: friendly welcome leads to colonial exploitation.
Devices: imagery, simile, contrast, onomatopoeic sounds.

Describe the journey and the poet's attitude.

Visual images of size: 'mountain of flesh', huge ears like fans.
Images of destruction: tearing trees, trampling.
Praise names and comparisons with powerful things.
Sound imagery.
Effect: shows awe, strength and respect; oral praise tradition.

Give images with examples and effect.

Frost: two neighbours repair a wall each spring.
Question of barriers between people; 'Something there is that doesn't love a wall'.
Neighbour's tradition: 'Good fences make good neighbours'.
Lesson: unnecessary barriers divide; blind tradition should be questioned.
But walls can also keep good relations; balance.

Explain the message and support it.

Calm, resigned acceptance of death ('I know that I shall meet my fate').
Detachment: no hate, no love for either side.
Indifference to outcome for his people.
Exhilaration: 'lonely impulse of delight'.
Reflective, balanced view: past and future 'waste of breath'.

Name the mood(s) and back them with lines.

Religion and supernatural: snake, totems, charms.
Crafts: gold-smithing ceremony with praise-singer.
Rural life: rice harvest at Tindican, communal work and songs.
Rites: initiation (Konden Diara) and circumcision.
Family and respect for elders; hospitality.
Presented with warmth and nostalgia.

Give aspects with episodes.

Close, loving parents; mother protective, father gentle and wise.
Extended family: grandmother and uncles at Tindican; uncle Mamadou in Conakry.
Apprentices treated as family.
Respect and obedience; father supports his schooling.
Pain of separation when Laye leaves.

Discuss with examples.

Marriage: betrothal in childhood (Ekwueme and Ahurole), bride price, negotiations, wine-carrying.
Role of families and diviners in marriage.
Funeral: Emenike's death and burial; mourning, Ihuoma's widowhood rites, shaving, dirges.
Communal involvement; sacrifices to gods.
Portrayed as rich, detailed, part of village life.

Describe both with examples.

No European influence; village of Omokachi.
Wrestling contests; Emenike and Madume's fight over land.
Consultation of dibias (Anyika); sacrifices; belief in sea-king.
Marriage customs: betrothal of Ekwueme and Ahurole.
Funeral rites for Emenike; hunting and farming life.
Four incidents with explanation.

Use four incidents.

Revolution for equality ends with pigs as new masters.
'All animals are equal but some are more equal than others'.
Boxer, the most loyal, sold to the knacker.
Pigs end up walking on two legs, drinking, trading with humans.
Napoleon who opposed the windmill builds it and takes credit.
Effect: satire on the betrayal of revolutions.

Give examples of irony and explain them.

Talking, thinking animals with human traits; fable form.
Vivid characters: Boxer, Squealer, Napoleon, Benjamin, Moses.
Events: rebellion, Battle of the Cowshed, windmill.
Humour and pathos.
Allegory invites reader to connect with real politics.

Show features that make it imaginative.

Adventure and suspense: map, voyage, mutiny, battles.
Young hero Jim's bravery.
Memorable characters: Silver, Ben Gunn, Billy Bones.
Mystery and danger: black spot, island.
Vivid description and first-person narration.

Give reasons with examples.

(i) Apple barrel: Jim, inside it, overhears Silver plotting mutiny; warns the captain; turning point.
(ii) Spyglass: Silver's inn in Bristol; Jim recognises Black Dog there; also the hill on the island used to locate the treasure.
(iii) Black Spot: pirate summons/death sentence; given to Billy Bones by Pew, leading to his death; later given to Silver by mutineers.
Two items with significance.

Pick two and explain their significance.