WAEC Literature in English 2004 past questions and answers

The people in a story, play or poem are its characters; heroes and clowns are only some kinds of character.

Monologue, aside and soliloquy are kinds of speech in drama; fiction is a kind of literature.

A stanza is a group of lines set apart from the other groups in a poem.

A play tells its story mainly through what the characters say to one another: dialogue.

Prose, drama and poetry are the three genres of literature; comedy is a type of drama.

A fable is a short story, usually with a moral, in which animals act and speak like people.

The two lines end in rhyming words, 'drest' and 'expressed', forming a rhyming couplet.

The clown (or fool) is the character whose role is to make the audience laugh.

An epigram is a short, clever and witty saying or poem.

'Didactic' means meant to teach a lesson or moral.

'No Coffin, No Grave' (Jared Angira) is an African poem; the other three are by English poets (Gray, Tennyson, Shelley).

An elegy is a poem of mourning for someone who has died.

Daniel Defoe was a novelist (Robinson Crusoe); Gray, Donne and Tennyson were poets.

A motif is an image or idea that keeps coming back in a work.

Poetry says a lot in few, carefully chosen words: economy of language.

Point of view is the position or angle from which the story is told, e.g. first person or third person.

A yoke and a burden are normally heavy, so calling them easy and light seems contradictory yet expresses a truth: a paradox.

Setting is when and where the events of a work take place.

The passage describes how the air felt: damp, gusty and warm, with rain and sudden sunlight. That is the atmosphere.

It paints a picture of the weather rather than telling a story or explaining something: descriptive prose.

The writer keeps comparing with 'as if' and 'like': 'like damp flannel', 'like a quickly opened fan'.

Raindrops starring the window-panes and sunlight throwing a pattern on the floor are things we see: visual imagery.

The sudden changes of wind, rain and sunlight at harvest time give a lively, stirring feeling of excitement.

The 'foot-worker' moves to drums and flutes, gyrating to music: the poem describes a dancer.

'Frantic drums', 'frenetic flutes' and the 'frenzied antelope' create an exciting, lively atmosphere.

Nerissa, Portia's waiting-woman, names the suitors, beginning with the Neapolitan prince.

Portia mocks the prince as a 'colt' who talks only of his horse and jokes that his mother was unfaithful with a smith: contempt.

Shylock offers to lend Antonio three thousand ducats without interest, with a pound of flesh as the forfeit.

The bond is for three thousand ducats for three months.

Shylock makes the deadly forfeit sound harmless by calling it 'a merry sport', a joke.

In Act III Scene II Portia teases Bassanio: 'Upon the rack, Bassanio? then confess...'.

Bassanio says waiting to choose is like being tortured on the rack; Portia jokes that men on the rack confess treason.

Portia had begged Bassanio, 'I pray you tarry: pause a day or two before you hazard'.

In Act III Scene I Shylock tells Salerio and Solanio that Jews are human like Christians and will take revenge as Christians do.

The speech shows that Jews and Christians have the same body, feelings and reactions: a common humanity.

Shylock argues that, being wronged, he has the same right to redress as any Christian; of the options, this is a demand for justice (as he sees it, revenge).

Portia tells Bassanio she could teach him how to choose but that would break her oath.

Portia is caught in a difficult position: she wants Bassanio to win but is bound by her father's will not to help him.

'Miss me' means fail to win her by choosing the wrong casket.

Portia gives the ring as a pledge of her love; parting with it would mean the end of his love.

Portia gives herself, her house and her servants to Bassanio with the ring.

Portia calls Bassanio, now her husband-to-be, 'my lord'.

If Bassanio loses the ring, Portia will have the right to accuse him and cast him off.

'It' refers to giving the ring away, which would show that Bassanio has betrayed her.

The conflict between tradition and modernity is the centre of the play.
Baroka, the Bale of Ilujinle, stands for tradition: polygamy, wrestling, bride price, authority; he bribed the surveyor to keep the railway away.
Lakunle, the schoolteacher, stands for (half-understood) Western change: he wants Sidi to marry without bride price, eat with knives and forks, live like a 'modern' couple.
Sidi is torn between the two; the photographs in the stranger's magazine make her proud and vain.
The mime of the Lost Traveller and the railway show the coming of the modern world to the village.
Baroka shows that tradition can absorb change (his stamp machine) on its own terms.
Ending: Sidi marries Baroka; tradition wins, and Lakunle's shallow modernity is mocked.
Soyinka suggests that change should not mean rejecting one's culture.

Show both sides with examples and say which wins.

Remi has left the village for the city after refusing to inherit Thoni, his late brother's wife; the tribe needs him as its educated leader.
The Elders appeal to him through his mother and through messages, reminding him of his duty to the tribe.
They seek help from the medicine man and travel to the city with a charm/medicine to bring him back.
They plead with him in the city in the name of the tribe; Remi finally decides to return.
Significance: shows the strength of tribal loyalty and tradition; reveals Remi's inner conflict between personal freedom, Christianity and the tribe.
His return, however, leads to tragedy (Thoni's death), showing the cost of the clash between old and new.

Describe the attempts, then their significance.

(The book prints 'Ngoni'; this is Nyobi, Remi's mother.)
A widow and devout Christian who loves her son deeply.
Caring and protective towards Thoni, Remi's wife, whom she treats as a daughter.
Anxious and sorrowful at Remi's long absence; torn between her Christian faith and the tribe's customs.
Role: links Remi with the village and Thoni; through her the audience sees the pain Remi's desertion causes.
Represents the older generation caught between tradition and Christianity.

Cover both character and role.

Mrs Malaprop is Lydia's aunt and guardian; Lydia needs her consent to keep her whole fortune if she marries.
Lydia, romantic from reading novels, loves the poor 'Ensign Beverley' and plans to elope.
Mrs Malaprop discovers the affair, forbids it and locks Lydia up; she wants her to marry Captain Absolute, Sir Anthony's son.
Lydia defies her and refuses to give up Beverley.
The conflict is ironic: Beverley and Captain Absolute are the same man.
Mrs Malaprop's misused words and her own secret romance with Sir Lucius add comedy.
Resolution: Lydia learns the truth, is reconciled with Jack, and the conflict ends.

Explain causes, development and resolution.

Captain Jack Absolute is a young army officer, son of Sir Anthony Absolute.
Clever and resourceful: disguises himself as poor Ensign Beverley to win Lydia's romantic heart.
Witty and charming, with a good sense of humour.
Deceitful and calculating, though in a light-hearted way; pretends obedience to his father.
Respectful and affectionate son, though he quarrels with his hot-tempered father over marriage.
Brave: ready to fight the duel with Sir Lucius; a loyal friend to Faulkland and Acres.
He is the hero whose double identity drives the plot.

Support each trait with an incident.

(i) The Chorus: the poor women of Canterbury, as in Greek tragedy; express fear and foreboding, comment on events, show the effect of Becket's fate on ordinary people, create atmosphere; their final hymn of praise shows their redemption.
(ii) The Interlude: Becket's Christmas sermon in prose between the two parts; explains martyrdom (a martyr is made by God's design), shows Becket's acceptance of death, marks the passing of time and divides the play.
(iii) Imagery: seasons and nature (winter, spring, harvest) for time and renewal; animal images (jackal, jackass, jackdaw) for evil and violence; blood and darkness for the coming murder; the wheel for God's design.
(iv) Irony: the Fourth Tempter echoes Becket's own words; the Chorus fears the return they longed for; the Knights claim to act for the good of the state, but their act makes Becket a saint.

Discuss any two, with examples.

Elements of tragedy: a great, noble hero (Archbishop, former Chancellor) who falls and dies violently.
His struggle with pride and the temptation of glory (Fourth Tempter) is a tragic inner conflict.
Conflict with the King (Church against state) leads to his death.
The Chorus, as in Greek tragedy, creates foreboding and arouses pity and fear.
Atmosphere of doom; the murder on stage.
However, Becket's death is a martyrdom and a spiritual victory; the Chorus ends in praise, so the play is also a Christian triumph.
Conclusion: tragic in form and events, but its ending turns death into glory.

Take a clear position and support it.

Kwesi Brew's poem presents an executioner troubled by a dream about his victims.
In the dream his victims confront him; one offers him a weeping eye, a reminder of the suffering he has caused.
The victims' questions accuse him of cruelty and the pain of their last hours.
Imagery of death, pain and blood and the dream form make his guilt vivid.
Significance: the poem shows that killing destroys the killer's own humanity; conscience cannot be silenced.
It condemns cruelty and the misuse of power and invites pity for the victims.

Explain what happens in the poem and what it means.

Syl Cheney-Coker writes in the first person, a personal, emotional voice of anguish.
Apostrophe: he speaks directly to Freetown/Africa as to a person or mother.
Imagery and symbols of rootlessness and colonial influence (e.g. himself wandering 'like a Fulani cow', the attraction of Europe).
Contrasts between Africa and Europe, between love and shame for his origins.
Diction of pain and disgust alongside hope of renewal.
Effect: the language conveys the poet's alienation, self-hate and longing to identify with his land.

Quote short phrases and comment on their effect.

Tennyson's Ulysses is an aged king back in Ithaca, bored with ruling 'a savage race' beside 'an aged wife'.
Restless and adventurous: 'I cannot rest from travel'; he wants to 'drink life to the lees'.
Thirsty for knowledge and experience: to 'follow knowledge like a sinking star'.
Proud of his past achievements and fame.
Realistic about old age and death but determined: 'to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield'.
Leaves his kingdom to his son Telemachus, whom he trusts but sees as suited to quieter duties.
A natural leader who inspires his mariners.

Quote lines as evidence.

Shelley addresses the wild West Wind of autumn as 'destroyer and preserver'.
Stanza 1: dead leaves driven like ghosts fleeing an enchanter, 'pestilence-stricken multitudes'; seeds lying like corpses in the grave until spring.
Stanza 2: clouds like loose leaves; the wind as the hair of a fierce Maenad; the dirge of the dying year.
Stanza 3: the Mediterranean sleeping and the Atlantic's waters parting before the wind.
Stanza 4: the poet wants to be a leaf, a cloud, a wave; he has fallen 'upon the thorns of life'.
Stanza 5: 'Make me thy lyre'; scatter his thoughts like ashes and sparks; 'If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?'
Effect: images of death and rebirth express the poet's despair and hope of renewal.

Group the images and explain their effect.

Similarities: childhood friends and schoolmates at Lord Byron's College; intelligent, proud, gifted.
Sam: army officer trained at Sandhurst, charming and handsome; becomes Head of State after a coup.
Sam grows vain, insecure and dictatorial (wants to be President for life); orders Ikem's removal and is linked to his death; he is overthrown and killed.
Ikem: poet and editor of the National Gazette; idealistic, outspoken, critical of government; sympathises with the poor.
Ikem is honest and courageous but rash; he is murdered by security agents.
Contrast: Sam represents power and its corruption; Ikem the conscience of the nation.

Give both likenesses and differences.

Similarities: both are women loved by main characters (Beatrice by Chris, Elewa by Ikem); both loyal and strong; both survive at the end.
Beatrice: highly educated (England), senior civil servant, sophisticated, articulate, reflective; associated with the goddess Idemili.
Elewa: uneducated shop girl, speaks Pidgin, simple, earthy, honest and lively.
Beatrice supports Elewa when Ikem is killed; Elewa gives birth to Ikem's daughter.
Beatrice leads the naming ceremony of the baby, uniting them both in hope.
Together they show women of different classes standing together.

Give both likenesses and differences.

In the opening scene the man rides a bus to work early in the morning.
The conductor counts and sniffs the money he has collected, enjoying its smell.
He thinks the man, who seems asleep, has seen him cheating with the money and is frightened, then angry.
At the end of the ride he insults the man.
Significance: introduces the theme of corruption and the worship of money ('the gleam'); shows how even ordinary people are corrupt.
Shows the man as a silent, honest observer, isolated and misunderstood.
Sets the tone of decay and disgust for the whole novel.

Describe the incident, then its significance.

Hardy shows Tess as a victim of fate and chance ('the President of the Immortals... had ended his sport with Tess').
Chance meeting of John Durbeyfield with Parson Tringham starts the d'Urberville story.
The death of the horse Prince forces Tess to go to Trantridge, where Alec seduces her.
Angel does not dance with her at the first May dance; they meet too late.
Her confession letter slips under the carpet and Angel never reads it before the wedding.
She overhears Angel's brothers and turns back from his parents' house.
Her father's death and the family's eviction drive her back to Alec just before Angel returns.
Conclusion: fate combines with society and character to destroy her.

Use several chance events.

Wessex dialect for rural characters (e.g. the Durbeyfields) gives realism and contrasts with Tess's schooled speech.
Rich descriptions of nature and landscape (Blackmoor Vale, Talbothays, Flintcomb-Ash) that mirror Tess's moods.
Symbolism and imagery: red colours, the d'Urberville coach, Stonehenge, birds.
Biblical and classical allusions; philosophical comments by the narrator.
Irony, especially in chance events and the title 'A Pure Woman'.
Long, detailed sentences; formal, sometimes poetic diction.
Effect: creates atmosphere, reveals character and supports the tragic theme.

Illustrate each feature.

Attractive qualities: courage and endurance in surviving alone for years on the island.
Resourcefulness and hard work: building shelter, making tools, pots, a boat, growing corn, taming goats.
Methodical and patient: keeps a journal and calendar.
Grows in faith and gratitude after his conversion.
Unattractive qualities: disobeys his father; restless and greedy for gain.
Sells Xury, the boy who helped him escape, to the Portuguese captain.
Treats Friday as servant, teaches him to call him 'Master'; sees himself as lord of the island.
Conclusion: a balanced answer, either way, supported by incidents.

Take a position and support it.

The island: isolation and punishment, but also a place of self-discovery and Crusoe's 'kingdom' (colonial ownership).
The footprint in the sand: fear of the unknown and of other people.
The Bible: faith, conversion and providence.
The money found on the wreck: the uselessness of wealth on the island, yet Crusoe keeps it.
Friday: the 'native' colonised and converted by the European.
Crusoe's journal and calendar: order and reason imposed on nature.
Effect: the symbols carry the themes of survival, religion and colonialism.

Explain what each symbol stands for.