Last updated on February 22nd, 2024 at 06:38 pm
Literature in English JAMB Questions and Answers 2023 [Numbers 1 – 10]
1. A reference to a work of art, person or place whether directly or indirectly is called
A. allusion B. contrast
C. assonance D. allegory
2. In Literature, a Dramatis Personae refers to
A. the name of the author
B. the list of characters in a play
C. the name of the central character in a play
D. the voice of the characters in a play
3. When a writer refers to past events to throw more light on current ones he is employing
A. retrospection B. flashback
C. historical drama D. dramatic shift
4. Which of the following is NOT a type of poem?
A. Sonnet B. Elegy
C. Pantomime D. Ode
5. One major narrative technique a novel shares with drama is
A. scenes B. dialogue
C. soliloquy D. sarcasm
6. The rivers mentioned in the novel ‘Negro Speak of Rivers’ can be found in
A. America, Europe, Asia
B. Asia, America, Africa
C. Europe, Africa, Oceania
D. America, Europe, Oceania
7. In the novel ‘Purple Hibiscus’ the life of Kambili and her brother in their father’s house can be said to be
A. fulfilling and loving
B. oppressive and fearful
C. passive and uneventful
D. quiet and peaceful
8. The Imagery used in Adeoti Shola’s “Hard lines” is
A. disappointment and despair
B. contempt and disgust
C. sacrificial and helpful
D. unpleasant and difficult
9. The Novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ can be described as….
A. a satire B. an epic
C. an allegory D. a love story
10. He stands there looking like he knows
the secret of how our sun glows.
A myth has been well propagated
that power – nuclear’s the source
(it fit the theory once of course),
but now new theories are debated.
The rhyme scheme of the stanza above is
A. ababcc B. ababab
C. aabccb D. aabbcc
Answers to Literature Question Number 1 – 10
1.A 2.B 3.B 4.C 5.B
6.B 7.B 8.D 9.B 10.A
Literature in English JAMB Questions and Answers 2023 [Numbers 11 – 20]
11. Criticism is a literary activity which seeks to
A. Find faults in a literary work
B. Analyze and evaluate a literary work
C. compare and contrast novels
D. Discover the beauty of a literary work
12. “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
Shelly, ‘Ode to the West Wind’.
The literary device used here is
A. an apostrophe B. an allegory
C. a poetic license D. a rhetoric
13. “The woman whose breast I sucked is gone to the worms.” Oculi, Orphan.
These lines illustrate the use of
A. sadism B. sophism
C. satire D. euphemism
14. When a writer deviates from the chronological arrangement of events in a literary piece, he uses
A. Anadiplosis B. Anachrony
C. Chrestomathy D. Anagnorisis
15. …. is used to describe the ‘god of inspiration’ in literature.
A. Muse B. Premiere
C. Mood D. Deux Ex Machina
16. The art of using persuasive words in literary works is known as
A. Rhetoric B. Dilemma
C. Parody D. Paronomasia
17. A short poem that expresses an idea in a clever way is called
A. an Epigram B. a Limerick
C. an Ode D. a Lyric
18. ‘This thing you are doing is too heavy for you,’ he said. ‘I went to school only a little, but I have killed many many more years in this world than you have.’ Gabriel Okara: The Voice
It can be inferred from the passage above that the
A. listener is a porter
B. listener is wise
C. speaker is a murderer
D. speaker is more experienced
19. A body of imaginative men and women of letters is generally referred to as
A. litterateur B. laureattes
C. literaria D. literati
20. “If I can fasten but one cup upon him with that which he had drunk tonight already, he’ll be as full of quarrel and offence as my young mistress’ dog…”
Shakespeare, Othello
From the statement above, it can be inferred that the speaker is
A. disobedient B. quarrelsome
C. servile D. scheming
Answers to Literature Question Number 11 – 20
11.B 12.D 13.D 14.B 15.A
16.A 17.A 18.D 19.D 20.D
Literature in English JAMB Questions and Answers 2023 [Numbers 21 – 30]
21. The overwhelming pride that destroys the tragic hero is called
A. tragedy B. nemesis
C. catharsis D. hubris
22. ‘For seven days it rained that June; A storm half out to sea kept turning around like a dog trying to settle himself on a rug; We were the fleas that complained in his hair.’ ~ John Updike, Wash
The images set in the lines above are of
A. the days of Noah
B. rain and flood in June
C. discomfort and likely destruction
D. an animal, insects and fun
23. The technique in which both the stage and the auditorium are involved in a play production is called
A. theatre of the absurd B. role-playing
C. audience participation D. total theatre
24. A novel which focuses on the adventures of a rogue who does not change much in the course of the story is
A. romanesque B. grotesque
C. picaresque D. burlesque
25. Whereat: with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broached his boiling bloody best.’
The dominant figure of speech in the lines above is
A. simile B. alliteration
C. assonance D. repetition
26. An inherent quality of the lyric is that it must
A. be sung to a musical instrument
B. be sung by the poet who composes it
C. express the poet’s subjective emotions
D. be simple and successful
27. ‘Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King,
Whose word no man relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.’
John Wilmot’s Epitaph on King Charles II
The form of the above stanza is an example of
A. praise poem B. lamentation
C. an epigram D. satire poem
28. “Lift not the painted veil which those who live call life: though unreal shapes be picture there,
And it but mimic all we would believe
With colours idly spread – behind, lurk fear,”
P.B Shelley, Sonnet.
The stanza above is an example of a
A. quatrain B. couplet
C. free verse D. limerick
29. When a writer deviates from the chronological arrangement of events in a literary piece, he uses
A. Anadiplosis B. Anachrony
C. Chrestomathy D. Anagnorisis
30. A didactic poem, especially such with animals as characters may be distinctively described as a/an
A. Romance B. gothic poem
C. limerick D. apologue
Answers to Literature Question Number 21 – 30
21.D 22.C 23.C 24.C 25.B
26.C 27.D 28.A 29.B 30.D
Literature in English JAMB Questions and Answers 2023 [Numbers 31 – 40]
31. Analogy is the arrangement of two ideas that are
A. opposite B. similar
C. symbolic D. repetitive
32. What is the narrator of a poem called?
A. author B. speaker
C. narrator D. voice
33. Fights by the book of arithmetic.
The figure of speech in the line above is
A. hyperbole B. euphemism
C. litotes D. innuendo
34. A picaresque novel is a
A. work of fiction set in a utopian past recalling the splendour of rural life
B. psychological novel with penetrating analyses of human emotions
C. futuristic novel set in outer space
D. work of fiction tracing the adventures of a scoundrel of low birth
35. The physical setting within which the action of a narrative takes place is the
A. stage B. scene
C. locale D. location
36. “On the broken walls,
Bats hang away from the sun
Shadows of an ancient stranger
Cast their presence over our shoulders
A pathway leads to the abandoned gate.”
Mazisi Kunene: The Fearful Ruin
The dominant mood in the excerpt above is that of
A. exhilaration B. pleasure
C. rage D. terror
37. The expression, “The ripest is the saddest encounter” is an example of
A. euphemism B. paradox
C. hyperbole D. metaphor
38. The point of denouement in a literary work is the
A. point at which the major character is shown in his true colours
B. point of disagreement in the narrative
C. point of resolution of the puzzling issues
D. cathartic point in a tragedy
39. “Nightfall! Nightfall!
You are my mortal enemy”
The figurative name for the manner in which Nightfall is directly addressed is
A. allusion B. an ode
C. metaphor D. apostrophe
40. In literary convention, ‘aside’ is used to
A. make a pointed remark
B. emphasize scenes as different from acts
C. distinguish between events
D. gossip about other characters
Answers to Literature Question Number 31 – 40
31.B 32.B 33.D 34.D 35.D
36.D 37.B 38.C 39.D 40.A
