Jamb LITERATURE – IN  ENGLISH,  2024 JAMB LITERATURE – IN  ENGLISH 

UTME 2010 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS 

1. Which literature in English Question  Paper Type is given to you? 
2. Type A 
3. Type B 
4. Type C 
5. Type D 

Questions 2 to 5 are based on J.C.  De Graft’s Sons and Daughters 

2. „I simply don’t understand what’s the  matter with everybody today. Everybody  let me down, and the speaker above is  referring to . 
3. Fosuwa and Maidservant 
4. Hannah and George 
5. Aaron and Maanan 
6. Lawyer B and Mrs. B 
7. Maanan expresses dislike for Lawyer B  because of . 
8. his condemnation of her choice of  career 
9. his recent advances towards her C. the betrayal of her father’s trust D. the betrayal of his wife’s trust. 
10. The traditional order in the play is  represented by . 
11. Mrs. B 
12. Hannah 
13. Maanan 
14. Aunt 
15. Where does the play take place? A. On the street 
16. In George’s place 
17. In Aunt’s house 
18. In Ofosu’s place. 

Questions 6 to 10 based on William  Shakes ear’s Romeo and Juliet 6. ‘0’ deadly sin!O rude unthankfulness!  Thy fault our law calls death, but the  kind Prince, Taking thy part, hath rushed  aside the law And turned that black  word…’ Deadly sin refers to the . 

1. suicide of Juliet 
2. suicide of Romeo 
3. murder of Paris 
4. murder of TybaIt 
5. The play is mostly written in . A. blank verse 
6. free verse 
7. metres 
8. foot. 
9. ‘0’ serpent heart, hid with a  flowering face!‘ The statement above  refers to 
10. Juliet 
11. Romeo 
12. Tybalt 
13. Benvolio. 
14. The spatial setting of the play is . A. Athens 
15. Verona 
16. Padua 
17. Venice 

10.Romeo is banished to Mantua because  he . 

1. kills Tybalt in a street duel 
2. marries Juliet without parental  consent 
3. attends Capulet’s party uninvited D. attempts to kill paris his rival.  Questions 11 to 13 are based on  Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of  Motherhood. 
4. In the novel, the society puts high value  on . 
5. egalitarianism 
6. male ascendancy 
7. procreation 
8. gender equity. 

12.The medicine man links the lump  discovered on the head of Nnu Ego at  birth, to the . 

1. possession of physical admirable  qualities that makes her an epitome of  perfection. 
2. wound inflicted on the slave woman  buried with Agbadi‟s wife
   

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1. coming back of the Agunwa to the  society to live again 
2. ill-luck and tragic events attributed to  a predestined fate 

13.The constant companions of Nnaife’s  family are . 

1. togetherness and happiness 
2. poverty and hunger 
3. sickness and joblessness 
4. disagreement and humiliation 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on  Ferdinand Oyano’s The Old Man and  the Medal. 

14.The disagreement between Mvondo and  Nti centres on the latter‟s claim to have . 

1. assisted Meka in getting the medal B. eaten the entire entrails of a sheep C. eaten more than his share of the food D. been in a white man‟soffice 
2. Meka can be best be described as . A. an egocentric old man 
3. a simple-hearted old man 
4. an impulsive old man 
5. an old religious bigot 
6. In the novel, the colonialists treat  the Africans with . 
7. Kids‟ gloves 
8. disdain 
9. indifference 
10. honour 

Questions 17 to 20 are based on  

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four 17.The Ministry of peace is concerned with  making _. 

1. instruments 
2. weapons 
3. wars 
4. reconciliation 

18.The subject matter of the novel is . 

1. totalitarian dictatorship 
2. exploitation and cruelty 
3. retributive justice 
4. class segregation. 

19.How did Winston start his rebellion  against the state . 

1. By engaging in anti-party activities B. By keeping a private diary 
2. When he started a secret affair 
3. When he spied on the party.  

20.The party seeks power for . 

1. the nation 
2. its own sake 
3. its members 
4. peoples’ sake 

Questions 21 to 30 are based on  selected poems from Ker, D. et al  (eds.) New Poetry from African;  Soyinka, (ed.) Poems of Black  Africa; Senanu K.E. and Vincent T.  (eds.): A selection of African Poetry;  Umukoro, M et al (eds.) Exam Focus:  literature in English; Eruvbetine, A.E. et al (eds.): Longman  

Examination Guides and Nwoga, D. I. (ed): West African Verse. 

21. As the dancers move through paths  strewn with glass chips, the images in  Adeoti’s Naked Soles change from . A. joy to excitement 
22. inaction to action 
23. pain to grief 
24. sorrow to joy. 

22.Rubadiris’s An African Thunderstorm,  says that during thunderstorm in the  village 

1. women cook their food 
2. children play in the rain 
3. children are delighted while  

women move in and out 

1. both women and children are  

delighted. 

23. ‘Yet in their finger upon  Our navel 

The midwives of the spirit say  They feel a foetal throb.

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The dominant literary device used in  the extract above from Acquahs’ In the  Navel of the Soul is A. epigram 

1. allegory 
2. enjambment 
3. rhythm. 
4. In Kunene’s A heritage of  

Liberation, the poet persona requests  that the weapons of warfare be handed  to their . 

1. friends 
2. relations 
3. grand children 
4. families 
5. The predominant device in Launko’s End  of the War is . 
6. onomatopoeia 
7. antithesis 
8. oxymoron 
9. paradox 
10. The theme of the poem Give Me The  Minstrel’s Seat centres on 
11. divorce 
12. fortune 
13. marriage 
14. companionship. 
15. The poet persona in Marvell’s To His  Coy Mistress is willing to praise the  lady’s eyes for 
16. thirty thousand years 
17. six decades 
18. two centuries 
19. a century. 
20. In Lawrence’s Bat, the poet persona  mistakes the bats for 
21. owls 
22. swallows 
23. pipistrello 
24. sparrows 
25. In Eliot’s Journey of the Magi, the  magi are aided on their journey by A. donkeys 
26. horses 
27. camels  

D chariots. 

30. According to Cope‟s Sonnet VII, poetry is  basically . 
31. boring 
32. therapeutic 
33. philosophical 
34. inspiring 

Questions 31 to 40 are based on  General Literary Principles. 

31.A play which mainly aims at provoking  excessive laughter is called 

1. tragi-comedy 
2. comedy 
3. a farce 
4. D. satire. 
5. Both comedy and tragedy have . A. happy ending 
6. climax 
7. tragic hero 
8. stanza 

33.A formal dignified speech or writing  praising a person or a thing for past or  present deeds is 

1. premiere 
2. eulogy 
3. anthology 
4. lampoon 
5. The narrative style in which the hero  tells his own story directly is the . 
6. objective 
7. subjective 
8. first- person 
9. third-person. 
10. The physical, historical or cultural  background of a literary work is referred  to as 
11. episode 
12. plot 
13. time 
14. setting 

36.A plot structure that defies chronology  can be described as 

1. open-ended 
2. circular 
3. episodic 
4. organic 
5. Pun as a literary device deals with A. placing two opposite phrases 
6. placing words side by side
   

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1. playing on words 
2. arrangement of words 
3. In a narrative poem, the poet attempts  to 
4. summarize a story 
5. describe a place 
6. preach a sermon 
7. tell a story 
8. The account of experiences of an  individual during the course of a journey  is known as 
9. a travelogue 
10. an autobiography 
11. a catalogue 
12. a memoir 
13. Satirical writing employs _. 
14. epigram 
15. synecdoche 
16. irony 
17. onomatopoeia. 

Questions 41 to 50 are based  

on Literary Appreciation. 

Use the quotation below to answer  questions 41 and 42. 

41.„Basha: You dumb skull of a bone  head . . . you will face court martial  for this. You look everywhere? You  search inside toilet bowl? Wole  Soyinka: King Baabu 

The person being addressed above is a A. soldier 

1. student 
2. domestic servant 
3. lawyer 
4. From the tone of the speech above, the  speaker is obviously 
5. enraged 
6. lackadaisical 
7. elated 
8. happy. 

43.‘That year the harvest was sad, like a  funeral, and many farmers wept as they  dug up the miserable yams. One man  tied his cloth to a tree branch and  hanged himself’. Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart 

The mood conveyed in the excerpt  above is one of 

1. sadness 
2. frustration 
3. sympathy 
4. dilemma. 

44.‘That age is best which is the first,  when youth and blood are warmer,  But being spent, the worse, and  worst 

Time still succeed the former. 

The rhyme scheme in the excerpt above  is 

1. bbaa 
2. aabb 
3. abab 
4. abba. 
5. But the towering earth was tired  sitting in one position. She moved,  suddenly, and the houses crumbled,  the mountains heaved horribly, and  the work of a million years was lost.  The subject matter of the extract above  is 
6. storm 
7. sea waves 
8. house movement 
9. earthquake. 

46.And your laughter like a flame  piercing the shadows Has revealed  Africa to me beyond the snow of  yesterday. 

From the poem above, shadow means A. famine 

1. bleak future 
2. period of sufferings 
3. abstract ideas. 

47.Don’t panic. Be calm, If you are  some how upset …try to regain your  exposure. 

The speaker in the excerpt above is A. hopeless 

1. uncertain 
2. afraid 
3. confident. 

Use the lines below to answer  questions 48 and 49.

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48.Move him into the sun Gently its touch awoke him once, At home, whispering of fields unsown Always it woke him even in France Until this morning and this snow If anything might rouse him now This kind old sun will know Think how it wakes the seeds Woke, once, the clays of a cold star Are limbs, so dear 

achieved, are sides Full nerved still swarm too hard to stir Was it, for this the clay grew tall? 0 what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break earth’s sleep at all. 

The poem can be described as 

1. a lyric 
2. an epic 
3. a sonnet 
4. an elegy. 

49.The theme of the poem is 

1. futility of life 
2. distortion of life 
3. creation of life 
4. vanity of life 
5. A cursing rogue with a merry farce, 

A bundle of rags upon a crutch, Stumbled upon that windy place Called cruachan, and it was as much. The rhyme scheme of the stanza above is 

1. aabb 
2. abab 
3. bbaa 
4. abba.

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ANSWER KEYS 50.B 

1.A 

2.A 

3.B 

4.D 

5.D 

6.D 

7.B 

8.B 

9.B 

10.A 

11.C 

12.D 

13.B 

14.C 

15.D 

16.B 

17.D 

18.B 

19.A 

20.B 

21.D 

22.C 

23.C 

24.C 

25.D 

26.D 

27.D 

28.A 

29.C 

30.B 

31.C 

32.B 

33.B 

34.C 

35.D 

36.D 

37.C 

38.D 

39.A 

40.C 

41.A 

42.A 

43.A 

44.C 

45.D 

46.D 

47.D 

48.C 

49.A

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UTME 2011 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS 

1. Which Question Paper Type of  

Literature-in- English is given to you? 

1. Type A 
2. Type B 
3. Type C 
4. Type D 

Questions 2 to 5 are based on J. C De  Graft’s Sons and Daughters. 

2. From it’s resolution of conflicts, the pay  can be described as 
3. tragedy 
4. comedy 
5. farce 
6. melodrama 
7. The prevailing theme of the play is —- A. love 
8. affluence 
9. social decadence 
10. self-will 
11. The final harassment of Maanan takes place in A. Ofosu’s office 
12. Lawyer B’s house 
13. Lawyer B’s chamber 
14. Ofosu’s house 
15. ‘Everything in this room outrages my sense  of beauty, undermines my will to create  pictures of lasting appeal. ’ The speaker in  the quotation 

above is 

1. happy 
2. frustrated 
3. excited 
4. tired 

Question 6 to 10 are based on  

William Shakespeare’s Romeo  

and Juliet. 

6. ‘Farewell – God knows when we shall meet  again. I have a faint cold fear thrills  through my veins, 

That almost freezes up the heat of lie. I’ll  call them back again to comfort me.  Nurse! – What 

should she do here? My dismal scene I  need act alone. Come, vial’. 

The intention of the speaker above is to A. commit 

1. suicide 
2. take a temporary harmful substance D. escape from harsh realities of life 
3. The play reaches the point of denouncement A. at the family feast 
4. when Romeo kills Paris at the tomb C. at the reconciliation of the feuding families. D. when Romeo is informed of Juliet’s death 
5. The news of Juliet’s death is broken to  Romeo in Mantua by 

A.Balthasar 

B.Friar Lawrence 

C.Boy 

D.Friar John 

9. In the play, Mercutio can be described as A. fraudulent 
10. quarrelsome 
11. gentle 
12. kind-hearted 
13. The plot of the play is 

A.simple 

B.complicated 

C.convoluted 

D.chronological 

Questions 11 to 13 are based on  

Ferdinand Oyono’s The Old Man and  the Medal. 

11. The heavy downpour on the night of  Meka’s investiture symbolizes 

A.revelation 

B.mockery 

C.conviction 

D.blessing 

12. Vandermayer’s attitude and action towards  Meka illustrates the church’s 

A.despondency 

B.suspicion

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C.infuriation 

D.hypocrisy 

13. ‘As he opened and shut his mouth his  lower jaw went down and came up,  

puffing up and then deflating the skin  under his chin.‘ 

The subject of description in the lines above is A.the high commissioner 

B.M. Pipiniakis 

1. the white chief 

D.M. Fouconi 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on  

Buchi Emecheta’s The Joy of  

Motherhood. 

14. For attempted murder, Nnaife was jailed for A.four months 

B.three months 

1. five months 

D.two months 

15. In the novel, Nwokocha Agbadi is famous  for his oratorical powers and 

A.height 

B.treachery 

1. illiteracy 

D.wealth 

16. In the novel, the handing over of a baby boy  in a dream to Nnu Ego by her personal god  signifies A. reincarnation 

B.future blessing 

1. idol worship 

D.doom 

Questions 17 to 20 are based on George  Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four 

17. The novel draws a picture of 

A.a useless past 

B.a totalitarian future 

1. an unstable moment 

D.a peaceful atmosphere 

18. The power and oppression of an irresistible  evil debased Winston’s dreams of . 

A.freedom and democracy 

1. internal security

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C.wealth and capitalism 

D.sovereignty 

19. Room 101 symbolizes a place of 

A.rest 

B.fun 

C.humiliation 

D.tour 

20. The novel can be described as 

A.optimistic 

B.antagonistic 

C.persuasive 

D.pessimistic 

Question 21 to 30 are New Poetry based  on selected poems Ker, D. e t al (eds.)  Bew Poetry from Africa; Soyinka, (ed.):  Poems of Black Africa; Senanu K. E and  Vincent, T. (eds.): A Selection of African  Poerty; Unukoro, Met al (eds.): Exam  

Focus: Literature in English; Eruvbetine,  A.E. et al(eds.): Longman Examination  Guides and Nwoga, D.I (ed): West  

African Verse. 

21. In Naked Soles, Adeoti writes that the  carnival of naked soles dances through 

A.scorching sun 

B.a dirty room 

C.blooming thorns 

D.a cloudy atmosphere 

22. In Rubadiri’s An African Thunderstorm, the thunderstorm begins with 

A.rain from the west 

B.clouds from the east 

C.rain from the east 

D.clouds from the west 

23. The theme of Acquah’s In the Navel of the Soul is A. the conflict of traditions 
24. ensuring that traditions were strictly observed C. the futility of man and his tradition 
25. the strength in diversity of  

culture and traditional views.

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24. In Kuene’s A Heritage of Liberation, the  persona is concerned with the 
25. people’s struggle for survival 
26. criticism of modern tradition 
27. intolerance of the new generation 
28. celebration of African  

tradition. E. 

25. Lanko’s End of the War portrays the 

A.silence of 

B.usefulness of praise singers 

1. irony of life 

D.arrangement of war 

26. ‘Woman cannot exist except by man, What is  there in that to vex some of them so?‘ The  statement above from the poem Give Me The  Minstrel’s Seat exemplifies 

A.litotes 

B.rhetorical question 

1. transferred epithet 

D.synecdoche 

27. Marvell, in To His Co Mistress uses the  imagery of Coy death to 

A.appreciate God’s power 

B.underscore life’s transience 

C.condemn the lady 

D.scare the lady 

28. To sustain the interest of readers, Lawrence in Bat uses 

A.elision 

B.hyperbole 

1. suspense 

D.oxymoron 

29. ‘With a running stream and a water-mill  beating the darkness. And three trees on the  low sky.‘ • In the excerpt above from Eliot’s  Journey on the Magi, the dominant literary  device is 

A.oxymoron 

B.personification 

1. hyperbole 

D.alliteration 

30. The tone of Cope’s Sonnet VII is generally

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A.persuasive 

B.humorous 

C.optimistic 

D.mournful 

Questions 31 to 40 are based on  

General Literary Principles. 

31. The large space above the proscenium in a  theatre from which the scenes are  

controlled is called 

A.aside 

B.setting 

C.anachronism 

D.flies 

32. ‘Good warriors make others come to them  and do not go to others When you  induce opponents to 

come to you, then their force is always  empty, like attacking emptiness with  fullness is throwing on eggs.’ Zhang Yu:  The Art of War. 

The theme of the passage above is 

A.folly of soldiers 

B.inspiration 

C.spurring people to action 

D.war 

33. The repetition of single words or  phrases at the beginning of lines is 

A.assonance 

B.parallelism 

C.onomatopoeia 

D.alliteration 

34. A ballad is meant to be 

A.acted 

B.sung 

C.discussed 

D.read 

35. In drama, dramaturge is he who 

A.writes or edits plays 

B.feature in a play 

C.directs a play 

D.acts a film. 

36. Travelogue is a work of art written A.by a famous playwright

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B.before the death of the author 

C.by an unpopular novelist 

D.on a journey 

37. Plays are basically meant to 

A.change the world 

B.keep people out of trouble 

1. be ready for pleasure 

D.be presented on stage 

38. A character who re-enacts familiar  

experiences that Leaders easily identify  with is 

A.round character 

B.flat character 

1. stock character 

D.static character 

39. The plot of a story generally refers to the A.intrigue made by a character against the hero B.way the writer ends the story 
40. way in which the events of the  

story are organised 

D.way in which the writer begins the story 

40. The metric pattern in a line of poetry  with five stressed and five unstressed  

syllables is 

A.trochaic decametre 

B.dactylic metre 

1. iambic pentameter 

D.anapaestic metre 

Question 41 to 50 are based on  

literary Appreciation. 

41. Theseus: Now, fairHippolyta, our nuptial hour. Draws on space four happy days bring  in. Another moon. But 0, me thinks  

how slow This old moon wanes, she  

lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame  or a dowager, 

Long withering out a young man’s revenue.  William Shakespear. A midsummer Night’s  Dream The literary devices used in the excerpt  above are 

A.personification and smile 

B.irony and suspense 

1. alliteration and synecdoche 

D.rhyme and refrain. 

42. ‘You are the silent code of pleasure locked  in wordless wonder. You are the hive of  treasure, no

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dragon can plunder’ Gbemisola Adeoti :Dream Code. 

The excerpt above achieves its  

rhetorical effect through the use of 

A.repetition and meiosis 

B.metaphor and rhyme 

C.caesura and hyperbole 

D.alliteration and irony 

43. It was not yet closing time, but already  most staff were trooping out of their  offices. The lift was working now and he  squeezed himself into it, breathing with  difficulty the body odour emitted by one  of the passengers. He sighed with relief  when they got to the ground floor and  tumbled out of the lift.’ 

Ken Saro-Wiwa: A Forest of Flowers 

In the excerpt above, the subject’s  

experience in the lift is 

A.timely. 

B.comfortable. 

C.unpleasant 

D.amusing 

44. ‘Do not thank me, instead, let me ask  you one question, Now you have all  come here sprawling vomiting, rubbing  tears on one another begging me to do  my duty and help you. But what about  you yourselves? What have you done to  help yourselves? Answer. Or is the land  at peace? Are not people ailing and  dying?’ 

OIa Rotimi: The Gods Are Not To Blame 

In the excerpt above, the land is  

not at peace because of 

A.chieftaincy tussle 

B.famine and war 

C.political unrest 

D.sickness and death 

45. ‘In those days. When civilization kicked  us in the face, when holy water slapped  brows. The vultures built in the shadow  of their talons.’ David Diop: The Vulture 

The dominant literary device used in  the lines above is 

A.pun 

B.metaphor 

C.personification

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D.simile 

46. I am not afraid of anything; he told them. I  have done almost everything in this  world. I have you can think of an been  committed all c y jailed for most of them.  I have been in prison more hours than I  have been out of it within the last five years. 

In recounting his criminal life, the speaker’s  tone is 

A.regretful 

B.boastful 

1. subdued 

D.repentant 

47. ‘I have said too much unto a heart of stone,  And laid my honour too unchary on it’,  There’s something in me that reproves my  fault,. But such a headstrong potent fault it  is That it but mocks reproof.’ William  Shakespeare: Twelfth Night 

A heart of stone in the lines above is an  example of 

A.metonymy 

B.litotes 

1. assonance 

D.metaphor 

48. ‘Blood was prove no solace to the king. The  rejection he had suffered at Idama’s hands  pushed his spirit into a comfortless hole in  which, alone with himself, he searched in  vain for ways to run from his inner  

emptiness.’ Ayi Kwei Armah: 

Two Thousand Seasons 

The narrator’s attitude to the king is one of A.envy 

B.sympathy 

1. suspicion 

D.contempt 

49. ‘Homage to Peregede the triumphant  mother of morning radiant in  

Chameleon’s velvet. Let today’s dawn  bring on its rails trains of good tidings.’ Gbemisola Adeoti: Salutation to the gods The excerpt above is an example of 

A.invocation 

B.limerick 

1. ode 

D.elegy 

50. The wood decay, the woods decay and  fall, The vapour weep their burthen to the  ground, Man comes and fills the field and  lies beneath, And after many a summer  dies the swan. The subject matter of the  lines above is 
51. death 
52. rainfall 
53. famine 
54. storm
    

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ANSWER  KEYS 

1.D 

2.B 

3.D 

4.D 

5.B 

6.B 

7.C 

8.A 

9.B 

10.D 

11.B 

12.D 

13.D 

14.A 

15.D 

17.B 18.A 19.A 20.D 21.A 22.C 23.D 24.D 25.D 26.C 27.B 28.B 29.C 30.B 31.B 32.D 33.B 34.B 

34.B 35.A 36.D 37.D 38.A 39.C 40.C 41.A 42.C 43.C 44.D 45.C 46.B 47.D 48.D 49.A 50.A

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UTME 2012 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS 

1. Which Question Paper Type of  

Literature-in- English as indicated above  is given to you? 

1. Type Green 
2. Type Purple 
3. Type Red 
4. Type Yellow 

Question 2 to 5 are based on J.C. De  Graft’s Sons and Daughters. 

2. Who is the paternal aunt to Aaron and Maanan? 

A.Mrs Bonu 

B.Hannah 

1. Fosuwa 

D.Adwao 

3. From the play, George is a 

A.laboratory assistant 

B.pharmacist 

1. nurse 

D.medical doctor 

Use the quotation below to answer questions  1 and 

5. ‘If you touch me, I shall smash your  face with this bottle.’ 
6. “If you touch me, I shall smash your face with  this bottle” 

The statement is made by 

A.Manaan to lawyer B 

B.Manaan to Mrs Bonu 

C.James to Awere 

D.Awere to Aaron 

5. The issue at stake is that 

A.Maanan is trying to compromise 

B.Lawyer B is trying to kiss Maanan 

1. James sees Awere as a bad influence D.Mrs Bonu is taunting Maanan for loving  her husband 

Questions 6 to 10 are based on  

William Shakespeare’s Romeo  

and Juliet 

6. “From forth the fatal loins of these two  foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take  theirlife…” 

The lines above suggest that the tragedy in the play

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1. could have been averted 

B.is predestined 

C.is brought on enmity 

D.brought misfortune on the lovers 

7. O she doth teach the torches to  burn bright! It seems she hangs  

upon the cheek of night 

A rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear.” 

From the lines above, Juliet’s beauty is  presented 

A.in contrast to the dark night 

B.as a source of envy to all 

C.in terms of riches 

D.as being outstanding 

8. “The all-seeing sun, Ne’er saw match  since first the world begun.” 

The lines above were spoken by 

A.Count Paris in praise of Juliet 

B.Romeo in praise of Juliet 

C.Romeo in praise of Roseline 

D.Lady Capulet in praise of Roseline 

9. The major role of Mercutio in the play is to A.serve as a contrast to Romeo 

B.aid and abet Romeo’s passion 

C.annoy Tybalt 

D.accompany Romeo to Friar Lawrence 

10. The play shares the feature of  

classical tragedy through the  

use of 

A.violence on stage 

B.chorus 

C.comic relief 

D.flashback 

Questions 11 to 13 are based on  

Ferdinand Oyono’s The Old Man  and the Medal. 

11. “Meka, kneeling down in his usual  fashion with his behind up in the air.  Kelara knelt down beside him. Amalia  and her husband knelt down as well.” 

The actions of Meka, Kelara,  

Amalia and her husband signify 

A.parade 

B.dance 

C.prayer 

D.celebration

18 

12. “He had knocked his toes against so many  things that he had no toenails anymore and  the yaws he had suffered from his youth had  twisted his toes up so that they pointed to  the sky” 

The description above is in reference to the foot  of 

A.Kelara 

B.Meka 

1. Egamba 

D.Mvondo 

13. “They said their prayers in a monotonous  sing-song, kneeling on their bamboo bed like  camels waiting to be loaded.” 

The dominant figure of speech in the excerpt above  is 

A.rhetorical question 

1. simile 
2. metaphor 

D.mixed metaphor 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on Buchi  Emecheta’s 

The joy of Motherhood. 

14. As a symbol of material success and fulfilment,  Ibuzza community places a lot of importance on A. childbirth 

B.wealth 

1. male child 

D.female child 

15. Ona on her dying bed appeals to Agbadi to A.give her a befitting burial 

B.take good care of her children 

1. take another wife 

D.allow Nnu Ego marry a man of her choice 

16. The little money Nnaife makes after returning from Fernando PO is used for 

A.expanding Nnu Ego’s business 

B.taking care of his family 

1. sending his children to school 

D.getting more wives 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on George  Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. 

17. The novel is mainly classified as a 

A.metaphor 

B.hyperbole 

1. satire 

D.fiction 

18. Winston writes that the hope of the country lies  on the 

A.ministry of the truth 

B.proles 

C.party 

D.children 

19. In the novel, two minutes hate  

is a programme designed for 

A.parents 

B.thought police 

C.the community 

D.children 

20. To drop his philosophy of life and imbibe  the tenets of the party, Winston is  

subjected to all forms of torture and  

inhuman treatment by 

A.O’Brien 

B.thought police 

C.Big Brother 

D.Goldstein 

Questions 21 to 30 are based on selected  poems from Johnson, R, et al (eds.): New  Poetry from Africa; Soyinka, W. (ED.):  Poems of Black Africa; Senanu, K.E. and  Vincent, T. (eds.): A Selection of African  Poetry: U. Maduka, C.T et al: Exam Focus:  Longman Examination Guides; Nwoga, D.I.  (ed.): West African Verse and Adeoti G:  Naked Soles. 

21. The movement in Adeoti’s Naked  

Soles is characterized by 

A.hope and agreement 

B.freedom and self-determination 

C.pricks and tears 

D.disappointed and disarray 

22. One of the dominant themes if Rubadin’s  An African Thunderstorm is the 

A.relationship between man and woman B.activities of man during rainy seasons C.effect of rain on women and children 

D.problem of climate change 

23. In Kunene’s A Heritage of Liberation, the  weapons are to be preserved for the generation  yet unborn by the 

A.gods 

B.elders 

C.people

19 

D.government 

24. Give Me The Minstrel’s Seat ends on a clarion  call for 

A.freedom 

B.peace 

1. rectitude 

D.commitment 

25. “…the youthful hue/sits on thy skin  like a morning dew…” 

The excerpt above from Marvell’s To His  Coy Mistress is an example of 

1. simile 

B.anaphora 

1. paradox 

D.onomatopia 

26. In Lawrence’s Bat, the poet compares bats with A. sparrows 
27. swans 
28. swallows 

D.crows 

27. Elliot’s The Journey of the Magi could  be said to examine the issues of 

A.three trees on the low sky 

B.empty wine-skins 

1. spiritual rebirth 

D.holy pilgrimage 

28. “We would be believing we dreamt it” The figure of speech in the line above from  Acquah’s In the Navel of the Soul is 

A.apostrophe 

B.assonance 

1. antithesis 

D.alliteration 

29. The casualties in Launko’s End of the War A.women 
30. children 
31. men 

D.soldiers 

30. The theme of Cope’s Sonnet VII is 

A.art of poetry 

B.adventure 

1. contempt for literature 

D.isolation 

Questions 31 to 40 are based on  

general Literary Principles. 

31. A literary work in which the characters and  events are used as symbols is known as 

A.characterization 

B.allegory 

C.metaphor 

D.parallelism 

32. Characterization in a novel refers to the A.writer’s opinion of the characters 

B.way the characters are revealed to the reader C.characters and the way they behave 

D.reader’s opinion of the characters 

33. In literary work, verbal irony refers to a A.device in which the speaker means the  opposite of what he says 

B.situation in which a character  

speaks or acts against the trend of 

events 

C.difficult situation which defies a logical  

or rational resolution 

D.device in which the actor on stage  

means exactly what he says 

34. In the theater, words spoken by a character that  are meant to be heard by the audience but not  by the other characters on stage is called 

A.aside 

B.soliloquy 

C.acoustic 

D.tone 

35. Drama is the representation of a complete  series of actions by means of 

A.movement and gesture for the  

screen and audience 

B.speech, movement and gesture for the stage only C.speech, movement and gesture for  

the stage, screen and radio 

D.speech, gesture and movement for the  screen and radio 

36. A poet’s use of regular rhythm is known as A.allegory 

B.assonance 

C.metre 

D.onomatopoeia 

37. A literary genre which directly imitates  human action is 

A.drama

20 

1. comedy 
2. prose 

D.poetry 

38. A fable is a story in which 

A.allegations are made about characters B.animals or things are used as characters C. there is an important setting 

D.the story is told in poetic form 

39. The juxtaposition of two contrasting ideas in a  line of poetry is 

A.euphemism 

1. synedoche 
2. catharsis 

D.oxymoron 

40. The main aim of caricature is to 

A.describe 

B.expose 

1. emphasize 

D.ridicule 

Questions 41 to 50 are based on  

Literary Appreciation 

41. O! Ceremony, show me but thy worth  What is thy soul of adoration 

The figure of speech in the lines above is A.antithesis 

B.invocation 

1. personification 

D.apostrophe 

42. “What eyes will watch our large mouths,  Shaped by the laughter of big children What eyes will watch our large mouths?”  Birage Diop:Vanity 

The tone of the lines above is one of 

1. sarcasm 
2. sacrilege 
3. chiasmus 

D.eulogy 

43. The old man slept in his favourite chair The wind ran its fingers  

through his hair He looked like a  

tree gone dry of sap And his hands  were dry upon his lap The rhyme a  

scheme of the poem above is 

A.bbaa 

B.aabb 

C.abab 

D.baba 

44. Unequal laws unto a savage race, That board, and sleep, and feed…. 

The lines above show that the speaker 

A.detects discrimination 

B.is desirous of adventure 

C.hates his old wife 

D.knows much of his city men 

45 How can I look at Oyo and say I hate long shiny cars? How can I come to the children and despise international schools? And  Koomson comes, and the family sees  Jesus Christ in him…. 

The feeling conveyed by the speaker above is one  of 

A.anger 

B.alienation 

C.hope 

D.despair 

46. “Hide me now, when night children 

haunt the earth” Wole Soyinka:Night 

Night children in the stanza above reflects  

the consciousness of 

A.birds 

B.armed robbers 

C.animals 

D.spirit beings 

47. “Serrated shadows, through dark leaves, Til,  bathed in warm suffusion of your 

dapped cells Sensation pained me,  

faceless, silent as night thieves.” 

Wole Soyinka: Night 

The dominant mood in the lines above is one of A.apprehension 

B.defiance 

C.joy 

D.indifference 

48. “The drums overwhelmed the guns ” J.P Clark: 

Casualties 

The poet in the excerpt above uses 

A.litotes 

B.symbolism 

C.onomatopoeia 

D.alliteration 

49. ‘. They do not see the funeralpiles 

At home eating up the forests ’

21 

J.P. Clark:Casualties 

The imagery created in the above excerpt is  achieved 

through 

1. metaphor 
2. personification 
3. synecdoche 
4. metonym 
5. “I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees, all times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffered greatly” 

A.L. Tennyson: Ulysses 

The lines above inform the reader that the poet A. is determined to suffer 

1. has his poetic imagination kindled 
2. will cure his sour mood 
3. will not drink much

22 

ANSWER  KEYS 

1.B 

2.C 

3.D 

4.A 

5.B 

6.B 

7.D 

8.C 

9.A 

10.C 

11.C 

12.B 

13.B 

14.A 

15.D 

16.D 

17.C 

18.A 

19.C 

20.A 

21.B 

22.A 

23.A 

24.D 

25.A 

26.A 

27.C 

28.D 

29.D 

30.A 

31.B 

32.C 

33.A 

34.A 

35.B 

36.C 

37.A 

38.B 

39.D 

40.D 

41.D 

42.A 

43.B 

44.A 

45.A 

46.D 

47.A 

48.C 

49.A 

50.B

23 

UTME 2013 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS 

1. Which Question Paper Type of  

Literature-in- English is given to you? 

1. Type B 
2. Type I 
3. Type B 
4. Type U 

Questions 2 to 5 are based on J.C. De  Graft’s Sons and Daughters. 

Use the excerpt below to answer  

questions 2 and 3. 

James: Let me swear, woman. And I will  swear by my father’s coffin that if…. 

2. The lines depict James as a 

A.traditionalist 

B.Christian 

1. pagan 

D.Muslim 

3. The speaker is referring to 

A.Fosuwa 

B.Awere 

1. Maanan 

D.Hannah 

4. Aaron’ .All I need really is a place in an Art school, engineering can go hang  

itself. The dominant figure of  

speech in the excerpt above is 

A.metonymy 

B.synecdoche 

1. personification 

D.metaphor 

5. From the play, the character of Aaron  represents the 

A.painters 

B.art work 

1. new generation 

D.old generation 

6. ‘Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe; A villain  that is hither come in spite, To scorn at our  solemnity this night.’ 

The villain in the excerpt above is 

A.attempting to steal 

B.attending a feast uninvited 

C.engaging in a shouty match 

D.holding a sword to commit murder 

7. “What, drawn and talk of peace? I  hate the word As I hate hell, all  

Montagues, and thee Have at 

thee,coward!” 

Based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and  Juliet, the lines above reveal the speaker as a A.violence seeker 

B.peace maker 

C.real Montague 

D.trouble shooter 

8. Romeo’s mood, at the beginning of the play  can be described as 
9. melancholic and sentimental 
10. dreamy and hopeful 
11. frustrated and pensive 
12. gay and elated 
13. “O’deadly sin! O rude unthankfulness!  Thy fault our law calls death, but the kind  Prince, taking thy part, hath rushed aside  the law, And turned that black word  

“death” to banishment.” 

The speaker in the passage above is 

A.Lord Montague 

B.Friar Lawrence 

C.Apothecary 

D.Lord Capulet 

10. ” .. Put up thy sword 

Or manage it to part these men with me.” The speech above was made when 

A.Tybalt challenges Romeo to duel 

B.Prince Escalus arrives to make peace  

between the families 

C.Romeo and Paris engaged themselves in a fight D.Benvolio tries to separate the servants of  the feuding families 

Questions 11 to 13 are based on  

Ferdinand Oyono’s the Old Man and  

the Medal 

11. For his sacrifices to the church, Meka gets A.appointed into the church elders’ council B.the privilegde to choose a permanent 

place to sit

24 

C.a place near an aged leper 

D.a land to build a new house 

12. “Since I came to this country, I have  never seen cocoa as well dried as 

yours.” 

The speaker above is 

A.Nkolo 

B.the Commandant 

1. the Catechist 

D.Nua 

13. To the white men, the medal that is  given symbolizes 

A.harmonious relationship 

B.love 

1. peace 

D.friendship 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on Buchi  Emecheta’s The Joy of Motherhood. 14. Nnu Ego is blamed for the misfortunes of her A.parents 

B.husband 

1. siblings 

D.children 

15. According to the novel Nnaife becomes  frustrated when 

A.Oshiaju secures a scholarship to study abroad 

B.he is arrested and charged for  

attempted murder of his in-law 

C.his wife gives birth to female twins 

D.he is recruited into the army 

16. Adaku remains faithful to Nnaife until she A.starts keeping unnecesary friends 

B.is unable to give birth to a male child C. is rebuked by the Ibuza society for  abusing Nnu Ego 

D.becomes rich and powerful 

Questions 17 to 20 are based on George  Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four 

17. The Ministry of Love is concerned with A.peace and freedom 

B.torture and pain 

1. joy and peace 

D.hatred and pain 

18. The instruments of power and torture belong to A.the government 

B.the party 

C.the thought police 

D.individuals 

19. The action in the novel is built around A.Winston Smith 

B.O’Brien 

C.Julia 

D.Big Brother 

20. Winston Smith works in the Record  Department of the Ministry of 

A.love 

B.truth 

C.peace 

D.plenty 

Questions 21 and 30 are based on  selected poems from Johnson, R. et al  (eds.): New Poetry from Africa; Soyinka,  W. (ed.): Poems of Black Africa; Senanu,  K.E. and Vincent, T. (eds): A Selection of  African Poetry; Umukoro M. et al: Exam  Focus: Literature in English; Eruvbetine, A.E. et al (eds.): Longman Examination  Guides: Poetry for Senior Secondary  Schools NWOGA, D.I. (ed.) West African  Verse 

21. The dominant poetic technique  

employed in Adeoti’s Naked Soles is A.zeugma 

B.oxymoron 

C.hyperbole 

D.onomatopoeia 

22. Rubadiri’s An African Thunderstorm  can be described as 

A.didactic 

B.dramatic 

C.traditional 

D.satirical 

23. ‘Since it was you who in all these thin  seasons.” The device employed in the line  above from Kunene’s The Heritage of  Liberation, is an example of 

A.apostrophe 

B.allusion 

C.anecdote 

D.aside 

24. “Let me ask for what reason or  rhyme women refuse to marry?
    

25 

Woman cannot exist except by man, what is there in that to vex some of them  so? The lines above from Give Me The  Minstrel’s Seat is an example of 

A.pathetic fallacy 

B.chiasmus 

1. ironical statement 

D.rhetorical question 

25. ‘Time winged chariot’ 

The line above from Marvell’s To His Coy  Mistress 

depicts 

A.how fast time flies 

B.the usefulness of time 

1. the measurement of time 

D.how fast events unfold 

26. Lawrence’s Bat opens with the description of the 

A.scene 

B.creatures 

1. bats 

D.scenery 

27. The theme of Eliot’s The Journey of Magi is A.quest for salvation 

B.escape from persecution 

1. nature 

D.journey 

28. Acquah’s In The Navel of the Soul describes the 

A.lack of experienced midwives in the society B.excesses of the new generation churches  and politicians 

1. complications of motherhood and child bearing 

D.conflict between the church and tradition 

29. “Listen…they will tell you… 

to beat drums is mere children’s  

play, the adult’s is to start  

echoes… 

The lines above from Launkos’ End of the  War, enhance the —– 

A.rhyme of the poem 

B.rhythm of the poem 

1. language of the poem 

D.use of imagery 

30. The language OF Cope’s Sonnet VII past  event in a literary work is 

A.complicated 

B.simple 

1. poetic complicated 

D.difficult

26 

Question 31 to 40 are based on  

General literacy Principles 

31. A device used by a writer to recall past  event in a literary work is 

A.interlude 

B.anti-climax 

C.flashback 

D.foreshadowing 

32. A paragraph in prose is equivalent to a A.trope in poetry 

B.verse in poetry 

C.stanza in poetry 

D.meter in poetry 

33. A fable is a brief narrative illustrating wisdom and 

A.urgency 

B.origin 

C.custom 

D.truth 

34. A device used in poetry to achieve  emphasis or stress a point is known as A.rhyme 

B.assonance 

C.repetition 

D.alliteration 

35. A literary work that ridicules the  

shortcomings of people or ideas is 

A.a masque 

B.a satire 

C.an irony 

D.a fable 

36. The figure of speech in which the writer  means the exact opposite of what he  intends to say is 

A.satire 

B.irony 

C.paradox 

D.metaphor 

37. Action without speech in a play is 

A.soliloquy 

B.aside 

C.epilogue 

D.mime 

38. A literary work that teaches moral is said to be A.impressive

27 

45. didactic Use the quotation below to answer questions 44 C. instructive and 45. 
46. corrective 

Will no one tell me what she sings 

39. A mistake committed by the hero which leads to perhaps the plaintive numbers flow his downfall is known as for old, unhappy, far off things A. comic relief And battles long ago. B. terse Or is it some more humble lay, C. climax Familiar matter of today? D. tragic flaw 44. The lines above show that the persona A. does not understand the girl’s language 
40. The speech made by a character to himself on B. is so much in love with the girl stage is C. so hates the words of the girl A. monologue D. understands the girl’s songs B. epilogue 
41. aside 45. The line end in a literary device known as D. soliloquy A. transferred epithet 
42. rhetorical question 

Question is based on Literary Appreciation. C. Irony 

1. conceit 
2. “Women as a clam, on the sea’s crescent 

I saw your jealous eye quench the sea’s 46. Oh incomprehensible God! Fluorescence, dance on the pulse Shall my pilot be 

incessant. Wole Soyinka: Night My inborn stars to that The lines above suggest that women are Final call to thee… 

1. magicians 
2. covetous The literary device used in the first line is C. dogmatic A. passion 
3. seers B. apostrophe 
4. burlesque 
   

Use the quotation below to answer question  42 

and 43. 

1. rhetoric 
   

“Busy old fool 47. “Busy old fool, unruly sun, Unruly sun Why dost thou thus.” Why dost thou thus J. Donne:The Sun Rising Through windows From the lines above, the poet sees the  sun as 

And through curtains A. a necessary evil 

Call on us?” B. a light provider 

42. Donne: The Sun Rising C. illumination after darkness 42. The excerpts above suggests D. an unnecessary evil A. praise of nature 
43. invitation to the sun Use the quotation below to answer questions 48 C. welcoming the sun and 49. 
44. indictment of the sun 

The body perishes, the heart stays young. 

43. The figure of speech involved in the lines above is The platter wears away with serving food. A. simile No log retains its bark when old, B. personification No lover peaceful while the rival weeps. C. epigram 48. The theme of the poem above is

28 

1. pun A. permanence of love B. decaying nature of wood

29 

1. non-peaceful nature of love 
2. diminishing nature of love 
3. “No lover peaceful while the rival weeps” means that 
4. there is true and permanent love 
5. the two lovers weep together 
6. the pain of one lover is felt by the other D. there is no permanent love 
7. “Will college make you a better Olokun  priest? 

Will it make you serve our ancestors better? Look at me. An able-bodied, strong-hearted  priest 

of Olokun. Did I go to college?” 

Grace Osifo: Dizzy Angel 

The literary device used in the passage above is A. simile 

1. parallelism 
2. onomatopoeia 
3. metaphor

30 

ANSWER  KEYS 

1.D 

2.A 

3.B 

4.C 

5.C 

6.B 

7.D 

8.C 

9.A 

10.D 

11.A 

12.B 

13.D 

14.D 

15.C 

16.A 

17.A 

18.A 

19.A 

20.A 

21.D 

22.C 

23.A 

24.D 

25.A 

30.A 31.C 32.C 33.D 34.C 35.B 36.B 37.D 38.B 39.D 40.A 41.B 42.D 43.B 44.B 45.B 46.B 47.A 48.A 49.C 50.D

31 

UTME 2014 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS 

1. Which Question Paper Type of  Literature-in- English is given to you? A. Type F 
2. Type S 
3. Type L 
4. Type S 

Questions 2 to 5 are based on Femi  Osofisan’s Women of Owu 

2. In the play, the gods are portrayed as A. helpless 
3. architects of man’s destiny 
4. amorous 
5. saviours of mankind 
6. Orisaye describes Balogun Kusa as A.a great warrior 

B.an enemy and a butcher 

1. a friend in need 

D.a good leader 

4. Erelu is 

A.the oldest wife of the Oba Akinjobi B.a courtier to the Alaafin of Oyo C. the most brilliant woman in Owu D.the first wife of the Oba 

5. Balogun Kusa is killed by a 

A.god 

B.herbalist 

1. lunatic 

D.soldier 

Questions 6 to 10 are based on  William Shakespeare’s The  

Tempest. 

6. In the play, Ariel is identified as A.leader of the spirits 

B.Prospero’s daughter 

1. Alonso’s wife 

D assistant to Sycorax 

7. Before the shipwreck that occurs at the  beginning of the play, Prospero and his  daughter have lived in the Island for 

A.two decades 

B.twelve years 

C.forty days 

D.eighteen months. 

8. Caliban’s intention to rape Miranda is born  out of the desire to 

A.destroy the Island 

B.compete with Ferdinand 

C.populate the Island with Calibans 

D.marry her. 

9. The character associated with savagery in the  play is 

A.Ariel 

B.Stephano 

C.Caliban 

D.Ferdinand 

10. Prospero is portrayed as a man who is A.full of mistrust for everybody 

B.more interested in studying than in governance C.dependent on the spirits for his survival D.eager to conquer the world 

Questions 11 to 13 are based on Asare  Konadu’s A Woman in Her Prime. 

11. The novel explores the theme of 

A.exploitation of the African woman 

B.sex discrimination in Ghana 

C.women liberation in Nigeria 

D.child quest of an African woman 

12. According to the novel, the worst calamity that  can befall a woman is 

A.inability to bear male 

B.inability to marry 

C.divorce children 

D.barrenness. 

13. In the novel, Asogo is a game in which A.fathers narrate animal stories 

B.boys abuse girls with music 

C.girls sing songs of praise admonition 

D.mothers lure their babies to sleep

32 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on  

Chimamanda Adiechie’s Purple  

Hibiscus 

14. In the novel, one of the changes introduced  into St. Agnes’ church by Father is that 

A.there must be fasting every month 

B.the Credo must be recited in lgbo 

1. the Kyrie must be rendered only in Latin D.everyone must take holy communion 
2. Eugene Achike in the novel is portrayed as A.a soft and gentle husband 

B.an uncompromising traditionalist 

1. a fanatical Catholic adherent 

D.a tough retired soldier. 

16. In the Achike family, the character who is  central to the theme is 

A.Kambili 

B.Mama 

1. Sisi 

D.Jaja 

Questions 17 to 20 are based on  

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man  

and the Sea. 

17. In the novel, the type of fish caught by  Santiago after days of effort is 

A.shark 

B.iris 

1. marlin 

D.geisha 

18. The novel demonstrates the 

A.attempt to catch fish 

B.desire to understand life 

1. influence of the sea on man 

D.struggle of man against-defeat 

19. In the novel, the attitude of the old  man toward nature is quite 

A.cautious and sceptical 

B.hostile and callous 

1. careless and indifferent 

D.warm and friendly. 

20. Santiago’s second dream occurs 

A.the night before his fishing expedition B.in his house 

1. at the end of the book

33 

D.when he sleeps on the boat for a few hours. 

Questions 21 to 30 are based on Selected  Poems from Ker,D. et al (eds.) New Poetry  from Africa; Soyinka, (ed.): Poems of  Black Africa; Senanu 

K.E. and Vincent, T. (eds.): A Selection of  African Poetry; Umukoro, M et a! (eds.):  Exam Focus: Literature in English;  Ernubetine, A.E. et al (eds.): Longman  Examination Guides and Nwoga, D.1. (ed):  West African Verse. 

21. The dominant image in Adeoti’s Hard Lines is A.auditory 

B.gustatory 

C.visual 

D.tactile. 

22. The tone of Umeh’s Ambassadors of  Poverty can be described as 

A.metaphorical 

B.sarcastic 

C.admonitory 

D.panegyrical 

23. Owonibi’s Homeless, not Hopeless,  the persona explains that street 

beggars 

A.always worry about heaven 

B.rarely sleep and dream 

C.attend conferences in towns 

D.are concerned with their daily needs. 

24. Cheney-Coker’s Myopia is a 

A.dirge 

B.lament 

C.sonnet 

D.ballad 

25. Jared Angira is an African poet from A.Sierra-Leone 

B.Kenya 

C.South Africa 

D.Ghana. 

26. The dominant technique used in Serenade is A.metaphor 

B.simile 

C.oxymoron 

D.apostrophe 

27. The sun in Donne’s The Sun  

Rising is depicted through the  

use of

34 

A.invocation 

B.ellipsis 

1. enjambment 

D.apostrophe 

28. In Raleigh’s The Soul’s Errand, the soul is  portrayed as a 

A.friend of suffering masses 

B.fearless message-bearer 

1. restorer of lost glory 

D.messenger of hope and peace. 

29. The allusion in Hughes’s The Negro  Speaks of Rivers is mainly 

A.biblical 

B.historical 

1. classical 

D.literary 

30. Fletcher’s Upon An Honest Man’s Fortune encourages people to 

A.condemn soothsaying 

B.move in the direction of God 

1. accept soothsaying 

D.accept life as it is. 

Questions 31 to 40 are based on  

General Literary Principles 

31.An action in a play that stimulates the audience to pity a character is

A.pathos 

B.parody 

1. pyrrhic 

D.props 

32. Purgation of emotion, pity and fear is A.epilogue 

B.exposition 

1. catharsis 

D.catastrophe 

33. A device in drama where a character speaks  alone is 
34. apostrophe 
35. dialogue 
36. soliloquy 
37. aside 
38. A plot in a literary work is about 

A.resolution of conflicts 

B.law of poetic justice 

C.character delineation 

D.causal arrangement of events 

35. Tone and mood of a poem refer to 

A.setting 

B.space 

C.locale 

D.atmosphere 

36. A funny incident within a serious situation is A.tragicomedy 

B.tragic hero 

C.comedy 

D.comic relief 

37. In literature, a flat character can be  

described as one who 

A.dies abruptly 

B.achieves greatness 

C.is undeveloped 

D.undergoes changes 

38. Dramatis personae in a play refers to A.cast list 

B.protagonist and antagonist 

C.list of characters 

D.order of appearance 

39. The speech made at the end of a  

dramatic performance is generally 

called 

A.a dirge 

B.a monologue 

C.a prologue. 

D.an epilogue 

40. Which of the following is central to  

narrative fiction? 

A.Objectivity 

B.Subjectivity 

C.Verisimilitude 

D.Dialogue 

Questions 41 to 50 are based on  

Literary Appreciation. 

41. He put himself in uniform, made one for his  five- year-old son, and marched with the infant  from dawn till noon every market day, on the  main road singing `Kayiwawa beturi… 

The persona in the excerpt above is portrayed as A.energetic

35 

B.a policeman 

C.a soldier 

D.abnormal 

42. He is a faithful liar 

The above is an example of 

A.epigram 

B.oxymoron 

1. euphemism 

D.antithesis 

43. Fights by the book of arithmetic 

The figure of speech in the line above is A.hyperbole 

B.Euphemism 

1. Litotes 

D.Innuendo 

44. And when you trudge on one horny pads  Gullied like the soles of modern shoes Pads  that even jiggers cannot conquer 

Horny pads in the lines above is a reference to  a 

A.policeman 

B.madman 

1. sole of a pauper 

D.sole of a soldier. 

45. ‘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.sonnet 

1. couplet 

D.sestet 

Use the following excerpt to answer  questions 46 to 48. 

`I wonder how long, you awful parasites,  shall share with me this little bed, And  awake me, from my sweet dreams be lost,  sucking blood from my poor head…’ By  Mbure: To a Bed-Bug 

46. The lines are an example of a 

A.limerick 

B.lampoon 

C.light verse 

D.light opera 

47. The poet persona expresses dismay about A.bat 

B.cockroaches 

C.grasshoppers 

D.light opera 

48. The most dominant figure of speech in the  excerpt is 

A.metaphor 

B.simile 

C.personification 

D.hyperbole 

49. You 

Your head is like a drum that is beaten  

for spirits. You 

Your ears are like the fans used for blowing  fire. The lines above are a good example of A.caricature 

B.ridicule 

C.satire 

D.lampoon 

50. ‘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’. G. Okara: The voice 

It can be inferred from the passage above that the A.listener is wise 

B.speaker is a porter 

C.listener is more experienced 

1. speaker is more experienced.
   

36 

ANSWER  

KEYS 

1. D 
2. B 
3. B 
4. A 
5. C 
6. A 
7. D 
8. D 
9. C 
10. A 
11. A 
12. D 
13. D 
14. B 
15. C 
16. A 
17. C 
18. D 
19. A 
20. D 
21. C 
22. C 
23. D 
24. B 
25. A 26. D 27. D 28. B 29. A 30. D 31. A 32. C 33. C 34. D 35. D 36. D 37. C 38. C 39. D 40. D 41. D 42. B 43. D 44. C 45. A 46. A 47. B 48. C 49. D 50. D
    

37 

UTME 2015 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS C. presence of the strangers 

1. ‘Busy old fool, unruly sun why  windows and through curtains call  on us?’ The most vivid figure of speech  in the lines above from Donne’s The Sun  Rising is 
2. simile 
3. diction 
4. personification 
5. pun 
6. The allusion in Hughes’s The Negro  Speaks of Rivers is mainly 
7. biblical 
8. classical 
9. literary 
10. historical 
11. In Adeoti’s Hard Lines, Sodium cyanide is 
12. poisonous 
13. adhesive 
14. sweet 
15. fragrant 
16. In owonibi’s Honieless, not Hopeless the  persona explains that street beggars A. Always worry about in heaven 
17. Attend conferences towns 
18. are concerned with their daily needs D. Rarely sleep and dream 
19. The poet persona in Serenade is a A. Suitor 
20. Mother 
21. spinster 
22. Passer-by 
23. In Cheney-Coker’s Myopia, peasants  refer to 
24. Under-privileged masses 
25. Politicians 
26. farmers 
27. Rural dwellers 
28. In Angira’s Expelled, the poet persona  laments the 
29. Loss of his property 
30. Harrowing experiences from the  stranger’s visit 
31. Problem of his family and their  economic implications 
32. Fletcher’s Upon An Honest Man’s Fortune  achieves its lyrical effect through the use  of 
33. Synecdoche 
34. Antithesis 
35. enjambment 
36. Ballad 
37. Rhythm is achieved in Raleigh’s The  Soul’s Errand through the use of 
38. Metaphor 
39. Alliteration 
40. repetition 
41. Antithesis 

10.The title of Umeh’s Ambassador of  Poverty is 

1. Repetition 
2. A simile 
3. an alliteration 
4. An irony 

11.The repetition of a consonant sound in  quick succession for sound effect is A. Alliteration 

1. Pun 
2. onomatopoeia 
3. Assonance 

12.A play in which the acts succeed one  Another without probable or  

necessary sequence is 

1. Episodic 
2. Simple 
3. linear 
4. Convoluted 

13.A technique by which a previous scene  or action can be recalled in a play to  shed light on the present action is A. Climax 

1. Flashback 
2. interlude 
3. Catharsis 

14.Criticism is a literary activity which seeks  to

38 

1. Find faults in a literary work 
2. Analyse and evaluate a literary  work C. compare and contrast novels D. Discover the beauty of a literary work 

15.A situation where an actor addresses the  audience without the other actors  hearing him is called 

1. Soliloquy 
2. Chorus 
3. aside 
4. Solo 

16.A band of singers and dancers in drama  who act as a link between the play and  the audience is the 

1. Chorus 
2. Clown 
3. Playwright 
4. Cast 

17.A character whose name is used as the  title of the text is 

1. Antagonist 
2. Round 
3. eponymous 
4. Flat 

18.In poetry, the term license  

implies A. Freedom to sell poems 

1. Liberty the poets take with language C. approval given to poets to compose  poems 
2. Honour given to deserving poets  19.The person who takes the leading role in a play or novel is the 
3. Protagonist 
4. Actor 
5. antagonist 
6. Actress 

20.A form of writing in which the poet write  with nostalgia about simple village life is A. Ballad 

1. Romance 
2. epic 
3. pastoral 
4. „We all make decisions. Sometimesit  is wrong, sometimes it is right.’ The  speaker in the lines above is 
5. Afraid 
6. Excited 
7. pessimistic 
8. Reassuring 
9. ‘Her neck is rope-like thin, long and  skinny and her face sickly pale.’ Okot  p’ Bitek: Song of Lawino. The style used  in the lines is 
10. Narrative 
11. Argumentative 
12. dramatic 
13. Descriptive 
14. ‘once upon a time son, they used to  laugh with their eyes; but now they  only laugh with their teeth, while  their ice-block-cold eyes search  behind my shadow’ G. Okara: Once  upon a time The lines above are  

expressive of 

1. Friendliness 
2. Insincerity 
3. jealousy 
4. Sympathy 
5. ‘when she opens her heart the  savior’s image!’ Traditional: Love  Song. the allusion in the lines above  shows 
6. That the poet is a Christian 
7. That his love had a heart surgery C. the climax of love relationship 

D the anti-climax of love relationship  25.‘Ay, your times were fine times indeed you have been telling us of  them for many a long year. Here we  live in an old rumbling mansion, that  looks for all the world like an inn,  but we never see company.’  

Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer. The  figure of speech in the world like an inn  is A. Irony 

1. Euphemism 
2. simile 
3. Metaphor
   

39 

26. ‘She gave out colanuts and together  they ate to appease the angry earth  and amadioha spoke through  

lightning and thunder.‟ The figure of  speech in the third line above is 

1. Personification 
2. Simile 
3. hyperbole 
4. Metaphor 
5. ‘Ay, your times were fine times  indeed you have been telling us of  them for many a long year. Here we  live in an old rumbling mansion, that  looks for all the world like an inn,  but we never see company.’  

Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer. The  figure of speech in the world like an inn  is A. hopeful 

1. frustrated 
2. regretful 
3. Happy 
4. ‘Her neck is rope-like thin, long and  skinny and her face sickly pale.‟ Okot  p‟ Bitek:Song of Lawino.The style used in  the lines is 
5. Ridicule 
6. admonition 
7. anger 
8. sympathy 
9. „Ah. sunflower, weary of time who  contests the steps of the sun  

seeking after that sweet golden  clime where the travellers’ Journey  is done. The figure of speech in the  second line above is 

1. Simile 
2. metaphor 
3. irony 
4. Hyperbole 
5. „There is no art to find the minds  construction on the face he was a  gentleman on whom I built an  absolute trust.’ Shakespeare: Macbeth,  The gentleman in the lines above 
6. Annoys the speaker 
7. fights with the speaker 
8. detests the speaker 
9. Betrays the speaker 
10. The flourishing fish market in the novel  Is located In 
11. St. Louis 
12. Canary Island 
13. Cleveland 
14. Havana 
15. In summary, the old man can  

be described as 

1. A Marxist 
2. an idealist 
3. an optimist 
4. A realist 
5. As he struggled with fish and the  sharks, the old man constantly talks to  himself because
6. He is afraid of the sea 
7. that is what all fishermen do 
8. it will make the sharks leave 
9. The boy has left him 
10. To the old man, mandolin is 
11. A symbol of oppression B.  

the cause of the ill-luck 

1. a source of encouragement 
2. Typical of lazy youths 
3. The subject matter of the novel is A. Domestic violence 
4. religious zeal 
5. child abuse 
6. Marital infidelity 
7. In the Achike family, the character  who is central to the theme is 
8. Kambili 
9. mama 
10. sisi 
11. Jaja 
12. The novel exposes 
13. Military dictatorship 
14. the travails of a single girl 
15. what happens in a family with a  high-handed father 
16. The problem of running a large family  in an urban society
    

40 

38.‘A priest rushed forward and poured B. he wants his back, so he can rule libation,… Having thus appealed to again 

the keeper of the spirit world, they C. he sees his usurpation from oneside waited for results. Moments passed D. He is unfair to Miranda before the bearers could move 44.An idea that recurs in the play is again.’ The incident is the A. People’s love for power A. Sacrifice to make pokuwaa pregnant B. people’s love for money B. burial of Yaw Boakye C. development of the Island C. search for Yaw Boakye D. Love at first sight D. Search for the missing black hen 45.Gonzalo in the play is 

39.According to the medicine man, pokuwaa A. Antonio’s brother has miscarriage because B. a Milan Senator 

46. Kwadwo often beats her C. a Neapolitan Councillor B. she is barren from birth D. Sebastian’s co-conspirator C. her mother does not offer 46.In the play, the gods are portrayed as 

thanksgiving sacrifice A. Saviours of mankind D. Kwaswo’s mother is a powerful witch B. architects of man’s destiny 40.‘A priest rushed forward and poured C. helpless 

libation… Having thus appealed to D. Amorous 

the keeper of the spirit world, they 47.In the play, Osofisan shows that war waited for results. Moments passed A. Is destructive 

before the bearers could move B. is injurious to the gods again.’ The incident narrated above C. builds human society takes place D. Must be fought with patriotic zeal A. On the way to the stream 48.Orisaye insists that she receives B. at the market place revelations from 

1. close to the cemetery A. Sango 
2. At the village square B. Ogun 

41.The central theme of the play is C. Orunmila 

1. Man and nature D. Obatala 
2. heaven and earth 49.In the play, a General of the Allied C. sin and forgiveness Forces is 
3. Slow and steady A. Okunade 

42.In the play, Prospero leaves his B. Erelu 

Dukedom of Milan to devote his time to C. Akinjobi 

the pursuit of D. Anlugbus 

50. Magic 50.In the play, Oba Asunkungbade is the B. knowledge A. War leader of Ijebu C. romance B. Ooni of lfe 
51. Recreation C. Monarch of Oyo 

43.Prospero’s sense of justice is one sided D. Founder of Owu-Ipole because 

1. While he is angry with Antonio, he 

enslaves Ariel and Caliban

41 

ANSWERS KEY 

1.C 46.B 2.C 47.A 3.B 48.D 4.D 49.A 5.A 50.D 6.D 

7.D 

8.D 

9.A 

11.A 

12.D 

13.A 

14.B 

15.A 

16.D 

17.A 

18.C 

18.B 

19.A 

20.C 

21.D 

22.D 

23.C 

24.C 

25.C 

26.A 

27.C 

28.A 

29.B 

30.D 

31.C 

32.A 

33.D 

34.C 

35.B 

36.A 

37.C 

38.B 

39.C 

40.C 

41.B 

42.D 

43.C 

44.D 

45.C

42 

UTME 2016 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS D. Rigging 

1.The usual works you know these things. We’ll 

dangle this babe before the Chief fora price.  

He will employ her and we can make use of  

her to get what we want. She will run the  

errands while we pick the bucks’. The babe in  

the excerpt above refers to 

A.Ogeyi 

B.Alice 

1. Ochuole 
2. Aloho 
3. ‘0! God forgive me. Is this a trap or what?  

God! Poor girl! Whatever is her reason for  

this dangerous decision.’ 

A.Chief 

B.Doctor 

1. Inspector Inaku 

D.ACP Yakubu 

This question is based on Frank Ogodo0gbecheis 

Harvest of Corruption 

3. The central setting of the play is 

A.Mabu 

B.Gbossa 

1. Darkin 

D.Jabu 

This question is based on Frank  

OgodoOgbeche’s Harvest of  

Corruption 

4. ‘Good day (He says without looking up.)  

See me there by 4 p.m. Okay? Bye!’ there  

in the excerpt above refers to the 

A.Court room 

B.Police station 

1. Airport 

D.Akpara hotel 

This question is based on Frank Ogodo0gbeche’s 

Harvest of Corruption 

5. Chief Ade Amaka is involved in which of  

the following crime? 

A.Child trafficking 

B.Land grabbing 

1. Smuggling

43 

This question is based on  

Williams Shakespeare’s  

Othello 

6. ‘ill-starred wench, pale as thy smock,  When we shall meet at compt.’ The  device used in the lines above is 

A.simile 

B.pun 

C.metaphor 

D.paradox 

This question is based on  

Williams Shakespeare’s  

Othello 

7. Othello kills Desdemona because the A.former is jealous 

B.former’s race is insulted 

C.latter is a witch. 

8. Brabantio is opposed to the  

relationship between Othello and  

Desdemona because 

A.he prefers lago 

B.Othello is a Moor 

C.Roderigo woos her first. 

D.Desdemona is too young 

This question is based on  

William Shakespeare’s  

Othello 

9. ‘soft you; a word or two before you go. I  have done the state some service, and  they know’t No more of that, I pray you, in  your letters, When you shall these unlucky  deeds relate ‘, The speech above is made.  when the speaker is 

A.travelling 

B.sick 

C.dying 

D.eloping 

This question is based on  

William Shakespeare’s 

Othello 

10. ‘0 heaven; How got she  

out? 0 treason of the 

blood. 

Father, from hence trust not  

your daughters’ minds 

By what you see them act. Is there not  charms By which the property of youth 

44 

and maidhood

45 

May be abused? 

The speaker of the excerpt above is 

A.Brabantio 

B.Othello 

1. Gratiano 

D.Roderigo 

This question is based on Ammadarko’s Faceless 11. The name of Kabria’s husband is 

A.Kwei 

B.Kpakp 

o  

C.Adade 

1. Ottu 

The question is based on AmmaDarko’s Faceless 

12. ‘She was both a child and an adult and  could act like both 

The character being referred to in the  

excerpt above is 

A.Fofo 

B.Baby T. 

1. Odarley 

D.Obea. 

13. The question is based on AmmaDarko’s  Faceless. The writer of the novel is from 

A.Germany 

B.Scotland 

1. Ghana 

D.Nigeria 

This question is based on BayoAdebowale’s  Lonely Days. 

14. Windows in mourning in Kufi wear garments  that are 

A.red 

B.black 

1. white 

D.dull 

This question is based on BayoAdebowale’s Lonely Days. 

15. In the novel bage cap signifies everlasting A.happiness 

B.sorrow

46 

C.freedom 

D.despair 

This question is based on BayoAdebowale’s Lonely Days 

16. Yaremiss only son is 

A.Alani 

B.Wande 

C.Olode 

D.Deyo 

This question is based on Richard Wright’s Native Son 

17. Bigger burns Mary body in the 

A.toilet 

B.basement 

C.backyard 

D.wardrobe 

This question is based on Richard Wright’s Native Son. 

18. Mary’s lover is 

A.Earlone 

B.Buckley 

C.Bigger 

D.Max 

This question is based on Richard Wright’s Native Son. 

19. ‘Suppose Mary had not burned? Suppose  she was still there, expose’ The dominant  literacy device in the excerpt above is 

A.apostrophe 

B.euphemism 

C.syntactical parallelism 

D.rhetorical question 

This question is based on Richard Wright’s Native Son 

20. Bigger and the gang rob Negroes because A.they are the same 

B.it is not a crime 

C.they are helpless 

D.it is easier 

21. One of the themes in Morris The Proud King is

47 

A.arrogance 

B.greed 

1. education 

D.achievement. 

22. ‘The panic 

Of growing older 

Spreads fluttering wings from year to year’ 

The dominant figure of speech in the lines  above from Peters’ The Panic of Growing  Older is 

A.onomatopoeia 

B.metaphor 

1. personification 

D.apostrophe 

23. Kofi Awoonor is a poet from 

A.Cameroon 

B.Nigeria 

1. Ghana 

D.Kenya 

24. Okara’s Piano and Drums symbolizes A.superiority of the white man 

B.how Africa is becoming complex 

1. simplicity of the European society D.the complexities of the Western society 
2. But such a tide moving seems asleep, Too full  for sound and foam, When that which drew  from out the boundless deep Turns again  home.’ The rhyme scheme in the excerpt  above from Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar is A.abba 

B.abab 

1. abed 

D.aabb 

26. ‘So strength first made a way; Then beauty  flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.’ The  lines above from Herbert’s The Pulley is an  example of 

A.personification 

B.paradox 

1. metaphor 

D.antithesis 

27. Blake’s The School Boy can be referred to as

48 

A.dramatic 

B.instructive 

C.satiric 

D.expository 

28. `If we cry roughly of our torments; Ever  increasing from the start of things, What  eyes will watch our large mouths; Shaped by  the laughter of big children What eyes will  watch our large mouths?’ The language of  the persona of the above excerpt in Diop’s  Vanity is 

A.inciting 

B.submissive 

C.imploring 

D.diplomatic 

29. ‘Dinner tonight conies with; gun wounds,  Our desert tongues lick the vegetable;  blood-the pepper’ From the lines above in  Hallowell’s The Dining Table, the  

persona is 

A.thirsty 

B.displeased 

C.hungry 

D.sick 

30. ‘blue Peter on empty ships all peters with  petered out desires.’ It can be deduced from  the lines above in Adeoti’s Ambush that the  Peters are 

A.disappointed 

B.betrayed 

C.lazy 

D.greedy 

31. An art that is both literary and theatrical is A.prosody 

B.a prose 

C.drama 

D.a poem 

32. The speech made by a character to  himself on stage is 

A.epilogue 

B.monologue 

C.aside 

D.soliloquy

49 

33. In literature, a round character is associated with A.change and growth 

B.simplicity and modesty 

1. stability and determination 

D.running down other characters 

34. In a narrative poem, the post attempts to A.summarize a story 

B.preach a sermon 

1. describe a place 

D.tell a story 

35. The continuation of meaning without pause, from one line to the next is 

A.enjambment 

B.synecdoche 

1. alliteration 

D.melodrama 

36. The plot of a story generally refers to the A.way in which the writer begins the story B.intrigue made by a character against the hero C. way the writer ends the story 

D.way in which the events of the story  

are organized 

37. A didactic piece is one in which the writer A.teaches human lessons 

B.dictates to the reader 

1. condemns human foibles 

D.discuses dialectic themes 

38. What basically distinguish literature from  other disciplines 

A.communication of idea 

B.use of creative imagination 

1. portrayal of places 

D.exposition of human experience 

39. A reward or punishment a character receives  in a literary work is 

A.point of attack 

B.poetic justice 

1. popular outcry 

D.poetic license

50 

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

A.figure of speech 

B.diction 

C.expression 

D.rhythm 

41. Weep not child, weep not my darling, With  these kisses, let me remove your tears The  ravening clouds shall no longer be victorious  They shall no longer possess the sky …The  speaker of the lines is 

A.pessimistic 

B.optimistic 

C.helpless 

D.carefree 

42. ‘You see that Benz at the rich’s end? Ha!  That motoka is motoka,lt belongs to the  Minister for fairness. Who yesterday was  loaded with a doctorate. At Makerere with  whisky and I don’t know what Plus I hear  the literate thighs of an undergraduate  Theo Luzuka: The Motoka The excerpt  above can be described as 

A.sad 

B.humorous 

C.strange 

D.serious 

Questions 43 to 50 are  

based on Literary 

Appreciation. 

43. `… for my purpose holds To sail beyond the  sunset and the baths; of all the western  stars, until I die.‘Tennyson: Ulysses. From  the excerpt above, the persona does not  intend to 

A.undertake dangerous adventure 

B.stop travelling 

C.die 

D.travel at night 

44. ‘And my children left their peaceful  nakedness for the uniform of iron and  blood.’ David Diop: Loser of Everything.  In the lines above, the imagery depicts a  displacement of 

A.village life by barrack life

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B.nature by science 

C.innocence by violence 

D.the natural by the artificial 

45. ‘Now we have come to you, And are amazed to  find Those you have loved and respected Mock  you to your face.’ Kwesi Braw: Lest we  should Be The 

Last 

The lines above convey the feeling of 

A.satisfaction 

B.hope 

1. disappointment 
2. fear 
3. The times has come when I can fool  myself no more I am no man sadiku. My  manhood ended near a week ago. 

The lines above reveal that the speaker A.has become impotent 

B.loves women 

1. is tired of marriage 

D.is disgusted with life. 

47. ‘In those days When civilization kicked us in  the face When holy water slapped our  cringing brows. The vultures built in the  shadow of their talons.’ David Diop: The  Vulture. The dominant Literary device used in  the lines above is 

A.metaphor 

B.pun 

1. simile 

D.personification. 

48. ‘The leaves are withered Roses fold and  shrink Dog the panting athlete shows his  tongue dwarled A shadow flees Nude under  and crack.’ Nuts wrinkle and crack.’ W.  Kamera: Poems in Four Parts. One dominant  image presented in the lines above is that of A. death 
49. summer 
50. tiredness 
51. spent life

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49. When I remember by gone days I think  how evening follows morning So many I  loved were not yet dead, So many I love  not yet born. 

The period of life the poet has arrived at is A. middle age 

1. adolescence 
2. old age 
3. early childhood 
4. ‘Behold her, single in the field You solitary  Highland lass! Reaping and singing by herself 

O listen! For the value profound is  

overflowing with sound.’ Words worth:  The Solitary Reaper. 

The lines above constitute 

1. an apostrophe 
2. an aside 
3. an interior monologue 
4. soliloquy

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ANSWER  KEYS 

1.D 

2.A 

3.B 

4.D 

5.C 

6.A 

7.A 

8.B 

9.C 

10.A 

11.C 

12.A 

13.C 

14.B 

15.C 

16.A 

17.B 

18.A 

19.D 

20.B 

21.A 

22.C 

23.C 

24.B 

25.B 

26.A 27.C 28.C 29.B 30.B 31.A 32.A 33.A 34.D 35.A 36.D 37.A 38.D 39.B 40.B 41.B 42.B 43.B 44.C 45.C 46.A 47.D 48.A 49.A

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UTME 2017 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS C. Othello’s suspicion 

Question 1 to 5 are based on Frank  

Ogodo Ogbeche’s Harvest of  

Corruption 

1. Aloho perceives her pregnancy as a  

form of 

1. reward 
2. blessing 
3. punishment 
4. injustice 
5. The play can be referred to as 
6. dramatic irony 
7. allegory 
8. fable 
9. satire 
10. According to Ochuole, government job is 
11. a waste of time 
12. time consuming 
13. good for hardworking youths 
14. an avenue to personalize public fund 
15. En! En! En! You have come again… I am  

not always comfortable when you start  

dishing out this you born again stuff…’ 

1. Ochuole 
2. Aloho 
3. Aloch is warned about associating with  

Ochuole be-cause the latter is 

1. too sophisticated 
2. proud 
3. mischievous 
4. born-again 

Question 6 to 10 are based on  

William Shakespeare’s Othello. 

6. She is abused, stol’n from me and  

corrupted By spells and medicines  

bought of mountebanks; . The excerpt  

above refers to 

1. Brabantio’s suspicion 
2. lago’s distrust of Emilia

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1. Cassio’s disaffection for lago 
2. The play is first staged at 
3. Liverpool stadium 
4. Manchester stadium 
5. Whitehall palace London 
6. London Threatre 
7. `All’s One-Good faith, how  foolish are our minds! If I do die  before thee, prithee, shroud me.  In one of those same sheets.’ 

The plea in the excerpt above is made by A. Desdemona to Emilia 

1. Othello to lago 
2. Lago to Emilia 
3. Cassio to Bianca 
4. „Let him do his spite; My services  which I have done the signiory  Shall out-tongue his  

complaints.’Tis yet to know  

Which, when I know that boasting  is an honour,’ The speaker in the  excerpt above is 

1. Brabantio 
2. Othello 
3. Cassio 
4. Lago 
5. „O heaven; How got she out? 

O treason of the blood  

Father, from hence trust not  

your daughter‟s minds 

By which the property of youth  

and maidhood May be abused? 

The speaker of the excerpt above is A. Brabantio 

1. Othello 
2. Gratiano 
3. Roderigo 

Question 11 to 13 are based  

on Amma Darko’s Faceless. 

11. Sodom and Gomorrah used in the  novel is an example of

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1. mixed metaphor 
2. allusion 
3. synecdoche 
4. euphemism 
5. The novel focuses on 
6. stubborn children B.  

negligent parents C.  

greedy politicians D.  

peer group influence 

13. Fofo chooses to spend the night in  front of the provision store because A. it is a Sunday 
14. she is ill 
15. she does not want to risk losing her  job 
16. she has nowhere to go 1 

Question 14 to 16 are based on Bayo  Adebowale’s Lonely Days. 

14. Labankada signifies 
15. wealth and peace 
16. wealth and life 
17. wealth and prosperity 
18. wealth and protection 
19. The women of kufi are powerful A. singers 
20. farmers 
21. traders 
22. widows 
23. The windows in the land are joined by  the loss of 
24. love 
25. family 
26. fame and wealth 
27. dignity and status 

Question 17 to 20 are based on  Richard Wright’s Native Son 

17.‘Light flooded the room and revealed  a black boy standing in a narrow 

space between two’ The style of the  lines above is 

1. narrative 
2. dramatic 
3. descriptive 
4. expository 
5. Bigger kills Mary due to 
6. fear 
7. envy 
8. hatred 
9. distrust 
10. Weekly, Bigger is to be paid 
11. twenty dollars 
12. twenty-five dollars 
13. thirty dollars 
14. thirty-five dollars 
15. Mr Dalton is of the opinion that Negroes  are happier when they are 
16. together 
17. servants in the white family 
18. educated 
19. given some respect 

Question 21 to 30 are based on  Selected Poems from Johnson, Ret  al(eds): New poetry from Vincent,  T.(eds): A selection of African  Poetry; Gbemisola.: Naked Soles;  Hayward, J African Verse. Morris’ 21. The Proud King is 

1. didactic 
2. pastoral 
3. traditional 
4. lyrical 

22.Mystic rhythm in the third line of the first  stanza of Okara’s Piano and Drums A. express mood 

1. provides music 
2. carries a definite message 
3. are for pleasurable dancing
   

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23. The line above in Adeoti’s Ambush is an  example of 
24. pun 
25. alliteration 
26. metaphor 
27. simile 
28. The mood of the person in  

Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar is that A. pain 

1. frustration 
2. hope 
3. love 
4. Having a glass of blessings standing by,’  The line above from Herbert’s The Pulley  is an example of 
5. synecdoche 
6. personification 
7. hyperbole 
8. simile 
9. Peter’s the Panic of Growing Older can  be referred to as 
10. metaphysical 
11. philosophical 
12. satirical 
13. metaphorical 
14. One vivid device in Blake‟s The School  Boy is 
15. oxymoron 
16. rhetorical question 
17. ironical statement 
18. metaphor 
19. „… and my boots have suddenly  become too reluctant to walk me.‟ The persona in the above excerpt in  Hallowell’s The Dining Table is 
20. exhausted 
21. excited 
22. indifferent 
23. The tone of Diopo‟s Vanity is one  of A. anger 
24. pity 
25. joy 
26. scorn 
27. Awoonor’s The Anvil and the Hammer  presents a picture of the 
28. past and present 
29. past and future 
30. future 
31. olden days 

Question 31 to 40 are based on  General Literacy Principles 

31. Totality of the effects produced on a  reader of a literary work is 
32. tone 
33. mood 
34. plot 
35. diction 
36. An art form in which singers and  musicians performs dramatic work  combining text and music is 
37. concert 
38. opera 
39. theatre 
40. pantomime 
41. In literature, local colour is 
42. universal 
43. restricted 
44. only English 
45. only American 

34.A clue to an event that will happen later  in a work of art is 

1. flashback 
2. fore- shadowing 
3. premonition 
4. digression 

35.. . Comedy of lower kind in which  believability is sacrificed for the main  objective of exciting laugh is 

1. farce 
2. comedy
   

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1. melodrama 
2. tragi comedy 
3. „I am on the world’s extreme  corner.’ Kofi Awoonor: Song of Sorrow.  The speaker in the lines move is 
4. indifferent 
5. sad 
6. angry 
7. in pain 
8. Then I sat myself quiet… for five  And forty turbulent years I waited,  sapped, famished, 

For love to wake from her sickly  

slumber; 

The figure of speech in the last line  above is 

1. assonance 
2. personification 
3. metaphor 
4. oxymoron 
5. We have rain but hate to plant We have the heat and the glory of the  rainbow 

But we kill our own suns with hurtful  glee 

The poet’s feeling call be described as  that of 

1. disappointment 
2. indifference 
3. anxiety 
4. joy 
5. When I remember by gone days I think how evening follow morning  So many I loved were not yet dead,  So may I love not yet born 

The period of life the poet has arrived at  is 

1. middle age 
2. adolescence 
3. old age 
4. early childhood 
5. „Behold her, single in the field  You solitary Highland Lass‟  

Reaping and singing by herself  O listen! for the value profound Is overflowing with the sound.‟ Words  worth: The Solitary Reaper 

The lines above constitute 

1. an apostrophe 
2. an aside 
3. an interior monologue 
4. soliloquy
   

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ANSWER KEYS 1. C 

2. C 
3. D 
4. C 
5. C 
6. A 
7. D 
8. A 
9. A  

10.A  

11.B  

12.B  

13.C  

14.C  

15.C  

16.D  

17.C  

18.A  

19.B 

20.B 21.A 22.C 23.B 24.C 25.A 26.A 27.B 28.A 29.A 30.A 31.B 32.B 33.B 34.B 35.A 36.B 37.B 38.A 39.A 40.A

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UTME 2018 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH QUESTIONS 

Questions 1 to 10 are based on  General Literacy Principles. 

1. A literary work in which the  

characters and events are used as  symbols is known as 

1. characteristics 
2. allegory 
3. metaphor 
4. parallelism 
5. Characterisation in a novel refers to the A. writer‟s opinionofthe characters B. way the characters are revealed  to the reader 
6. characters and the way they  

behave 

1. readers of the characters. 
2. In literacy work, verbal Irony refers to a A. device in which the speaker  

means the opposite of what he  

says 

1. situation in which a Character  

speaks or acts against the tread of  events 

1. difficult situation which defies a  local or rational resolution 
2. device in which the actor on stag:  means exactly what he says. 
3. In the theatre, words spoken by a  character that are meant to be heard by  the audience but not by the other;  characters on stage is called 
4. aside 
5. soliloquy 
6. acoustic 
7. tone 
8. Drama is the representation of a  complete series of actions by means of A. movement and gesture for the  screen and audience 
9. speech, movement and  

gesture for the stage only 

1. speech, movement and gesture  for the stage, screen and radio 
2. speech, gesture and movement  for the screen and radio 
3. A poet’s use of regular rhythm is known  as 
4. allegory 
5. assonance 
6. metre 
7. onomatopoeia. 
8. A literacy genre which directly imitates  human actions is 
9. drama 
10. comedy 
11. prose 
12. poetry 
13. A fable is a story in which 
14. allegations are made about  

characters 

1. animals or things are used as  characters 
2. there is an important setting 
3. the story is told in poetic farm 
4. The juxtaposition of two contrasting  ideas in a line of poetry is 
5. euphemism 
6. synecdoche 
7. catharsis 
8. oxymoron 
9. The main aim of caricature is to A. describe 
10. expose 
11. emphasize 
12. ridicule. 

Questions 11 to 13 are based on  Richard Writer’s Native Son. 

11. Bigger kills Mary due to 
12. fear 
13. envy 
14. hatred 
15. distrust 
16. Weekly, Bigger is to be paid 
17. twenty dollars 
18. twenty-five dollars 
19. thirty dollars 
20. thirty-five dollars
    

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13. Mr Datton is of the opinion that  Negroes are happier when they are A. together 
14. servants in the white family C. educated 
15. given some respect. 

Questions 14 to 16 are based on  Bayo Adebowale’s Lonely Days. 

14. Windows in mourning in Kofi  wear garments that are 
15. red 
16. black 
17. white 
18. dull 
19. In the novel, bage cape signifies  everlasting 
20. happiness 
21. sorrow 
22. freedom 
23. despair. 
24. Yaremi’s only son is 
25. Alani 
26. Wande 
27. Olode 
28. Deyo. 

Questions 17 to 20 are based on  George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty four. 

17. The novel draws a picture of A. a useless past 
18. a totalitarian future 
19. an unstable moment 
20. a peaceful atmosphere 
21. The power and oppression of an  irresistible evil debased  

Winston’s dreams of 

1. freedom and democracy 
2. internal security 
3. wealth and capitalism 
4. sovereignty 
5. Room 101 symbolises a place of A. rest 
6. fun 
7. humiliation 
8. torture 
9. The novel can be described as A. optimistic 
10. antagonistic 
11. persuasive 
12. pessimistic. 

Questions 21 to 25 are based on J.P Clark’s Wives Revolt. 

21. In the play, the central idea is that  gender equality is 
22. both undesirable and unattainable B. desirable but unattainable 
23. attainable and desirable 
24. obnoxious but desirable 
25. In their flight, the women settle at Iyara  in order to 
26. cure cross-piece 
27. hurt their husbands 
28. forestall reconciliation 
29. seek peace 
30. `…Great Orators in the assembly, and  poor nannies at home:” Those being  ridiculed here are the 
31. husbands 
32. old-women 
33. wives 
34. spinsters 
35. …Those with full breasts have walked  out, and that leaves you, me, and, the  old-girls returned home on retirement,  it’s the dry season child.” The character  to whom the words are spoken in the  play is in 
36. front of the veranda of Okoro’s  house 
37. the-kitchen, upstage 
38. Okoro’s front yard, down stage D. the direction of the kitchen, off  stage 
39. The mutual exchange of abuse in the  play is reminiscent of 
40. Ikaki 
41. Udje
    

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1. Etiyeri 
2. Ekpe 

Questions 26 to 30 are based on  Williams’s Shakespeare’s Othello. 

26.”ill-starred wench, Pale as thy smoke;  When we shall meet at compt” 

The device used in the line above is A. simile 

1. pun 
2. metaphor 
3. paradox 
4. Othello kills Desdemona because the A. former is jealous 
5. former’s race is insulted 
6. latter is a witch 
7. latter is an idol 
8. Brabantio is opposed to the relationship  between Othello and Desdemona  because 
9. he prefers Lago 
10. Othello is a moor 
11. Rodgerigo woos her first 
12. Desdemona is too young 
13. “Soft you; a word or two before you go.  I have done the state some service an,’  they know’ No more of that, I pray you,  in your letters, When you shall these  

unlucky deeds relate” The speech above  is made when the speaker is 

1. travelling 
2. sick 
3. dying 
4. eloping 
5. “0 heaven; How got she out? 

O treason of the blood! 

Father; from hence trust not your  daughters’ minds 

By what you see them act. Is there not  charms 

By which the property of youth and  maidhood 

May be abused? 

The speaker of the excerpt above is A. Brabantio 

1. Othello 
2. Gratiano 
3. Roderigo 

Use the following excerpt to answer  questions 31 to 33. 

“I wonder how long, you awful parasites,  Shall share with me this little bed, And awake me, from my sweet dreams  be lost, 

Sucking blood from my poor head…  Mbure: “To Bed-Bug” 

31. The lines are an example of a 
32. limerick 
33. lampoon 
34. light verse 
35. light opera. 
36. The poet persona expresses dismay  about 
37. bat 
38. cockroaches 
39. grass coppers 
40. light opera 
41. The most dominant figure of speech in  the excerpt is 
42. metaphor 
43. simile 
44. personification 
45. hyperbole 
46. You 

Your head is like a drum that is beaten  for spirits 

Your 

Yours ears are like the fans used for  blowing fire. 

The lines above are a good example of A. caricature 

1. ridicule 
2. satire 
3. lampoon. 
4. How can I look at Oyo and say  I hate long shiny cars? How can I  come to the children and despise  

international schools? And Koomson  comes; and the family semi Jesus  Christ in him…

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The feeling conveyed by the speaker 40. The lines above inform the reader above is one of that poet 

1. anger E. is determined to suffer B. alienation F. has his poetic imagination kindled C. hope G. will cure his soar mood H. will not drink much 
2. despair 
3. “Hide me now, when night children 

haunt the earth” Wole Soyinka: 

“Night” Night children in the stanza 

above reflects the consciousness of 

1. birds 
2. armed robbers 
3. animals 
4. spirit beings 
5. Serrated shadows, through 

dark leaves 

Till, bathed in warm suffusion of 

your dapped cells 

Sensation pained me, faceless, silent 

as night thieves 

Wole Soyinka: “Night” 

The dominant mood in the lines above is 

one of 

1. apprehension 
2. defiance 
3. joy 
4. indifference 

38.“The drum overwhelmed the guns…” 

J.P Clark: “Causalities” 

The poet in the excerpt above uses 

1. litotes 
2. symbolism 
3. onomatopoeia 
4. alliteration 

39.“… They do not see the funeral piles, 

At home eating up the forests…” J.P 

Clark: “Causalities” The imagery 

created in the above uses 

1. metaphor 
2. personification 
3. synecdoche 
4. metonymy 

“I cannot rest from travel: I will 

drink, life to the lees, all times I 

have enjoyed, Greatly, have suffered 

greatly”. A.L. Tennyson: ”Ulysses”

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ANSWER KEYS 1. B 

2. C 
3. A 
4. A 
5. B 
6. C 
7. A 
8. B 
9. D 

10.D 

11.A 

12.B 

13.B 

14.B 

15.C 

16.A 

17.A 

18.A

19.D 20.A 21.C 22.B 23.A 24.A 25.B 26.A 27.A 28.B 29.C 30.A 31.A 32.B 33.C 34.D 35.D 36.B 37.A 38.C 39.A 40.B 

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