Literature-in-English past questions: JAMB UTME 2022

35 objective questions, with answers. Free to read and practise.

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35 questions, one at a time, marked as you go or at the end. No account needed.

1.
...... is also called a dynamic character
1. A.Protagonist
2. B.Round character
3. C.Flat character
4. D.Foil
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Answer: B Round character
2.
'I am jealous and passonate Like Jehovah, God of the Jews.' J.P Clark: Olokun A device used in the second line of the excerpt above is
1. A.simile
2. B.paradox
3. C.metaphor
4. D.hyperbole
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Answer: A simile
3.
'The fair breeze blew The white foam flew The furrow followed free We were the first that ever burst into that silent sea.' The dominant figure of speech in the above passage is
1. A.repetition
2. B.alliteration
3. C.paradox
4. D.rhyme scheme
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Answer: B alliteration
4.
'To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour' - William Blake To see a World In a Grain of Sand. The predominant figure of speech used in the lines above is
1. A.metaphor
2. B.simile
3. C.paradox
4. D.hyperbole
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Answer: A metaphor
5.
"A time to sow, A time to reap, A time to born, A time to die" This exemplies the use of ...
1. A.hendiadys
2. B.chiasmus
3. C.anaphora
4. D.anadiplosis
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Answer: C anaphora
6.
"I had not taken the first step in knowledge, I had not learnt to let go with the hands".The above lines is an example of a
1. A.Aspotrophe
2. B.Alliteration
3. C.Repetitiion
4. D.Assonance
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Answer: C Repetitiion
7.
"I hate brave cowards like you" is an example of
1. A.Irony
2. B.Antithesis
3. C.Eulogy
4. D.Oxymoron
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Answer: D Oxymoron
8.
"Rays of sun peeping through the cloud ", the line is an example of
1. A.Synecdoche
2. B.Irony
3. C.Apostrophe
4. D.Personification
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Answer: D Personification
9.
A character that is always against the interest of the protagonist is
1. A.hero
2. B.opposition
3. C.villain
4. D.heroine
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Answer: C villain
10.
A device used by a writer to recall past event in a literary work is
1. A.anti-climax
2. B.interlude
3. C.flashback
4. D.foreshadowing
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Answer: C flashback
11.
A dramatic type directed against an individual or a private institute with the intent to severely ridicule is called
1. A.lampoon
2. B.caricature
3. C.burlesque
4. D.satire
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Answer: B caricature
12.
A hero whose weakness contributes to his downfall is called?
1. A.Deuteragonist
2. B.Periaktos
3. C.Tragic hero
4. D.Tragic flow
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Answer: C Tragic hero
13.
A Literary work that ridicules the shortcomings of people or ideas is ......
1. A.a satire
2. B.a masque
3. C.a fable
4. D.an irony
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Answer: A a satire
14.
A narrative poem must
1. A.preach a sermon
2. B.tell a story
3. C.describe natural scenery
4. D.argue a question
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Answer: B tell a story
15.
A travelogue is
1. A.a record of the writer's experience during a journey
2. B.the account of the experiences of an individual during his lifeline
3. C.the account of the travails of a character in a novel
4. D.a variant of a novel written in a free style on a writer's journey
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Answer: A a record of the writer's experience during a journey
16.
An irredeemable reversal of the hero's fortune in a tragedy is called.
1. A.purgation
2. B.peripeteia
3. C.hubris
4. D.anagnorisis
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Answer: B peripeteia
17.
Another shoal of cars swam past. One, in particular, caught his eyes, a long slender thing, elegant as a swallow, all gleaming blue and silver; a thousand guineas it would have cost, he thought. In the first sentence, cars are described in terms of
1. A.birds
2. B.ants
3. C.fish
4. D.lampposts
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Answer: C fish
18.
Chanson is a term denoting a
1. A.popular Korean verse
2. B.Song from the middle Ages
3. C.Form of love song
4. D.poem of Varied Metrical forms
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Answer: B Song from the middle Ages
19.
Dramatis personae in a play refers to
1. A.cast list
2. B.list of characters
3. C.protagonist and antagonist
4. D.order of appearance
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Answer: B list of characters
20.
Empathy is achieved when the audience
1. A.feels betrayed by the director
2. B.vicariously participates in the stage experience
3. C.attacks the character foil
4. D.denounces and humiliates the protagonist
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Answer: B vicariously participates in the stage experience
21.
From the novel; Kossoh Town Boy If we describe Kossoh Town Boy as an autobiography, we mean that it is
1. A.a historical novel
2. B.a piece of writing telling us about the Life of its author
3. C.a short story
4. D.a narrative tale
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Answer: D a narrative tale
22.
In The Flight to Australia', the following line occurs: 'Tier upon tier it towered, the terrible Apennines'. The figure of speech used in this line is known as
1. A.alliteration
2. B.litotes
3. C.exaggeration
4. D.parody
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Answer: A alliteration
23.
Literature is studied as a subject at school because
1. A.it exposes students to the realities of life
2. B.it provides entertainment
3. C.it merely gives additional work to students
4. D.it teaches the use of words
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Answer: A it exposes students to the realities of life
24.
Mock-heroic poetry elevates
1. A.the important tales of heroes of the past era
2. B.trivial subject-matter by using the style of the classical epic
3. C.the stripping off of appearances in a witty manner
4. D.the beauty in human relationships as exemplified in Homer
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Answer: A the important tales of heroes of the past era
25.
One of the following terms applies to the discussion of both tragedy and comedy
1. A.climax
2. B.happy ending
3. C.tragic hero
4. D.alliteration
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Answer: A climax
26.
One of the following writers is better known as a playwright than as a novelist
1. A.C. Achebe
2. B.C. Ekwensi
3. C.W. Soyinka
4. D.J.P Clark
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Answer: A C. Achebe
27.
Pick out the odd item
1. A.a Raisin in the Sun
2. B.Twelfth Night
3. C.Ozidi
4. D.The Concubine
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Answer: D The Concubine
28.
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. The mood conveyed here is one of _____
1. A.excitement
2. B.sadness
3. C.joy
4. D.triumph
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Answer: B sadness
29.
The exclusive right given to authors to protect their works from unlawful production is
1. A.a constitutional provision
2. B.a copyright
3. C.an authority to write
4. D.an author's right
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Answer: B a copyright
30.
The hunter dies and leaves his poverty to his gun The blacksmith dies and leaves his poverty to his anvil... The extract above is an example of
1. A.epic
2. B.eulogy
3. C.ballad
4. D.elegy
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Answer: D elegy
31.
The idea of metre as used in a literary piece is
1. A.stanza
2. B.rhythm
3. C.rhyme
4. D.verse
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Answer: B rhythm
32.
The narrator in a prose work who is also a character is
1. A.omniscient narrator
2. B.participatory narrator
3. C.objective narrator
4. D.subjective narrator
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Answer: B participatory narrator
33.
The subject matter of a literary work is the
1. A.plot
2. B.setting
3. C.theme
4. D.structure
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Answer: C theme
34.
Which of these is the oldest genre of literature?
1. A.Poetry
2. B.Prose
3. C.Aroma
4. D.Drama
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Answer: B Prose
35.
You cannot know And should not bother Tide and market come and go And so shall your mother In this verse the poet uses
1. A.alternate rhymes
2. B.monomyme
3. C.couplets
4. D.triplets
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Answer: A alternate rhymes

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