JOINT UNIVERSITIES PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS BOARD

2015 EXAMINATIONS
LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH: ART- J126

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Pick the ODD item out in the list.

A. Euripides
B. Aeschylus
C. Henrik Ibsen
D. Aristophanes

2. The plays written by _________ relied heavily on the use of deus ex machina, the
unexpected introduction of a god to solve the dilemma of the character and bring the
play to their conclusion.
A. Wole Soyinka
B. Euripides
C. Ola Rotimi
D. Sophocles

3. The play Lysistrata is a

A. satire
B. tragedy
C. melodrama
D. farce

4. Sophocles’ best known plays are

A. Oedipus Rex and The Flies
B. Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus
C. Oedipus Rex and Electra
D. Antigone and Electra.

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5. Greek drama originated from________
A. festivals
B. initiations
C. weddings
D. dithyrambs

6. Which of these plays does not have an eponymous title?

A. Hedda Gabler
B. Macbeth
C. Fences
D. Lysistrata

7. The generation of incompatible interest often between a character and an opposing

character Is known as
A. conflict
B. dramatic irony
C. dialogue
D. climax

8. The major feature of drama is _________

A. action and character
B. dialogue and action
C. character and dialogue
D. action and epilogue

9. Drama is different from poetry because a play

A. uses elevated language
B. involves tragic elements
C. exists mainly in actions
D. uses many characters.

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10. A dramatic form whose outcome is funny and its actions rather hard to believe is a
type of play called a ___________.
A. poetic drama
B. comedy
C. farce
D. melodrama

11. A tragic flaw in a play refers to the

A. slip made by a character which results in his fall
B. element of plot whose prominence makes an artistic work faulty
C. typographical error which recurs in a work of drama
D. unsuccessful play written by an otherwise remarkable dramatist

12. A literary technique which recalls an earlier scene or incident is called

A. foreshadowing
B. look-back
C. foreknowledge
D. flashback

13. Who gave the world its first treaty on drama?

A. Sophocles
B. Aeschylus
C. Aristotle
D. Plato

14. The first part of every play is known as a/an _______

A. resolution
B. conflict
C. exposition
D. climax

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15. Which one of these is NOT a major theme in Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People?
A. The struggle for power
B. The influence of greed
C. The prevailing aura of corruption
D. The excesses of the colonial masters

16. Chief Nanga in Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People is used by the novelist as
A. the supreme example of power in developing nations
B. the example of a man’s rise from obscurity to national fame
C. the greed of the educated elites
D. the death of conscience in post independence Africa

17. Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People was written in

A. the first person narrative
B. second person narrative
C. third person narrative
D. omniscient narrative

18. One of the most popular ways to develop characters and move a plot forward in
literary works is through
A. dialogue
B. metaphor
C. exposition
D.narrative

19. A novella ranges between

A.10, 000 – 60,000 words
B. 30,000 – 70,000 words
C. 100,000 -200,000 words
D. 1,000 -5,000 words

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20. The novel is believed to have first been written
A. 16th century
B. 18th century
C. 17th century
D. 19th century

21. What is the end of the central conflict?

A. Falling action
B. Resolution
C. Climax
D. Rising action

22. The English novel has no----------.

A. good dialogue
B. good characterization
C. clear plot
D. rigid framework

23. The author often referred to as the father of the English novel is
A. Daniel Defoe
B. Henry Fielding
C. William Blake
D. Walter crane

24. What is the major thematic preoccupation in Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, Half of a
Yellow Sun?
A. War
B. Love
C. Betrayal
D. Injustice

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25. Complete this quotation in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: “It is a truth
universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be
in want of a ______.”
A. house
B. title
C. wife
D. dog

26. The Bennet family in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice live in the village of
A. Pemberley
B. Longbourn
C. Rosings
D. London

27. Mr. Bingley, in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, when he attends the ball in Meryton,
seems to be quite taken in with
A. Elizabeth
B. Jane
C. Lydia
D. Charlotte Lucas

28. Poetry is the language of

A. mind
B. heart
C. love
D. emotions

29. Obscurity of language is mostly associated with ---------

A. prose
B. poetry
C. haiku
D. drama

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30. The masked voice in poetry is called
A. speaker
B. poet
C. persona
D. protagonist

31. A lyric poem that celebrates the simple idyllic pleasures of country life is called
A. sonnet
B. panegyric
C. myth
D. pastoral

32. A poem whose speaker addresses one or more silent listeners is called
A. apostrophe
B. meditation
C. dramatic monologue
D. narrative

33. A poem featuring expansive settings, supernatural characters and heroic feats is called
A. ovid
B. ode
C. ballad
D. epic

34. Paradise Lost by John Milton is an example of

A. religious poem
B. legend
C. myth
D. epic

35. A poem rooted in oral tradition and meant to be sung is called

A. epic
B. lyric
C. ballad
D. blank verse

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36. Epic poems are traditionally divided into
A. lines
B. stanzas
C. books
D. epochs

37. A long lyric poem written in praise of a natural object is called

A. praise poem
B. ballad
C. epic
D. ode

38. In poetry, language that evokes a physical sensation through one or more of the five
senses is called
A. tone
B. symbol
C. imagery
D. emotion

39. Economy of words in poetry is mostly achieved through the use of

A. diction
B. language
C. images
D. mood

Read the extract below and answer the questions on it.

And Sango was there, more dead than alive, completely stifled by the sweat and
squeeze of bodies. He was almost raving mad with irritation. When the wave of
movement began from the foot of the Cathedral, it came in a slow but powerful wave
and beat against the spot where Sango stood. The current reminded him of a river
overflowing its banks. Before this pressure the strongest man was flung irresistibly
backwards like cork on an angry sea. Amusa staggered, off balance. At the same
time, he heard a faint cry. A girl in an immaculate white dress was in trouble. She

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 had slipped, and if he did not do something about her, that merciless crowd would
trample her to death. And she would be the day’s sacrifice to the spirit of De Pereira.
(culled from Cyprian Ekwensi’s People of the City, p.87).

40. Who is portrayed as a god in the passage?

A. Sango
B. Amusa
C. De Pereira
D. the girl

41. The hero of the extract is

A. Sango
B. Amusa
C. De Pereira
D. the crowd

42. The expression ‘… like a cork on an angry sea’, exemplifies

A. simile
B. oxymoron
C. metaphor
D. personification

43. The passage uses _________ narrative view point.

A. first person
B. second person
C. third person
D. all-knowing

44. The mood of the extract towards the end is that of

A. danger
B. excitement
C. indifference
D. formality

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 Study the poem below and answer the questions which follow it

If you think me too generous

With this thing the Lord gave, freely to me
Then you do not know this man-made life
How cruel and stingy it’s been to me
You do not know hunger is a god that gnaws
And when it does decency is ignored
(culled from Taiwo Oloruuntoba-Oju’s Song of the lady giver)

45. What is the subject-matter of this poem?

A. Food
B. Wealth
C. Sex
D. Talent

46. The poem is written with

A. end rhymes
B. eye rhymes
C. blank verse
D. free verse

47. The Language of the poem is

A. sarcastic
B. indifferent
C. polite
D. casual

48. The statement, “hunger is a god” is of what literary device?

A. Simile
B. Metaphor
C. Paradox
D. Apostrophe

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49. What does this statement “man-made life” refers to in the above extract?
A. Earth
B. Heaven
C. Labour
D. Sea

50. The phrase “does decency” is an example of

A. litotes
B. alliteration
C. personification
D. metaphor
(25marks)

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LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH ESSAY QUESTIONS

LIT 001 (DRAMA)

1. Discuss the terms “hubris” and “hamartia” as they relate to Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.
(15 marks)
2. Examine the technique of disguise in EITHER Twelfth Night OR Merchant of
Venice. (15 marks)

LIT 002 (PROSE)

3. How does Ngugi use his major African characters to reinforce the themes of
forgiveness, reconciliation and acceptance in A Grain of Wheat? (15 marks)
4. By closely referring to the actions or inactions of the major characters in Jane
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, describe the extent to which the lives of men and
women are shaped by marriage and the desire to be married. (15 marks)

LIT 003 (POETRY)

5. Identify and discuss the thematic thrust of Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”. (15
marks)
6. In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan is presented as a character with many traits.
Examine one of his soliloquies and identify the character traits and poetic techniques
that make him seem appealing or forgivable. (15 marks)

LIT 004 (UNSEEN POETRY)

7. Write short notes on the following:

A. Imagery
B. Theme
C. Voice
D. Analogy
E. Tragedy
(15 marks)
8. Explain what you understand by characterization and discuss any THREE types of
characters. (15 marks).

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