JAMB Literature in English 2024 Past Questions & Answers

This question requires you to understand the main idea presented in the given excerpt, which is an unseen passage. The passage describes football as 'truly global' and 'similarly universal' to Marley's music. Option D, 'a universal game,' best summarises this central idea, as 'universal' means existing or true everywhere.

Common mistake: Students might choose option C, 'popular but cheap,' because the passage mentions 'inexpensive,' but this only captures a partial truth and misses the more significant emphasis on football's global reach and universality.

The correct answer is Parallelism because the sentence lists the commission's powers using a repeated grammatical structure. Each item in the list starts with 'to' followed by a verb ('to investigate', 'to conciliate', 'to hold hearings', etc.). This technique of using similar patterns to express related ideas for emphasis and rhythm is called parallelism.

Common mistake: A student might wrongly choose Personification because the 'commission' is given human-like powers, but the most prominent device is the repeated sentence structure used to list these powers.

To find the rhyme scheme, we label the sound at the end of each line with a letter, starting with 'a'. The first line ends in 'road' (a), and the third line also ends in 'road' (a). The second line ends in 'star' (b), and the fourth line ends in 'far' (b), which rhymes with 'star'. The last word, 'quiet' (c), does not rhyme with any of the others, so it gets a new letter, creating the pattern ababc.

Common mistake: Students may incorrectly choose 'aabbc' by assuming a simpler pattern without carefully checking which end words actually rhyme with each other.

This question tests knowledge of a specific novel, 'Unexpected Joy at Dawn,' which is a prescribed text for the JAMB Literature in English syllabus. Since the author, Alex Agyei-Agyiri, is African and the text is a novel (prose), it fits perfectly into the 'African drama and prose' subtopic under 'Prescribed Texts'. Students are expected to know details like the setting of such texts.

Common mistake: A common mistake would be to confuse the specific countries mentioned in the novel's setting, especially if students have not thoroughly read or reviewed the text.

The question tests your knowledge of a specific character from the prescribed African novel, 'Unexpected Joy at Dawn'. In the book, Wachuk is a respected farmer and community leader who is married to Idem. Their relationship and struggle with childlessness form a significant subplot in the story, making 'Idem's husband' the correct identification for his character.

Common mistake: Students who have not read the text carefully might confuse Wachuk with Marshak, who is Niyi's actual friend and companion, leading them to incorrectly choose option B.

Leopold Senghor's 'Black Woman' is an extended metaphor where the poet directly compares the black woman to Africa, nature, and various elements of beauty without using 'like' or 'as'. The entire poem builds on this central comparison, making metaphor the dominant literary device. It allows the poet to convey deep admiration and reverence for his subject.

Common mistake: Students might confuse metaphor with simile, which uses 'like' or 'as' for comparison, or they might identify other devices present but not as dominant as the overarching metaphorical structure.

A panegyric is a poem written to praise a person, object, or idea. In 'The Song of the Woman of My Land,' the poet celebrates and praises the African woman for her strength, beauty, and endurance through hardship. The entire poem is a tribute to her, which makes it a panegyric.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'social poem' because the poem discusses social issues, but they miss that the main purpose is to praise the woman, which is the defining feature of a panegyric.

The phrase "six hands at an open door" is an example of synecdoche, a figure of speech where a part (hands) is used to represent the whole (people). In this context, "six hands" refers to six individuals who were present at the door, making the description vivid and concise. It's a common poetic technique to imply a larger entity through one of its components.

Common mistake: Students often confuse synecdoche with metonymy, which uses a closely associated concept or object to represent another, rather than a part for the whole.

Niyi Osundare's "The Leader and the Led" is a poem that uses wit and irony to criticize societal issues, particularly concerning leadership and followership. This critical and often humorous approach to exposing flaws is the hallmark of satire. Therefore, the poem is best described as satiric because it aims to ridicule and correct societal ills through its portrayal.

Common mistake: Some students might choose 'narrative' because the poem presents a sequence of events or a story, but its core purpose is to critique, which aligns with satire, not just storytelling.

The question specifically refers to John Donne's 'The Good Morrow,' which is a well-known poem by a non-African poet. It tests the student's understanding of the poem's central theme or the poet persona's reflection, which is a key aspect of studying prescribed texts. The poem explores the idea that true love, once found, is immortal and transcends earthly limitations.

Common mistake: Students might choose 'C. falling in love' because the poem describes a new, profound love. However, the core message is not just about the initial stage but the enduring, eternal nature of this love, making 'the immortality of love' the more accurate reflection.

The question asks about the 'style' of a specific prose text. 'Narrative' refers to the telling of a story or an account of events, which is the fundamental style of most prose works like 'A Government Driver on His Retirement'. This style involves presenting a sequence of events, often with a plot, characters, and a setting, making it a key narrative technique. Therefore, identifying the style as narrative directly relates to how the story is told.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'reflective' if they focus on the character's internal thoughts rather than the overall storytelling method, or 'monologic' if they confuse a character's speech with the entire work's style.

The line 'stands on the grave of dreams' is a powerful metaphor. It means that the bird's hopes and desires for freedom are dead and buried because it is trapped in a cage. This inability to achieve its natural desire to fly and be free leads to a deep sense of frustration and hopelessness.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose option A because they interpret the word 'grave' literally to mean the bird will physically die, instead of understanding it as a metaphor for its dead dreams.

The correct option is 'dramatic monologue' because D.H. Lawrence's poem "Bats" features a single speaker expressing their personal thoughts and feelings about bats to a silent, implied audience. This form, where one character speaks at length to reveal their inner self, is the definition of a dramatic monologue. The poem explores the speaker's complex and evolving attitude towards the creatures.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'dramatic dialogue' because they confuse it with 'monologue', but a dialogue requires a conversation between two or more speakers, while this poem has only one.

This question directly tests knowledge and interpretation of a specific character's motivation within Wole Soyinka's 'The Lion and the Jewel,' which is an African drama. Lakunle, influenced by Western education, views the traditional practice of bride price as primitive and uncivilized, hence 'barbaric.' This reflects a central theme of the play: the clash between tradition and modernity.

Common mistake: Students might choose 'unholy' or 'illegal' if they misinterpret Lakunle's specific objection, but his primary concern is the perceived backwardness of the tradition.

Wole Soyinka's 'The Lion and the Jewel' is a comedy because it is filled with humour and witty dialogue, especially from characters like Lakunle and Baroka. The play satirizes the clash between tradition and modernity in a light-hearted way. It ends happily with the marriage of Sidi and Baroka, which is a classic characteristic of a comedy.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Farce because of the play's exaggerated situations, but it is a comedy because it also uses satire to explore serious themes.

This question tests specific plot details from John Osborne's play, 'Look Back in Anger', which is a prescribed non-African drama text. It requires knowledge of the characters and their actions within the play. Hugh Tanner is Alison's brother who provided accommodation for Alison and Jimmy during the first month of their marriage, as mentioned in the play.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Cliff, who is a lodger in their flat later, or Nigel, Alison's other brother, if they haven't paid close attention to the initial plot details of the play.

The protagonist is the main character in a story, around whom the plot is centred. In 'Look Back in Anger', the entire play revolves around Jimmy Porter, his anger, and his complex relationships. His actions and long speeches drive the plot forward, making him the central figure of the drama.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Alison Porter because she is a very important character and the focus of much of Jimmy's anger, but the protagonist is the central character whose actions drive the story, which is clearly Jimmy.

This question tests your knowledge of a specific play, John Osborne's 'Look Back in Anger', which is a non-African drama often prescribed for examinations. It requires you to recall key plot points and character interactions within the text. Helena's arrival and subsequent affair with Jimmy directly aggravate the marital crisis between Jimmy and Alison.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Jimmy because he is the central figure in the conflict, but the question asks what *aggravates* the crisis, pointing to an external factor or catalyst like Helena.

In John Osborne's play, the friendship between Jimmy and Cliff is built on their shared social and economic background. Both characters come from the working class, which gives them a common perspective and allows them to understand each other's frustrations with the rigid British class system. This shared identity is the foundation of their bond, contrasting sharply with Jimmy's marriage to the upper-middle-class Alison.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option D if they misunderstand the play's central theme of class struggle and incorrectly assume the main characters are from affluent backgrounds.

Hamartia is a character's fatal flaw that leads to their downfall or suffering. In the play 'Look Back in Anger', Jimmy Porter's defining characteristic is his intense and destructive anger towards society, his friends, and especially his wife, Alison. This uncontrollable rage is the source of most of the conflict and pain in the story, making it his tragic flaw.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'pride' because Jimmy is certainly arrogant, but his pride is just one aspect of his much larger, all-consuming anger which is the root of his problems.

This question tests knowledge of Buchi Emecheta's novel, 'Second Class Citizen', which is an African prose text. Adah is obsessed with the sleek woman because she represents the ideal of a loving and supportive marriage, something Adah desperately desires but does not have with Francis. The woman's husband is attentive and caring, highlighting Adah's marital struggles.

Common mistake: Students might choose other options like 'has a high paying job' or 'lives in a mansion' because they represent general success, but the text specifically emphasizes Adah's longing for a doting husband as the core of her admiration for the woman.

The question directly refers to a specific novel, Buchi Emecheta's 'Second Class Citizen', which is an African prose text. It tests the student's understanding of the main character Adah's experiences and the central themes of the book. Adah's overwhelming disappointment in the novel is indeed due to the pervasive discrimination she faces as a black woman, particularly in London.

Common mistake: Students might be misled by options like 'freedom for the blacks' if they haven't thoroughly read the text and understood the nuanced challenges Adah faces despite perceived freedoms.

This question tests your understanding of a specific prescribed African novel, "Second Class Citizen" by Buchi Emecheta. It requires knowledge of the protagonist, Adah, and the primary challenges she faced in England. The novel highlights her struggles with racial discrimination and prejudice as a black person in a foreign land, which is the central theme of her 'second-class' status.

Common mistake: Many students might choose 'financial limitations' because Adah and Francis often struggled with money, but the overarching and most defining challenge Adah faced was racial discrimination as a black person.

The question directly refers to a specific novel, "Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights," which is a non-African work of prose. Questions that test knowledge of specific literary works from the syllabus are classified under the "Prescribed Texts" category. The subtopic "Non-African drama and prose" is the most accurate fit for this particular text.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Prose > Interpretation of prose texts' because it deals with a novel's structure, but the explicit mention of a specific, non-African prescribed text makes 'Prescribed Texts' the more precise category.

The correct answer is the mid-18th century because the main events of the story, especially the childhood and romance of Catherine and Heathcliff, begin around the year 1771. Although the story is told later in 1801 by the narrator Lockwood, the core action he learns about happens in the previous century. This historical setting is important for understanding the social rules and wild environment of the novel.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose the mid-19th century because that is when the novel was published, or they confuse the time of the main story with the time of Lockwood's visit in 1801.