Jamb Literature in English Past Questions and Answers

Question 781:

• JAMB 1987

'For i have known them all already, known them all.
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons'.
The tone in these lines suggest

A. The authors desire to accomplish more in life
B. Anxiety and tension
C. Tediousness and boredom
D. Anger and exasperation.

Question 782:

• JAMB 1987

''...her vesper done of all its wreathed pearls her hair she fees. Unclasps her warmed jewels one by one; Loosens her fragrant bodice; by degrees
Her rich attire creeps rustling to her knees''.
The passage gives ample evidence of the poet''s

A. Sensuous description
B. Meticulous attension to matters concerning women
C. Mastery of the Spenserian stanza
D. Sensual feelings and emotions.

Question 783:

• JAMB 1987

'what happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then run?'
In the above lines, the poet achieves special effect by the use of

A. Transferred epithet
B. Synecdoche
C. Alliteration
D. Simile.

Question 784:

• JAMB 1987

'A white ball of fire tore through the dome of the night. It exploded into the branches of a colossal tree of fire - whose stem instantly leapt towards the earth'.
The passage directs is appeal primarily to the sense of

A. Hearing
B. Sight
C. Touch
D. Smell.

Question 785:

• JAMB 1987

She said you just had to make an emotional commitment in marriage. It was like skiing, you could not see in advance what would happen but you had to let go. Maybe that was why I failed, because I didn't know what I had to let go of. For me it hadn't been like skiing, it was more like jumping off a cliff. That was the feeling I had all the time I was married, in the air, going down, waiting for the smash at the bottom.
The passage indicates that the author's experience in marriage was

A. Exhilarating like skiing
B. Steeped in boredom and monotony
C. Full of fear of the unknown
D. Fraught with grief and despair