Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose, and Poetry - Jamb Literature in English Past Questions and Answers

Question 36:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse.
...'the hawk will flutter and turn
On its wings and swoop for the mouse,
The dogs will run for the hare,
The hare for its little life.'
These lines from Kwesi Brew's 'The Dry Season' mean that

A. This is a hunting season
B. There is chaos
C. The hare will be killed
D. The hawk and the dogs are strong

Question 37:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse.
'...these white lilies tossed their little heads then
In the moon-steeped ponds;
There was bouncing gaiety in the crisp chirping
Of the cricket in the undergrowth,...
These lines from Kwesi Brew's 'The Executioner's
Dream suggest that

A. Even nature rejoices at human sacrifice
B. Nature is indifferent to man's predicament
C. There is harmony in nature
D. There is a lot of activity in the undergrowth

Question 38:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse.
'The Fulani Creation Story' shows that

A. The world came about by a series of chance happenings
B. The world was created in three days
C. A logic of cause-and-effect underlies all creation
D. Death came into the world when man set himself up as God's rival

Question 39:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse.
.......Their eyes recede from tomorrow.
No sense of mission sustains them.'
These lines from Odia Of Ofeimun's 'The Prodigals express

A. A longing for the past
B. A lack of grogress
C. The weight of tradition
D. An impatient attitude

Question 40:

• JAMB 1991

This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed) West African Verse.
In J.P. Clark's 'Streamside Exchange', the bird's reply concerns

A. The coming of the tide
B. The uncertainty of the future
C. Market days
D. Mother's visit to the market