Waec Literature in English Past Questions and Answers

Question 1541:

• WAEC 2021

Read the passage below and answer questions 21 to 25
When he was little, he would ask his mother. sometimes as he lay in the cold little room and looked up at her as she sat beside the bed stroking his hair why two boys from his class had thrown stones at a dog; or why on another occasion a gang of them had broken into an empty house, smashing the thick door which had curved mouldings on the front which had been turned by carpenters years before; or why he had ended up in a fight which had begun when a little girl had shouted names at him which made no sense about his house and his mother and others had joined in and he had rushed at them, scattering them as some shricked and some laughed and he flaied about with his hard little fists and tears in his eyes. His mother would smile, say 'shhh' and he would drift to sleep with the heart shape of her face imprinted on his mind.


The dominant literary device in the passage is ____________

A. Personification
B. Antithesis
C. Litotes
D. Parallelism

Question 1542:

• WAEC 2021

Read the passage below and answer questions 21 to 25
When he was little, he would ask his mother. sometimes as he lay in the cold little room and looked up at her as she sat beside the bed stroking his hair why two boys from his class had thrown stones at a dog; or why on another occasion a gang of them had broken into an empty house, smashing the thick door which had curved mouldings on the front which had been turned by carpenters years before; or why he had ended up in a fight which had begun when a little girl had shouted names at him which made no sense about his house and his mother and others had joined in and he had rushed at them, scattering them as some shricked and some laughed and he flaied about with his hard little fists and tears in his eyes. His mother would smile, say 'shhh' and he would drift to sleep with the heart shape of her face imprinted on his mind.


. ..and he had rushed at them, scattering them as some strieked and some laughed illustrates

A. Onomatopoeia
B. Climax
C. Metaphor
D. Metonymy

Question 1543:

• WAEC 2021

Read the passage below and answer questions 21 to 25
When he was little, he would ask his mother. sometimes as he lay in the cold little room and looked up at her as she sat beside the bed stroking his hair why two boys from his class had thrown stones at a dog; or why on another occasion a gang of them had broken into an empty house, smashing the thick door which had curved mouldings on the front which had been turned by carpenters years before; or why he had ended up in a fight which had begun when a little girl had shouted names at him which made no sense about his house and his mother and others had joined in and he had rushed at them, scattering them as some shricked and some laughed and he flaied about with his hard little fists and tears in his eyes. His mother would smile, say 'shhh' and he would drift to sleep with the heart shape of her face imprinted on his mind.


The main character is ____________

A. Playful
B. Inquisitive
C. Sad
D. Humorous

Question 1544:

• WAEC 2021

Read the poem below and answer questions 26 to 30.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile
And mouths with myriad subtleties,

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile but O great god, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet and long the mile,
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!


The poem is about ____________

A. Debtors
B. Dreams
C. Costumes
D. Appearances

Question 1545:

• WAEC 2021

Read the poem below and answer questions 26 to 30.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile
And mouths with myriad subtleties,

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile but O great god, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet and long the mile,
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!


The poet's tone is ____________

A. Supplicatory
B. Defiant
C. Conciliatory
D. Compliant