WAEC Literature in English 2013 Objective Past Questions
All 45 questions from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Literature in English 2013 Objective paper, with the correct answer and a full explanation for each. Free, no signup needed.
Conflict is fundamental to a play or novel. Conflict is a clash of interest between the opposing forces, protagonist and antagonist in a literary work. Conflict is the struggle between the protagonist (main character and sometimes hero/heroine) and the antagonist (the opposing character). The conflict could also be a struggle between the protagonist and nature or animal character as the case may be.
A long and serious narrative about heroic characters is a/an
A. burlesque
B. ballad
C. epicCorrect
D. elegy
Explanation
Epic is a long and serious narrative poem about heroic characters. In other words, epic is a long narrative poem which deals with heroic deeds. An epic is written to celebrate heroes and to accentuate their great deeds. The tone of epic in most cases is elegiac, and the language is elevated. Epic also teaches moral lessons and involves supernatural characters. An example of epic is 'Beowulf', a Scandinavian poem by an anonymous writer. Other examples are 'Epic of Sundiata' and 'Shaka the Zulu'.
The device used in 'light as wind on water laid' is
A. rhyme
B. simileCorrect
C. onomatopoeia
D. Pun
Explanation
The device used in the expression 'light as wind on water laid' is simile. Simile is a comparison between two entities with the use of like or as. Examples: 'We will fly like the eagles.' / 'We will soar like the hawks.'
'The fire gnawed ceaselessly at the bark of the tree' illustrates
A. personificationCorrect
B. epithet
C. allusion
D. paradox
Explanation
The expression 'the fire gnawed ceaselessly at the bark of the tree' is a personification. The fire is personified as having human or animate quality. Personification is the attribution of animate qualities to inanimate objects. Examples of Personification: 'The road faced me from the front.' / 'The land seduced me from the back.'
A hyperbole is also referred to as exaggeration. In other words, a hyperbole is known as an overstatement. Examples of Hyperbole: 'He could defeat any wrestler in the world.' / 'He can eat the whole world.'
'This book should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet.' The above expression illustrates the use of
A. repetition
B. refrain
C. synecdocheCorrect
D. metaphor
Explanation
Synecdoche uses the part to represent the whole or the whole to represent the part. In the expression 'This book should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet,' the part 'the memory', 'the heart' and 'the feet' are the parts which represent the whole (people). Examples of Synecdoche: 'I have many mouths to feed.' / 'All hands must be on deck for the task.'
The author's attitude towards the subject being treated is
A. mood
B. toneCorrect
C. feeling
D. atmosphere
Explanation
Tone is the attitude of the author towards the subject matter. Tone reveals the writer's mind towards the subject matter. The use of words in a literary work explains the writer's tone or attitude. The tone can be sarcastic, iconoclastic, derisive, serious, angry, protesting, cynical, pessimistic or optimistic as the case may be. The tone of the poet in Birago Diop's 'Vanity' is sarcastic while the tone of the poets in Lenrie Peter's 'The Panic of Growing Older' and Gbemisola Adeoti's 'Ambush' is pessimistic.
Mime is a dramatic performance with only bodily movements and without words. Mime is a dramatic performance and a form of drama in which actions, body movements and gestures are used to communicate messages to the audience. Mime sometimes occurs within a play. For instance, there is a use of mime in Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel.
C. knows anything about the characters and eventCorrect
D. is a character in the story
Explanation
An omniscient narrator knows everything about the characters and events. The omniscient narrator is all knowing. In Omniscient narrative point of view, the author is all knowing and there is a use of third person pronoun. An omniscient narrator also x-rays the thoughts of the characters and explains reasons of occurrence.
In poetry, ________ is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables.
A. an iambusCorrect
B. an anapaest
C. trochee
D. dactyll
Explanation
Iambus and trochee are made up of stressed and unstressed syllable. In iambus, the unstressed syllable comes before the stressed syllable while in trochee, the stressed syllable comes before the unstressed syllable. Example of iambus: 'The man of God should pray for me.' Example of trochee: 'Make me look like angel.'
'The king has joined his ancestors' is an example of
A. euphemismCorrect
B. eulogy
C. malapropism
D. trilogy
Explanation
The expression 'The king has joined his ancestors' is an example of euphemism. Euphemism is a mild statement that says something unpleasant in a pleasant way. Examples of euphemism: 'Toni has been put in the family way' (Toni is pregnant). / 'The man has kicked the bucket' (The man is dead).
In the line 'season of mist and mellow fruitfulness', the main appeal is to sense of
A. touch
B. sightCorrect
C. hearing
D. smell
Explanation
The line 'season of mist and mellow fruitfulness' appeals to the literary sense of sight. Imagery is a literary device that appeals to the senses by painting mental pictures. Imagery is of different types: visual imagery (appeals to the sense of sight), tactile imagery (appeals to the sense of touch), auditory imagery (appeals to the sense of hearing), olfactory imagery (appeals to the sense of smell) and gustatory imagery (appeals to the sense of taste).
'The pen is mightier than the sword' is an example of a
A. symbol
B. metaphor
C. metonymyCorrect
D. oxymoron
Explanation
The expression 'The pen is mightier than the sword' is an example of metonymy. Metonymy represents a position by an object closely associated to it. In the expression, 'the pen' represents the scholars, or education while 'the sword' represents the warriors or the military. Another example of metonymy is 'Do not disobey the crown' (which represents the king).
In a play, unfolding events reach their peak in the
A. climaxCorrect
B. denouement
C. catharsis
D. conflict
Explanation
Unfolding events reach their peak in the climax. The most exciting and tense part of a story is climax. Climax is the peak of events and conflicts and the most interesting part of the story. It is full of suspense and excitement. It is the stage preceding the denouement where all the conflicts are resolved.
'But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near' illustrates
A. metaphorCorrect
B. apostrophe
C. oxymoron
D. metonymy
Explanation
The expression 'But at my back I always hear time's winged chariot hurrying near' illustrates metaphor. The expression is a metaphor for shortness of time and reason why man must make hay while the sun shines.
Epigram is a short, witty, concise and often paradoxical remark or saying. Epigram can also be a short poem often expressing single idea that is usually satirical and has a witty ending. An example of epigram is: 'God bless the king — I mean the Faith's defender! God bless (no harm in blessing) the Pretender! But whoso pretender is or who is king — God bless us all! That's quite another thing.'
The above expression “the cutter blade blurred into life” appeals to the sense of
A. hearingCorrect
B. touch
C. sight
D. taste
Explanation
The expression 'the cutter blade blurred into life' appeals to the sense of hearing. Imagery is a literary device that appeals to the senses by painting mental pictures. Imagery is of different types: visual imagery (sight), tactile imagery (touch), auditory imagery (hearing), olfactory imagery (smell) and gustatory imagery (taste).
The diction conveys a feeling of helplessness. This is evident in the expression 'He seemed unable to move, even to wipe away the sweat that collected in his eyebrows and leaked down into his eyes.'
The setting of the extract is midday. This is evident in the expression 'He sensed that the sun had settled over the earth, so that the air was actually burning gas.'
Read the extract and answer questions 36-40.
“You are three men of sin, whom Destiny – That hath to instrument this lower world and what is in 't – the never-surfeited sea Hath caused to belch up you; and on this island, Where man doth not inhabit – you 'mongst men Being most unfit to live.” (Act II, Scene Three, lines 53-58)
The speaker is
Read the extract and answer questions 41-45.
“Look thou be true. Do not give dalliance Too much the rein; the strongest oaths are straw To the fire i' the blood; be more abstemious, Or else, good night your vow!” (Act IV, Scene One, lines 51-54)
The speaker is