WAEC Literature in English 2025 Theory Past Questions

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Allusion is an art of making reference to events and circumstances outside the text used to advance the story; the range spans biblical, historical and literary allusion. After stealing two shillings to buy steak, Adah asks rhetorically about sin and punishment, citing that Jesus condemned stealing but did not condemn her for it. She also alludes to the Bible's Word of God, comparing Francis' preaching to his wife with Adam and Eve, and comparing what Adah imagines of Christian sin-bearing to Francis carrying letters and gold up and down London stairs. There is also biblical allusion to the story of Joseph, and literary allusion to poet William Wordsworth who celebrated birds in his poems — Adah recalls birdsong from Flora Nwapa's writing and insists a black female writer, not an English one, should write about Nigeria. Points to develop: relation to the general theme of the novel; definition of allusion; biblical allusion; literary allusion; historical/contemporary allusion.

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Ada is the protagonist, mother of four children, married to Francis at age eight (started family early). The theme of marital conflict and parental irresponsibility plays out; Ada bonds with and protects her children, is hardworking and determined in pursuit of her dream of becoming a writer despite communal celebration mixed with the burden of motherhood in London — cramped living, lack of privacy, inadequate finances. Her motherhood is marked by physical/emotional exhaustion juggling job, chores and childcare with little help from Francis, who views child-rearing as solely Adah's domain even as primary breadwinner. This imbalance leads to arguments and resentment. Francis' abuse and neglect of the children's welfare (e.g. mistreatment of Vicky and Titi, refusal to help when Vicky has meningitis) creates an unstable environment; Ada eventually leaves Francis to protect her children and secure a better future, her motherhood becoming a catalyst for radical self-preservation and rebellion against confining societal norms.

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The novel's central theme is xenophobia and bad governance and how these affect the characters. Nii Tackie, a Ghanaian-born graduate working at Exbank in Ghana whose parents are from Nigeria, is separated from his sister Mama Orojo for fifteen years. Paleo is the immigration officer in charge of about ten recruits assigned to put aliens in check; he is a fat, tall, respectable-moustached officer who arrests Nii and Aaron and takes them to Ilere to work on his farm. When Paleo arrests Nii he does not send him back to Ghana but remands him in his own house in Ilere, Lagos, then makes Nii live in Miliki House with some degree of freedom, affording Nii the opportunity to work in Paleo's house environs, where Nii meets Marshal and Tom Monday who connect him to Mama Orojo, enabling him to eventually search for and meet his sister.

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The novel's themes include xenophobia, bad governance, Pan-Africanism, love and religious fundamentalism, and there is much situational irony. It is ironic that Mama Orojo is busy looking for Nii in Ghana while Nii is actually in Ghana searching for her; and while Mama Orojo expects to marry Tom Monday, she instead marries Joe Boye, an illegal gold miner. It is also ironic that Nigeria, considered home by Nii, is where he is treated as an alien, even though Ghanaians respond emotively to the ill-treatment of their nationals in Nigeria; the Ghanaian press does not report similar discrimination or ill-treatment of Nigerians in Ghana. There is also situational irony that Nii and Aaron, taking refuge from immigration officials' harassment in a house belonging to Mama Orojo, do not realise it, and that Paleo, who denies Nii his rights, would have his own child saved by Mama, Nii's sister. Another instance: while aliens in Ghana were repatriated from Ghana fifteen years ago, the same anti-alien policy is later replicated in Nigeria when Nii travels there, even though Ghana's new government hoped to improve living standards through revolution but the economy worsens instead.

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The novel's central theme is racial discrimination and how it divides black and white lives. The narrator is a young Black man who arrives at Liberty Paint eager for work and a chance to prove himself, encountering a world that superficially appears orderly and productive but is, in reality, a meticulously crafted illusion designed to maintain racial hierarchies and exploit labour. The company's slogan 'Keep America Pure with Liberty Paints' subtly hints at underlying racial ideology; the 'pure white' paint (Optic White) is ironically created by adding drops of dark 'black' additive to a base of already white paint, a metaphor for the invisible but essential contribution of Black labour to the façade of American prosperity that is deliberately obscured and undervalued. Assigned to Lucius Brockway, an eccentric, deeply paranoid Black man who supervises the paint mixing, the narrator becomes entangled in Brockway's paranoia and violent outbursts, and factory politics that pit oppressed groups against each other. The narrator's task culminates in an industrial accident in the boiler room, leading to an electroshock therapy ('lobotomy') experience at the factory hospital meant to erase his memory and reshape his identity, leaving him further alienated and his sense of self fragmented.

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The novel's themes of racial discrimination, conflict and violence find explanation in the fight between Ras the Exhorter (later Ras the Destroyer) and Tod Clifton, a pivotal and deeply symbolic encounter that encapsulates the fractured nature of Black identity, competing ideologies within the Black community, the allure and dangers of radicalism, and the tragic consequences of disillusionment. Ras represents a radical, back-to-Africa, nationalistic ideology advocating racial purity and a unified Black front against white oppression, believing in violence and provocative speeches and viewing integrationist groups like the Brotherhood as tools of white manipulation. Tod Clifton, a former Brotherhood leader, has become increasingly disillusioned with the organisation's true motives; Ras confronts and publicly shames Clifton as a race traitor for his association with the white-led organisation. The fight underscores the schism within the Black community over the best path to liberation, foreshadows Clifton's descent into despair and rejection of both extremes, and is a crucial moment for the narrator's own evolving understanding of invisibility and power, demonstrating that even within the struggle for racial uplift there are internal battles as damaging as external oppression.

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The novel's themes range from class conflict to vengeance, love and inheritance. Heathcliff is a rival to Edgar Linton for Catherine Earnshaw; Edgar, son of Mr Linton, is rich and expects Catherine (of a poorer background) to love him rather than Heathcliff. Heathcliff's dramatic return to Wuthering Heights, now transformed into a wealthy, brooding gentleman, profoundly and irrevocably shatters the fragile equilibrium of Catherine and Edgar Linton's marriage, exposing its inherent weaknesses. His reappearance reawakens Catherine's dormant passion, fuels jealousy and resentment, and forces her to confront the impossible choice between Edgar's stability/refinement and the raw, untamed love she shares with Heathcliff. His presence fuels Edgar's deep-seated jealousy and insecurity, as he views Heathcliff as a crude, dangerous intruder and a threat to his domestic tranquility and possession of Catherine. Heathcliff's return exposes the fundamental incompatibility between Catherine's true self and the identity she adopted as Mrs Linton, and Catherine's mental and physical health deteriorates rapidly under the strain of trying to exist in two irreconcilable worlds, culminating in her famous declaration, 'I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free'.

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The novel's central theme is love and revenge, which plays out in the comparison between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; the atmosphere of the two properties corresponds to the mood of the occupants. Wuthering Heights is a rough, old farmhouse situated high on the exposed Yorkshire moors — its very name suggests 'atmospheric tumult' and stormy weather — dark, cold, and unwelcoming, with a 'pervading spirit of neglect', mirroring the raw, untamed and often brutal nature of its inhabitants, particularly Heathcliff and the Earnshaw family, and is associated with a more rustic, wild and less refined lifestyle among the working class. In stark contrast, Thrushcross Grange is a beautiful, splendid manor located lower in the valley, protected by a wall and closer to civilization, representing a world of refinement, order and social decorum; its interior is elegant and comfortable, with crimson carpets, gilded ceilings and a profusion of beautiful objects, its atmosphere one of cultivated tranquility, gentility and social grace, embodying upper-class life associated with the Linton family, particularly Edgar and Isabella.

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The poem centres on the theme of colonialism. The very first lines, 'In the tearful woes of ancient and modern slave,' immediately establish a historical continuity of suffering imposed upon Africa, pointing to the trans-Atlantic slave trade ('ancient slave') and implicitly extending to the forced labour and economic exploitation characteristic of colonial rule ('modern slave'). The degrading imagery of 'impure dance / Of other seas' further emphasizes the forced and unnatural labour exacted by foreign powers, leading to the 'grieved' state of the land. The imagery of the 'Flower / Crushed in the forest / By the wickedness of iron and fire' is a metaphor for the brutal suppression and destruction inflicted upon the African continent by colonial conquest and exploitation of its resources, while the 'dream soon undone in jinglings of jailer's keys' vividly portrays the loss of freedom and self-determination under colonial rule; the jailer's keys are a direct symbol of imprisonment, both literal and metaphorical. Despite these devastating effects, the poem also emphasizes resilience, and the enduring life, continuity of African identity and consciousness, and hope for the future.

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The poem demonstrates that human beings have the capacity to store lived experiences through song, but as memory fades with time, so does the song, though poetry remains for posterity what is left of it. Time is presented as an active, almost malevolent force constantly eroding and reshaping their past. The most prominent effect is the gradual loss of detail; time is personified as a 'sculptor chipping away at bits of wood', meticulously 'chiseling away' bits of memory, implying a slow, deliberate process of decay; the 'lyrics of the song' are stripped away, leaving only a 'fading tune', implying that while the essence of the past remains, the specific words, narratives and nuances are lost. The 'vast void of time' swallows the 'memories of lyrics lost', highlighting how time deprives their memories of richness and particularity — what was once a vibrant and detailed 'song' that 'beheld their lives', 'sponge off their anguish' and 'celebrate their gains' becomes a mere whisper lacking the full expressive and communicative power of the original song.

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In John Donne's 'The Good-Morrow', the poet explores two distinct types of love: a physical, superficial and unawakened love of the past, and a profound, spiritual and all-encompassing love of the present. He describes the past love with scorn and a sense of childishness, using phrases like 'Were we not wean'd till then? / But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?' suggesting immaturity and a lack of true understanding in their previous experiences; he questions, 'Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den?', alluding to a legend of Christians who slept for centuries, implying a prior state of dormancy or unconsciousness, and states that any previous desires or conquests 'were but fancies' - simply pleasurable on a basic level but ultimately unfulfilling. In stark contrast, the present love is depicted as profound, spiritual and all-encompassing; the poem's title itself signifies an awakening, a dawning of a new, enlightened state, reinforced when Donne writes 'And now good-morrow to our waking souls', suggesting it is their souls, not just their bodies, that have awakened. This present love is characterised by a mutual and fearless connection - 'Which watch not one another out of fear' - contrasting their trust and openness with the insecurity and suspicion often found in shallow relationships; their 'true plain hearts' are laid bare to each other, symbolising a complete and sincere connection that creates an all-encompassing, self-sufficient world where 'love, all love of other sights controls'. The poet ultimately presents this mature love as eternal and immortal, concluding that if their two loves are one, or if love is alike and neither slackens, none can die, drawing on philosophical ideas of perfect mixture to argue that their perfectly balanced love is immune to decay and death, transcending the physical and becoming eternal.

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The poem 'Binsey Poplars' is about man's destruction of nature through the felling of trees, and its diction aptly captures the devastating effects of deforestation. The poet portrays the violence of human actions with phrases like 'hack and rack the growing green'; the harsh consonant sounds evoke the physical aggression of cutting down trees, while the alliteration adds to the sense of reckless damage - these words reflect not careful cultivation but careless destruction, communicating a strong criticism of how humans treat the natural world. The poet also paints a vivid picture of the landscape before its destruction, with phrases such as 'shadow that swam or sank on meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank', illustrating a vibrant and harmonious environment; the contrast between this peaceful image and the earlier description of destruction deepens the sense of loss. Hopkins invents the word 'unselve' to describe how this destruction removes the essential identity of the landscape, suggesting that cutting down the trees has erased something irreplaceable from nature itself. The poet also touches on the delicate balance of the environment, comparing the land to an eye and stating that 'country is so tender to touch, her being so slender', implying that nature is fragile and easily harmed, and that even minor human actions can have serious consequences for the climate and environment. In the final part of the poem, the poet expresses concern for future generations, since 'after-comers cannot guess the beauty been', mourning the loss of natural beauty that future people will never know, noting that only 'ten or twelve strokes of havoc' could erase such beauty. In conclusion, the poet's use of diction effectively conveys the emotional and environmental consequences of deforestation, serving as a passionate plea for the preservation of nature and a warning against careless harm to the environment.

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The main themes of the play are colonial influence and internal power struggles and how these affect governance in Mende land. Governor Dr Samuel Rowe is the British Colonial Representative in Mende land; he is often dressed in white, plumed helmet, badges and monocle, gloved hands, with smoking pipe and short baton, moved around in a hammock with human bearers, and his style of governance is autocratic without respect for traditional institutions. Although there is internal power tussle between Yoko and Lamboi, Governor Rowe's colonial influence and autocratic rule contribute greatly to Yoko's downfall. Rowe contributes to Gbanya's downfall and does not stop at that; he contributes to Yoko's downfall as well. When Yoko is battling with Lamboi and Musa's conspiracy and the public disgrace that the duo have created, Rowe's messenger brings a message to reduce the territorial control of Queen Yoko. Yoko is upset and sees this as a disgrace; on hearing this message, Yoko sends Lavalie for some herbs which she gives to Musu to prepare into a thick concoction, and after her long years of service and loyalty to the Governor, this manner of reward is least expected — she feels used and insulted, sends strong words back to the Governor, and eventually commits suicide.

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The general themes of the play are colonial influence and power tussle and how these affect Yoko's reign as Queen of Mende land. Lamboi, driven by inordinate ambition and an insatiable thirst for power, poses the greatest threat to Yoko's reign over Senehun. As Yoko's own brother, his treachery cuts deeper, undermining both familial bonds and the stability of the throne. His singular focus on ascending the throne blinds him to reason, pushing him into a dangerous web of blackmail, intrigue and ruthless plots that destabilise Yoko's rule and threaten the peace and order she strives to maintain. Lamboi's determination to seize power leads him to solicit Musa, the trusted medicine man of the kingdom, ensuring his schemes are cloaked in credibility; his readiness to sacrifice innocent lives, as seen in the brutal killing of Jeneba, demonstrates the vicious lengths he will go to dethrone Yoko. He manipulates public perception by accusing Yoko of sacrificing children to prolong her reign and curry favour with the Governor, a strategic smear campaign that sows seeds of doubt among the people. However, the traditional power of Poro emerges as a decisive force against Lamboi's sinister ambitions, exposing Lamboi and Musa as the perpetrators, restoring Yoko's credibility. Ultimately, Lamboi's ambition brings turmoil and chaos, severely testing Yoko's strength as a ruler; though Yoko's resilience and rightful claim to the throne are affirmed, she eventually commits suicide while Lamboi and Musa are sent out of Mende land.

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The play explores the theme of cultural conflict or contest between tradition and modernity; dance and music are used as dramatic techniques to portray the culture of the people of Ilujinle and are used to usher Sidi into marriage, as entertainment, as mockery, and as heralders of coming incidents. There are several instances of dance and music in the play: the mime involving Lakunle who is now drunk on local brew ('two drummers... insist on dancing round him'); the mime of felled trees, swinging machetes and log-dragging that take place to the rhythm of the work gang's metal percussion (rod on gong etc.); there is full use of 'gangan' and 'iya ilu' types of drums, with a clap of drums, soft throbbing drums, 'gradually swelling in volume' as the tempo gains until there is a crash of drums; song leaders raise choruses such as 'N'ijo itoro', 'Amuda el'ebe l'aiya', 'Gbeje on ipa', etc., mimed songs of the 1940s popularised by prisoners engaged in manual labour such as grass cutting. One of the mimes, the Dance of Virility, is a performance of Baroka's sexual life until he announces his impotence; the virility dance is done by Sadiku who is in her seventies, marked by athletic dance movements and the vigorous beating of the bata drums which does not last long because it is energy-sapping. On p.62 there is music or drumming or fluting, box-guitars, 'sekere' instrument, and on p.64 musicians resume their tune while Sidi sings and dances. Music and dance are used throughout to reflect the Yoruba culture and way of life.

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The main theme of the play is the contest between tradition and modernity. Baroka represents tradition while Lakunle represents modernity. Sidi, the village belle, is at the centre of the conflicts between Baroka and Lakunle and, as the village 'Jewel', acts as a pivotal catalyst who illuminates the contrasting personalities, ideologies and vulnerabilities of both men. For Baroka, the Bale of Ilujinle who is captivated by Sidi's youthful beauty and newfound fame from the magazine photographs, Sidi's presence and popularity momentarily eclipses his own, which he finds intolerable; this ignites his cunning and resourcefulness, forcing him to devise a ruse of feigned impotence to win her hand — an elaborate deception that showcases his extraordinary intelligence, mastery of human psychology, and his ability to manipulate situations to his advantage, ultimately drawing out his commitment to tradition as he sees marrying her as a symbolic act of absorbing a new, potentially disruptive force back into the village's established order. For Lakunle, the village schoolteacher, Sidi consistently elicits his intellectual arrogance, his superficial grasp of modernity, and his underlying insecurities; he is obsessed with marrying Sidi but refuses to pay her bride-price, viewing it as a 'savage custom' and a symbol of his disdain for tradition. Sidi's demands for the bride-price, which she equates with her own worth, continually expose Lakunle's hypocrisy and his inability to truly break free from cultural norms even as he denounces them, forcing him to articulate his verbose, contradictory arguments for 'progress', highlighting his pretentious and impractical nature.

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The main theme of the play is Post-World War II England and how this affects relationships between characters; other themes include class conflict and sexism. Jimmy Porter, the protagonist, is twenty-five years old, working class, a jobless university graduate, and a frustrated, angry young man — a disconcerting mixture of cruelty and cheerful malice. While Jimmy is undeniably characterised by biting sarcasm, relentless verbal abuse and a seemingly nihilistic worldview, a closer examination of his character reveals glimpses of a deeply caring, albeit profoundly misguided and frustrated, individual — his aggression, rather than being purely malevolent, often stems from raw vulnerability and a desperate yearning for authenticity and emotional connection in a world he perceives as deadened and hypocritical. His constant railing against Alison's 'apathy' and 'lassitude' is not merely cruel; it is a desperate attempt to elicit a genuine emotional response from her, to provoke her into feeling something, akin to his own intense passions. He wants to shock people out of complacency about the world's injustices, though this desire for shared feeling is expressed through torment, suggesting a deep longing for intimacy and empathy that he believes is lacking in their relationship. Furthermore, Jimmy's protectiveness, particularly towards those he perceives as vulnerable or genuinely suffering, hints at his caring side — his tender interactions with Alison when she is genuinely distressed, such as after she loses the baby, reveal a softer side rarely seen. In conclusion, while Jimmy Porter's outward behaviour is largely defined by his vitriol and aggression, his visceral reactions to perceived injustice and his flashes of tenderness in moments of vulnerability point to a complex individual who, at heart, cares profoundly, though his caring is a raw, unrefined force often expressed in destructive ways due to his inability to cope with a world that fails to meet his intense emotional demands.

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The central theme of the play is Post-World War II England and how this affects the relationships between characters; other themes include class conflict and sexism. Helena Charles is Alison's best friend; she lives with them in their apartment while visiting for work and performs in a play at the local theatre. Helena is from an upper-class family and has long despised Jimmy, as he considers her a member of the Establishment. Helena undergoes one of the most significant and ironic transformations in the play, evolving from an emblem of traditional morality and social convention to a figure who momentarily embraces the very bohemian life she once scorned, only to retreat back to her original values, leaving a path of disruption in her wake. Initially, Helena is introduced as Alison's antithesis and a representative of the conservative, 'upper-class' values that Jimmy despises; she is a successful actress, poised, elegant and acutely aware of social proprieties, and views Jimmy as cruel and Alison as a victim, aiming to 'rescue' Alison from what she perceives as a destructive relationship. Helena's first significant transformation occurs when she orchestrates Alison's departure from Jimmy, driven by a genuine desire to protect her friend but also by a subtle, unacknowledged attraction to Jimmy — she intervenes, convincing Alison to leave and even helping her pack. This act, seemingly a triumph for her moral principles, ironically leads to her second, more profound transformation: stepping into Alison's shoes as Jimmy's lover. In this phase, she attempts to adapt to Jimmy's world, endures his verbal assaults, shares his bed, and even tries to participate in his unconventional lifestyle, showing a capacity for self-deception and a surprising willingness to compromise her own values. However, this transformation is ultimately unsustainable for Helena; the news of Alison's pregnancy and miscarriage awaken her dormant moral conscience, and she recognises the inherent wrongness of her actions — betraying Alison and living in sin. Her final transformation is a retreat: overwhelmed by guilt and a renewed sense of moral duty, she decides to leave Jimmy, reverting to her original role as a figure of conventional morality, albeit one scarred by her experience, revealing her limitations — she can only tolerate the chaos for so long before her ingrained need for order and moral rectitude reasserts itself.

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The play Fences by August Wilson documents the treatment of Blacks in the United States in the 20th century; themes include racial discrimination, marital conflict, love and marriage. Troy Maxson, the protagonist, is a hardworking, middle-aged African-American man with a commanding presence and big personality, husband to Rose and father to Cory, Lyons and Raynell; Alberta, on the other hand, is Troy's buxom lover from Tallahassee, and Raynell's mother. She dies while giving birth to Raynell; it is noteworthy that Bono has warned Troy about the warnings but Troy didn't heed them. Alberta's death marks a pivotal turning point in Troy Maxson's life, serving as a catalyst for a profound emotional shift and ultimately contributing to his physical and spiritual decline. While Troy initially attempts to deflect the immediate emotional impact of her passing, her death confronts him with undeniable responsibilities, exposes the fragile nature of his self-constructed world, and forces him to grapple with the consequences of his choices. Firstly, Alberta's death immediately thrusts Troy into the undeniable reality of his betrayal of Rose and the public acknowledgment of his infidelity; with Alberta gone, the secret of their affair becomes an unavoidable truth that Troy can no longer conveniently compartmentalise or deny. Her demise forces him to bring their illegitimate daughter, Raynell, into the Maxson household, a decision that irrevocably shatters the illusion of his faithfulness and stands as a permanent, living testament to his transgression. Secondly, Alberta's death strips Troy of his primary escape and source of emotional validation outside his difficult home life; Alberta represented a 'soft place' for Troy, where he felt unburdened by responsibilities and disappointments that plagued him elsewhere. Furthermore, Alberta's confrontation with mortality and his own failures forces him back into the stark realities of his life with Rose, intensifying the friction and unresolved issues within his marriage; his monologues increasingly turn to abstract battles with personified Death, and his previously formidable spirit begins to wane. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, Alberta's death removes the tangible manifestation of Troy's externalised blame; he frequently used his affair with Alberta as a way to project his own dissatisfactions and perceived failures onto an external object — with her gone, he is left with the stark reality of his choices and their devastating impact on his family, forcing him to face the moral and emotional wreckage he has created.

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The play Fences by August Wilson documents the treatment of Blacks in the United States in the 20th century; themes include racial discrimination, marital conflict, love and marriage. The play offers a rich, poignant and multi-layered portrayal of African-American life in the mid-20th century, specifically during the 1950s, delving beyond superficial representations to explore complex interplay of socio-economic limitations, racial prejudice, generational aspirations, familial dynamics, and the enduring spirit of a community striving for dignity and identity in a prejudiced society. Firstly, the play vividly illustrates the socio-economic realities and systemic racial barriers faced by African Americans in post-WWII America — Troy Maxson's experiences are central to this: despite his immense talent as a baseball player, he was denied the opportunity to play in the major leagues due to the colour line, only reaching his prime after Jackie Robinson broke the barrier; this bitter reality fuels his cynicism and resentment, shaping his decisions and his interactions with his sons, Cory and Lyons. His struggle to secure a better job than hauling garbage, even as a diligent worker, highlights the limited opportunities available to Black men, regardless of their qualifications or aspirations. Secondly, the play explores the complexities of familial relationships within the African-American household, particularly the strained father-son dynamic and strained husband-wife relationship; Troy's parenting style, marked by rigid discipline and a refusal to acknowledge Cory's athletic dreams, is deeply rooted in his own traumatic past and his desire to protect his son from the racial disappointments he faced. Wilson's use of dialogue and vernacular authentically captures the rhythm, wit and emotional depth of African-American speech patterns, rich with metaphors, storytelling, humour and pathos, reflecting the oral traditions and cultural richness of the community. In conclusion, Fences is a nuanced depiction of African-American life, illustrating not only the external pressures of racism and limited opportunities but also the internal struggles of pride, aspiration, disappointment, and the enduring human spirit within families and communities striving to build a life of meaning and dignity in the face of formidable challenges.