You are welcome to this website should you are visiting here for the first time. In today’s post, It is all about the complete WAEC Literature Questions and Answers 2024; both from Novels, Essay and Objective. I am going to ensure that you get a comprehensive information about the examination.
Before you continue with this article, I am sure you are one those candidates who will be writing Literature-in-English in the forthcoming 2024 May/June WAEC Examination. If Yes, make sure that you leave no stone in this article unturned.
WAEC Literature-In-English is one of the compulsory subjects for Arts students, just like Government. It is optional for Science students who might wish to offer the subject or use it to substitute other subjects such as Geography.
In WAEC Examination, Literature in English is sub sectioned into three major parts. they are:
- Drama
- Poetry
- Prose
Questions from these three parts come in the form of Essay and Objective.
To get more detailed information about the WAEC Literature Questions and Answers 2023, continue to read this article to the end.
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WAEC Literature Objective Test Questions 2024
Below are the sure questions for the 2024 WAEC Literature Examination.
1. A novel that features spiritual apparitions as major characters is
A. epistolary.
B. gothic.
C. historical.
D. sociological.
2. The literary term describing individuals in a work ot literature is
A. character.
B. protagonist.
C. narrator.
D. villain.
3. Several hands stretched out for free meals a the refugee camp illustrates
A. antithesis.
B. euphemism.
C. litotes.
D synecdoche.
4. A short play performed between the acts of a bigger play for entertainment is
A. an in media res.
B. an interlude.
C. an incantation.
D. a deus-ex-machina.
5. In literature, the two components of diction are
A. sentence construction and punctuation.
B. vocabulary and punctuation.
C. syntax and sentence construction.
D. vocabulary and syntax.
6. A story with elements that have both literal and figurative meanings is
A. an allegory.
B. a fable.
C. a novela.
D. an epistle.
7. My bounty is as boundless as the sea My love as deep.
The above lines illustrate
A. apostrophe.
B. epigram.
C. hyperbole.
D. euphemism.
8. In drama, catharsis is the
A. change of setting
B. conflict between two characters.
C. resolution of conflict.
D. purging of emotions from tension.
Read the extract below and answer question 9 to 11.
A little learning is a dangerous thing:
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring
The shallow droughts intoxicate the brain
And drinking largely sobers us again.
9. The poem is
A. allegoric.
B. didactic.
C. metaphysical.
D. romantic
10. The tone of the poet is
A. jocular.
B. harsh.
C. mournful.
D. sombre.
11. Lines 3 and 4 illustrate
A. antithesis.
B. Oxymoron.
C. anti-climax.
D. metonymy.
12. A word or a phrase that is repeated at regular intervals in a poem or a play is a
A. dirge.
B. refrain.
lullaby.
D. verse
13. The warriors conquered my men and my country illustrates the use of
A paradox.
B. lilotes.
C. parallelism.
D. zeugima.
14. Disguise in drama mostly portrays the theme of
A. known identity.
B. plain identity.
C. unknown identity.
D. mistaken identity.
15. Men Swift to see things done, do no Fun their commanding.
The underlined words exemplify
A. pun.
B. end rhyme.
C. paradox.
D. internal rhyme.
16. An aside in drama is used mostly to create a sense of
A. admiration.
B. conspiracy.
C. greatness.
D, superiority.
17. More haste, less speed illustrates the use of
A. anaphora.
B. paradox.
C. litotes.
D. synecdoche.
Read the following lines and answer question 18 to 20.
Poetry gets bored of being alone
It wants to go outdoors to chew the
winds.
Poetry gets bored of being alone
It wants to go outdoors to chew the|
winds
18. The mental picture evoked in the above lines is that of
A. smell and touch.
B. sight and hearing.
C. taste and touch.
D. sight and taste.
19. A novel that recounts the adventures of a likeable rogue is
A. panegyric.
B. gothic.
C. picaresque.
D. grotesque.
20. At the fall of their house, the widow lost her husband, her sewing machine and her ear-rings illustrates
A. bathos.
B. epigram.
C. pathos.
D. Oxymoron.
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PART II UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage below and answer questions 21 to 25.
Marooned, Akpatse felt imprisoned. It was fifteen days since the storm. The flood waters were not receding; neither did Akpatse see any sign of help coming. Akpatse could not swim the expanse of flood waters. He meditated: When one looks upon the mountain for help and help comes from the Lord… where does the Lord sit – In the cloud or on the mountain, or in the valley?
Well, Akpatse looked for salvation in the distance, far across the ocean of flood the intimidating expanse of his great gaoler – up to where the sky and the lips of the flood waters met in a mocking kiss. He had forgotten the feeling of hunger but knew he did not have any energy. What a foolish thing to think! He had not had any food for days. True. But hunger never said hello from the hollow of his ‘person-tree’ as they say in his language. Akpatse saw no help coming.
21. The narrative technique used is
A. 1st person.
B. dialogue.
C. 3rd person.
D. stream of consciousness.
22. The reference to mountain illustrates
A. allusion.
B. irony.
C. parallelism.
D. antithesis.
23. flood waters met in a mocking kiss illustrates
A. contrast.
B. euphemism.
C. personification.
D. litotes.
24. The overall feeling evoked by the passage is one of
A. anger.
B. empathy.
C. love.
D. relief.
25. The last sentence conveys the mood or
A. anxiety.
B. despondency.
C. excitement.
D. nonchalance.
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Read the poem below and answer questions 26 to 30.
Your lies are the withering strokes
still, they come from the inner recesses of your dungeoned heart.
And though venomous than the venom, they inspire
our once dociled minds to disorders even as your angels of death pass us by
with messages of hopeless hope
Did you read our mind in your lies?
We know the seat of power in a castle
of your evil heart; where your lies are
imprisoned to be released again and
again; they are never in rain! But they
have soothed us calmly, your lies; the
war is not of you anymore, it is of the
angels who pass us by with message
of peace
26. The main theme oi the poem is
A. evil of lying.
B. hopeless nope.
C. message of peace.
D. message of war.
27. The tone of the speaker shows
A. contentment.
B. helplessness. .
C. patience.
D. resilience
28. Did you read our minds in your lies? Exemplifies
A. personification.
B. Oxymoron.
C. pathetic fallacy.
D. rhetorical question.
29. But they have soothed us calmly, your lies illustrates
A. paradox.
B. irony.
C. synecdoche.
D. zeugma.
30. The last lines of both stanzas present
A. negative but similar ideas.
B. opposite ideas.
C. positive but opposite ideas.
D. similar ideas.
SECTION B
Answer all the questions in this section.
WAEC Literature Questions from WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A MID-SUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Read the extract below and answer questions 31 to 35.
Go, Philostrate, Stir up the Athenian youth to mernments;
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;
Turn melancholy forth to funerals:
The pale companion is not for our pomp.
Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword,
And won thy love doing thee injuries;
But I will wed thee in another key,
With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling
(Act I, Sccne One, Lines 12-20)
31. Who is the speaker?
A. Demetrius
B. Egeus
C. Hermia
D. Theseus
32. Philostrate is the
A. clown of Hippolyta.
B. Duke’s entertainer.
C. fairy king’s cuckold.
D. rival of Puck.
33. The speaker s attitude towards melancholy is
A. adoration.
B. dislike.
C. intolerance.
D. tolerance.
34. While the speaker is talking,
A. Egeus departs.
B. Flute arrives.
C. the fairies sing.
D. Philostrate departs.
35. To win Hippolyta’s love, the speaker
A. disowned his friends.
B. had to fight against her.
C. killed his father
D. sent Puck away.
Read the extract below and answer questions 36 to 40.
Speaker X: Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled?
Speak! In some bush? Where
dost thou hide thy head?
Speaker Y: Thou coward, art thou
bragging to the stars,
Telling the bushes that
thou look’st for wars,
And wilt not come? Come, recreant, come, thou child:
I’ll whip thee with a rod. He is defiled That draws a sword on thee.
(Act 11, Scene Two, Lines 405-411)
36. Speakers X and Y are
A. Demetrius and Puck.
B. Lysander and Demetrius.
C. Hermia and Helena.
D. Lysander and Puck.
37. Speaker Y speaks in the voice of
A. Bottom.
B. Demetrius.
C. Oberon.
D. Lysander
38. Speaker Y’s inltention is to stop a
A. plan.
B fight.
C. plot.
D. flight.
39. The wars are over
A. Helena.
B. Titania
C. Hermia
D. Hippolyta.
40. Speaker Y’s speech can be described as
A. cowardly.
B. solemn.
C. taunting.
D. silly.
Read the extract below and answer questions 41 to 45.
… seest thou this sweet sight?
Her dotage now I do begin to pity,
For meeting her of late behind the|l.
wood, Seeking sweet favours for this hateful
fool,
I did upbraid her, and fall out with her.
For she his hairy temples then had
rounded
With coronet of fresh and fragrant
flowers;
(Act IV, Scene One, Lines 42 -48)
41. The speaker is
A. Egeus.
B. Oberon.
C. Puck.
D. Theseus.
42. The relationship between the speaker and thou in the first line is one of
A. companionship.
B. friendship.
C. King and courtier.
D. master and errand boy.
43. this sweet sight refers to
A. Bottom and Titania.
B. Demetrius and Helena.
C. Lysander and Hermia.
D. Pyramus and Thisbe.
44. The pair are lovers by
A. accident.
B. fate
C. design.
D. fortune.
45. The speaker appears to be
A. blaming himself.
B. commending the addressee
C. enjoying himself.
D. lamenting the sight.
Read the extract below and answer Questions 46 lo 50.
… Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was there
is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was (Act IV, Scene One, Lines 201- 207)
46. The speaker is
A. Bottom.
B. Puck.
C. Quince.
D. Peaseblossom.
47. The speaker has just come out of
A. an appalling experience.
B. a nightmare.
C. an induced sleep.
D. a rehearsal.
48. The architect of the speaker’s current state is
A. Hippolyta.
B. Oberon.
C. Titania.
D. Theseus.
49. It is a state of
A. deception.
B. ignorance.
C. illusion.
D. innocence.
50. The speaker’s language is best described as
A. comic.
B. satiric.
C. conceit.
D. metaphoric.
WAEC Literature Questions In Prose
Instruction: Develop not fewer than five points in your answers.
SECTION A: AFRICAN PROSE
BUCHI EMECHETA: Second Class Citizen
1. Account for the contribution of Lawyer Nweze to the development of the plot.
2. Compare Ada with Francis in the novel
ALEX AGYEI AGYIRI: Unexpected Joy at Dawn
3. How is Massa buried in the novel?
How does the expulsion of aliens
from Nigeria affect Nii in the novel?
SECTION B
NON-AFRICAN PROSE
Answer one question only from this
section.
RALPH ELLISON: Invisible Man
5. Examine the narator’s experience
with Kimbro in the novel.
6. How does Ras represent the whiteman’s perceptions and treatment of blacks in the novel?
EMILE BRONTE: Wuthering Heights
7. Examine the significance of Lock-
wood’s second visit to Wuthering
Heights.
8. What is the relationship between
Cathy and Hareton?
WAEC Literature Questions On Poetry and Drama
Develop not fewer than five points in
your answers.
SECTION A
AFRICAN DRAMA
JOHN, K. KARGBO: Let Me Die Alone
1. How do men behave towards women in the play?
2. Discuss Gbanya as a remarkable character.
WOLE, SOYINKA: The Lion and the Jewel
3. How is the contest between tradition and modernity presented in the play?
Discuss the significance of the use of
play-within-a-play technique.
SECTIONB
NON-AFRICAN DRAMA
JOHN, OSBORNE: Look Back in Anger
5. Consider Jimmy’s views about the
Victorian society of his time.
6. Comment on Alison’s reaction to Jinmy’s attacks on her family
AUGUST, WILSON: Fences
7. How does Troy’s upbringing influence his relationship with his children?
8. To what extent does Gabriel provide comic relief in the play?
SECTION C
AFRICAN POETRY
9. How effective is the use of contrast in Song of the Women af my Land?
10. Examine The Leader and the Led as a criticism of leadership in Africa.
SECTION D
NON-AFRICAN POETRY
11. Consider the mood of the persona in The Good Morrow
12. Discuss the theme of regret in The
Journey of the Magi.
Answers to WAEC Literature Questions On Prose
1. B: gothic
A novel that features spiritual apparitions as major characters is gothic.
Gothic novels are known for featuring
supernatural characters. Apart from
that, gothic novels are scary in nature.
They create fear and horror. They are
also known as ghost novels or novels
of horror. Features of gothic novels are given below:
i. Supernatural characters
ii.Fear and horror
iii. Tyrannical hero
iv. Vengeance
V. Passion and emotionality
Examples of gothic novel include
The Castle of Otranto by Horace
Walpole and Wuthering Heights by
Emile Bronte.
2. A: character
The literary term describing individuals in a work of literature is character.
Character is the description of individuals in a literary work based on their roles. The two types of character are round character (the one that changes in the course of events in a literary work) and flat character (the one that does not change in the course of events in a literary work). Characterization on the other hand is the way the characters are portrayed to the reader or audience in a literary work.
3. D: synecdoche
The expression “several hands stretched out for free meals at the refugee camp illustrates synecdoche.
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in
which the part is used to represent the whole. Other examples include:
i.Lend me your ears.
ii. All hands must be on deck to carry out the project.
ii. We need to appcal to all
minds concerned.
4. B: interlude
A short play performcd between the
acts of a bigger play for cntertainment
is known as interude. In other words,
interlude can be a form of a playwith-in a bigger play. Examples of plays where we have play-within-a-play are
i. The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka, A Midsummer Nighl s Dream and Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
5. D: diction
In literature, the two components of
diction are vocabulary and synlax.
Diction is the choice of words in a literary work. This in other words means the vocabulary used. For instance there are words having to do with animals in the poem “The Leader and the Led” by Niyi Osundare. These refer to the diction or vocabulary (choice of words). Syntax on the other hand is the structural arrangement of words in a literary work comprising the sentence elements such as subject, verb, object, adjunct, etc. For instance, when there is an inversion (reversal of the sentence structure), the meaning and tone of an expression could be affected (especially in poetry)
6. A: allegory
A story with elements that have both
literary and figurative meanings is an
allegory. Allegory is a literary work
particularly a story) in which characters and events are used to represent certain symbolic meanings. Allegory is a symbolic expression in story acted out by humans, animals or mythical characters. An example is Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan.
7. C. hyperbole
The expression “My bounty is as
boundless as the seal My love as deep” illustrates hyperbole. Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used. Exaggeration means overstating something (making it more important, serious or worse than it is).
Other examples are given below:
i. Her beauty beats the world’s imagination.
ii. This is the ugliest thing in the
world.
8. D: catharsis
In drama, catharsIS is the purgation of emotions from tension. According to Aristotle, catharsis is that quality of
a tragic play that makes the audicnce
to sympathize with the tragic hero or
heroine often lcading to the purgation
of emotion of intense fear and pity. In
other words, catharsis is the reaction
or emotions produced in the audience
through the events in a play.
Recommended Books For WAEC Literature
The following books have been recommended by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) for the 2024 WAEC Literature examination.
African Prose
- Amma Darko – Faceless
- Bayo Adebowale – Lonely Days.
Non-African Prose
- Richard Wright – Native Son
- Horace Walpole – The Castle of Otranto
- Patience Swift – The Last Goodman
- *William Shakespeare – OTHELLO.
Non-African Drama
- Oliver Goldsmith – She Stoops to Conquer
- Lorraine Hansberry – A Raisin in the Sun.
African Drama
- Frank Ogodo Ogbeche – Harvest of Corruption
- Dele Charley – The Blood of a Stranger.
African Poetry
- Birago Drop – Vanity
- Gbemisola Adeoti – Ambush
- Gabriel Okara – Piano and Drums
- Gbanabam Hallowell – The Dinning Table
- Lenrie Peter – The Panic of Growing Older
- Kofi Awoonor – The Anvil and the Hammer.
Non-African Poetry
- Alfred Tennyson – Crossing the Bar
- George Herbert – The pulley
- William Blake – The School Boy
- William Morris – The Proud King
- Robert Frost Birches – Birches
- William Shakespeare – Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day?
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