JAMB LITERATURE LIKELY QUESTIONS
*OBJECTIVE*
1. The character matched against the hero of a play is the
[a] antagonist
[b] Anti-hero
[c] Braggart
[d] Clown
[e] Hypocrite
2. “He bleats like a goat” is an example of
[a] hyperbole
[b] Irony
[c] Personification
[d] Pun
[e] Simile
3. An epistolary method of writing a novel is a method whereby a novel is written in the form of
[a] dialogue
[b] Drama
[c] Essay
[d] Letter
[e] Monologue
4. Which of the following is not a genre of literature?
[a] farce
[b] novel
[c] play
[d] poetry
[e] satire
5. A simple story with a deeper meaning is called
[a] an allegory
[b] an elegy
[c] an epic
[d] an ode
[e] a romance
6. A poetic device which exaggerates situations or objects is known as
[a] climax
[b] epigram
[c] flashback
[d] hyperbole
[e] paradox
7. Which of the following is odd in the appreciation of a poem?
[a] chapter
[b] rythm
[c] setting
[d] stanza
[e] theme
8. The term ‘tragic flaw’ means
[a] A mistake made by the hero
[b] A moral weakness in the hero
[c] the first act in a play
[d] the prologue
[e] wrong spellings in a play
9. The first eight lines of a sonnet is called
[a] a couplet
[b] an octave
[c] a quatrain
[d] a sestet
[e] a set
10. The last part of a literary work is known as
[a] acknowledgement
[b] an epilogue
[c] an epitaph
[d] a prologue
[e] conclusion
11. The identical sound at the end of a poem is known as
[a] mere
[b] refrain
[c] rhyme
[d] rhythm
[e] verse
12. A direct address to a dead/absent person or thing is known as
[a] apostrophe
[b] direct speech
[c] dirge
[d] lyric
[e] oration
13. The use of mild expression to avoid the direct statement of an unpleasant truth is known as
[a] euphemism
[b] hyperbole
[c] irony
[d] simile
14. Which of the following is not a play?
[a] Doctor Faustus
[b] Romeo and Juliet
[c] Galileo
[d] Dizzy Angels
[e] The trail of Dedan Kimathi
15. But from this earth, this grave, this dust my God shall raise me up, ‘I trust’ The feeling of the poet is one of
[a] hatred
[b] indecision
[c] love
[d] optism
[e] sarcasm
16. But from this earth, this grave, this dust, my God shall raise me up, ‘I trust!. The underlined are examples of
[a] assonance
[b] paradox
[c] repetition
[d] rhyme
[e] sarcasm
17. The period of laughter or amusement in a tragic play is called
[a] comedy
[b] comic relief
[c] denouncement
[d] interlude
[e] suspense
18. The principal female character in a novel is called a/an
[a] actress
[b] clown
[c] hero
[d] heroine
[e] villain
19. A Poem telling of spending deeds of a hero is
[a] a ballad
[b] a lampoon
[c] an epic
[d] a parody
[e] a sonnet
20. The major features of a play are
[a] acts and scenes
[b] chapters and paragraphs
[c] characterization
[d] metres and rhythms
[e] stanza and verse
21. One of the main aim of a did active literary work is to
[a] laugh at the society
[b] make people laugh
[c] show man’s weakness
[d] teach a moral lesson
22. A poem which portrays a simple rural life of the common people is called
[a] a carol
[b] a lyric
[c] an epic
[d] an ode
[e] a pastoral
23. The expression ‘He is a living dead’ is an example of
[a] antithesis
[b] imagery
[c] oxymoron
[d] paradox
[e] personification
24. The counsel for the accused addressed the bench. The underlined is an example of
[a] a seat
[b] metaphor
[c] metonymy
[d] onomatopoeia
[e] oxymoron
25. A sonnet may be divided into an octave and a/an
[a] a couplet
[b] octave
[c] quatrain
[d] Sestet
[e] tercel
26. In drama, the clown
[a] creates confusion
[b] creates hatred
[c] creates humour
[d] generates horror
[e] identifies with the hero
27. Pick out the odd item
[a] ballad
[b] hyperbole
[c] metaphor
[d] pun
[e] simile
28. A protagonist who has a disastrous end is a
[a] comic character
[b] flat character
[c] round character
[d] tragedy
[e] tragic hero
29. Romantic poetry deals with
[a] beauty
[b] conquest
[c] kingdom
[d] marriage
[e] nature
30. The anxiety of the reader to know of the subsequent developments in a novel is known as
[a] conflict
[b] Fiction
[c] Love
[d] Surprise
[e] Suspense
