SS2 Literature Examination Question for 2nd Term
Section A
LITERARY APPRECIATION
1. A fictitious name adopted by an author to write is……
A. Antonym B. eponym C. pseudonym D. synonym
2. The heightened tension in a play is momentarily eased through…. A. verbal irony B. transferred
epithet C. comic relief D. pathetic fallacy
3. The literary work which tells a story usually of mystery, love and the supernatural is…….A. an ode B.a
limerick [Link] epic D. a ballad
4. Shakespearean sonnet has the rhyme scheme…..
A. abab cdcd efef gg B. abba abba cde def C. abab adcd efef gg D. abba abba cde cde
Read the extract below and answer questions 5-7
There they left him everyone
Left him there without a lick
Left him there for birds to pick
Let him there for carrion
5. The theme echoed in the poem is that of……. A. loneliness B. feasting C. festivity D. abandonment
6. The poem paints the picture of a person denied the luxury of…….. A. shelter B. burial C. food D. water
7. The tone of the poem is one of……. A. disapproval B. happiness C. contentment D. indifference
8. “Two heads are better than one” illustrates…… A. synecdoche B. onomatopoeia C. inversion D.
metonymy
9. In a literary work, climax is an element of…. A. characterisation B. setting C. subject matter D. plot
10. The recession caused a thousand pains illustrates…… A. litotes B. hyperbole C. oxymoron D.
personification
Read the extract below and answer questions 11-12
Surprised and hurt, he sits and awaits his turn
Aloof with wish that all in hell do burn
But what with all of them intent to spurn
The things of pains and right and vice we learn.
11. The tone is……… A. cordial B. jovial C. vengeful D. spiteful
12. The lines are……… A. end rhymed lines B. Internal rhymes C. end-stopped lines D. alternate rhymes
13. In tragic drama, catharsis provokes……. A. suspense B. humour C. empathy D. conflict
14. As the chains clatter, the prisoner groans, grunts ans gasps illustrates……… A. euphemism B.
metaphor C. personification [Link]
15. The pattern of beats to show movement in poetry is…….. A. rhyme [Link] C. rhythm D. verse
16. Boys are men illustrates……. A. alliteration B. contrast C. pun D. paradox
17. A character trait which leads the hero to his downfall is called….. A. anagnorisis B. peripeteia C.
catharsis D. harmatia
18. The conflict in a plot requires……. A. complication B. climax C. resolution D. drama
19. He sits under the bough utters a loud cough, wipes his sweating brow and gives the dog a blow. The
extract illustrates……… rhyme. A. masculine B. eye C. internal D. end
20. “Death be not proud” illustrates…… A. euphemism B. personification C. metaphor D. litotes
21. Lines that usually have a set pattern of metre and rhyme constitute………..
A. stanza B. verse C. rhyme scheme D. falling metre
PART II
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage below and answer questions 22-26
I have had different relationships with people, places and things. Yet, non is more remarkable than the
one I have with Lagos. It has been a love-hate kind of thing. Sometimes, I love her so much and run into
her arms. At other times she gives off a repulsive stench.
Lagos, a land of the great, where excellence and folly dwell sisde by side; where wealth and poverty hold
hands- one with a smile, the other with a grin. My first visit to Lagos Island made me irritated and
excited at the same time. There are shacks cramped together at the end of the ocean. The houses which
are just bits of wood held together, compete with heaps of refuse. Lagos, the night of nightmarish
dreams.
22. The writer’s view of Lagos is that of…….. A. confusion B. ambivalence C. nostalgia D. uncertainty
23. The dominant literary device in the second paragraph is…… A. simile B. metonymy C. contrast D.
paradox
24. The narrative technique used in the passage is……. A. interior monologue B. first person C. stream of
consciousness D. third person
25. ….. where wealth and poverty hold hands illustrates……. A. allusion B. euphemism C. personification
D. synecdoche
26. …….. the night of nightmarish dreams illustrates……. A. oxymoron B. chiasmus C. euphemism D.
alliteration
Read the poem and answer questions 27-31
What use is it to slumber here?
Though the heart be sad and weary
What use is it to slumber here?
Though the day rise dark and dreary
For that mist may break when the sun is high
And this soul forgets its sorrow
And the rosy ray of the closing day
May promise a brighter morrow
27. Stanza 1 and 2 produce a contrast of……. A. atmosphere B. emblem C. setting D. mood
28. The change of rhyme scheme in the second stanza spells/marks…….. A. anticipation B. serenity C.
anxiety D. hope
29. The dominant literary device in the two stanzas is……. A. consonance B. alliteration C. zeugma D.
meter
30. The poem is….. A. an elegy B. a limerick C. an ode D. a lyric
31. “Mist” in stanza two is a metaphor for….. A. beginning B. joy C. trouble D. shade
32. Literature is a creative and..... work of art
A) comprehensive B) imaginative C) optional D) compulsory
33. There are...... genres of literature
A) 3 B) 2 C) 5 D) 4
34. literary appreciation means analysis, criticism and understanding of......
A) poem B) geography C) prose D) literature
35. prose is written in......
A) stanzas B) chapters C) acts and scenes D) lines
36. ....... refer to the general idea in a story
A) plot B) setting C) theme D) background
37. A novel written inform of a letter is known as......
A) epistolary B) campus C) historic D) gothic
38. The sequential arrangement of events in a story is........
A) theme B) tone C) subject matter D) plot
39. A written account of another person's life is.....
A) pirate B) reporter C) biography D) autobiography
40. A true life story is.....
A) imagery B) non-fiction C) creative D) fiction
41. ...... refer to the emotion and condition in a story
A) symbol B) atmosphere C) mood D) tone
42. stanza is to poem as....... is to prose
A) line B) scene C) chapter D) act
43. The writer of a poem is......
A) dramatist B) prosaist C) author D) poet
44. She is dirty as a pig is an example of.....
A) personification B) metaphor C) litotes D) simile
45. The writer of a novel is......
A) poetess B) novelist C) fable D) agonist
46. Two rhyming lines in a poem is......
A) couplet B) tercet C) quatrain D) septet
47. A piece of writing which teaches morals is.......
A) didactic B) playful C) analytical D) serious
48. Enjambment refers to......
A) symbol B) educationist C) prologue D) run-on-lines
49. A female counterpart that writes a poem is......
A) poetess B) folklore C) orator D) historian
50. All the following are features of prose except
A) melody B) paragraph C) idioms and proverbs D) narrative technique
SECTION B
Answer all questions.
1. Discuss the following from the poem Once Upon a Time by Gabriel Okara
a. the background of the poem
b. background of the poet
c. three figures of speech
d. three themes
e. tone and mood
2. Discuss the following from the poem New Tongue by Elizabeth Kamara
a. background of the poem
b. background of the poet.
c. three figures of speech.
d. three themes.
e. summary of the poem.