SS2 Literature Examination Question for 2nd Term
Section A
LITERARY APPRECIATION
- 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 C.an epic D. a ballad -
A 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. - 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 D.onomatopoeia
14. The pattern of beats to show movement in poetry is…….. A. rhyme B.Stanza C. rhythm D. verse
15. Boys are men illustrates……. A. alliteration B. contrast C. pun D. paradox
16. A character trait which leads the hero to his downfall is called….. A. anagnorisis B. peripeteia C. catharsis D. harmatia
17. The conflict in a plot requires……. A. complication B. climax C. resolution D. drama
18. 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
19. “Death be not proud” illustrates…… A. euphemism B. personification C. metaphor D. litotes
20. Lines that usually have a set pattern of metre and rhyme constitute………..
A. stanza B. verse C. rhyme scheme D. falling metre
SS2 Literature Examination Question for 2nd Term
PART II
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage below and answer questions 21-25
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.
21. The writer’s view of Lagos is that of…….. A. confusion B. ambivalence C. nostalgia D. uncertainty
22. The dominant literary device in the second paragraph is…… A. simile B. metonymy C. contrast D. paradox
23. The narrative technique used in the passage is……. A. interior monologue B. first person C. stream of consciousness D. third person
24. ….. where wealth and poverty hold hands illustrates……. A. allusion B. euphemism C. personification D. synecdoche
25. …….. the night of nightmarish dreams illustrates……. A. oxymoron B. chiasmus C. euphemism D. alliteration
Read the poem and answer questions 26-30
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
26. Stanza 1 and 2 produce a contrast of……. A. atmosphere B. emblem C. setting D. mood
27. The change of rhyme scheme in the second stanza spells/marks…….. A. anticipation B. serenity C. anxiety D. hope
28. The dominant literary device in the two stanzas is……. A. consonance B. alliteration C. zeugma D. meter
29. The poem is….. A. an elegy B. a limerick C. an ode D. a lyric
30. “Mist” in stanza two is a metaphor for….. A. beginning B. joy C. trouble D. shade
SS2 Literature Examination Question for 2nd Term
SECTION B
Answer all the questions in this section.
William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Read the extract below and answer question 31-35
Theseus : But in this kind, wanting your father’s voice
The other must be held the worthier
Hermia: I wish my father look but with my eyes.
Theseus: Rather your eyes must with his judgement look
Hermia: I do entreat your grace to pardon me.
I know not by what power I am made bold,
Nor how it may concern my modesty
In such a presence here to plead my thought;
(Act 1, scene 1)
31. Hermia has………
A. agreed to let Helena have Lysander
B. decided to be a nun
C. told the Duke all her secrets
D. refused to marry Demetrius
32. Hermia is before Theseus because…..
A. her father has forgiven her
B. her father has disowned her
C. she loves Demetrius
D. she loves Lysander
33. Hermia informs the Duke that she will……
A. give up her love for Lysander
B. marry Demetrius after all
C. prefer to become a nun
D. retire to the forest
34. The underlined expression means…..
A. ask fir time to think
B. beg for mercy immediately
C. revise my stand
D. defend my conviction
35. Hermia ends this speech asking…….
A. how her father could be so cruel to her
B. who will fetch Lysander from the forest
C. what will happen if she does not marry Demetrius
D. why Helena has not been invited
Read the extract below and answer question 36-40
He goes before me, and still dares me on;
When I come where he calls, then he is gone.
The villain is much lighter-heeled than I:
I follow fast but faster he did fly,
That fallen am I in dark uneven way
And here will rest me.
(Act 3, Scene 2)
36. The speaker is…….
A. Demetrius
B. Helena
C. Lysander
D. Hermia
37. He in the first line refers to…….
A. Bottom
B. Titania
C. Lysander
D. Puck
38. The speaker is being separated from…….. A. Helena B. Demetrius C. Hermia D. Titania
39. The speaker’s language shows…….. A. frustration B. impatience C. anger D. urgency
40. The speech is ……… A. an aside B. a soliloquy C. a dialogue D. a lyric
Read the extract below and answer questions 41-45
……To her my lord,
Was I betrothed ere I saw…;
But like in sickness did I loathe this food;
But, as in health, come to my natural taste,
Now I do wish it, love it, long for it.
And will for ever more be true to it.
(Act 4, Scene 1)
41. The speaker is…….. A. Hermia B. Demetrius C. Oberon D. Theseus
42. Her refers to…… A. Hermia B. Hippolyta C. Helena D. Titania
43. My lord refers to…….. A. Egeus B. Oberon C. Theseus D. Pyramus
44. In the second line, the character I saw is……. A. Hippolyta B. Hermia C. Thisby D. Titania
45. The speaker is unaware that this new feeling is due to……. A. Egeus’ decision not to demand his right B. Puck’s intervention C. Lysander’s kindness D. Theseus’ threat to invoke the Athenian law
Read the extract below and answer questions 46-50.
The lunatic, the lover and the poet
Are of imagination all compact.
One sees more devil than vast hell can hold;
That is the madman. The lover all as frantic,
Sees Helena’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven,
And as imagination bodies forth.
(Act 5, Scene 1)
46. The speaker is…… A. Hermia B. Lysander C. Hippolyta D. Theseus
47. The speaker is speaking to……. A. her betrothed B. her lover C. his betrothed D. her lover
48. The underlined expression means………. A. Helena and Hermia both love Lysander
B. The lover regards what is not beautiful as beautiful
C. The poet sees beauty in himself
D. The lover is too restless to see love
49. The poet’s glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven results in……
A. writing poems of fantasy and love
B. producing planets in his poetry
C. writing poems about gobblins and horrors
D. conjuring up things which do not exist
50. ………come on stage just after the speech.
A. Helena and Demetrius
B. Hermia, Helena and Demetrius
C. Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia and Helena
D. Lysander and Hermia
SECTION B – THEORY
SECTION A
AFRICAN PLAY
“THE LION AND THE JEWEL” by Wole Soyinka.
1. Identify and discuss the central theme of the play.
2. Discuss extensively, setting and its significance in the play.
SECTION B
NON-AFRICAN PLAY
“FENCES” by August Wilson.
3. Examine the use of language and style in the poem.
4. Discuss Gabriel Maxson as a symbolic character in the play.
SECTION C
AFRICAN POEM
“THE LEADER AND THE LED” by Niyi Osundare
5. Clearly discuss the metaphoric use of language and the significance on the general content.
6. Examine the structure of the poem with excerpts from the content.
SECTION D
NON-AFRICAN POEM
“DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT” by Dylan Thomas
7. Discuss the use of language and style in the poem.
8. Identify and clearly examine one of the major themes of the poem with excerpts from the content
