Literature in English JAMB Past Questions and Answers

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Literature in English in JAMB tests candidates’ understanding of prose, drama, poetry, literary terms, and general literary appreciation. Practicing past questions helps you identify common themes, literary devices, and question patterns frequently examined.

Section 1: Literature in English JAMB Past Questions 1–10

1. Literature is best defined as:
a) Scientific writing
b) Written or spoken artistic expression
c) Newspaper reports
d) Historical records only
Answer: b) Written or spoken artistic expression

2. The three main genres of literature are:
a) Prose, poetry, and drama
b) Novel, essay, and speech
c) Comedy, tragedy, and farce
d) Myth, legend, and folktale
Answer: a) Prose, poetry, and drama

3. A novel is best described as:
a) A short poem
b) A long work of fiction in prose
c) A stage performance
d) A newspaper article
Answer: b) A long work of fiction in prose

4. Drama is mainly written to be:
a) Read silently
b) Sung
c) Acted on stage
d) Memorized
Answer: c) Acted on stage

5. Poetry differs from prose mainly because it uses:
a) Chapters
b) Acts and scenes
c) Rhythm and imagery
d) Paragraphs
Answer: c) Rhythm and imagery

6. A playwright is a person who:
a) Writes poems
b) Writes novels
c) Writes plays
d) Acts on stage
Answer: c) Writes plays

7. The main purpose of literature is to:
a) Entertain and educate
b) Punish readers
c) Teach science
d) Promote politics only
Answer: a) Entertain and educate

8. A stanza in poetry is equivalent to a:
a) Chapter in a novel
b) Paragraph in prose
c) Scene in a play
d) Act in drama
Answer: b) Paragraph in prose

9. Prose is best described as:
a) Writing arranged in lines
b) Writing with rhythm
c) Ordinary form of writing and speech
d) Dramatic dialogue
Answer: c) Ordinary form of writing and speech

10. An autobiography is a story written by:
a) Another person
b) A historian
c) The author about his or her own life
d) A journalist
Answer: c) The author about his or her own life

Section 2: Literature in English JAMB Past Questions 11–20

11. A biography is a story written:
a) About the writer’s life
b) About another person’s life
c) About a fictional character
d) In poetic form
Answer: b) About another person’s life

12. Tragedy as a literary genre usually ends with:
a) Celebration
b) Joy and laughter
c) Death or sorrow
d) Marriage
Answer: c) Death or sorrow

13. Comedy is a type of drama that aims to:
a) Teach history
b) Create fear
c) Entertain and amuse
d) End in death
Answer: c) Entertain and amuse

14. The main character in a literary work is called the:
a) Narrator
b) Protagonist
c) Antagonist
d) Minor character
Answer: b) Protagonist

15. The character that opposes the protagonist is the:
a) Hero
b) Narrator
c) Antagonist
d) Chorus
Answer: c) Antagonist

16. A poem that tells a story is known as a:
a) Lyric
b) Epic
c) Narrative poem
d) Ode
Answer: c) Narrative poem

17. An epic is usually concerned with:
a) Love themes
b) Daily activities
c) Heroic deeds
d) Comedy
Answer: c) Heroic deeds

18. Imagery in literature appeals mainly to the:
a) Sense of hearing only
b) Sense of sight only
c) Human senses
d) Sense of taste only
Answer: c) Human senses

19. A lyric poem is usually:
a) Very long
b) Story-based
c) Short and emotional
d) Historical
Answer: c) Short and emotional

20. The message or lesson in a literary work is called the:
a) Plot
b) Theme
c) Setting
d) Style
Answer: b) Theme

Section 3: Literature in English JAMB Past Questions 21–30

21. Plot refers to the:
a) Moral lesson
b) Characters only
c) Sequence of events in a story
d) Background of the story
Answer: c) Sequence of events in a story

22. Setting refers to the:
a) Main character
b) Time and place of a story
c) Theme of a story
d) Language used
Answer: b) Time and place of a story

23. Characterization is the way a writer:
a) Arranges events
b) Describes characters
c) Uses language
d) Sets the mood
Answer: b) Describes characters

24. A round character is one who is:
a) Flat and simple
b) Fully developed and complex
c) Always evil
d) Always good
Answer: b) Fully developed and complex

25. A flat character is one who is:
a) Complex
b) Fully developed
c) Simple and undeveloped
d) Unimportant
Answer: c) Simple and undeveloped

26. The narrator is the person who:
a) Acts on stage
b) Writes the book
c) Tells the story
d) Prints the book
Answer: c) Tells the story

27. Irony is a situation where:
a) Words mean exactly what they say
b) There is a contrast between expectation and reality
c) Characters speak in riddles
d) Events are predictable
Answer: b) There is a contrast between expectation and reality

28. A metaphor is a figure of speech that:
a) Compares using “like” or “as”
b) Gives human qualities to objects
c) Compares two unlike things directly
d) Exaggerates
Answer: c) Compares two unlike things directly

29. A simile is a comparison that uses:
a) Only adjectives
b) “Like” or “as”
c) Exaggeration
d) Repetition
Answer: b) “Like” or “as”

30. Personification means:
a) Comparing two things
b) Giving human qualities to non-human things
c) Exaggeration
d) Using symbols
Answer: b) Giving human qualities to non-human things

Section 4: Questions 31–40

31. Hyperbole is a figure of speech that involves:
a) Comparison
b) Exaggeration
c) Repetition
d) Contrast
Answer: b) Exaggeration

32. Alliteration is the repetition of:
a) Vowel sounds
b) Final consonant sounds
c) Initial consonant sounds
d) Entire words
Answer: c) Initial consonant sounds

33. Assonance is the repetition of:
a) Consonant sounds
b) Vowel sounds
c) Words
d) Phrases
Answer: b) Vowel sounds

34. A tragedy usually arouses feelings of:
a) Fear and pity
b) Joy and excitement
c) Anger and hatred
d) Laughter
Answer: a) Fear and pity

35. A dramatic monologue is a poem in which:
a) Two characters speak
b) One character speaks to an audience
c) The poet speaks directly
d) A chorus sings
Answer: b) One character speaks to an audience

36. The language of drama is mainly in the form of:
a) Description
b) Narration
c) Dialogue
d) Poetry only
Answer: c) Dialogue

37. A chorus in drama is used to:
a) Entertain only
b) Comment on the action
c) Act as villains
d) Introduce comedy
Answer: b) Comment on the action

38. A tragic hero is usually a person of:
a) Low status
b) Noble status
c) No character flaw
d) Comic nature
Answer: b) Noble status

39. Mood refers to the:
a) Moral lesson
b) Atmosphere of a literary work
c) Time setting
d) Plot structure
Answer: b) Atmosphere of a literary work

40. Style refers to the way a writer:
a) Chooses characters
b) Uses language
c) Sets the scene
d) Develops plot
Answer: b) Uses language

Section 5: Literature past questions 41–50

Literature in English JAMB Past Questions and Answers:

41. Symbolism in literature is the use of:
a) Signs only
b) Objects to represent ideas
c) Characters only
d) Language style
Answer: b) Objects to represent ideas

42. A folktale is usually:
a) Written by known authors
b) Passed down orally
c) Always modern
d) Scientific
Answer: b) Passed down orally

43. A legend is a story that is:
a) Completely fictional
b) Based on historical facts
c) Always humorous
d) Scientific
Answer: b) Based on historical facts

44. An ode is a poem that expresses:
a) Hatred
b) Praise
c) Fear
d) Anger
Answer: b) Praise

45. Satire is used to:
a) Entertain only
b) Criticize social vices
c) Tell history
d) Describe nature
Answer: b) Criticize social vices

46. The climax of a story is the point of:
a) Introduction
b) Highest tension
c) Conclusion
d) Resolution
Answer: b) Highest tension

47. Resolution in a story refers to:
a) Beginning
b) Conflict
c) Ending of the story
d) Setting
Answer: c) Ending of the story

48. A minor character is one who:
a) Plays the main role
b) Supports the main character
c) Is always evil
d) Is always absent
Answer: b) Supports the main character

49. A ballad is a poem that is:
a) Long and complex
b) Sung or song-like
c) Religious
d) Dramatic only
Answer: b) Sung or song-like

50. Literature helps readers to:
a) Avoid society
b) Understand human experiences
c) Learn science
d) Study mathematics
Answer: b) Understand human experiences

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