JAMB Literature in English 1990 Past Questions & Explanations
Try 20 of 49+ JAMB Literature in English 1990 questions as a free quiz — select your answers, submit, and see your score with a full explanation for every one.
- 1.
This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. Lakunel is presented as a
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Lakunle in *The Lion and the Jewel* is portrayed as a comic, ridiculous figure who embodies superficial Western education without genuine understanding. He mimics modern ways absurdly, speaks in flowery, affected language, and is mocked throughout the play. He is not genuinely educated or progressive (eliminating A and B), nor does he defend tradition (eliminating C). Soyinka satirizes him as a caricature—an exaggerated, comic representation of a would-be modern educated man, showing the author's critique of blind imitation of Western culture without substance. - 2.
This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. ...I am the twinkle of a Jewel But he is the hind-quarters of a lion!...' These lines suggest that
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In Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, the line:
"I am the twinkle of a Jewel
But he is the hind-quarters of a lion..."is spoken by Sidi while comparing herself with Baroka (the Bale). The statement reflects her pride and belief that her beauty and fame make her more admirable than the Bale.
The "Jewel" represents Sidi's beauty and attractiveness, while the "Lion" represents Baroka's strength and authority. Sidi sees herself as more valuable and impressive at that moment.
- 3.
This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. The central theme of the play is the
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*The Lion and the Jewel* is fundamentally structured around the tension between traditional ways (represented by the Bale, who is old and rooted in village customs) and modern Western ideas (represented by Lakunle, the 'educated' teacher who scorns tradition). The play explores how modernization affects the village, particularly through Sidi, who becomes a symbol caught between these two worlds. While courtship is present (C) and there is generational conflict (D), these are manifestations of the deeper theme. The ills of modern days (A) are too broad and not the central focus. The clash between tradition and modernity is the organizing principle of the entire work. - 4.
This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. '...But there have been No new reads cut by his servants No new cots woven..' It can be inferred from the above lines that
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In African traditional culture, the cutting of new reeds and weaving of new cots are activities associated with preparing for and celebrating new births. When new children are born into a family or household, these items are made to accommodate the growing household. The absence of these activities indicates no new cots have been needed, which points to the absence of new births. This is a cultural context clue that requires understanding traditional practices. The lines do not suggest harvest failure (A), laziness (B), or revolt (D), but rather the demographic reality that no new children have been born. - 5.
This question is based on Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. '...He risked his life that you may boast A warrior-hunter for your lord...But you- You sell him to the rhyming rabble Gloating in your disloyalty... In these lines the 'rhyming rabble' refers to
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In Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, the "rhyming rabble" refers to the group of mummers (actors/dancers) who perform a mocking display about the Bale, Baroka. They ridicule him through their performance, especially the rumours concerning his inability to father children.
- 6.
This question is based on George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man . Petkoff [grinning] 'Sergius: tell Catherine that queer story his friend told us about how he escaped after Slivnitza. You remember. About his being hid by two women' Since the phrase 'two women in the above extract refers to Petkoff's own daughter and wife, his grinning is a case of
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Petkoff's grinning occurs in situations where his external expression (a grin, suggesting cheerfulness or satisfaction) contradicts the internal reality or expectation. Irony is the expression of meaning using language that signifies the opposite—often achieved through contradiction between appearance and reality. When Petkoff grins in circumstances that would normally call for concern or seriousness, this is ironic. Sarcasm (A) is harsh mockery through exaggerated language. Ridicule (B) is mocking derision. Suspense (D) is narrative tension about future events. The incongruity between his grinning and the situation exemplifies irony. - 7.
This question is based on George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man . In what particular way did Raina demonstrate that she had fallen in love with Captain Bluntschli by the end of their first meeting?
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In George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, Raina shows her affection for Captain Bluntschli after their first meeting by giving him her portrait with an inscription as a token of her admiration and feelings for him.
Although she also helps him by hiding him from the soldiers and gives him chocolate creams, the act that most directly demonstrates her romantic interest is presenting him with her portrait.
- 8.
This question is based on George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man . 'He did it like an operatic tenor. A regular handsome fellow, with flashing eyes and lovely moustache, shouting his war-cry and charging like Don Quixote at the windmills...' This account of an important battle in the play carries a tone of
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The tone is fundamentally mocking. The description compares the soldier's actions to an 'operatic tenor' (theatrical and exaggerated rather than genuine), and crucially, compares him to Don Quixote charging at windmills—a famous literary reference to futile, delusional action. The language is superficially flattering ('regular handsome fellow,' 'flashing eyes,' 'lovely moustache') but the overall effect is satirical and ridiculing. Shaw uses sarcasm and comparison to mock the romanticized notion of warfare and the absurdity of heroic posturing. This is not pure admiration (A), lacks the personal resentment of bitterness (C), and does not convey fear or alarm (D). The mockery is the dominant tone. - 9.
This question is based on George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man . The way Louka carries out her duties as a maid at the Petkoff's household can best be described as
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In George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, Louka is a maid in the Petkoff household, but she does not behave like a typical submissive servant. She is confident, outspoken, and determined to challenge the social barriers between servants and the upper class. Her actions show that she is bold and self-assured.
- 10.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. '...Tide and market come and go And so shall your mother.' The above lines from J.P. Clark's 'Streamside Exchange' depict the
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The lines use the natural cycles of tide and the recurring cycles of market activity to suggest a universal principle: just as these natural and human phenomena come and go in predictable cycles, so too shall the speaker's mother eventually pass away. This is not primarily about seasons (A) or marketing periods (B), which are too specific. The deeper meaning is that constancy of nature—the eternal return, the cyclical flow of existence—means that all things, even a beloved mother, are subject to this natural order. The lines illustrate the constancy (reliability, inevitability) of nature's cycles, not the importance of living (D), though mortality is implied. - 11.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. Gabriel Okara presents the Black in relation to the child-Front in his poem 'The Fisherman's invocation as a source of
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In Gabriel Okara's poem "The Fisherman's Invocation", the Black (especially the child figure) is presented as a source of hope and inspiration. The child represents renewal, possibility, and the hope for a better future.
- 12.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. 'When our Dead come with their Dead When they have spoken to us with their clumsy voices...' These lines from Birago Diop's poem. 'Vanity', refer to
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*Vanity* by Birago Diop explores the gap between the living and the dead, particularly the ancestors. The poem reflects on human vanity and pride, suggesting that despite our pretensions to wisdom and understanding, we fundamentally fail to comprehend our ancestors and the deeper truths they represent. The theme is not about successful communication (A), which would contradict the notion of failure to understand. It is not primarily about culture clash (B) or lack of sophistication (C). The central concern is the irony and vanity of human beings who think they understand and are wise, yet cannot grasp the wisdom and reality of their ancestors—our inability to understand our ancestors is the core theme. - 13.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. The words 'naked' and 'barefoot' as used in Christopher Okigbo's 'The Passage' suggest
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In Christopher Okigbo's *The Passage*, the words 'naked' and 'barefoot' are used in a spiritual or ritualistic context. These terms suggest a state of vulnerability, purity, and sacred approach—someone enters a sacred space or encounters the divine in a state of nakedness and bare feet, indicating humility, submission, and reverence. This is a common motif in spiritual and religious traditions where one removes shoes and material coverings before the sacred. Affluence (A) is the opposite. Primitivity (B) would be a crude interpretation. Penury (C) suggests poverty but misses the spiritual dimension. Reverence (D) captures the attitude of religious awe and sacred preparation that nakedness and bare feet convey in Okigbo's work. - 14.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. Theo Luzuka's 'The Motoka' is cast in the mould of
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An epistle is a letter or verse composition addressed to a particular person or group, often with didactic or reflective purpose. *The Motoka* (which refers to a motor vehicle or journey) is structured as an epistle—a composition addressing the reader or a specific audience in a familiar, conversational manner typical of letter-writing. A dirge (A) is a song of mourning; a gossip (B) is casual conversation; a ditty (D) is a short, simple song. The poem's form and function align with the epistle genre, as it conveys a message or reflection through a direct address structure characteristic of epistolary writing. - 15.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. As suggested in Agostinho Neto's 'Night', the problems the problem of the blackman today drive mostly from
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Agostinho Neto's *Night* addresses the condition of the Black man in the context of colonialism, oppression, and historical trauma. The poem suggests that the fundamental problem is not superstition (A), nor is it tied to skin color as fate (B), nor is it about hasty development (D). Rather, the core issue presented is the psychological and spiritual impact of historical oppression: years of domination have weakened the will, removed agency, and created a sense of directionlessness. The Black man has been systematically prevented from determining his own path by colonial and systemic oppression. This lack of direction combined with the accumulated psychological toll of oppression is the root of contemporary problems. - 16.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. ...'the hawk will flutter and turn On its wings and swoop for the mouse, The dogs will run for the hare, The hare for its little life.' These lines from Kwesi Brew's 'The Dry Season' mean that
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*The Dry Season* by Kwesi Brew uses the dry season as a metaphor for a time of hardship, conflict, and disorder in society. The dry season, a time of scarcity, heat, and difficulty in nature, represents chaos and social turmoil. While the dry season may be associated with hunting (A), and during it certain animals may be in danger (C) or predators may be active (D), the overarching meaning of the poem is the suggestion of chaos and disorder that the dry season symbolizes. The poem comments on social and political upheaval, using the harsh natural conditions of drought as an extended metaphor for societal chaos. - 17.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. '...these white lilies tossed their little heads then In the moon-steeped ponds; There was bouncing gaiety in the crisp chirping Of the cricket in the undergrowth,... These lines from Kwesi Brew's 'The Executioner's Dream suggest that
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*The Executioner's Dream* by Kwesi Brew explores the theme of nature's indifference to human suffering and moral concerns. The poem presents a vision in which the executioner dreams, and the natural world continues without moral judgment or emotional response to human violence and injustice. Nature does not rejoice (A), nor does it actively respond with harmony (C) in a way that validates human morality. The poem does not focus on undergrowth activity (D). The central suggestion is that the natural world is fundamentally indifferent to human predicament—nature operates according to its own laws and cycles, unconcerned with human justice, violence, or suffering. This indifference underscores the isolation of human moral experience. - 18.
This question is based on selected poems from Wole Soyinka (ed.) Poems of Black Africa and D.I. Nwoga (ed.) West African Verse. 'The Fulani Creation Story' shows that
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*The Fulani Creation Story* presents a narrative in which each element of creation flows logically from previous elements, demonstrating a rational, ordered progression. Creation is not random (A), not specifically limited to three days (B), but rather follows a coherent logic where each thing comes into being as a necessary consequence of what preceded it. This reflects an ordered, causal universe where creation unfolds according to logical principles. Option D may contain elements present in the story, but it is not the primary 'show' or demonstration of the narrative. The central feature of the Fulani account is its emphasis on cause-and-effect logic in creation. - 19.This question is based on Chinua Achebe's *Arrow of God*. "This madness which they say you have must now begin to know its bounds..." In view of the speaker's aim, this statement is
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This statement is ironic because the speaker is addressing Ezeulu, who is considered mad by the community, and is essentially saying that his madness must now have limits—that he must stop his mad behavior. However, what the speaker really intends is a threat or warning: the implication is that if Ezeulu does not cease, dire consequences will follow. The literal meaning (the madness must know bounds) contradicts the underlying threat and the speaker's actual aim (to pressure Ezeulu into submission). Ambiguous (A) would suggest uncertainty; hyperbolic (B) would be extreme exaggeration; understatement (D) would minimize. Irony is the expression of meaning through language that signifies the opposite—here, a seemingly mild statement masks a serious threat. - 20.This question is based on Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God. 'It is good for a misfortune like this to happen once in a while,' he said, 'so that we can know the thoughts of our friends and neighbours. Unless the wind blows we do not see the fowl's rump.' The 'misfortune' referred to in this extract was the
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In Arrow of God, the speaker (Ezeulu) uses this proverb-like statement to reflect on a crisis that brought the community together and revealed the true nature of people's loyalty and friendship. The misfortune that prompted such reflection and community response was Oduche's sacrilege of killing the sacred python, which was a deeply offensive act against the religious and cultural foundations of Umuaro. This act caused significant upheaval and forced the community to confront the implications of Christian influence on traditional values. The other options either lack the gravity or communal impact that would inspire such philosophical reflection.