WAEC Literature in English 1999 Past Questions

A short speech at the end a play is the

An elegy is a poem

A couplet is formed by

Literary works are classified into

A word that sounds like what it names is a (n)

The repetition of similar vowel sounds within lines is

One of the following is a literary device

The theme of a work of art is the

The characters in a play constitute the

A play that thrives on exaggeration of humour, plot and character is a

The hero in a story is the

A verbal irony occurs when a speaker on stage

An 'Aside' occurs when a speaker on stage

'The stars blinked and the wind wailed' is an example of

A stanza of four lines is a (n)

A sonnet is made up of a rhyming sestet and two

The climax in a literary work is the

Which of the following is not a type of drama?

The main effect of comedy on an audience is

The ending of most comedies is

Read the poem and answer the question:

UNSEEN POETRY AND PROSE

I wonder how long, you awful parasite,
Shall share with me this little bed,
And make me, from sweet dreams be lost
By sucking blood from my poor head.

I should but say man has much
Blood, which you and your families do feed
On, for supper, dinner, and lunch,
And besides, you do in my bed breed.

Clever thou art, tiny creature;
You attend me when I am deep asleep
When thou art sure, I can't you capture,
Just at the time I snore deep.

'Tis is strange that before twilight,
The bed clear of you would seem;
For not one of you is my sight
As if your presence was in a dream.

Lines 1 and 2 of the second stanza illustrate the use of

Read the poem and answer the question:

UNSEEN POETRY AND PROSE

I wonder how long, you awful parasite,
Shall share with me this little bed,
And make me, from sweet dreams be lost
By sucking blood from my poor head.

I should but say man has much
Blood, which you and your families do feed
On, for supper, dinner, and lunch,
And besides, you do in my bed breed.

Clever thou art, tiny creature;
You attend me when I am deep asleep
When thou art sure, I can't you capture,
Just at the time I snore deep.

'Tis is strange that before twilight,
The bed clear of you would seem;
For not one of you is my sight
As if your presence was in a dream.

The creature in the poem is best described as

Read the poem and answer the question:

UNSEEN POETRY AND PROSE

I wonder how long, you awful parasite,
Shall share with me this little bed,
And make me, from sweet dreams be lost
By sucking blood from my poor head.

I should but say man has much
Blood, which you and your families do feed
On, for supper, dinner, and lunch,
And besides, you do in my bed breed.

Clever thou art, tiny creature;
You attend me when I am deep asleep
When thou art sure, I can't you capture,
Just at the time I snore deep.

'Tis is strange that before twilight,
The bed clear of you would seem;
For not one of you is my sight
As if your presence was in a dream.

The person's mood is one of

Read the poem and answer the question:

UNSEEN POETRY AND PROSE

I wonder how long, you awful parasite,
Shall share with me this little bed,
And make me, from sweet dreams be lost
By sucking blood from my poor head.

I should but say man has much
Blood, which you and your families do feed
On, for supper, dinner, and lunch,
And besides, you do in my bed breed.

Clever thou art, tiny creature;
You attend me when I am deep asleep
When thou art sure, I can't you capture,
Just at the time I snore deep.

'Tis is strange that before twilight,
The bed clear of you would seem;
For not one of you is my sight
As if your presence was in a dream.

The device used in ''Tis so strange'' is

Read the prose passage and answer the question:

Ngotho was pleased. And Nyolabi and Njeri were full of joy at the news. For the first time many years something like a glimmer of light shone in Ngotho's eyes. He could even be seen making an effort to walk upright. Here at last was a son who might eventually be a match for the Howlands and Jacobos and any others who at all despised him. Kamanu too was pleased. He hoped he could go on helping Njoroge. Njoroge might do something for the family.
Njoroge was happy. His first impulse when he learnt what he had gone through was to kneel down and thank God for all He had done for him. ' Give me more and more learning and make me the instrument of thy light and peace. 'To go to Secondary School, the big mission at Siriana, was no small achievement.


The mood of the people in the extract is that of

Read the prose passage and answer the question:

Ngotho was pleased. And Nyolabi and Njeri were full of joy at the news. For the first time many years something like a glimmer of light shone in Ngotho's eyes. He could even be seen making an effort to walk upright. Here at last was a son who might eventually be a match for the Howlands and Jacobos and any others who at all despised him. Kamanu too was pleased. He hoped he could go on helping Njoroge. Njoroge might do something for the family.
Njoroge was happy. His first impulse when he learnt what he had gone through was to kneel down and thank God for all He had done for him. ' Give me more and more learning and make me the instrument of thy light and peace. 'To go to Secondary School, the big mission at Siriana, was no small achievement.


The theme of the extract is the

Read the prose passage and answer the question:

Ngotho was pleased. And Nyolabi and Njeri were full of joy at the news. For the first time many years something like a glimmer of light shone in Ngotho's eyes. He could even be seen making an effort to walk upright. Here at last was a son who might eventually be a match for the Howlands and Jacobos and any others who at all despised him. Kamanu too was pleased. He hoped he could go on helping Njoroge. Njoroge might do something for the family.
Njoroge was happy. His first impulse when he learnt what he had gone through was to kneel down and thank God for all He had done for him. ' Give me more and more learning and make me the instrument of thy light and peace. 'To go to Secondary School, the big mission at Siriana, was no small achievement.


What does the expression ''Instrument of thy light and peace'' tell us about the speaker?

Read the prose passage and answer the question:

Ngotho was pleased. And Nyolabi and Njeri were full of joy at the news. For the first time many years something like a glimmer of light shone in Ngotho's eyes. He could even be seen making an effort to walk upright. Here at last was a son who might eventually be a match for the Howlands and Jacobos and any others who at all despised him. Kamanu too was pleased. He hoped he could go on helping Njoroge. Njoroge might do something for the family.
Njoroge was happy. His first impulse when he learnt what he had gone through was to kneel down and thank God for all He had done for him. ' Give me more and more learning and make me the instrument of thy light and peace. 'To go to Secondary School, the big mission at Siriana, was no small achievement.


The expression '' a glimmer of light'' stands for

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Twelfth Night
Read the extract below and answer the question

I have said too much unto a heart of stone,
And laid my honour too unchary on 't;
There's something in me that reproves my fault,
But such a headstrong potent fault it is
That it but mocks reproof.
(Acts iii, Scene 4)

The figure of speech used in '' a heart of stone'' is

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Twelfth Night
Read the extract below and answer the question

I have said too much unto a heart of stone,
And laid my honour too unchary on 't;
There's something in me that reproves my fault,
But such a headstrong potent fault it is
That it but mocks reproof.
(Acts iii, Scene 4)

This person has

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Twelfth Night
Read the extract below and answer the question

I have said too much unto a heart of stone,
And laid my honour too unchary on 't;
There's something in me that reproves my fault,
But such a headstrong potent fault it is
That it but mocks reproof.
(Acts iii, Scene 4)

The ''Headstrong potent fault'' is

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Twelfth Night
Read the extract below and answer the question

I have said too much unto a heart of stone,
And laid my honour too unchary on 't;
There's something in me that reproves my fault,
But such a headstrong potent fault it is
That it but mocks reproof.
(Acts iii, Scene 4)

The person being referred to in the figure of speech is

Read the extract and answer the question:

I do I know not what, and fear to find
Mine eye to great a flatterer for my mind
Fate, show thy force; ourselves we do not owe,
'What is decreed must be, and be this so
(Act 1, Scene 5)

What has the speaker just done?

Read the extract and answer the question:

I do I know not what, and fear to find
Mine eye to great a flatterer for my mind
Fate, show thy force; ourselves we do not owe,
'What is decreed must be, and be this so
(Act 1, Scene 5)

In lines 1 and 2, the speaker admits

Read the extract and answer the question:

I do I know not what, and fear to find
Mine eye to great a flatterer for my mind
Fate, show thy force; ourselves we do not owe,
'What is decreed must be, and be this so
(Act 1, Scene 5)

How does fate treat the speaker at the end of the play?

Read the extract below and answer the question:

......O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Me thought she purged the air of pestilence;
That instant was, I turned into a heart,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

Who is speaking?

Read the extract below and answer the question:

......O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Me thought she purged the air of pestilence;
That instant was, I turned into a hert,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

The figure of speech used in the underlined expression is

Read the extract below and answer the question:

......O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Me thought she purged the air of pestilence;
That instant was, I turned into a hert,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

The effect of the figure of speech is to highlight Olivia's

Read the extract below and answer the question:

......O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Me thought she purged the air of pestilence;
That instant was, I turned into a hert,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

In lines 3 to 5 the dominant image is taken from

Read the extract below and answer the question:

......O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Me thought she purged the air of pestilence;
That instant was, I turned into a hert,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

The image is itself based on

Read the extract below and answer the question:

......O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Me thought she purged the air of pestilence;
That instant was, I turned into a hart,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me.
(Act 1, Scene 1)

The lines mean that the speaker

Read the extract below and answer the question:

...... Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive
if you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy.
(Act 1, Scene 5)

Who is speaking and to whom?

Read the extract below and answer the question:

...... Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive
if you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy.
(Act 1, Scene 5)

Where are they?

Read the extract below and answer the question:

...... Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive
if you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy.
(Act 1, Scene 5)

What has prompted the speech?

Read the extract below and answer the question:

...... Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive
if you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy.
(Act 1, Scene 5)

The underlined expression is a

Read the extract below and answer the question:

...... Lady, you are the cruell'st she alive
if you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy.
(Act 1, Scene 5)

In the last line, the word 'copy' alludes to a