JAMB UTME - Literature In English - 2013

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The lines "Let me swear, woman. And I will swear by my father's coffin that if..." from J.C. De Graft's "Sons and Daughters" depict James as a traditionalist. In many traditional African cultures, swearing by one's ancestors or the spirits of the dead is a common way of making a promise or emphasizing the truthfulness of one's words. James' willingness to swear by his father's coffin indicates that he is deeply connected to his ancestral heritage and the traditional beliefs and customs of his culture. This is in contrast to a Christian or Muslim, who might swear on the Bible or the Quran respectively. Therefore, the correct answer is traditionalist.

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The dominant poetic technique employed in Adeoti's "Naked Soles" is onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is a technique in which words are used to imitate the sound of the object or action being described. In "Naked Soles," Adeoti uses onomatopoeia to describe the sounds made by the footsteps of the market women. For example, "Their feet beat the earth / A tattoo of throbbing soles" creates the image of the women's footsteps being like a rhythmic drumbeat. The use of onomatopoeia helps to create a vivid and sensory image for the reader, emphasizing the importance of sound and movement in the poem.

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The device used in poetry to achieve emphasis or stress a point is known as repetition. Repetition is a common technique used in poetry to create a sense of rhythm and to draw attention to certain words or phrases. When a word or phrase is repeated multiple times in a poem, it can create a sense of emphasis or importance, and it can help to reinforce the overall message or theme of the poem. Repetition can take many forms, including repeating a single word or phrase, repeating a line or stanza, or repeating a sound or pattern of sounds. It is a powerful tool for poets, as it can help to create a sense of unity and coherence within a poem, and it can also help to make a poem more memorable to its readers.

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The line "Time winged chariot" from Marvell's poem To His Coy Mistress depicts how fast time flies. It is a metaphor comparing time to a winged chariot, which suggests that time is fleeting and moves quickly like a chariot in motion. The line implies that time is constantly moving forward and cannot be stopped or slowed down, and therefore, it is important to make the most of the time we have.

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Winston Smith works in the Record Department of the Ministry of Truth. The Ministry of Truth is one of the four main government departments in the dystopian society depicted in George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four." The main function of the Ministry of Truth is to control the information and historical records in order to maintain the ruling party's hold on power and manipulate the population into accepting their version of the truth. Winston works in the Record Department, where his job is to alter historical records to fit the needs of the ruling party.

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The lines above end in a literary device known as a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a type of question that does not require an answer and is used to make a point or to evoke an emotional response. In this case, the speaker is asking questions about the song and its meaning, but they do not expect an answer. Instead, the questions are used to express the speaker's curiosity and to create a sense of mystery and ambiguity about the song's subject. The rhetorical questions in this passage add depth and meaning to the poem, and they encourage the reader to consider the possibilities and to imagine the different stories and emotions that might be behind the song.

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The device employed in the line "Since it was you who in all these thin seasons" from Kunene's The Heritage of Liberation is an example of apostrophe. Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which the speaker addresses a person or an abstract idea that is not present as if it were present and capable of responding. In this line, the speaker is addressing an absent person who was present in the past during "all these thin seasons." By addressing this absent person directly, the speaker is using apostrophe to create a sense of intimacy and connection between the past and present. The use of apostrophe can also create a sense of drama and emotion, as the speaker is expressing a direct address to a person or an idea that is not physically present.

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Based on Ferdinand Oyono's The Old Man and the Medal, for his sacrifices to the church, Meka gets appointed into the church elders' council. In the novel, Meka is a devout Christian who dedicates his life to serving the church. He makes numerous sacrifices, including giving up his own home to accommodate a visiting priest, and going without food so that he can contribute to the church's fundraising efforts. As a result of his devotion and selflessness, Meka is recognized by the church and appointed to the elders' council. This is a position of great honor and responsibility within the church, and it reflects the high regard in which Meka is held by his fellow parishioners.

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A literary work that teaches a moral is said to be didactic. Didactic literature aims to instruct and educate the reader by conveying moral, ethical, or religious lessons. The primary purpose of didactic literature is to provide guidance, information, and moral teachings. Didactic works are often written with the intention of teaching readers valuable lessons or improving their moral character. This type of literature can take many forms, including fables, parables, and allegories. By incorporating didactic elements into a literary work, authors can inspire readers to reflect on their own lives and behavior and encourage them to make positive changes.

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The literary device used in the first line "Oh incomprehensible God!" is apostrophe. Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which the speaker addresses an absent person, an inanimate object, or a personified abstraction as if it were present and capable of responding. In this case, the speaker is addressing God, who is absent, as if God were present and listening. The speaker is expressing strong emotion or making a passionate plea, which is common in apostrophes. The use of apostrophe in this line creates a sense of urgency and emotional intensity in the speaker's words.

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The speaker in the lines above is a violence seeker. This can be inferred from the use of aggressive language such as "I hate the word [peace] as I hate hell" and the challenge "Have at thee, coward!" which indicates a willingness to fight. The mention of hating all Montagues also suggests a deep-seated hostility and desire for conflict. Overall, the speaker's language and attitude convey a desire for confrontation rather than peaceful resolution.

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In J.C. De Graft's play "Sons and Daughters," the character of Aaron represents the new generation. The play explores the relationship between generations, and the character of Aaron symbolizes the values and attitudes of the younger generation. Through Aaron, the playwright is able to comment on the changes and challenges facing the younger generation, and to contrast the experiences and perspectives of the older and younger generations. The portrayal of Aaron provides a glimpse into the perspectives and experiences of the younger generation, and helps to shed light on the ways in which the generations may differ or conflict with each other.

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The figure of speech used in the given lines from John Donne's poem "The Sun Rising" is personification. Personification is a figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to non-human entities, such as animals, objects, or natural phenomena. In this case, the speaker personifies the sun by addressing it as a "busy old fool" and accusing it of disturbing their privacy by peeping through windows and curtains. By giving human-like characteristics to the sun, the poet is able to create a more vivid and relatable image of the sun's actions, making the poem more engaging and interesting to read.

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Action without speech in a play is called mime. Mime is a technique in which actors use gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to convey meaning and emotion without speaking. It is a form of non-verbal communication that can be used to represent a variety of actions and emotions, from simple gestures like waving or nodding to more complex movements like dancing or fighting. Mime can be used as a standalone performance or in combination with spoken dialogue in a play, and is often used to enhance the visual impact of a performance and convey meaning to an audience.

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The action in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is primarily built around Winston Smith. He is a man living in a dystopian society controlled by a totalitarian government led by Big Brother. Winston is a member of the ruling party, but he secretly hates the government and its policies. He begins to rebel against the government by starting a forbidden love affair with Julia and joining a resistance group led by a mysterious man named O'Brien. Throughout the novel, Winston struggles to maintain his individuality and his relationship with Julia in a society that seeks to eradicate all forms of dissent and independent thought. Ultimately, Winston is captured by the government and subjected to torture and brainwashing in an attempt to break his spirit and loyalty to Big Brother.

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The theme of the poem "The body perishes, the heart stays young / The platter wears away with serving food / No log retains its bark when old, / No lover peaceful while the rival weeps" is the non-peaceful nature of love. The poem is exploring the idea that love can be a source of conflict and turmoil, and that it is not always peaceful or harmonious. The different comparisons made in the poem (between the heart and the body, between a platter and serving food, between a log and its bark) all serve to reinforce this central idea, and to emphasize the idea that love can be a source of friction and unrest. The poem is therefore highlighting the idea that love is not always a calm and peaceful experience, but can be a source of tension and conflict.

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The Ministry of Love in George Orwell's Ninety Eighty-Four is not concerned with peace and freedom, joy and peace, or hatred and pain. It is actually concerned with torture and pain. It is a government agency in the fictional totalitarian state of Oceania, and its primary function is to control the citizens through fear and intimidation, and to force them to conform to the state's ideology through physical and psychological torture. So, in simple terms, the Ministry of Love is where people are taken to be punished and made to confess to their "crimes."

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A device used by a writer to recall past events in a literary work is a flashback. A flashback is a technique where the narrative shifts back to an earlier time in the story, allowing the reader to witness an event that occurred before the current moment. Flashbacks are often used to provide context or background information, to reveal character motivation, or to create suspense. They can be short, contained within a single paragraph, or they can be longer and take up an entire chapter or section of the story. Flashbacks can be identified by phrases such as "remember when" or "it all started when," or by a change in tense or perspective within the narrative. Some famous examples of literary works that employ flashbacks include F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.

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The speech made by a character to himself on stage is a soliloquy. A soliloquy is a type of monologue where a character speaks their thoughts out loud, often when they are alone on stage. In a soliloquy, the character speaks directly to the audience, revealing their innermost thoughts and feelings. Soliloquies are a powerful tool for character development, as they allow the audience to gain insight into a character's motivations and desires. Some famous examples of soliloquies in literature include Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech and Macbeth's "Is this a dagger which I see before me" speech.

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The language of Cope's Sonnet VII suggests that the past event in the literary work is poetic. The language used in a literary work can give clues about the time period in which the work is set, and the way in which the events of the past are being represented. In the case of Cope's Sonnet VII, the language is rich and descriptive, using metaphors and imagery to evoke a sense of nostalgia for the past. This suggests that the past event is being presented in a poetic way, rather than a straightforward or factual manner.

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The lines above from "Give Me The Minstrel's Seat" are an example of a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in which a question is asked, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer, but for rhetorical effect or to make a point. In this case, the speaker is asking a question about the reasons why women refuse to marry, but the question is not intended to be answered. Rather, it is used to emphasize the point that women's existence is dependent on men, and to express confusion about why some women reject this dependence. The use of a rhetorical question in this poem is effective in drawing attention to the issue of gender roles and relationships between men and women, and in challenging societal norms and expectations. By presenting the question in a poetic and rhetorical manner, the poem is able to explore complex themes and ideas in a way that is both engaging and thought-provoking.

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The figure of speech in which the writer means the exact opposite of what he intends to say is irony. Irony is a literary technique that is used to convey a meaning that is opposite to its literal meaning. It is often used for humorous or dramatic effect, and it can help to create a sense of tension or surprise in a work of literature. There are several different types of irony, including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony. Verbal irony occurs when a speaker says something that is intended to be understood as the opposite of what is said. Situational irony occurs when the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the characters in the story do not know, and this knowledge creates tension or suspense in the story. Irony is a powerful tool for writers, as it can help to create a sense of depth and complexity in their work, and it can also help to engage and challenge their readers.

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A literary work that ridicules the shortcomings of people or ideas is a satire. Satire is a type of literature that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to criticize or expose the flaws or vices of individuals, groups, or society as a whole. Satirical works often employ sarcasm or wit to convey their message, and they can be found in various forms of literature, including novels, plays, and poetry. Satire can be a powerful tool for social commentary, as it allows writers to challenge and subvert societal norms and conventions while entertaining their readers. Some famous examples of satirical works include George Orwell's Animal Farm, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Voltaire's Candide.

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The literary device used in the passage is parallelism. Parallelism is a figure of speech that involves repeating similar grammatical structures, words or phrases for emphasis or to create a balanced, rhythmic effect in writing. In this passage, the author repeats the phrase "Did I go to college?" at the end of each line to emphasize that their education does not determine their ability to be a priest of Olokun. This repetition creates a sense of balance and adds emphasis to the author's point, making it clear that they believe their strength and ability as a priest come from other sources.

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The mistake committed by the hero which leads to his downfall is known as a tragic flaw. It is a common element in tragedies where the main character, usually a hero, has a flaw or weakness in their personality that ultimately leads to their tragic downfall. This flaw can be a moral or ethical weakness, a personality trait, or even a physical characteristic. It often results in the hero making decisions that lead to disastrous consequences, not only for themselves but for those around them as well. The tragic flaw is a key component in creating dramatic tension and emotional engagement in tragic stories.

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In the excerpt above from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the villain is attending a feast uninvited. The speaker, Tybalt, is addressing his uncle and referring to Romeo, who has just arrived at the Capulet's party uninvited. Tybalt sees Romeo as a Montague, their enemy, and calls him a villain who has come to the party to mock the Capulets. Although Romeo is not actually a villain, Tybalt's perception of him as an enemy and intruder sets the stage for the tragic events that will follow. The use of the word "villain" in this context is an example of dramatic irony, as the audience knows that Romeo is not a villain but a lover who has come to the party in search of his beloved Juliet.

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The excerpt from John Donne's "The Sun Rising" suggests an indictment of the sun. The speaker is irritated by the sun's intrusion into his private space, and the use of the words "busy old fool" suggests a sense of annoyance and disrespect towards the sun. The speaker also questions why the sun feels the need to "call on us" through windows and curtains, which implies a sense of intrusion and disrespect for the speaker's privacy. Overall, the tone of the poem is one of frustration and irritation, rather than welcoming, praise or invitation.