SSCE (WASSCE and NECO) Literature-In-English (2026 – 2030) – Set 2 – Questions with Answers and Explanations

Unseen Poetry

Read the poem and answer the questions (5 Questions ONLY)

They speak in a new tongue
And dance new dances
Minds battered into new modes and shapes
Their eyes revel in the wonder of the new
Embraced and bound hearts with impregnable chains

A new generation
Careless of bonds
Of family
Of tradition
Of heritage
They care not
Nor revere the old
Their minds turn inwards
Only inwards

Questions

A) Simile
B) Metaphor
C) Personification
D) Hyperbole

The phrase "impregnable chains" is an example of which literary device?

The "new tongue" and "borrowed tongue and culture" in the poem most likely symbolize:

The imagery of "The ashes strewn into the bottomless sea / As fishes swim by / Careless of the loss" primarily serves to:

The poet’s tone towards the "new generation" can be best described as:

Unseen Prose

Read the passage and answer the questions (5 Questions ONLY)

Fina heard them and woke up, twenty plus years removed from the scene of her aborted initiation deep in the forest. She sat upright and breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the lavender-themed master bedroom of her townhouse in a quiet suburb of Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was a warm July Saturday morning—her wedding day.

The dream left Fina feeling so jaded that when the phone rang, she ignored it. Here she was, just a few hours away from beginning a new life, taking a path that would bring her the happiness that had eluded her for so many years, and her past had chosen this particular morning to reassert itself.

Fina leaned back against the headboard, her elbows tucked between her upper body and thighs, her fingers interlocked, and her thumbs pressed against her puckered lips.

Questions

The opening image sequence in the chapter (firelight, chanting, a python, screams) that precedes this passage functions as:

A. A dream sequence revealing Fina's traumatic past
B. A literal, present-day event happening to Fina
C. A flashback narrated by another character
D. A newspaper report Fina is reading

What does the phrase "twenty plus years removed" indicate about the narrative's structure at this point?

A. The story is told in strict, unbroken chronological order
B. There is a significant time gap between Fina's past trauma and her present life
C. Fina is only twenty years old
D. The events of the initiation happened only weeks earlier

The contrast between the "lavender-themed master bedroom" in Maryland and the earlier forest initiation scene primarily serves to highlight:

A. Fina's indifference to her surroundings
B. The similarity between her past and present environments
C. The emotional distance between Fina's safe, modern present and her unresolved traumatic past
D. Fina's wealth and social status

Fina's physical posture at the end of the passage ("leaned back against the headboard, her elbows tucked... fingers interlocked... thumbs pressed against her puckered lips") most suggests:

A. Excitement and joy about her wedding day
B. Physical exhaustion from lack of sleep
C. Anger toward her fiancé
D. Introspection and unresolved inner tension

The situational irony in this passage arises mainly from the fact that:

A. Fina ignored a phone call from her best friend
B. Fina's wedding day, meant to represent new happiness, is instead marked by the return of past trauma
C. Fina lives far from her country of origin
D. Fina's bedroom is decorated in lavender

Literary Appreciation (30 Questions ONLY)

One of the following is not a type of drama.

A. Comedy
B. Farce
C. Opera
D. Tragedy
E. Tragi-comedy

A playwright is also referred to as a/an _______

A. actor.
B. comedian.
C. dramatist.
D. poet.
E. writer.

The odd item from the list below is _____

A. allegory.
B. ballad.
C. epic.
D. lyric.
E. ode.

The kind of play which is funny and its action is hard to accept is referred to as _______

A. allegory.
B. comedy.
C. fable.
D. farce.
E. melodrama.

The highest point of crisis in a play is called ______

A. anti-climax.
B. climax.
C. conflict.
D. denotation.
E. denouement.

The dominant idea in a literary work is referred to as _______

A. language.
B. subject.
C. theme.
D. tone.
E. topic

An introductory part to a play is called _______

A. dialogue.
B. epilogue.
C. introduction.
D. monologue.
E. prologue.

The sequential presentation of events in a work of art is called ______

A. Epistolary method.
B. Eye of God method.
C. Linear chronology.
D. Shifting chronology.
E. Stream of consciousness.

"Thanks a million for attending my wedding ceremony" is an example of _________

A. epigram.
B. euphemism.
C. hyperbole.
D. paradox.
E. sarcasm.

When a drama features only one character, it is a _______

A. farce.
B. heroic drama.
C. melodrama.
D. monodrama.
E. multi-drama.

A character that changes with time and performs different roles can be referred to as being _______

A. active.
B. dynamic.
C. flat.
D. heroic.
E. round.

The list of characters that feature in a play is referred to as ______

A. actors.
B. actresses.
C. audiences.
D. cast.
E. people.

The character whose role is to create laughter in the audience is called a/an ______

A. actor.
B. actress.
C. antagonist.
D. clown.
E. protagonist.

The character who features prominently in a novel or a play is the _____

A. actor.
B. antagonist.
C. clown.
D. foil.
E. protagonist.

The clothes worn on stage by characters is referred to as _____

A. clothing.
B. costume.
C. outfit.
D. props.
E. wears.

A compressed form of comparison is known as _______ 

A. antithesis.
B. metaphor.
C. metonymy.
D. parallelism.
E. simile.

The story of a person's life written by another is called a/an ______

A. anthology.
B. autobiography.
C. biography.
D. fiction.
E. resume.

Dance drama is devoid of ______

A. acting.
B. drumming.
C. gesticulating.
D. messaging.
E. talking.

Another term for the resolution of a play is called ______

A. bathos.
B. conflict.
C. denouement.
D. falling action.
E. interlude.

An effective choice and usage of words in a literary piece is called ______

A. diction.
B. editing.
C. poetic licence.
D. semantic level.
E. syntactic order.

Which of the item below is odd?

A. Audience
B. Cast
C. Congregation
D. Costume
E. Stage

The central female character in a novel is a/an ______

A. actress.
B. amazon.
C. heiress.
D. hero.
E. heroine.

A comparison drawn between two things that may be similar is referred to as _______

A. allegory.
B. allusion.
C. analogy.
D. antithesis.
E. inversion.

A writer's explanatory remarks at the end of a book is called ______

A. epilogue.
B. explanation.
C. interlude.
D. preface.
E. prefix.

The time frame actions are performed in a play is called _______

A. action time.
B. montage.
C. plot.
D. setting.
E. strike hour.

"Oh, my love's like a red, red rose" is a good example of _______

A. irony.
B. metaphor.
C. paradox.
D. romance.
E. simile.

The arrangement of incidents in a story is called ______

A. characterization.
B. plot.
C. setting.
D. subject matter.
E. theme.

"The coach described the team's victory as bitter sweet" illustrates the use of _______

A. analogy.
B. epigram.
C. litotes.
D. oxymoron.
E. synecdoche.

"His teeth are sharper than a razor" is an example of ______

A. epigram.
B. hyperbole.
C. irony.
D. litotes.
E. synecdoche.

Which of the following statements does not apply to tragedy? It is ______

A. a dramatic genre.
B. acted on stage.
C. character-involving.
D. humorous.
E. sad.