SSCE (WASSCE and NECO) Literature-In-English (2026 – 2030) – Set 4 – Questions with Answers and Explanations

Williams Shakespeare - ANTONY and CLEOPATRA

Read the extract and answer the questions

CLEOPATRA
Nay, pray you seek no color for your going,
But bid farewell and go. When you sued staying,
Then was the time for words. No going then!
Eternity was in our lips and eyes,
Bliss in our brows' bent, none our parts so poor
But was a race of heaven. They are so still,
Or thou, the greatest soldier of the world,
Art turned the greatest liar.

ANTONY
How now, lady?

CLEOPATRA
I would I had thy inches. Thou shouldst know
There were a heart in Egypt.

ANTONY
Hear me, queen:
The strong necessity of time commands
Our services awhile, but my full heart
Remains in use with you. Our Italy
Shines o'er with civil swords; Sextus Pompeius
Makes his approaches to the port of Rome;
Equality of two domestic powers
Breed scrupulous faction.

ACT 1 Scene 3 from lines 40 to 59.

Questions

When Cleopatra says, "Eternity was in our lips and eyes / Bliss in our brows' bent," what is she primarily doing?

A) Reminding Antony of past physical vows and romantic declarations to highlight his current betrayal.
B) Telling a historic legend about the immortal lineage of Egyptian gods.
C) Accusing Antony of plotting a physical assault against her kingdom.
D) Expressing genuine confusion about the geopolitical borders of Rome.

What literary device or figure of speech is present in Antony's line, "Our Italy / Shines o'er with civil swords"?

A) Onomatopoeia
B) Metonymy (using "swords" to represent warfare/conflict)
C) Simile
D) Alliterative Rhyme

In the line "I would I had thy inches. Thou shouldst know / There were a heart in Egypt," Cleopatra's use of the word "inches" refers to Antony's:

A) Military rank and titles
B) Geographical distance from Rome
C) Physical stature, height, and masculine power
D) Total wealth and bounty

ased on Antony's explanation, what is the domestic political situation back in Rome?

A) The Roman public is completely united and peaceful under Caesar's solo rule.
B) A foreign invasion from Asia has crushed the Roman Senate.
C) A dangerous civil instability has arisen because equal rival factions are vying for power.
D) The Roman state has gone bankrupt due to agricultural failure.

What is Cleopatra's tone when she tells Antony, "Nay, pray you seek no color for your going, / But bid farewell and go"?

A) Submissive and deeply apologetic
B) Cynical, dismissive, and dramatic
C) Earnest, encouraging, and supportive
D) Objective and scientifically analytical

Williams Shakespeare - ANTONY and CLEOPATRA

Read the extract and answer the questions

CHARMIAN
O, break! O, break!

CLEOPATRA
As sweet as balm, as soft as air, as gentle—
O Antony!—Nay, I will take thee too.

[She applies another asp to her arm.]

What should I stay—

CHARMIAN
In this wild world? So, fare thee well.
Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies
A lass unparalleled. Downy windows, close;
And golden Phoebus never be beheld
Of eyes again so royal! Your crown’s awry;
I’ll mend it, and then play.

[Enter the Guard, rushing in.]

FIRST GUARD
Where’s the Queen?

CHARMIAN
Speak softly, wake her not.

FIRST GUARD
Caesar hath sent—

CHARMIAN
Too slow a messenger.

[She applies an asp.]

O, come apace, dispatch! I partly feel thee.

ACT 5 Scene 2, lines 354 to 373 of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

Questions

In her final moments, Cleopatra describes the bite of the venomous asp as "As sweet as balm, as soft as air, as gentle—". What is the literary and emotional effect of this imagery?

A) It emphasizes the excruciating physical pain and horror of her agonizing death.
B) It portrays her suicide not as a violent defeat, but as a peaceful, sensuous transition to join Antony.
C) It suggests that the snake's venom failed to work and she is merely hallucinating.
D) It highlights her sudden fear and confusion regarding her imminent demise.

When Charmian says, "Downy windows, close", what is she metaphorically referring to?

A) The heavy velvet curtains of Cleopatra's royal monument.
B) The wooden shutters keeping the Roman guards outside.
C) Cleopatra's closing eyelids as she passes away.
D) The golden gates protecting the city of Alexandria.

Charmian laments that "golden Phoebus never be beheld / Of eyes again so royal!" Who or what does Phoebus represent in this context?

A) The Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar.
B) The Greek god of the sun, symbolizing light and daylight.
C) The god of the underworld, representing darkness.
D) Antony’s ghost descending from the heavens.

What symbolic meaning is conveyed when Charmian notes, "Your crown’s awry; / I’ll mend it, and then play"?

A) She wants Cleopatra to look perfectly royal and undefeated even in death, preserving her sovereignty before the Romans arrive.
B) She is mocking Cleopatra's vanity for caring about fashion in her final moments.
C) She is searching for a hidden compartment inside the crown where more poison is kept.
D) She intends to steal the crown and wear it herself before the guards arrest her.

Williams Shakespeare - ANTONY and CLEOPATRA

Read the extract and answer the questions

Speaker: Ventidius, then Silius

VENTIDIUS
O, Silius, Silius,
I have done enough. A lower place, note well,
May make too great an act. For learn this, Silius:
Better to leave undone than by our deed
Acquire too high a fame when him we serve ’s away.
Caesar and Antony have ever won
More in their officer than person. Sossius,
One of my place in Syria, his lieutenant,
For quick accumulation of renown,
Which he achieved by th' minute, lost his favor.
Who does i' th' wars more than his captain can
Becomes his captain's captain; and ambition,
The soldier's virtue, rather makes choice of loss
Than gain which darkens him.
I could do more to do Antonius good,
But ’twould offend him. And in his offense
Should my performance perish.

SILIUS
Thou hast, Ventidius, that
Without the which a soldier and his sword
Grants scarce distinction.

Act 3, Scene 1, lines 11–27 (from “O, Silius, Silius” to “Grants scarce distinction”)

Questions

What is the central warning Ventidius gives to Silius in this speech?

A) Always fight bravely in battle
B) Never outshine your commander in military glory
C) Seek promotion at any cost
D) Desert the army if you are not rewarded

Ventidius says ambition, “the soldier's virtue, rather makes choice of loss / Than gain which darkens him.” What does “darkens him” refer to?

A) Being killed in battle
B) Being overshadowed or diminished in reputation
C) Fighting at night
D) Wearing dark armor

What happened to Sossius, according to Ventidius?

A) He was promoted to general
B) He lost Antony’s favor by accumulating renown too quickly
C) He died heroically in battle
D) He betrayed Antony to Caesar

Silius compliments Ventidius by saying he has “that / Without the which a soldier and his sword / Grants scarce distinction.” What does Silius mean?

A) Physical strength
B) Good luck
C) Good judgment and self-restraint
D) A large army

Williams Shakespeare - ANTONY and CLEOPATRA

Read the extract and answer the questions

CLEOPATRA Give me some music—music, moody food Of us that trade in love.

ALL The music, ho!

Enter Mardian the eunuch.

CLEOPATRA Let it alone. Let’s to billiards. Come, Charmian.

CHARMIAN My arm is sore. Best play with Mardian.

CLEOPATRA As well a woman with an eunuch played As with a woman.—Come, you’ll play with me, sir?

MARDIAN As well as I can, madam. And when good will is showed, though ’t come too short, The actor may plead pardon.

CLEOPATRA I’ll none now. Give me mine angle; we’ll to th’ river. There, My music playing far off, I will betray Tawny-finned fishes. My bended hook shall pierce Their slimy jaws, and as I draw them up I’ll think them every one an Antony And say “Aha! You’re caught.”

CHARMIAN ’Twas merry when You wagered on your angling; when your diver Did hang a salt fish on his hook, which he With fervency drew up.

ACT 2 Scene 5 from lines 1 to 19

Questions

What literary device is used when Cleopatra describes music as the "moody food / Of us that trade in love"?

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

What do Cleopatra's sudden shifts from wanting music, to playing billiards, to going fishing reveal about her state of mind?

A) She is deeply bored by the administrative duties of ruling Egypt.
B) She is erratic, volatile, and restless due to Antony's absence.
C) She is trying to train her attendants for an upcoming court festival.
D) She is attempting to distract her mind from an economic crisis.

When Cleopatra talks about catching fish and imagining each one is Antony, what symbolic meaning does this imagery carry?

A) It highlights her subconscious desire to capture, conquer, and dominate Antony.
B) It shows her growing political resentment and a desire to physically harm him.
C) It proves she values primitive survival skills over royal pageantry.
D) It foreshadows her imminent military victory over Rome's navy.

What does Mardian mean when he says, "And when good will is showed, though ’t come too short, / The actor may plead pardon"?

A) He admits he doesn't know the technical rules of billiards and expects to lose.
B) He is making a witty, self-deprecating pun about his physical limitations as a eunuch while promising to try his best.
C) He is alerting Cleopatra that the court musicians have arrived late.
D) He is begging for mercy because he accidentally offended Charmian.

The anecdote shared by Charmian about a diver hanging a "salt fish" on Antony's hook highlights what characteristic of Antony and Cleopatra's relationship?

A) Their intense, underlying competitive rivalry over political territory.
B) Their tendency to engage in playful, carnivalesque pranks and mutual mockery.
C) Their shared strategic interest in Egyptian maritime trade logistics.
D) An undercurrent of deep architectural distrust and deception between them.

Literary Appreciation (30 Questions ONLY)

"In the bomb blast, lives were lost, houses destroyed and cars damaged" exemplifies the use of ______

A. anti-climax.
B. antithesis.
C. climax.
D. paradox.
E. resolution.

Which of the following is the earliest form of literature?

A. Dance drama
B. Oral literature
C. Performing art
D. Sung literature
E. Written literature

A poem of seven lines is a ______

A. couplet.
B. quintet.
C. septet.
D. sextet.
E. triplet.

Pick the odd item from the following.

A. Alliteration
B. Irony
C. Metaphor
D. Simile
E. Stage

A romantic poem focuses on ______

A. heroism.
B. nature.
C. rhythm.
D. romance.
E. war.

The sequential arrangement of events in a literary text is referred to as _______

A. form.
B. plot.
C. setting.
D. style.
E. theme.

Stanza is to poetry what _______ is to prose.

A. chapter
B. line
C. movement
D. scene
E. verse

The emotional quality of a literary piece is called ______

A. effect.
B. mood.
C. subject matter.
D. theme.
E. thesis.

Characterization in a literary work means the ______

A. introductory remarks at the beginning of a play.
B. list of characters.
C. peculiar characteristics of the narrator.
D. resolution of conflicts among the characters.
E. way individuals are presented in the story.

The term used in literature to designate the major types into which literary pieces are grouped is _______

A. class.
B. code.
C. feature.
D. genre.
E. style.

A novelette focuses on sensational issues like ______

A. dance and song.
B. gain and loss.
C. love and hate.
D. marriage and divorce.
E. peace and war.

A dirge is sung to _____

A. celebrate birth.
B. celebrate heroes.
C. lull a baby to sleep.
D. mourn the dead.
E. praise nature.

"I made the scandal an open secret" exemplifies the use of _______

A. euphemism.
B. irony.
C. metaphor.
D. oxymoron.
E. paradox.

A dramatic composition in which music is used with little or no spoken language is ______

A. burlesque.
B. farce.
C. melodrama.
D. mime.
E. opera.

The discourse in a non-fiction is usually based on ______

A. action thrills.
B. animal ordeals.
C. imaginary events.
D. love adventures.
E. real-life events.

When the events in a novel are structured in a linear or chronological order, it is said to have a _______ plot.

A. complex
B. complicated
C. disjointed
D. multiple
E. simple

The major male character in a story is the _____

A. actor.
B. clown.
C. foil.
D. hero.
E. heroine.

Dirge differs from elegy in that the former is ______

A. composed.
B. danced.
C. played.
D. sung.
E. written.

The privilege which poets enjoy in departing from the normal grammatical order to achieve a desired effect is known as ______

A. poetic laxity.
B. poetic license.
C. poetic privilege.
D. poetic right.
E. poetic wisdom.

An imitation of a serious literary composition in a humorous manner is called _______

A. fable.
B. fiction.
C. melodrama.
D. mimesis.
E. parody.

The device used in literature to bring past events to the present is _______

A. flashacross.
B. flashback.
C. flashforward.
D. forecast.
E. foreshadowing.

Which of the following is the odd item?

A. Act
B. Interlude
C. Scene
D. Stage
E. Verse

"I sat singing songs of sorrow" is an example of ______

A. alliteration.
B. assonance.
C. onomatopoeia.
D. pun.
E. repetition.

A short play is called a/an ______

A. comedy.
B. farce.
C. melodrama.
D. opera.
E. playlet.

The technique used to sustain the attention of the audience in a literary piece is ______

A. flashback.
B. point of view.
C. repetition.
D. stream of consciousness.
E. suspense.

The point at which conflict is resolved in a play is referred to as ______

A. anti-climax.
B. catharsis.
C. crisis.
D. denouement.
E. deus ex machina.

Which of the following is not related to drama?

A. Act
B. Cast
C. Chapter
D. Scene
E. Stage

A song that celebrates the exploits of a warrior is known as _________

A. dirge.
B. elegy.
C. lullaby.
D. ode.
E. panegyric.

"I shall not be ungrateful if you leave me alone" illustrates the use of ________

A. euphemism.
B. irony.
C. litotes.
D. paradox.
E. pun.

A poem that portrays the beauty of nature is _____

A. corrective.
B. educative.
C. informative.
D. panegyric.
E. romantic.

Unseen Poetry

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

They picked Akanni up one morning
Beat him soft like clay
And stuffed him down the belly
Of a waiting jeep.
What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?

Chinwe went to work one day
Only to find her job was gone:
No query, no warning, no probe –
Just one neat sack for a stainless record.
What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?

Extracted from Niyi Osundare – Not my Business

Questions

The repetition of the phrase "What business of mine is it / So long they don’t take the yam / From my savouring mouth?" is an example of which literary device?

A) Metaphor
B) Simile
C) Refrain
D) Onomatopoeia

The line "Beat him soft like clay" contains an example of which literary device?

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

The overall tone of the speaker in the extract can be best described as ________

A) Angry and rebellious
B) Joyful and celebratory
C) Apathetic and indifferent
D) Grateful and relieved

The phrase "stuffed him down the belly / Of a waiting jeep" is an example of which literary device?

A) Euphemism
B) Imagery
C) Paradox
D) Allegory