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INTERIM JOINT MATRICULATION BOARD EXAMINATION 2015
SUBJECT: LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH, PAPER III: POETRY
TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS (3 HRS)
INSTRUCTION: Answer questions ONE (1) from Section A and ONE (1) each from Sections B and C.
SECTION A: UNSEEN POEM (30 Marks)
- Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went downtown, 1 We people on the pavement looked at him; He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favoured, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed. 5 And he was always human when he talked But still he fluttered pulses when he said ‘Good Morning’, and he glittered when he walked
And he was rich-yes, richer than a king And admirably schooled in every grace: 10 In fine, we thought he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night 15 Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Questions:
- What is the subject matter of this poem
- Comment on the form of the poem.
- What pattern does each stanza have?
- Identify four (4) literary devices in the poem
- What is the mood evoked in the poem?
- What philosophy of life is projected in this poem?
SECTION B: NON-AFRICAN POETRY (25 marks)
Answer ONE (1) question from this section.
ALEXANDER POPE: SELECTED POEMS
2. Account for Pope’s use of grand and elevated style in The Rape of the Lock
3. Critically assess Pope’s preoccupation in The Rape of the Lock
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH: SELECTED POEMS
4. With reference to three poems discuss Wordsworth’s fascination with the medieval, natural and primitive.
5. Discuss the changes the Romantic poets brought to the language of poetry in the 19th Century. Refer to three poems by Wordsworth.
SECTION C: AFRICAN POETRY (25 marks)
Answer ONE (1) question from this section
SUNDIATA: EPIC OF MALI
6. Discuss Sundiata: Epic of Mali as a traditional African performance.
7. What do you consider to be the role of the griot in Sundiata?
CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO: PATH OF THUNDER
8. Discuss Okigbo’s fascination with oral tradition in Path of Thunder: Use three poems for illustration.
9. With reference to four poems comment on Okigbo’s Path of Thunder as a commentary on Nigerian politics.
Thanks for reading IJMB Literature 103 Past Questions 2015
