Literature in English Bank of Questions - Form 3 & 4
1. What is literature?
2. Why literature is an art?
3. Literature is said to be incomplete until it involves three elements: art, language and society. How these three elements are part of literature?
4. Why is literature said to reflect social realities?
5. Literature is said to use distinct language that make it differ from normal writings and speech. How true is this statement? (six points)
6. Differentiate oral literature from written literature (six points)
7. a) What do you understand by fiction and non-fiction?
b) Differentiate fiction from non-fiction. (Six points)
8. Give the distinctive features of each of the following terms.
a. Short story
b. Novel
c. Poetry
d. Drama
9. Give a literary term in each of the following statements.
a) A poem with 14 verses is called…………………..
b) A female character who composes a poem is called…………….
c) An ordinary way of writing works of literature that differ from verses and stanza in poetry is
………………………..
d) A character who is against the main character is called………………………
e) A play with funny and humorous action with happy ending is a …………………
f) A list of characters given in a first page before the play begins is …………………….
g) An account of someone’s life and experiences written by himself/herself........................
h) A story of someone’s life and experiences written by another person............................
i) A brief story or poem usually with animal characters that teaches a lesson or a moral about life.......................
j) A literary genre that tells a story through actions and dialogue and is written to be performed on stage by actors..........................
k) A speech made by a character when he/she is alone on stage................
l) The instructions/notes included in a play/drama which describe how the work is to be performed
or staged........................
m) A small object used by actors, during the performance of a play or in a film/movie..................................
n) A special building or an outdoor area where plays/movies/films and other entertainments are performed............................
o) The expression of ideas which are exactly opposite to the implied meaning.....................
p) A representation of abstract ideas or inanimate objects as having human attributes or qualities......................
q) A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect............................
r) The substitution of an offensive/unpleasant term or phrase by the one that has pleasant associations.....................
s) Imitation of natural sounds by words..........................
t) A literary device that uses one objects to stand for something else or to mean something else..........................…
u) A prose fiction that has considerable length smaller than a novel and larger than a short story is……
10. Literature does not develop from a vacuum, but from the society in which it emanates, it has got different roles to play in the society. Give six roles of literature in the society.
11. What are the importance of studying literature as a subject? Give eight points.
12. 11. What do you understand by the following literary terms?
a) Plot
b) Style
c) Point of view
d) Setting
e) Diction
f) Message
g) Theme
h) Tone
i) Mood
j) Persona
k) Playwright
l) Resolution
m) Climax
n) Episode
o) Film
p) Play within a play
q) Stage direction
r) Scene
s) Characterization
t) Figurative language
u) Proverbs
v) Narrator
w) Rehearsal
x) Allusion
y) Litotes
z) Contrast
aa) Vulgar language ab) Props
ac) Costume
ad) Improvisation ae) Pantomime af)
12. Explain the three genres of literature
13. with example, differentiate the following literary terminologies;
(a) Myths and Fable
(b) Simile and Metaphor
(c) Plot and Style
(d) Persona and Addressee
(e) Flashback and Fore shadowing
(f) Antagonist and protagonist
(g) Play and drama
(h) Symbolism and imagery
(i) Fable and folktale
(j) Alliteration and assonance
(k) Idiom and proverb (l)
14. What are the positive impacts of science and technology on oral literature? Give at least five (5) points.
15. “Literature is a product of a certain society; it is imaginary but reflects social realities”. Using Tanzania as an example, discuss the truth of this statement.
16. Compare and contrast the following literary terms
a) Form and content
b) Ballad and epic
c) Satire and irony
d) Round character and flat character
e) Conflict and denouement
17. What do you understand by the term technique in a work of art? Explain seven techniques that can be used in a literary piece of work of art.
18. Does oral literature still exist in the Tanzania society today? Discuss your arguments basing on nature and transmission.
19. Define the following literary terms:
(i) Round character.
(ii) Sarcasm
(iii) Aesthetic pleasure
(iv) Euphemism
(v) Characterization
20. Briefly give the differences between the following literary terms:-
(vi) Omniscient point of view and limited point of view.
(vii) Poetic license and imagery.
(viii) Straight forward style and flash back style.
(ix) Tragic comedy and tragedy drama.
(x) A novel and a play.
21. Literature can never exist without a society. Discuss.
22. Analyze eight elements that make drama looks different from other genres of literature.
23. Analyze four key elements of form and four elements of content in a piece of literary work.
24. What are the major difficulties that students faces when appreciating a poem?
25. Differentiate the following literary terms
a) Poem and poet
b) Verse and stanza
c) Rhyme and rhythm
d) Narrative poem and deductive poem
e) Theme and message
f) Parallelism and anaphora
g) Consonance and assonance.
26. Using your own life experience, show how literature and language are inseparable
27. writing literature in local language is the only way to makes sure that it reaches every individual in the society. Argue for or against this statement. Give eight points.
28. How literature help us in fighting against HIV/AIDS?
28. An artist uses a pen not a rifle to teach and warn the society. Validate this statement using your own life experience.
29. The subject of literature is different from other subject taught at school. What are the differences between literature and other subjects in the secondary school curriculum?
30. Support the view that the society makes literature and literature holds society.
31. Show how literature is the reflection of life give six points.
32. a) give the differences between a novel and poem that lies in form.
b) Why is it important to put plays in action?
33. What makes poetry different from other genre? Give eight points.
34. “It is argued that poets are products of their societies”/poets usually don’t compose their work from the vacuum. Discuss the above quotation using two poems you have read under this course.
35. In writing poems poets make the readers aware of what are happening in their societies. Verify this statement using two poems of your choice.
36. Using two plays you have read show eight bad cultural practices portrayed by the playwright in the plays.
37. Choose four characters two from each play you have read and write what they did in the play (eight points, four from each reading)
38. “Conflicts in any society are part and parcel of human life”. Use two plays to validate the truth of this statement
39. Explain eight important terms to be considered when analyzing a poem. Give examples from any two poems you have read
40. Analyze six features that distinguish literature from other works of art
41. “plays are said to be more advantageous that other genres “. Verify
42. a)what is poetry?
b) Differentiates modern poems from traditional poems. Give six points.
43. Novelists use characters to send messages to the intended society. How true is this statement? Use two characters from each novel (eight points)
45. Women can contribute to the welfare of the society as men. Analyze the position of women in two novels you have done.
46. Show how social realities is reflected in two poems you have studied under this section.
47. Choose eight characters four characters from each novel you have read and say what they did in the play (eight points, four from each reading)
48. The field of literature has various lessons. Discuss using two novels you have read (eight points)
49. Show the titles give the view of what is happening in the society. Use two novels (eight points)
50. Conflicts refers to misunderstanding between two struggling opposes force. Discuss the causes of
conflicts in society using two novels (eight points).
51. Message is what we learn in a literary work. Prove this statement using two plays you have read (eight points).
52. Discuss how women have been portrayed by two playwrights of the two plays you have done (eight points)
53. By using two plays and two characters from each play show how people who got formal education have been useless in their societies (four points from each play)
54. By using two poems you have read explain how people benefit from reading poems.
53. Figures of speech help the poet to send the messages to the intended society successfully. Use two poems to support this statement. (Give four points from each poem)
54. Using two plays you have done show conflicts found in the society could have been resolved. (Four points from each play)
55. Most of writers write on major issues/themes taking place in the society. Use two novels you have to prove this argument.
56. Choose two novels you have read and write eight things you liked most.
56. Poets like any other artists write when they have something to deliver to the society. Choose two poems of your choice and write four messages from each reading that the poet wants the people to learn (four points from each poem).
57. Show how social realities are reflected in two poems you have done (eight points)
58. Using two plays you have done show how the playwright have been shown that betrayal is an evil which hinder changes in the society. Give four points from each play.
59. Plays are suitable when they are acted on the stage but are not suitable when read privately or silently. Validate this statement using two plays you have read.
60. Show how the theme of corruption has been shown in two plays you has read.
61. Support the argument that the reality of the happenings in any society is reflected in its literature.
62. Choose two characters from each novel and say why you sympathize with them.
63. Racism is an evil as at denies equality for human beings. Verify this statement using two novels you have done.
64. Show how the poet has used eight themes to deliver the message to the intended society. Use two poems.
65. How effective are the figures of speech used by artists in two poems you have read.
66. Explain how you benefit from reading a literary work. Use two plays you have done in the class.
67. Analyze the different techniques the poets have used to put the message across.
68. Show how the writer has manipulated the language to give the intended message to the readers.
69. How has the writer presented his message effectively to the readers? Use two poems of your choice.
70. Comment on the effectiveness of literary techniques used in two poems you have read.
71. How writers make people aware of bad things in the society? Use two novels you have read. (Eight points)
72. Discuss the main issues writers want the readers be aware of. Use two plays you have done.
73. How are the issues discussed by the writer relevant to the current society? Us two plays of your choice.
74. Poems have a message to listeners and use different literary devices to bring out the messages. With examples from any two poems, discuss these devices.
75. Discus the relevance of two poems to your society.
76. Attempt a critical appreciation of a poem you have read and enjoyed.
77. “Poems are created for entertainment only “argue for or against the contention using two poems of your choice.
78. Using eight characters four from each novel, discuss eight things you learn from them.
79. How titles of two novels you have read relate to the idea in the book?
80. Use two poems of your choice and show how the themes of humiliation and exploitation are discussed.
