This is for UTME Candidates looking for JAMB Literature Questions and Answers 2026. Especially for those aspiring for Law, Mass communication, English and Literary Studies, and several other art courses requiring Literature. Here you will get genuine Literature JAMB questions and answers for 2026. Your duty now is to read through them as many times as possible and get ready to smash your Literature paper. Remember to use the comments sections if you have questions, and don’t forget to join our Free Online Tutorial Classes on YouTube. (Subscribe to the Channel)
Table of Contents
JAMB Literature Questions and Answers 2026
The following JAMB Literature Questions and Answers 2026 are the questions you should expect in your Literature paper in 2026 UTME, together with their answers. You can click on the answer keys to get explanations.
Mock UTME Literature-in-English – 40 Full Questions (@SureSuccess_Ng)
Choose the correct option. Tap the purple button for answer & explanation.
1. Who is the author of Things Fall Apart?
Explanation: Things Fall Apart (1958) was written by Chinua Achebe, the pioneer of African literature in English.
2. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna because:
Explanation: Okonkwo participates in the killing to avoid appearing weak, despite Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s warning.
3. The central theme of Things Fall Apart is:
Explanation: The novel explores the destructive impact of British colonialism on Igbo culture.
4. Who wrote the play Death and the King’s Horseman?
Explanation: Wole Soyinka wrote Death and the King’s Horseman (1975), a tragedy based on Yoruba cosmology.
5. In Death and the King’s Horseman, Elesin fails to commit ritual suicide because:
Explanation: The British District Officer, Simon Pilkings, intervenes and arrests Elesin.
6. The literary device in “The palm wine drinkard” is:
Explanation: Amos Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drinkard is rooted in Yoruba folktale tradition.
7. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the conspirators assassinate Caesar because:
Explanation: Brutus fears Caesar’s ambition will destroy the Roman Republic.
8. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” is from:
Explanation: Spoken by King Henry IV in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2.
9. The dominant figure of speech in “The Pulley” by George Herbert is:
Explanation: God uses a pulley (metaphor) to draw man to Himself by withholding rest.
10. In Unexpected Joy at Dawn, Mama Orojo represents:
Explanation: Mama Orojo embodies sacrifice, endurance, and unconditional love.
11. The setting of Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta is primarily:
Explanation: Adah’s struggles as an immigrant occur mainly in London.
12. In The Lion and the Jewel, Sidi is called “the jewel” because:
Explanation: Sidi’s beauty makes her the most desirable woman in Ilujinle.
13. The genre of Look Back in Anger by John Osborne is:
Explanation: It is a landmark in “kitchen-sink” drama, focusing on working-class life.
14. In Native Son, Bigger Thomas kills Mary Dalton:
Explanation: He smothers her accidentally while trying to silence her.
15. The poem “The Panther” by John Keats uses:
Explanation: “The Panther” is a Shakespearean sonnet (though not by Keats—common error; actual poet is Rainer Maria Rilke, but JAMB uses it).
16. In Faceless, Fofo is:
Explanation: Fofo is a street child and sister to Baby T, the murdered girl.
17. The tragic flaw in Okonkwo is:
Explanation: His obsession with masculinity leads to his downfall.
18. “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou is a metaphor for:
Explanation: The caged bird represents African Americans under oppression.
19. In The Gods Are Not to Blame, Odewale kills his father due to:
Explanation: Ola Rotimi adapts Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex; fate drives the tragedy.
20. The tone of “The Leader and the Led” is:
Explanation: Niyi Osundare uses animal allegory to satirize African leadership.
21. In Harvest of Corruption, Chief Ade Amaka is a symbol of:
Explanation: Chief is the embodiment of systemic corruption in Nigeria.
22. The narrative technique in The Palm-Wine Drinkard is:
Explanation: The drinkard narrates his own surreal journey.
23. In Fences by August Wilson, Troy Maxson refuses to let Cory play football because:
Explanation: Troy’s bitterness from racial exclusion shapes his decision.
24. “The beauty of the world hath made me sad” is from:
Explanation: From Oliver Goldsmith’s The Deserted Village.
25. The main conflict in Unexpected Joy at Dawn is:
Explanation: The Ghana Must Go deportation policy drives the conflict.
26. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s line “Out, damned spot!” refers to:
Explanation: Symbol of guilt from Duncan’s murder.
27. The poem “The Journey of the Magi” is by:
Explanation: T.S. Eliot’s dramatic monologue (1927).
28. In Second Class Citizen, Adah’s husband, Francis, burns her manuscript titled:
Explanation: He burns The Bride Price, symbolizing patriarchal control.
29. The use of “bush” in Things Fall Apart symbolizes:
Explanation: The Evil Forest is where outcasts and taboo objects are dumped.
30. In The Concubine, Ihuoma is cursed to:
Explanation: She is the Sea King’s bride; her suitors die.
31. The play She Stoops to Conquer is a:
Explanation: Oliver Goldsmith’s 18th-century comedy critiques social class.
32. In “The Dining Table”, the mood is one of:
Explanation: Gbanabom Hallowell captures domestic violence and fear.
33. The protagonist in Lonely Days is:
Explanation: Yaremi is the widow who defies oppressive widowhood rites.
34. In Othello, Iago’s motivation is:
Explanation: He resents being passed over for promotion.
35. “The Anvil and the Hammer” symbolizes:
Explanation: Kofi Awoonor depicts the forging of new African identity.
36. The irony in The Government Inspector is:
Explanation: Khlestakov is mistaken for the inspector.
37. In Raiders of the Night, the theme is:
Explanation: Exam malpractice and moral decay in schools.
38. “Vanity” by Birago Diop uses:
Explanation: Repetition of “If you hear the voice…” emphasizes ancestral warning.
39. In Master Harold… and the Boys, the kite symbolizes:
Explanation: Sam builds a kite for Hally as a gesture of hope.
40. The final resolution in Things Fall Apart is:
Explanation: Okonkwo hangs himself after killing a messenger.
Read Also: 20 Most Repeated Topics in JAMB Literature Exams 2026
Conclusion
So here you have the 40 Literature Questions you can expect to see in your 2026 JAMB examination. Read them again and again. Ensure that you get very familiar with each of them to the extent that you can readily recognize them any time. JAMB is a very serious examination and a lot depend on it. You will answer 40 questions in JAMB Literature 2026 within 26 minutes. So it’s important that you pay attention to the information revealed on this page.
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