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JAMB Literature in English past questions.

1,424 real Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (UTME) questions from 1997 to 2026, every one with a worked solution. Practise them timed, on the web, on Android, or offline on desktop.

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Questions held
1,424
Years covered
30
Questions per paper
40
Time allowed
45 min
Try 5

Sample Literature in English questions, answered.

Taken straight from the papers below — one from each of the most recent years, with the answer marked and the reasoning written out.

JAMB Literature in English 2026 · Question 1
Questions 1 - 5 are based on Abosede Ademilus' "Once Upon an Elephant"

Who is Olaniyonu in the play?
  1. Serubawon
  2. Ajanaku — correct answer
  3. Ogundele
  4. Odejimu
Worked solution
Olaniyonu is the full name/title of the prince who ascends the throne with Serubawon's help; his other name in the play is Ajanaku, so Olaniyonu and Ajanaku refer to the same character.
JAMB Literature in English 2025 · Question 1
Questions 1 to 5 are based on Wole Soyinka's "The Lion and the Jewel"

On Sidi's arrival at Baroka's house, which of the following is dominant in their dialogue?
  1. Rhetorical question — correct answer
  2. Oxymoron
  3. Simile
  4. Euphemism
Worked solution
In the "Sidi and the Fox" scene, Baroka draws Sidi into conversation mainly through pointed rhetorical questions that flatter and manipulate her about her beauty, worth and marriage prospects, a technique that dominates their exchange as he works to win her hand.
JAMB Literature in English 2024 · Question 1
Questions 1 to 5 are based on Wole Soyinka's "The Lion and The Jewel"

Sadiku is
  1. Baroka's first wife — correct answer
  2. Baroka's last wife
  3. Baroka's inherited wife
  4. Baroka's only legally married wife
Worked solution
Sadiku has been married to Baroka for around forty years and, as his first and most senior wife, presides over his household and harem — she is Baroka's first (head) wife.
JAMB Literature in English 2023 · Question 1
"The bees are buzzing and humming with great zest. The doves are cooing, and the children chatter as they clatter downstairs to come and dabble in the cool system."

The predominant sound device in the extract is
  1. assonance
  2. consonance
  3. onomatopoeia — correct answer
  4. alliteration
Worked solution
Words like "buzzing", "humming", "cooing", "chatter" and "clatter" all imitate the actual sounds they describe, which is the defining feature of onomatopoeia.
JAMB Literature in English 2022 · Question 1
'A time to sow, A time to reap, A time to born, A time to die'. This exemplifies the use of
  1. Anadiplosis
  2. Chiasmus
  3. Anaphora — correct answer
  4. Hendiadys
Worked solution
Each clause begins with the same repeated phrase "A time to", which is the defining feature of anaphora.
Every paper we hold

JAMB Literature in English, year by year.

2026
40 questions
2025
39 questions
2024
40 questions
2023
40 questions
2022
40 questions
2021
40 questions
2020
40 questions
2019
50 questions
2018
50 questions
2017
50 questions
2016
50 questions
2015
50 questions
2014
49 questions
2013
49 questions
2012
49 questions
2011
49 questions
2010
49 questions
2009
50 questions
2008
50 questions
2007
50 questions
2006
50 questions
2005
50 questions
2004
50 questions
2003
50 questions
2002
50 questions
2001
50 questions
2000
50 questions
1999
50 questions
1998
50 questions
1997
50 questions
Before you sit it

How JAMB Literature in English is set.

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (UTME) sets 40 questions in Literature in English, answered in 45 minutes — about 68 seconds a question. Practising against that clock is the part most candidates skip, and it is the part that costs marks.

We hold 1,424 published Literature in English questions spanning 1997 to 2026. You can practise any single year’s paper, or sit a full timed mock that mirrors the real interface — the navigator, the flags and the auto-submit included.

Every question you get wrong comes back the next day, then at longer gaps until it sticks, and your home page leads with your weakest subjects.

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