West African Examinations Council
WASSCE Literature-In-English · Paper 3 — Drama & Poetry
Sat separately from the written papers.
8 exam-style questions, written to the West African Examinations Council format and free to read. The answers are here too — what they do not tell you is how many you would get right with a clock running.
1. (a) Distinguish between internal and external conflict. [5 marks]
(b) Explain five sources of conflict commonly dramatised in African plays. [10 marks]
(c) Using a play you have studied, describe one conflict and how it is resolved. [5 marks]
2. (a) Distinguish between free verse and blank verse. [5 marks]
(b) Explain five reasons a modern poet might choose free verse. [10 marks]
(c) State three ways in which the shape of a poem on the page can carry meaning. [5 marks]
3. (a) Define a symbol as used in literature. [4 marks]
(b) Explain five differences between a symbol and an image. [10 marks]
(c) Using any work you have studied, describe one symbol and what it represents. [6 marks]
4. (a) Define exposition and denouement as stages of a play. [5 marks]
(b) Explain five ways a dramatist builds tension towards the climax. [10 marks]
(c) Using a play you have studied, state three events that form its exposition. [5 marks]
5. (a) Define rhythm and metre in poetry. [5 marks]
(b) Explain five sound devices used by poets, giving an example of each. [10 marks]
(c) State three effects of repetition in a poem you have studied. [5 marks]
6. (a) State two functions of setting in drama. [4 marks]
(b) Explain five ways in which historical setting shapes the meaning of a play. [10 marks]
(c) Using a play you have studied, explain how its setting affects the audience's judgement of a character. [6 marks]
Reading these is not the same as sitting them.
Every question above is answerable given time. The exam does not give you time. Sit the whole paper on the real clock and the number you get back is the one that means something.
Sit it against the clock — freeExampaper is an independent study service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to WAEC, NECO, JAMB or any examination body. Exam names and subject titles are used only to describe what each paper is for.