WAEC English Literature 2014 Paper

Concept:A limerick is a short, humorous poem with exactly five lines and an $AABBA$ rhyme scheme.Explanation:The extract has five lines, so it cannot be a sonnet, which has fourteen lines. The last words of the lines are $dote$, $throat$, $scale$, $quail$, and $note$. Lines 1, 2, and 5 end with rhyming words: $dote$, $throat$, and $note$. Lines 3 and 4 also rhyme with each other: $scale$ and $quail$. This arrangement gives the rhyme pattern $AABBA$. That pattern is the signature structure of a limerick. The playful, witty treatment of the Lion’s singing also suits the limerick’s comic nature. An epic tells a grand heroic story, and an ode is a serious praise poem, neither of which fits this extract. Therefore, the extract is correctly identified as a limerick.Answer:B. Limerick