Sumulong College of Arts and Sciences

Antipolo, City

Preliminary Examination
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Direction: Answer the following briefly but comprehensively.

1. Africa by David Diop

a. How would this poem be different if the speaker identified him or herself?
b. What does this poem make you feel? Sympathy? Anger? Sorrow? Do your
feelings change over the course of the poem?
c. How would you describe the Africa you encounter in this poem?
d. “Red scars”- what does this term in the poem refer to?
e . Identify any three poetic devices used in the poem.
f . What is the tone of the poem?
g . Explain the meaning of the following lines.
' But the gaze is full of your blood. Your blood spilt over the field.
' Africa, my Africa
h . What is the message of the poem?

2. Once Upon A Time by Gabriel Okara

a. What effect does the poet create by using the phrase ‘once upon a time’?
b. How can a person laugh with his eyes and heart?
c. What human behaviour is being discussed in the first stanza?
d. Based on the poem’s context, what do you think will be the reaction of people
who search the poet’s pockets and find them empty?
e. What does the expression ‘feel at home’ mean? Does the poet ‘feel at home’
in the situation he describes? Explain.
f. Which learning by the father refers to emotionless relationships?
g. What does the simile “like a snake’s bare fangs” bring to your mind? Explain
what the poet means when he uses this simile in stanza 6.
h . What is the message of the poem?

3. Anticipation by Mabel Dove-Danquah Ghana

a. Describe the setting of the story. What atmosphere is created by this setting?
b. Compare the African ways of celebrating with those Filipinos.
c. How does the author describe men in the story?
d. Why do you think the story is entitled “Anticipation”?

Prepared by:

Mr. Reñer G. Aquino

College Instructor