Adeoti's Ambush may be best described as____________

I can't be fully certain of this one, because the question depends on which poem is meant. Here is my reasoning.

1. Analyze the question "Ambush" is a poem by Adeoti (Gbemisola Adeoti), from the JAMB-recommended African/Nigerian poetry. The question asks how the poem is best described in terms of style or form.

2. Explain the concept

• Prosaic: plain, ordinary, like prose, lacking poetic quality.
• Lyrical: expressive, song-like, personal emotion.
• Analogical: built on comparison to explain one thing through another.
• Metaphorical: the poem's meaning is carried through extended metaphor, where one thing stands for another.

3. Work through the solution In "Ambush," the poet describes a hidden, sudden attack. This is not meant literally. The ambush stands for the unseen dangers, betrayals and hardships that strike people in society, such as corruption and the hidden forces that ruin lives. The poem's central image is therefore a figurative one, with the ambush representing something else throughout. That makes it metaphorical in its overall mode.

Why not the others?

• Prosaic: the poem relies on imagery and figurative language, so it is not plain prose-like writing.
• Lyrical: it is not mainly a song-like outpouring of personal feeling. It is a sharper, more social and symbolic piece.
• Analogical: this is close, but it is not the standard literary term used to describe such a poem. "Metaphorical" is the more precise label.

4. Answer Metaphorical**.

5. Exam tip For poetry style questions, ask yourself: "Is the poem literally about what it says, or does the main image stand for something else?" If the main image stands for something else, think metaphorical or symbolic. If it is about the poet's feelings in a musical tone, think lyrical.