WAEC 2024 Literature in English · Question 14

The major divisions in a play are

Options

  1. A.acts
  2. B.chapters
  3. C.scenes
  4. D.stanzas

Answer: A. acts

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the major divisions of a play. Each option is a structural unit in a different literary form, so we need to match the right unit to drama.

Step 2: Explain the concept Literature is divided into three main genres, and each has its own structural units:

  • Prose (novels): chapters
  • Poetry: stanzas (and lines)
  • Drama (plays): acts, which are further broken into scenes

Step 3: Work through the options

  • A. Acts: A play is first divided into acts, the major sections. Each act usually marks a significant stage in the plot, such as exposition, rising action, climax, or resolution. For example, Shakespeare's Macbeth has five acts.
  • B. Chapters: These belong to novels and other prose, not plays.
  • C. Scenes: These are subdivisions within an act. They usually change when the setting, time, or characters on stage change, so they are minor divisions, not major ones.
  • D. Stanzas: These are groups of lines in a poem, so they are not part of drama.

Step 4: Answer The major divisions of a play are acts.

Tip: Remember the hierarchy: Play → Acts → Scenes, like Novel → Chapters and Poem → Stanzas. When a question says "major," pick the bigger unit (act). When it says "sub-division," pick the smaller one (scene).

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