WAEC & NECO Literature-in-English 2026–2030 | African Poetry
New Tongue Questions and Answers
Short-answer questions and model essay answers on Elizabeth Kamara’s poem, with stanza and line references.
These New Tongue questions and answers will help you revise Elizabeth Kamara’s poem for class tests, WAEC and NECO. Start with the quick questions to check your knowledge. Then study the model essays to see how to build a strong answer.
Line numbers follow the official WAEC text, which has five stanzas and 46 lines. Before you begin, you may want to review the stanza-by-stanza summary.
Section A: Short New Tongue questions and answers
Try to answer each question before reading the answer.
1. Who wrote New Tongue?
Elizabeth L. A. Kamara, a poet from Sierra Leone.
2. How many stanzas and lines does the poem have?
Five stanzas and 46 lines.
3. Whom does the pronoun they refer to?
The young generation that has abandoned its culture.
4. In stanza 1, what happens to ties of family and friendship?
They loosen, break and finally burn (lines 8–9).
5. Where are the ashes strewn?
Into the bottomless sea (stanza 1, line 10).
6. Which three things does the new generation care nothing for?
Family, tradition and heritage (stanza 2, lines 16–18).
7. To what does the speaker compare their inward-turning minds?
The insides of clothes (stanza 2, line 23).
8. Name the group that has no room in young people’s minds.
Elders (stanza 3, line 25).
9. On what kind of day does the bathing image take place?
A rainy July day (stanza 4, line 37).
10. At the end, what do the young hang on their culture?
The last lock (stanza 5, line 44).
Section B: Model essay answers
Each model answer has a clear introduction, separate points with evidence, and a short conclusion. Notice how every point refers to a stanza and specific lines.
Question 1: Discuss the theme of cultural loss in New Tongue.
Introduction. In New Tongue, Elizabeth Kamara presents the loss of culture as a tragedy. A young generation abandons its language, elders and traditions for borrowed ways, and the speaker mourns the result.
Loss of language. The poem opens with young people speaking a new tongue and dancing new dances (stanza 1, lines 1–2). Language carries culture, so this change signals a much wider loss.
Forgotten traditions. Old songs become disregarded dreams, mere remnants of the past (lines 6–7). Later, the young care nothing for family, tradition or heritage (stanza 2, lines 14–18).
Rejection of elders. Elders, the keepers of culture, have no room even at the edge of young minds (stanza 3, lines 25–27). Their ears stay blocked to the old tongue (line 28).
Final abandonment. In stanza 5, the young hang the last lock on their culture and glide into the future without a backward glance (lines 44–46).
Conclusion. Kamara therefore shows cultural loss as complete and permanent. Her sad tone warns readers to value their heritage before it disappears.
Question 2: Comment on the poet’s use of imagery.
Introduction. Kamara uses vivid images to make the effects of cultural change easy to see and feel.
Chains. In stanza 1, the young bind new ways to their hearts with impregnable chains (line 5). This image shows how tightly they cling to foreign culture.
Ashes in the sea. Family ties burn, and their ashes scatter into a bottomless sea (lines 8–10). Nothing thrown into such a sea can return, so the image suggests permanent loss.
Clothing. Young minds turn inwards like the insides of clothes (stanza 2, line 23). The image captures selfishness, since clothes touch only their wearer.
The storm. In stanza 4, wind fells trees, carts roofs away and swirls debris (lines 38–41). This picture of chaos reflects a society without its cultural shelter.
The lock. Finally, the young hang the last lock on their culture (stanza 5, line 44), an image of final closure.
Conclusion. Together, these images move from attachment to destruction to finality. As a result, they make the poem’s message powerful and memorable.
Question 3: How does the poem show the effects of Western influence on African society?
Introduction. New Tongue explores how foreign, mainly Western, influence has changed African society. The speaker sees these changes as harmful.
Borrowed language. The young speak a new tongue and glory in a borrowed tongue and culture (stanza 1, line 1; stanza 4, line 30). Foreign languages have pushed aside local ones.
Weakened family bonds. Close African family and friendship ties loosen, break and burn (stanza 1, lines 8–9).
Loss of respect for elders. Traditional honour for the old disappears, leaving no room for elders (stanza 3, lines 25–27).
Individualism. Communal life gives way to every man for himself, by himself and of himself (stanza 4, lines 31–34).
Conclusion. The poem suggests that Western influence has brought coldness and disorder, not progress. Kamara’s repeated word borrowed reminds readers that these ways can never truly belong to Africa’s youth.
Section C: More questions in the full pack
The complete New Tongue exam pack includes model answers to all of these questions, plus objective questions with answers.
Examine the significance of the title New Tongue. 🔒
Discuss the use of simile in the poem. 🔒
Comment on the treatment of elders in the poem. 🔒
What is the significance of the Red Sea allusion? 🔒
Discuss the structure of the poem and its effect. 🔒
Examine the tone of the poem. 🔒
How does the poet use repetition to convey her message? 🔒
Discuss the ending of the poem. 🔒
Unlock all model answers
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Tips for answering New Tongue questions and answers in the exam
Begin with a short introduction that names the poet and answers the question directly. After that, give three or four clear points. Support each point with a stanza and line reference or a brief quotation, then explain what it shows.
Avoid retelling the whole poem. Instead, keep every paragraph focused on the question. For extra depth, draw on our guides to the themes and the poetic devices. Everything else is in the complete study guide.
Frequently asked questions
What questions are likely on New Tongue in WAEC?
Expect questions on themes, especially cultural loss and the generation gap, and on devices such as imagery, repetition and allusion.
How long should my essay answer be?
Aim for four or five well-developed paragraphs, including an introduction and conclusion.
Should I quote from the poem?
Yes, but keep quotations short and always explain them.
Teaching this poem?
Get ready-made lesson notes, class tests and exam questions with marking guides for New Tongue and all 12 prescribed poems.
