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ExamBase JAMB Syllabus For Literature in English

  Literature in English

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
This syllabus is designed to test the achievement of the course objectives, which are to:
1. stimulate and sustain their interest in Literature in English;
2. create an awareness of the general principles of Literature and functions of language;
3. appreciate literary works of all genres and across all cultures;
4. apply the knowledge of Literature in English to the analysis of social, political and economic events in the society.
TOPICS AND CONTENTS
1. DRAMA

a. Types:
i. Tragedy
ii. Comedy
iii. Tragicomedy
iv. Melodrama
v. Farce
vi. Opera etc.


b. Dramatic Techniques
i. Characterisation
ii. Dialogue
iii. Flashback
iv. Mime
v. Costume
vi. Music/Dance
vii. Decor/scenery
viii. Acts/Scenes
ix. Soliloquy/aside
x. Lighting etc.


c. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts
i. Theme
ii. Plot
iii. Socio-political context
iv. Setting

 Candidates should be able to:
i. identify the various types of drama;
ii. analyse the contents of the various types of drama;
iii. compare and contrast the features of different dramatic types;
iv. demonstrate adequate knowledge of dramatic techniques used in each prescribed text;
v. differentiate between styles of selected playwrights;
vi. determine the theme of any prescribed text;
vii. identify the plot of the play;
viii. apply the lessons of the play to everyday living
ix. identify the spatial and temporal setting of the play.
2. PROSE

a. Types:
i. Fiction
- Novel
- Novella/Novelette
- Short story
ii. Non-fiction
- Biography
- Autobiography
- Memoir
iii. Faction: combination of fact and fiction


b. Narrative Techniques/Devices:
i. Point of view
- Omniscent/Third Person
- First Person
ii. Characterisation
- Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, etc
iii. Language


c. Textual Analysis
i. Theme
ii. Plot
iii. Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
iv. Socio-political context

 Candidates should be able to:
i. differentiate between types of prose;
ii. identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to;
iii. analyse the components of each type of prose;
iv. identify the narrative techniques used in each of the prescribed texts;
v. determine an author's narrative style;
vi. distinguish between one type of character from another;
vii. determine the thematic pre-occupation of the author of the prescribed text;
viii. indicate the plot of the novel; identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel.
ix. identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel
x. relate the prescribed text to real life situations.
3. POETRY

a. Types:
i. Sonnet
ii. Ode
iii. Lyrics
iv. Elegy
v. Ballad
vi. Panegyric
vii. Epic
viii. Blank Verse, etc.


b. Poetic devices
i. Structure
ii. Imagery
iii. Sound(Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.)
iv. Diction
v. Persona


c. Appreciation
i. Thematic preoccupation
ii. Socio-political relevance
iii. Style.

 Candidates should be able to:
i. identify different types of poetry;
ii. compare and contrast the features of different poetic types:
iii. determine the devices used by various poets;
iv. show how poetic devices are used for aesthetic effect in each poem;
v. deduce the poet's preoccupation from the poem;
vi. appraise poetry as an art with moral values;
vii. apply the lessons from the poem to real life situations.
4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES

a. Literary terms:
foreshadowing, suspense, theatre, monologue, dialogue, soliloquy, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, figures of speech, satire, stream of consciousness, synecdoche, metonymy, etc,
in addition to those listed above under the different genres.


b. Literary principles
i. Direct imitation in play;
ii. Versification in drama and poetry;
iii. Narration of people's experiences;
iv. Achievement of aesthetic value, etc.


c. Relationship between literary terms and principles.

Candidates should be able to:
i. identify literary terms in drama, prose and poetry;
ii. identify the general principles of Literature;
iii. differentiate between literary terms and principles;
iv. use literary terms appropriately.
5. LITERARY APPRECIATION

Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose and Poetry.

 Candidates should be able to:
i. determine literary devices used in a given passage/extract;
ii. provide a meaningful inter-pretation of the given passage/extract;
iii. relate the extract to true life experiences.

UTME HARMONIZED PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOKS (LITERATURE IN ENGLISH) 2016-2019

Drama:

African:
i. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche : Harvest of Corruption

Non African:
i. William Shakespeare : Othello

Prose:

African:
i. Amma Darko : Faceless
ii. Bayo Adebowale : Lonely Days

Non-African:
i. Richard Wright : Native Son

Poetry:

African:
i. Birago Diop : Vanity
ii. Gbemisola Adeoti : Ambush
iii. Gabriel Okara : Piano and Drums
iv. Gbanabam Hallowell : The Dining Table
v. Lenrie Peter : The Panic of Growing Older
vi. Kofi Awoonor : The Anvil and the Hammer

Non African:
i. Alfred Tennyson : Crossing the Bar
ii. George Herbert : The Pulley
iii. William Blake : The School Boy
iv. William Morris : The Proud King

RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS

A. ANTHOLOGIES
1. Gbemisola, A. (2005)Naked Soles, Ibadan: Kraft
2. Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin
3. Johnson, R. et al (eds.) (1996) New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc
4. Kermode, F. et al (1964) Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP
5. Nwoga D. (ed.) (1967) West African Verse, London: Longman
6. Senanu, K. E. and Vincent, T. (eds.) (1993) A Selection of African Poetry, Lagos: Longman
7. Soyinka, W. (ed.) (1987) Poems of Black Africa, Ibadan: Heinemann

B. CRITICAL TEXTS
1. Abrams, M. H. (1981) A Glossary of Literary Terms, (4th Edition) New York, Holt Rinehalt and Winston
2. Emeaba, O. E. (1982) A Dictionary of Literature, Aba: Inteks Press
3. Murphy, M. J. (1972) Understanding Unseen, An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Students, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.


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