JAMB Syllabus for Literature In English

General Objectives | JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English

• stimulate and sustain their interest in Literature in English;
• create an awareness of the general principles of Literature and functions of language;
• appreciate literary works of all genres and across all cultures;
• apply the knowledge of Literature in English to the analysis of social, political and economic events in the society.

Topic 1: Drama

a. Types:

1. Tragedy
2. Comedy
3. Tragicomedy
4. Melodrama
5. Farce
6. Opera etc.

b. Dramatic Techniques:

1. Characterisation
2. Dialogue
3. Flashback
4. Mime
5. Costume
6. Music/Dance
7. Decor/scenery
8. Acts/Scenes
9. Soliloquy/aside
10. Lighting etc.

c. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts:

1. Theme
2. Plot
3. Socio-political context
4. Setting

Objectives

Candidates should be able to:

1. identify the various types of drama;
2. analyse the contents of the various types of drama;
3. compare and contrast the features of different dramatic types;
4. demonstrate adequate knowledge of dramatic techniques used in each prescribed text;
5. differentiate between styles of selected playwrights;
6. determine the theme of any prescribed text;
7. identify the plot of the play;
8. apply the lessons of the play to everyday living
9. identify the spatial and temporal setting of the play.

Topic 2: Prose

a. Types:

1. Fiction
   – Novel
   – Novella/Novelette
   – Short story
2. Non-fiction
   – Biography
   – Autobiography
   – Memoir
3. Faction: combination of fact and fiction

b. Narrative Techniques/Devices:

1. Point of view
   – Omniscent/Third Person
   – First Person
2. Characterisation
   – Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, etc
3. Language

c. Textual Analysis:

1. Theme
2. Plot
3. Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
4. Socio-political context

Objectives

Candidates should be able to:

1. differentiate between types of prose;
2. identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to;
3. analyse the components of each type of prose;
4. identify the narrative techniques used in each of the prescribed texts;
5. determine an author’s narrative style;
6. distinguish between one type of character from another;
7. determine the thematic pre-occupation of the author of the prescribed text;
8. indicate the plot of the novel; identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel.
9. identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel
10. relate the prescribed text to real life situations.

Topic 3: Poetry

a. Types:

1. Sonnet
2. Ode
3. Lyrics
4. Elegy
5. Ballad
6. Panegyric
7. Epic
8. Blank Verse, etc.

b. Poetic Devices:

1. Structure
2. Imagery
3. Sound(Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.)
4. Diction
5. Persona

c. Appreciation:

1. Thematic preoccupation
2. Socio-political relevance
3. Style.

Objectives

Candidates should be able to:

1. identify different types of poetry;
2. compare and contrast the features of different poetic types:
3. determine the devices used by various poets;
4. show how poetic devices are used for aesthetic effect in each poem;
5. deduce the poet’s preoccupation from the poem;
6. appraise poetry as an art with moral values;
7. apply the lessons from the poem to real life situations.

Topic 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:

1. Direct imitation in play;
2. Versification in drama and poetry;
3. Narration of people’s experiences;
4. Achievement of aesthetic value, etc.

c. Relationship Between Literary Terms and Principles:

Objectives

Candidates should be able to:

1. identify literary terms in drama, prose and poetry;
2. identify the general principles of Literature;
3. differentiate between literary terms and principles;
4. use literary terms appropriately.

Topic 5: Literary Appreciation

Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose and Poetry.

Objectives

Candidates should be able to:

1. determine literary devices used in a given passage/extract;
2. provide a meaningful interpretation of the given passage/extract;
3. relate the extract to true life experiences.

UTME Harmonized Prescribed Text Books (Literature in English)

Drama:

African:

1. Wole Soyinka: The Lion and the Jewel

Non African:

1. John Osborne: Look Back in Anger

Prose:

African:

1. Alex Agyei-Agyir:  Unexpected Joy at Dawn
2. Buchi Emecheta: Second Class Citizen

Non-African:

1. Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Poetry:

African:

1. Leopold Sedar Senghor: Black Woman
2. Niyi Osundare: The Leader and the Led
3. Agostinho Neto: The Grieved Lands
4. Oumar Farouk Sesay: The Song of the Women of my Land
5. Lade Wosornu: Raider of the Treasure Trove
6. Onu Chibuike: A Government Driver on his Retirement

Non African:

1. John Donne: The Good Morrow
2. Maya Angelou: Caged Bird
3. T.S. Elliot: The Journey of the Magi
4. D.H Lawrence: Bats

Topics By Popularity

Given below is an average percentage of the number of questions set on different topics. This computer analysis was done from 17 years of past questions to come up with these rare statistics. This information should guide you on some of the topics you should give more attention to:

Recommended Texts

1. ANTHOLOGIES

1. Obafemi,O.and Agoi (eds) Of shadows and Rainbows -Musings in Times of Covid (An Anthology of poems, plays and short stories) PEN Nigeria, Online

2. Hayward ,J.(ed.) (1968)The Penguin Book of English Verse, London Penguin

3. Johnson, R. Ker, D, Maduka, C. Obafemi, O (eds.) (1996) New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc

4. Kermode, F. (1964) Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP

5. Nduke Ofiono and Odoh Diego Okenyodo (eds) Camouflage; Best of contemporary writing from Nigeria, an anthology of new Nigerian writers, mace books association, 2021, New edition.

6. Parker, E. W. (ed.) (1980) A Peagent of Longer Poems London: Longman

7. Senanu, K. E. and Vincent, T. (eds.) (1993) A Selection of African Poetry, Lagos: Longman

8. Soyinka, W. (ed.) (1987) Poems of Black Africa, Ibadan: Heinemann

2. CRITICAL TEXTS

Abrams, M.H. (1981) A Glossary of Literary Terms, (4h Edition) New York, Holt Rinehalt and Winston

Emeaba, O. E. (1982) A Dictionary of Literature, Aba: Inteks Press

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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