JAMB Course Outline for Literature-in-English

The Joint Admission Matriculation Body JAMB have prepared essential topics/syllabus to help students prepare for the JAMB Examination. This article shows the JAMB course outline for Literature-in-English.

The main principle for Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB Outlines is to prepare candidates for the Examination .The topics listed below are the list of JAMB Outlines for Literature-in-English.

JAMB COURSE OUTLINE FOR LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH

1. DRAMA

Topics:

a. Types:

i. Tragedy

ii. Comedy

iii. Tragicomedy

iv. Melodrama

v. Farce

vi. Opera etc.

b. Dramatic Techniques

i. Characterization

ii. Dialogue

iii. Flashback

iv. Mime

v. Costume

vi. Music/Dance

vii. Décor/scenery

viii. Acts/Scenes

ix. Soliloquy/aside

x. Figures of Speech etc

c. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts

i. Theme

ii. Plot

iii. Socio-political context

iv. Setting

Objectives:

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

Topics:

a. Types:

i. Fiction

– Novel

– Novella/Novelette

– Short story

ii. Non-fiction

– Biography

– Autobiography

– Memoir

iii. Faction: a 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

Objectives:

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

Topics:

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

Objectives:

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

Topics:

a. Literary terms: foreshadowing, suspense, theatre, monologue, dialogue, soliloquy, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, figures of speech, satire, stream of consciousness, 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.

Objectives:

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

Topics:

Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose, and Poetry

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

i. determine literary devices used in a given passage/extract;

ii. provide a meaningful interpretation of the given passage/extract;

iii. relate the extract to true life experiences.

A LIST OF SELECTED AFRICAN AND NON-AFRICAN PLAYS, NOVELS, AND POEMS

Drama:

African:

i. Wole Soyinka: Lion and the Jewel

Non-African:

i. John Osborne: Look Back in Anger

Prose:

African:

i. Buchi Emecheta: Second Class Citizen

ii. Alex Agyei Agyiri: Unexpected Joy at Dawn

Non-African:

i. Emile Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Poetry:

African:

i. Leopold Sedar Senghor: Black Woman

ii.Niyi Osundare: The Leader and the Led

iii.Agostinho Neto: The Grieved Lands

iv. Oumar Farouk Sesay: The Song of the Women of the lands

v. Lade Wosornu: Raider of the Treasure Trove

vi. Onu Chibuike: A Government Driver on his Retirement

Non-African:

i. John Donne: The Good Morrow

ii. Maya Angelou: Caged Birds

iii. T. S. Elliot: The Journey of the Magi

iv. D. H. Lawrence: Bats

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