JAMB Literature in English Syllabus: The Literature in English 2021/2022 JAMB Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Syllabus is aim at preparing candidates for the Board’s examination.

These course objectives are as follows:

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.

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Jamb Literature in English Syllabus From Jamb

1. DRAMA

Topics:

1. Types:

• Tragedy
• Comedy
• Tragicomedy
• Melodrama
• Farce
• Opera etc.

2. Dramatic Techniques

• Characterisation
• Dialogue
• Flashback
• Mime
• Costume
• Music/Dance
• Decor/scenery
• Acts/Scenes
• Soliloquy/aside
• Lighting etc.

3. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts

• Theme
• Plot
• Socio-political context
• Setting

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Identify the various types of drama;
• Analyse the contents of the various types of drama;
• Compare and contrast the features of different dramatic types;
• Demonstrate adequate knowledge of dramatic techniques used in each prescribed text;
• Differentiate between styles of selected playwrights;
• Determine the theme of any prescribed text;
• Identify the plot of the play;
• Apply the lessons of the play to everyday living
• Identify the spatial and temporal setting of the play.

2. PROSE

Topics:

1.Types:

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

2. Narrative Techniques/Devices:

• Point of view
  – Omniscent/Third Person
  – First Person
• Characterisation
  – Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, etc
• Language

3. Textual Analysis

• Theme
• Plot
• Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
• Socio-political context

Objectives: 

Candidates should be able to:

• Differentiate between types of prose;
• Identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to;
• Analyse the components of each type of prose;
• Identify the narrative techniques used in each of the prescribed texts;
• Determine an author’s narrative style;
• Distinguish between one type of character from another;
• Determine the thematic pre-occupation of the author of the prescribed text;
• Indicate the plot of the novel; identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel.
• Identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel
• Relate the prescribed text to real life situations.

3. POETRY

Topics:

1. Types:

• Sonnet
• Ode
• Lyrics
• Elegy
• Ballad
• Panegyric
• Epic
• Blank Verse, etc.

2. Poetic devices

• Structure
• Imagery
• Sound(Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.)
• Diction
• Persona

3. Appreciation

• Thematic preoccupation
• Socio-political relevance
• Style.

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Identify different types of poetry;
• Compare and contrast the features of different poetic types:
• Determine the devices used by various poets;
• Show how poetic devices are used for aesthetic effect in each poem;
• Deduce the poet’s preoccupation from the poem;
• Appraise poetry as an art with moral values;
• Apply the lessons from the poem to real life situations.

4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES

Topics:

• 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.
• 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.
• Relationship between literary terms and principles.

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Identify literary terms in drama, prose and poetry;
• Identify the general principles of Literature;
• Differentiate between literary terms and principles;
• Use literary terms appropriately.

5. LITERARY APPRECIATION

Topics:

• Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose and Poetry.

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Determine literary devices used in a given passage/extract;
• Provide a meaningful inter-pretation of the given passage/extract;
• Relate the extract to true life experiences.

UTME HARMONIZED PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOKS (LITERATURE IN ENGLISH) 2016-2020

Drama:

African:

•  Frank Ogodo Ogbeche : Harvest of Corruption

Non African:

• William Shakespeare : Othello

Prose:
African:

• Amma Darko : Faceless
• Bayo Adebowale : Lonely Days

Non-African:

• Richard Wright : Native Son

Poetry:

African:

• Birago Diop : Vanity
• Gbemisola Adeoti : Ambush
• Gabriel Okara : Piano and Drums
•  Gbanabam Hallowell : The Dining Table
• Lenrie Peter : The Panic of Growing Older
• Kofi Awoonor : The Anvil and the Hammer

Non African:

• Alfred Tennyson : Crossing the Bar
• George Herbert : The Pulley
• William Blake : The School Boy
• William Morris : The Proud King

RECOMMENDED TEXTS (Jamb Literature in English Syllabus)

1. ANTHOLOGIES
   Gbemisola, A. (2005)Naked Soles, Ibadan: Kraft
   Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin
   Johnson, R. et al (eds.) (1996) New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc
   Kermode, F. et al (1964) Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP
   Nwoga D. (ed.) (1967) West African Verse, London: Longman
   Senanu, K. E. and Vincent, T. (eds.) (1993) A Selection of African Poetry, Lagos: Longman
   Soyinka, W. (ed.) (1987) Poems of Black Africa, Ibadan: Heinemann2. CRITICAL TEXTS
   Abrams, M. H. (1981) A Glossary of Literary Terms, (4th 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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