JAMB Syllabus For Literature In English 2015

For Candidates to prepare form the JAMB Computer Based Test (CBT) of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), here is official JAMB Syllabus For Literature In English 2015. If you are sitting for Literature, kindly go through this post It should guide you in your revision for JAMB 2015.

Uses/Importance of JAMB Syllabus For Literature In English

1. Stimulate and sustain their interest in Literature in English;
2. Create an awareness of the general principles 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.

1. DRAMA a. Types: i. Tragedy ii. Comedy iii. Tragicomedy iv. Melodrama v. Farce b. Dramatic Techniques i. Characterization ii. Dialogue iii. Flashback iv. Mime v. Costume vi. Music/Dance vii. Decor viii. Acts/Scenes ix. Soliloquy/aside etc. c. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts i. Theme ii. Plot iii. Socio-political context

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.

2. PROSE a. Types: i. Fiction · Novel · Novella · Short story ii. Non-fiction · Biography · Autobiography · Memoir b. Narrative Techniques/Devices: i. Point of view · Omniscient/Third Person · First Person ii. Setting · Temporal · Spatial/Geographical iii. Characterization · Round characters · Flat characters iv. Language use c. Textual Analysis i. Theme ii. Plot iii. Socio-political context 3. POETRY b. Poetic Devices i. Structure ii. Imagery iii. Rhyme/Rhythm

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; ix. relate the prescribed text to real life situations. 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; 3. POETRY a. Types: i. Sonnet ii. Ode iii. Lyrics iv. Elegy v. Ballad vi. Panegyric vii. Epic viii. Blank Verse

iv. Diction v. Persona c. Appreciation i. Thematic preoccupation ii. Socio-political relevance 4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES 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. Relationship between literary terms and principles. 5. LITERARY APPRECIATION Unseen passage/extracts from Drama, Prose and Poetry.

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. Candidates should be able to: i. identify literary terms in drama, prose and poetry; ii. differentiate between literary terms and principles; iii. use literary terms appropriately. 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:

1. Femi Osofisan: Women of Owu

Non African:

1. William Shakespeare: The Tempest

Prose: African:

i. Asare Konadu: A woman in Her Prime

ii. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Purple Hibiscus

Non African:

i. Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and The Sea

Poetry: African:

i. Gbemisola Adeoti; Hard lines

ii. P.O.C. Umeh: Ambassadors of Poverty

iii. Shola Owonibi: Homeless not Hopeless

iv. Syl Cheney-Coker: Myopia

v. Jared Angira: Expelled

vi. Traditional: Serenade.

Non African:

i. John Donne: The Sun Rising

ii. Sir Walter Raleigh: The Soul’s Errand

iii. Langston Hughes: Negro Speaks of Rivers

iv. John Fletcher: Upon an Honest Man’s Fortune.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS

1. ANTHOLOGIES

Gbemisola, A. (2005). Naked Soles, Ibadan Kraft

Eruvbetine, A. E. et al (1991). Poetry for Secondary Schools, Lagos: Longman

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

Johnson, R. name(s)? (eds.) (1996). New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc

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

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

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

Wendy Cope (1986). Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis, London: Faber and Faber

2. 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.

Nwachukwu-Agbada, J. O. J. (2011). Exam Focus: Literature in English, Ibadan: UP Plc. Wisdomline 

SS Team!