JAMB Literature in English Topics & Areas of Concentration
SECTION 1: DRAMA+
Topics to Cover:
- •Types: Tragedy, Comedy, Tragicomedy, Melodrama, Farce, Opera etc.
- •Dramatic Techniques: Characterisation, Dialogue, Flashback, Mime, Costume, Music/Dance, Décor/scenery, Acts/Scenes, Soliloquy/aside, Figures of Speech.
- •Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts: Theme, Plot, Socio-political context, Setting.
What JAMB will test you on:
- Identify the various types of drama, analyse their contents, and compare and contrast their features.
- Demonstrate adequate knowledge of dramatic techniques and stage directions used in each prescribed text.
- Differentiate between styles of selected playwrights.
- Determine the theme of any prescribed text and identify the plot of the play.
- Apply the lessons of the play to social reality.
- Identify the spatial setting and temporal period of the play.
SECTION 2: PROSE+
Topics to Cover:
- •Types: Prose fiction (Novel, Novella/Novelette, Short story); Non-fiction (Biography, Autobiography, Memoir); Faction (combination of fact and fiction).
- •Narrative Techniques/Devices: Point of view (Omniscient, First Person, Second person, Third person, Stream of consciousness, Epiphany).
- •Characterisation: Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, villain, heroine, etc.
- •Language: Grammar, diction and clarity of expression.
- •Textual Analysis: Theme, Plot, Setting (Temporal/Spatial), Socio-political context.
What JAMB will test you on:
- Differentiate between types of novel and identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to.
- Analyse the components of each type of prose and identify the balance of facts and fiction in literary faction.
- Identify the narrative techniques used in each of the prescribed texts and determine an author’s narrative style.
- Distinguish between one type of character from another.
- Determine the thematic pre-occupation of the prescribed text, indicate the plot, and identify the setting and period/timing.
- Relate the prescribed text to social reality.
SECTION 3: POETRY+
Topics to Cover:
- •Types: Sonnet, Ode, Lyrics, Elegy, Ballad, Panegyric, Epic, Blank Verse, etc.
- •Poetic devices: Imagery, Sound (Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.), Diction, Persona.
- •Appreciation: Thematic preoccupation, Socio-political relevance, Style.
What JAMB will test you on:
- Identify different types of poetry and identify their distinctive features.
- Determine the devices used by various poets and show how poetic devices are used for aesthetic effect.
- Identify the figures of speech in the texts and show how poetic devices convey message and meaning.
- Deduce the poet’s thematic preoccupation from the poem.
- Appraise poetry as an art with moral values and apply the lessons from the poem to social reality.
SECTION 4: GENERAL LITERARY TERMS AND LITERARY APPRECIATION+
Topics to Cover:
- •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 under the different genres).
- •Literary Appreciation: Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose and Poetry.
What JAMB will test you on:
- Identify literary terms that are specific to drama, prose and poetry.
- Identify areas of overlap in all the genres (e.g. verse in drama and poetry, narration in all the genres).
- Identify literary devices used in a given unseen passage/extract.
- Provide an interpretation of the given passage/extract and relate it to true life experiences.
SECTION 5: PRESCRIBED LITERATURE TEXTS (AFRICAN AND NON-AFRICAN)+
Topics to Cover:
- •African Drama: Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland.
- •Non-African Drama: Anthony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare.
- •African Prose: So the Path Does not Die by Pede Hollist; Redemption Road by Elma Shaw.
- •Non-African Prose: Path of Lucas: The Journey He Endured by Susanne Bellefeuille.
- •African Poetry: Once Upon a Time by Gabriel Okara; New Tongue by Elizabeth L.A. Kamara; Night by Wole Soyinka; Not my Business by Niyi Osundare; Hearty Garlands by S.O.H. Afriyie-Vidza; The Breast of the Sea by Syl Cheney-Coker.
- •Non-African Poetry: She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron; The Nun’s Priest Tale (shortened) by Geoffery Chaucer; The Telephone Call by Fleur Adcock; The Stone by Wilfred Wilson Gipson.
What JAMB will test you on:
- Read and thoroughly comprehend all the officially prescribed texts.
- Apply the principles of textual analysis, characterization, and thematic interpretation to each specific novel, play, and poem.
- Recognize quotes, contexts, and character motives directly from the prescribed texts.
Official JAMB Literature in English Recommended Textbooks
- 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.
- Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin.
- Johnson, R., Ker, D, Maduka, C. Obafemi, O (eds.) (1996) New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc.
- Kermode, F. (1964) Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP.
- 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.
- Parker, E.W. (ed.) (1980) A Peagent of Longer Poems 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: Heinemann.
- 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.