WEEK THREE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH LESSON NOTE FOR THE WEEKEND.

DATE: MONDAY 6th-10th FRIDAY, 2024.

TOPIC: Themes on "Let Me Die Alone" by John K Kargbo
SUBTOPIC: Major themes
PERIOD:1
DURATION:40mins
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE: Students are familiar with the drama text.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL: A chart caption of these major themes
REFERENCE BOOKS: Julius Abiodun,et al "Success Pen Literature in English" pg 47-
49,Agilpen Publishers Limited,2021,Lagos Nigeria. Oliver M.ILuebe, "Excellent Performance in
Literature in English" pgs 364-368, 2019,Nobel Power Concepts,Benin City Nigeria.
OBJECTIVES: Students should be able to:
1.mention at least five themes
2.explain each thoroughly in relation with the drama text
3.answer questions on theme.
CONTENT: THEMES ON LET ME DIE ALONE.
1.Inordinate ambition and desire to govern: This is evident in Madam Yoko though not
excessively ambitious but she holds on to the vow Gbanya made her to relinquish power to her
upon his death. At his time of departure,the idle thing was to hand over to a man for the
chiefdom to survive. Yoko could not be bribed or compensated knowing what power means.
Again,Lamboi and Musa harshes a plot to eliminate Gbanya and succeed him for fear of Yoko.
Lamboi was so disappointed when Yoko took over.
Lamboi sought for a way to realize his dream,he swore to make Senehun ungovernable for
Yoko. They conspired to kidnap Jeneba,Ndapi and Jilo's only child,kill her and brainwash the
people to believe Madam Yoko used her as sacrifice in to wield more powers. They succeeded
in turning the people against Yoko,Ndapi threatened to kill her with bare hands if she does not
produce his daughter. Yoko was vindicated in the end and Lamboi and Musa lost out, unable to
actualize their selfish ambition.
2. Betrayal And Deceit were majorly displayed by Lamboi and Musa and other people in the
chiefdom. The fear of a woman assuming the enviable position in Senehun. This made them
connive,a brother and the seer,village medicine man,priest of the land to kill the Chief,Gbanya
supposed members of ruling cabinet. When it was apparent he might pass power to
Yoko,Lamboi threatened Musa to do his bidding or his past dirty secrets will be revealed, the
killing of Yattah's son,Mama Kid's daughter,Musa coplied and betray Gbanya and the entire
community.
Musa continued in his wickedness with Lamboi, intending making Moyamba ungovernable and
to implicate Yoko and turn the people against her. Jeneba was kidnapped,then they steered the
people against her death. This singluar act of betrayal,contributes to what led Yoko commit
suicide.
3.Bargain for Power and Dominance: Every one is poised to be in power leading to the death of
Yoko. This made Lamboi and Musa frustrate Yoko. When Gbanya the arrow head of Senehun
was on throne,Yoko constantly reminds him of his promise to her. Her urge to be in charge
made her vow not to have children. She sacrifices her motherhood for the throne and commits
suicide when she becomes uncomfortable with the turn of events
 On the par of Rowe,who made the reign of Gbanya and Yoko unstable,he keeps interfering
with the affairs of the chiefdom. He humiliated Gbanya before his subjects and divides the
boundary under Yoko. His dominance and subjugation was realized late by Yoko and she
laments and took her own life.
Looking at Lamboi and Musa,he first set forth against Gbamya,then Yoko. He killed him without
ascending the throne,then faced Yoko but lost out.
3. Colonialism and Colonial Arrogance: The arrival of the messenger about Rowe's visit made
Gbanya troubled. Despite his mixed feelings and prediction,lots of preparations were made for
his reception. Upon arrival,his arrogance made him ask the soldiers to stripe Chief Gbanya for
flogging. In his attempt to embrace him,he insulted him and asked him not to put his filty hands
on him.
The denigrating treatment of a traditional ruler by Rowe suggests of his impudence and self-
professed superiority colonial administrators exuded.
4. Gender discrimination: In Senehun and Mendes at large women are considered fragile,
vulnerable and incapable of managing crisis. Gbanya drags Yoko into the bedroom and claims
he needs her more than the Sande women and his sexual needs should be her priority. Again
Gbanya was reluctant to validate his promise of handing over to her on his transition to his
ancestors because the the mood and tone of things in Senehun can only be handled by a man.
More importantly, the conflict in the play builds up because Lamboi felt he might hand over to
Yoko,woman who he thinks might not be able to lead the Chiefdom to war instead of him that
has knowledge.
Yoko's doggedness allows her to be chief in the land and forgo her right to bring a child to the
world when she decides to join the Poro cult.
5. Disregard of traditional institution: This is a cardinal theme,as the imperial system of
government put in place by the British in Mende Chiefdom under the leadership of Dr Samuel
Rowe does not respect any form of traditional institution as well as norms and culture of the
people. The way Rowe treats King Gbanya when he ask him to lie down on the floor and his
arm soldiers flig him mercilessly before his subjects. It is an abuse of the culture and traditional
institution of the people.
PRESENTATION: STEP:1. Teacher reviews previous lesson with the students thereafter, invite
students on the various themes of the drama text.
STEP:2. Students enumerate various themes, that are listed on the board.
STEP:3. Students are picked at random to discuss the selected themes in relation to the drama
text.
STEP:4. Students ask questions on what is not clear to them in the lesson.
EVALUATION: 1. Mention at least five themes in the drama text.
2.Explain each thoroughly in relation to the drama text.
3.Answer questions on the lesson taught.a. Musa is a disgrace to Mendes Chiefdom as the
medicine man and eyes of the dogs. Discuss.
b. Discuss the theme of cheap blackmail and betrayal in the play.
SUMMARY: The teacher answer all students questions to the best of her knowledge and for
clarity.
CONCLUSION: Teacher rounds off the lesson,by guiding the students on the answers they
gave under evaluation, and encourage them to read the text again with apt attention for better
understanding.
ASSIGNMENT: Read up characters in the drama text.

PERIOD:2
TOPIC: Characterisation
SUBTOPIC: Major characters
DURATION: 40min
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE: Students are familiar with topic
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL: A chart display of characters
REFERENCE BOOKS: Julius Abiodun et al "Success Pen Literature in English" pg 45-47,
Agilpen Publishers Limited,2021,Lagos Nigeria. O.M.ILuebe,"Excellent Performance In
Literature In English" pg 369-374,2019,Benin City Lagos Nigeria.
OBJECTIVES: Students should be able to:
a.mention the various characters in the drama text
b. discuss them and their roles effectively.
c.answer questions from the drama text.
CONTENT:. CHARACTERISATION
1.Chief Gbanya is the prominent ruler Mendes Chiefdom, husband of Madam Yoko who rules
the Chiefdom after him. He is the ancient traditional ruler at the time the British people still pilot
the affairs of the Chiefdom. He has thirty- seven wives but loves Yoko the most. As a peaceful
man,he attempts to do everything not to incur the wrath of the governor, the sole representative
of her Imperial Majesty, since they monitor the affairs of African communities then. He uses his
throne to make promises to his wife to be granted sexual satisfaction. He was a great and brave
warrior. Unfortunately,he joined forces to fight against the colonial Governors. For this,he could
not escape the humiliation by Samuel Rowe,who orders his soldiers to stretch him before his
subjects on the ground and flog him.
In this circumstance,Musa and Lamboi poison him with alligator gall, but before he dies ,he
handed over the throne to Yoko his beloved wife.
Queen Yoko one of the wives of Chief Gbanya,who took over after him,a tragic heroine,Chief of
Senehun and the entire Mende Kingdom,blood brother to Lamboi. She was used to x-ray the
role of women in national affairs. She is highly spirited , determined and focused and was able
to persuade Gbanya fulfill his promise when it matters most by handing over the Chiefdom to
her.
She is desperate to sacrifice childbearing for power after what happened to her husband. She
was forced to forget the pleasure of womanhood to prove to her people that she can act like a
man when she joined the Poro cult and finally became a ruler.
She was sensitive to the plight of her people, empathetic and loving to the envy of Lamboi,who
made several attempts to pester her reign,not believing a woman can rule the Chiefdom
successfully. She is calm under chaotic situation to enable her think. When she was wrongly
accused of killing Jeneba,she did not react immediately,but waits patiently to dig deep into the
root cause and know the perpetrators. Her sensitive and feminine nature played out when she
could not take the shame any longer- disgrace by the people she loves and serves, betrayal by
the people she trusted and manipulation by the British government that broke her heart,she
courageously took her life.
Lamboi is the disloyal blood brother of Queen Yoko. An evil genius,an antagonist, wicked and
power drunk, with an uncontrolled greed for the throne at all costs. He is introduced as a vicious
and vindictive character.
For fear of Gbanya handing over the Chiefdom to Yoko,,he connives with Musa the seer and
madicine man of the community to poison and kill Gbanya, hoping to wrestle the throne with
Yoko if he did not get it immediately. He 7s a schemer and very manipulative,he uses every
opportunity to destabilize Yoko's reign as Mende chief. He was angry with Gbanya for getting
involved in the Caulker war which he advised him against, with Yoko for being close to the
governor.
He vowed to distabilize her reign. This was achieved by the death of Jeneba. His efforts did not
materilise as Gbeni exposed his ills,a curse was placed on him and his cohort on their run.
Musa is the seer and medicine man of the community,who is supposed to be the eye of the
gods and custodian of the culture and morality in the land,but his activities were contrary. He
was a close associate with Lamboi, conspirators against the well being of the palace. He is
diabolic and has a hand in almost all the evil occurrences in Mende land. This avails Lamboi to
use him as dog of war puppet by devil incarnate. He allows Lamboi to use his past misdeeds to
achieve his devilish desires. They both killed Gbanya,he killed Jeneba,Musa is an evil doer.
Ndapi is the chief warrior of the Chiefdom always at the beck and call of Chief Gbanya. A
respected elder in Mende land. He is the husband of Jilo and father of Jeneba. He is a wife
beater, and handles his household with high handedness driving Jili into the hands of another
man. Jilo feels unwanted and need someone that will be there to make her feel like a woman.
Ndapi is resolute, and does not allow emotions and circumstances becloud his sense of
reasoning. He losses his temper very easily,hence his unthoughtful reactions to Madam over his
missing child.
Samuel Rowe is the Governor,sole representative of the Queen of England. He carries out
Imperial duty, without recourse or respect for African tradition or royal class. He is boastful and
authoritative. He exploits and imposes his decision on the people. He descrated or dishonors
the throne of Senehun by flogging the Chief,Gbanya before his people,imposes tax on them
even over their huts. His action contributed to Madam Yoko taking her own life, feeling used and
dumed by a tyrant.
PRESENTATION: STEP:1. Teacher reviews previous lesson with the students, thereafter
introduce the lesson for the day.
STEP:2. Students mention major and minor characters in the drama text.
STEP:3. Students are picked at random to discuss in detail each of the listed characters.
STEP:4. Students also talk on the minor characters.
STEP:5. Teacher summarizes students contributions adding one or two important points not
discussed.
EVALUATION:1. Mention the various characters in the drama text.
2. Discuss them and their roles effectively.
3. Answer questions from the drama text.a.Write short notes on these characters:
Gbanya,Lamboi and Rowe.
SUMMARY: The teacher reviews the lesson by asking students questions under evaluation.
CONCLUSION: Teacher rounds off the lesson by encouraging the students to copy attach note
for reading and better understanding of lesson taught.

PERIOD:3rd and 4th

DURATION:80 mins,40mins for each
TOPIC: Dramatic Techniques And Styles used I Let Me Die Alone/Revision of last examination.
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE: Students are familiar with drama text content.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL: A chart display of these techniques.
REFERENCE BOOKS: Julius Abiodun et Al," Success Pen Literature in English",pg 41-3,
Agilpen Publishers Limited,Nobel Power Concept,Benin City Nigeria. O.M.ILuebe, "Excellent
Performance In Literature In English"pg 216-7,Lagos Nigeria.
OBJECTIVES: Students should be able to:
a.mention the various dramatic techniques deployed by the dramatist
b.explain each of these techniques as applicable in the drama text.
c.answer questions from lesson taught and revision questions.
CONTENT: DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE DEPLOYED BY THE DRAMATIST/REVISION OF LAST
EXAMINATION.
1.Language-is clear and understandable, it was originally written in Kiro native language of
Sierra Leon. It is embedded with cultural nuances that adequately contextualize the play and
rich in proverbs.
2. Songs and dances-This intersperse the different acts with songs and dance. The Sande
dancers are of a particular interest here. Sande dancers are the projectors of the cultural virility
project of Mende.
3. Comic-relief- It heighten the overall tragic nature of the play. Gbanya is seen dragging Yoko
to bed- stimulate pleasurable interest. The encounter between the guard and messenger also
underscores some comic relief. The messenger has been manhandled before the guards
realize that he is a Poro member.
4. Symbols- Thunder rumbles,Jeneba, Poison are key symbols deployed to advance in the plot
structure. Thunder rumbles to arrest our attention to consciousness. Jeneba represents
shattered hope and a new order denied from sprouting. Poison becomes potent tool of ending
the reign of each leader in the play-Gbanya/ Madam Yoko. For Gbanya, poison took him out in
a disgraceful manner but Yoko used poison to leave the scene with her royal esteem and
integrity intact.
5. Foreshadowing- is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come
late in the play. Jeneba is sent to call Lamboi and Musa for a meeting in the palace,Lamboi
admires her and remarks that girls of her type stand to die in the hands of the enemies of
Senehun. This foreshados her abduction and gruesome death in the hands of the enemies of
Senehum.
REVISION OF LAST EXAMINATION
6. The play deals with the frustrating social life of post-war-11, Britain and it's negative effect on
a. Jimmy shows his frustration in his relation with his friend,Cliff and his wife-Alison and smokes
a pipe. He and Cliff are friends and all three live together in a flat. He is educated, unemployed
but operated a sweet stall. Often drinks tea and blows his jazz trumpet to keep off bordem.
Jimmy finds himself out of job because he does not have the contact that will get him a high
placement. He therefore feels estranged from the establishment and becomes increasingly
frustrated and angry and lashes out on Cliff, and Alison at the least provocation. He married
Alison in an unconventional and private manner to defy her parents preference. Right after
marrying Alison,he takes her along and gate crashes parties of well known middle class families
in embarrassingly untidy or inappropriate clothing. He nicknames Alison"Pusillanimous"(10mks)
7. The poem is about suffering and survival . The title"The grieve land" is a personification of
Africa in grief. Yet it's people are able to overcome various forms of deprivation. The poem
shows that the period extends from colonial to modern times. The grieving is due to colonialism
and slavery. In the tearful woes of ancient and modern slave of other seas. It is due to seduction
"in the infamous sensation of stunning perfume of the flower" as well as the violence meted out
"by the wickedness of iron and fire". These include the aborting of dreams… the dream soon
undone in the jingling of jailers. Loss of self-worth…. In the stifled laughter and victorious voice
laments. Bottled up feelings in the unconscious brilliance of hidden sensations. It will be through
resilience. The never dying spirits that bubble up in dream. Decked with dance by the baobab
through alliance with kindred souls "in the perpetual alliance of everything that lives" and
through sacrifices of the dead " they shout out the sound of life. Shout it"(10marks)
8.The leader and the led is considered a political fable.A fable is a short moral story (often with
animal characters). The animals in fables are always personified-that is given all human
attributes. The poem tests the moral integrity, passion, accountability, tolerance and
commitment of those who aspire to rule and they all fall short of expectations.(10 marks)
9.There are two major themes in the poem. The first major theme is given in the first stanza
which is freedom.It is given through the image of a free bird which goes wherever it wants,
ranging from enjoyment on stream to soaring in wind. The second theme is captivity that
cripples the bird in the cage. The theme goes on in the third stanza and tries to state the caged
bird is forced to sing a song of freedom. Then the free bird again comes into view in the fourth
stanza and enjoys the life on trade winds,trees and in the width and breath of the sky. Next
stanzas describe the caged bird's fear while it is trying to sing a tune for it's freedom during it's
bondage.(10 marks)
10.The poem is a dramatic monologue in form though it differs from a formal dramatic
monologue.Its abrupt beginning, single speaker and silent listener conform to the tradition of the
dramatic monologue. The poem,like many poems written by other metaphysical poets,centers
on love both physical and spiritual and is presented as a dramatic monologue. The tone is
light,informal and highly intimate,with imaginery drawn from religion and science. These are
expressed by the poetic persona in terms of the past,the present and the future; exploring the
joys of love that is total,true, undying, unchanging, complete and immortal.10 marks
PRESENTATION: STEP:1: Teacher reviews previous lesson with students thereafter, the topic
for the days lesson is unfolded.
STEP:2. Students are picked at random to mention the various dramatic techniques deployed
by the playwright.
STEP:3. Students voluntarily explain each of the listed dramatic techniques in relation to the
drama text.
STEP:4.Teacher guides the students seeing the direction the students are taking.
STEP:5. Students answer the remaining revision,expressing their ideas.
EVALUATION:1.Mention the various dramatic techniques deployed by the dramatist.
2. Explain each of these techniques as applicable to the drama text.
3.Answer questions from the lesson taught and from revision questions.
SUMM