LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

CONTENTS
1. THEORY OF LITERATURE.
LITERATURE.
• literature and language...............................i
• figure of speech...........................................ii
• FORMS/TYPES OF LITERATURE.
• oral literature........................... ...........i
• written literature.................................ii
• ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE.
• form.............................................i
• content...........................................ii
2. NOVELS.
• Houseboy _Oyono,F...........................i
• The old man and the medal -Oyono,F...........ii
3.PLAYS.
3. PLAYS.
• The lion and the jewel -Wole soyinka................i
• The trials of Brother Jero -wole soyinka.......ii
4.POETRY.
• Growing up with poetry -David Rubadiri......i

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1.THEORY OF LITERATURE
1.
Literature as a work of art
Since art refers to use of skills,creation and
imagination to create aesthetic things ,literature is
said to be a work of art because it uses imaginary
language and characters,
characters,it is aesthetic,
aesthetic,it uses various
styles or techniques,
techniques,it uses imaginary settings and the
events and artistically arranged in plot structure.

Other work of art

Other work of artsuch as
painting,sculpturing,weaving,furniture
making,magic,music,film making and many
other differ from literature because literature
making,magic,music,film making and many
other differ from literature because literature
depends on language as its medium,it involves
characterization and it is rich in themes or
messages.Despite these difference,all works of art are
artistic,imaginative,aesthetic and they are products of
the society.

Literature and society

Society refers to a group of individuals sharing the
same special or social territory.The definition of liter‐
ature consists of the word society because literature
is a product of our societies. What is being said in
literature is an image of our social experiences.writers
write what they see and experience in our societies
for the aim of educating,entertaining,criticizing, and
liberating our societies.

Literature as a mirror
A mirror is a surface of glass or metal which reflects a
clear image.literature is said to be as mirror because
it reflects social realities. Social realities reflected by
literature in our societies include:-
Traditions and customs
Conflicts
Liberation struggle
Bad leadership
Betrayal
Poverty
 Classes
Protests and other social issues.

Function of literature to
to the society
The function of literature to the society include
• liberating the society
For istance;women can be liberated from female
genital mutilation through literature.
• Expression of culture
Such as marriage, customs and food taboos.
• Educate society
Through the message it conveys.
• It entertain the society~by using aesthetic
language and events that create enjoyment or
amusement.
• Make people aware of different things
Such as bad leadership.
• Develop language especially when reading or
listening to literary work.
 Literature and language
Language is a system of communication.literature
uses language as its medium of communications and
there is no literature without language. Language is
used in literature to create image,to send the message
and to determine characters.

The relationship between literature and language

Literature and language relate in the way that literature
• develops language when reading literary works.
• Secondly, language is the only medium through
which literature is represented.
• Thirdly, literature expresses the beauty to language
by using figures of speech.
• Lastly,literature acts as a content to be transferred
through language and language is an element in
literature.

Figurative language
It is a language that deviates from norms of using
language. Figurative language is characterized by
expressions called figures of speech such as similes
and metaphors.
and metaphors.

Chararacteristics of figurative language

• It is symbolic:language used in literature is not
straight forward;it can mean something else;for
examble "the lion"may mean a person who is
strong ,oppressive or a leader.
• It is ungrammatical:language used in literature
does not follow the rules of grammar,the writer may
violate grammar rules to convey certain intention.
• It is aesthetic:to be aesthetic means to be beauti‐
ful. The language is usually beautiful because it is
created by the writers to entertain the readers.
• It is imaginative in nature:This means that it
involves the use of imagery to create mental
picture in the reader's mind.
• It is characterized by figures of speech:It
uses various figures of speech such as
similes,metaphors,irony and exaggerations.
• It is difficult to understand:This is because it
involves the use of complex vocabularies.
 Figures of speech
Figures of speech is the addition of beauty to the
literary work. The following are the figures of speech:
1. Apostrophe:directly addressing a nonexistence
person or inanimate object as if it were a living
thing. For example,"oh ice cream!why are you so
scarce?"
2. Hyperbole :refers to over statement of fact. Or
refers to exaggeration of facts;for example,"I went
at his place a million times"
3. Imagery:the use of words that create a mental
picture in the reader's mind. For example "I am in
jungle but I haven't seen a lion yet"
4. Litotes:A negative statement is used to affirm a
positive statement,example "I am bad"
5. Metonymy:The technique of substituting the
main word with the one closely related to it.for
example ,``please give me a hand carrying this box
to the office "The word `hand`represents "help``.
6. Oxymoron:It is a figure of speech in which there
is use of two opposing words.for example ``it was
indeed a deafening silence".
7. Personification:It is a figure of speech which im‐
plies treating inanimate things as human beings.
For example ``the flowers were begging for water"
8. Paradox:This refers to a contradictory statement
that can be true.for example ``save money by
 Paradox:This refers to a contradictory statement
that can be true.for example ``save money by
spending it"
9. Rhetorical question:A question in which the
one asking doesn't require an answer.A person
asking a rhetorical question has an answer to the
question already.For example ``who knows"
10. Sarcasm:the use of bitter or wounding words ei‐
ther ironic or static to mock a person. For example
``I'm not insulting you I'm just describing you".
11. Irony:A statement that means opposite to what
is being said.For example,``Albert is a genius,he
speaks nonsense".
12. Satire:An act of mocking people to show
incompetent or foolish they are.For example
``Traditional dance is a game of idiots".
13. Synechdoche:A figure of speech in which a part
represents the whole or the whole represents the
part.For example "I earn my daily bread by working
at the factory". The word daily bread represents
"food" or income.
14. Alliteration:repetition of identical consonant
sound at the beginning of a word or of stressed
syllable within a word in verse.Eg,f
verse.Eg,farmers family.
15. Assonance:Repetition of similar vowel sounds
in stressed syllables that end with different
consonant sound.Eg la lake and fa
fate,wr
te,wriite and wi
wide.
16. Onomatopoeic(onomatopeia):the figure of speech
in which the formation of words by the imitation
 Onomatopoeic(onomatopeia):the figure of speech
in which the formation of words by the imitation
of sounds resembling those associated with the
object instead of the object it self.it is defined
as the use of that by their sounds suggest their
meaning. E.g..``hiss"``buzz".For example in
Swahili word ``nyau".onomatopeia is one of the
most common features in poetry.
17. Euphemism:A figure of speech in which offensive
expressions replace pleasant statement. Usually
inorder to remove or avoid bluntness in some
subject involving taboos.
" a liberty"instead of ``out of work "
"Senior" instead of ``old people "
"In family way"instead of"pregnant "
18. Humour:it is something funny and amusing.
19. Wit:clever and humorous expressions of
ideas (intelligent and understanding)
20.Sympathy:feeling pity and sorrow;capacity for
sharing feelings of others.
21. Happiness:romantic,lovely,sad,angry,serious etc.
Tone can reveal happiness,romantic,lovely,sad,angry,or
serious mood of the poet or the audience.
22.Antithesis:A figure of speech characterized by
strongly contrasting words,clauses,sentences or ideas
as in "man proposes,God dispossesses".
Note:an
Note: an antithesis is a balancing of one term against
another for emphasis.
23.Rhetorical criticism:A kind of criticism that
emphasizes communication between authors and
readers.
emphasizes communication between authors and
readers.
24.Allusion:A figure of speech that makes brief
reference to a historical or literary figure,event or
object.
25.Ambiquity:The expression of an idea in language
that gives more than one meaning and leaves
uncertainty as to the intended significance of the
statement.
26.Allegory:A form of extended metaphor in which
object, person and actions in narrative,Either in prose
or verse,are equated with meanings that lie out side
the narrative it self.
27.Tautology:The use of superfluous,repetitious
words.
Tautology differs from the kinds of repetition used for
clarity,emphasis or effects in that it repeats the idea
without adding force of clarity.
28.Symbolism:Refers to use of words in such a way
that one thing stands for something else. For example
the cross stands for Christianity.
THE NATURE OF LITERATURE
• Literature has it's origin and development.
• Development of language.
• The artistic form and special use of language was
a product and refraction of the development of a
special category of metal power in man which was
associated with creating,communicating and per‐
ceiving artistic images ,aesthetic consciousness
(conception of reality-the artistic conception).
 Other literary terms(devices)
Ellipsis
Is the ommision of words or letters to avoid repetition
in the sentences. (Figure of speech characterized by
the omission of one or more words which can be easily
sumplied by the readers)
Thesis
The attitude or position on a problem taken by a writer
or speaker with the purpose of proving or supporting
it.
Thesis novel
Is a novel that deals with same
social,economic,political or religious problems in such
a way that it suggests a thesis,usually in the form of a
solution to problems.
Contrast
A device by which one element is thrown into
opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or
clarity.
Rhyme
It is exactly corresponding in sound or word-
endings,usually at the end of lines of poetry,usually
forming part of stanza pattern.
Double rhyme
Is corresponding of two final syllables.
Persona
This is a persona or thing that speaks in the poem.the
This is a persona or thing that speaks in the poem.the
speaker or narrator of a poem can be a women or a
man,an
man, an oppressor,c
oppressor,colonialist,A freedom fighter,etc.
Addressee
This is a person to whom the poem aims to speak. Can
be colonized people,peasants,oppressed,or humiliated
people.

Types of literature
There are two types of literature namely;
1. Oral literature
2. Written literature

1:ORAL LITERATURE
1:ORAL
This is a literature presented through oral expressions
(by the word of mouth). This was practised before the
invention of writing.

Types of oral literature

a)The
a)Th e folk tale
It is a short narrative handed down through oral
tradition. It is a popular story passed on in spoken
from one generation to the next.
b)The
b) The legend
It is a story handed down from the past, especially one
b)The legend
b)The
It is a story handed down from the past, especially one
that may not be true.A legend has more of historical
truth and perhaps less of the supernatural.
c)Myths
c) Myths
These are story that originated in ancient
times,especially one dealing with ideas or beliefs about
the early history of a race,or giving explanations of
natural events,such as the seasons.
d)Fables
d) Fables
They are short stories not based on fact,often with
animals as characters that convey a moral message.
e)Anecdote
e) Anecdote
It is short ,interesting or amusing story about a real
person or event.In careful usage the term most
frequently refers to a narrated incident in the life of an
important person and should lay claim to an element
of truth.
f)Epics
f)Epics
They are long narrative poems in an elevated style
presenting characters of high position in adventures
forming an organic whole through their relation to
a central heroic figure and their development of
episodes important to the history to a nation or race.
g)Ballads
g) Ballads
Is a form of verse to be sung or recited and
characterized by its presentation of a dramatic or
exciting episode in simple narrative form.
h)Riddles
h) Riddles
Puzzling questions,statement or description,especially
ones intended to test the cleverness of those writhing
to solve them.
ones intended to test the cleverness of those writhing
to solve them.
i)Sayings
i)Sayings
Those include-proverbs and idioms
Proverbs ~~Short,well-known sayings that state
a general truth or give advice.
Idioms ~~phrases or sentences whose meaning
is not clear from the meaning of its individual words
and which must be learnt as a whole unit.

2:WRITTEN LITERATURE
Written literature is that which is expressed in written
form like ``A
``A midsummer night's dream " Written
literature has three genres:Novels
Plays/drama
and poetry

Novels
A novel is an extended fiction prose narrative of
considerable length in which characters actions, are
representatives of real life are portrayed in a plot of
more or less complexity.
E.g..of novels
• SPARED written by Nduguru,S.N
• A MAN OF PEOPLE written by Chinua Achebe.
• HOUSEBOY by F.oyono
• THE OLD MAN AND THE MEDAL BY F.oyono
• WEEP NOT,CHILD written by Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
A short story by definition is a prose narrative which
is shorter than a short novel,restricted in characteri‐
zation and situation usually short stories deals with
major event. It's characters are not developed fully.
E.g. of Short stories
》ENCOUNTERS FROM AFRAFRICA《
AFRAFRICA《

Poetry
Poetry is a way of expressing the feelings,
emotion,ideas and other things that we experience or
ideas with social reference to emotional significance
using language characterized by imagery and
rhythmically sounds. Poetry deals with human
realities.

Common terms used in poetry

A poet
A person who compose a poem. It can be in a written
or oral form.

A poem
A piece of writing in a verse form, especially
expressing deep feelings in an artistic language.

A verse
Single line in a poem. It is verse that form one stanza.
A verse
Single line in a poem. It is verse that form one stanza.

A stanza
Arrangement of verses in a poem. Several verses
comprising complete ideas.

Characteristics/features of poetry
• Poetry is rich in imagery
• Poetry is rhythmical
Rhythmical ~is arranged in a pattern of verses which
form stanzas.
• Poetry reflects experiences (ideas) of people.
• Poetry is rich in figures of speech (images).
• Poetry arouses emotions.
• The character of a poem is the persona.
• Poetry arranged in verses and stanza.
• Poetry employees language economy.
• Poetry consists of musical features.
• Poetry has It
• Poetry has its first letter of lines capitalized.

Characteristics of a poet
>He/she must have enough knowledge about human
nature.
>He/she must know the problems of his or her society.
nature.
>He/she must know the problems of his or her society.
>He/she must present strong feelings.
>He/she must educate his or her society.
>He/she must have much ideas concerning poetry.

TYPES OF POETRY
There are several types of poetry as follows
◇ Narrative poetry
◇ Reflective poetry
◇ Descriptive poetry
◇ lyrics poetry
◇ sonnet poetry
◇ Ballad poetry

All these types can be decided into two categories

1. The closed form/Traditional poetry/Rhythmic
poems.
This is a kind of poetry which strictly observes
the old rules of writing poems(grammatical rules) such
as rhyme pattern,equal number of syllables in each
verse,The length of verses,The number of verses in
each stanza, etc.

2. Open form/free verse/modern poetry

This is a kind of poetry which does not observes
the old rules of writing poems.

E.g. of poetry collection

■ Song of Lawino and song of acol written by okot
p'Bitek.
■Song of Lawino and song of acol written by okot
p'Bitek.
■status by Charles mloka.

Drama/plays
It is a literal composition of any length,ordinarily
written to be performed by actors who impersonate
characters,speak in the dialogue, and enact the
appropriate actions. The word Drama comes from
Greek words which mean to do or to act. It refers
to the story told in a way that it can be acted by
characters before an audience.
The important thing in drama are actors or
players,actions,The audience,plot,settings,language
(diction).
A play .......is a piece of writing performed by
actors in a theatre,on television or radio.

Features of dram/play
1. Drama is full of actions unlike other genres.
2. Drama like other genres of literature can teach or
instruct,can criticise,enlighten or inspire.
3. Play has a strong visual element in the story and
image of human nature,reproducing the passions
and human humours.
4. It exposes to the audience the immediate and
existing experience in the society.
5. The dramatist writes on events of his own time no
matter what century that play is set.
6. Drama tends to entertain by choosing characters
that can catch someone's interest,amuse or hold
one's attention.
7. The narration and the progress of the play
are based on the prevailing dynamic like
conflicts,tensions or crises,suspense and climax.

The difference of play from other genres

1. Drama is broader than other genres and hence
serve better in the society.
2. The plot is printed in form of
dialogue,monologue,songs,use the poetic
language and mime.
3. Play uses the 1st person pronoun more frequently
than other persons compared to novels which use
mostly 3rd person personal pronoun.
4. There is economy of words in drama.
5. Play uses shorter time.
6. Play/Drama is characterized by actions carried
out on the stage by the actors.
7. Play involves imitation of the real life events and
hence more meaningful.
8. Play exposes every important espect in the
society without hiding.
Content of a play
In terms of content the play does not differ from other
genres of literature. It differs only in terms of form.
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