If you are a literature student preparing to take the 2024 JAMB exam, then you should have the updated JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English this year. Having this will give you an edge/advantage in the coming exam as it will serve as a guide to your study.
It’s not enough to just study, you need to study the right materials and the right topics for the said subject; in this case, Literature in English.
The JAMB Literature in English syllabus also contains objectives for each topic mentioned. These objectives are what you must know for every topic you study.
With that being said, let’s get to it.
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JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English Exam 2024/2025
Drama
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Identify the various types of drama.
- Analyze 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.
Content
- Types:
- Tragedy
- Comedy
- Tragicomedy
- Melodrama
- Farce
- Opera etc.
- Dramatic Techniques
- Characterization
- Dialogue
- Flashback
- Mime
- Costume
- Music/Dance
- DeÌcor/scenery
- Acts/Scenes
- Soliloquy/aside
- Lighting etc.
- Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts
- Theme
- Plot
- Socio-political context
- Setting.
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General Literary Principles
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Identify literary terms in drama, prose, and poetry.
- Identify the general principles of Literature.
- Differentiate between literary terms and principles.
- Use literary terms appropriately.
Content
- 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:
- Direct imitation in play.
- Verification in drama and poetry.
- Narration of people‘s experiences.
- Achievement of aesthetic value, etc.
- Relationship between literary terms and principles.
Literary Appreciation
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Determine literary devices used in a given passage/extract.
- Provide a meaningful interpretation of the given passage/extract.
- Relate the extract to true life experiences.
Content
Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose, and Poetry.
Poetry
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- 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.
Content
- Types:
- Sonnet
- Ode
- Lyrics
- Elegy
- Ballad
- Panegyric
- Epic
- Blank Verse, etc.
- Poetic devices
- Structure
- Imagery
- Sound(Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.
- Diction
- Persona
- Appreciation
- Thematic preoccupation
- Socio-political relevance
- Style.
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Prose
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Differentiate between types of prose.
- Identify the category to which each prescribed text belongs.
- Analyze 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 preoccupation 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.
Content
- Types:
- Fiction
- Novel
- Novella/Novelette
- Short story
- Non-fiction
- Biography
- Autobiography
- Memoir
- Faction: a combination of fact and fiction
- Narrative Techniques/Devices:
- Point of view
- Omniscient/Third Person
- First Person
- Characterization
- Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, etc
- Language
- Textual Analysis
- ThemePlot
- Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
- Socio-political context
- Fiction
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Text for the JAMB Literature in English Exam
Here is the list of texts to read for the JAMB Literature in English exam;
Drama
- African: The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka
- Non-African: Look Back in Anger by John Osborne
Prose
- African:
- Unexpected Joy at Dawn by Alex Agyei-Agyir
- Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta
- Non-African;
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Drame
- African:
- Black Woman by Leopold Sedar Senghor
- The Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare
- The Grieved Lands by Agostinbo Neto
- The Song of the Woman of my Land by Oumar Farouk Sesay
- Raider of the Treasure Trove by Lade Wosornu
- A Government Driver on his Retirement by Onu Chibuike
- Non-African
- The Good Morrow by John Donne
- Caged Bird by Maya Angelou
- The Journey of the Magi by T.S. Elliot
- Bats by D.H. Lawrence
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JAMB Recommended Textbooks for Literature in English
The following is the list of recommended textbooks for JAMB Literature in English;
Anthologies
- 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. 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
- 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
Critical Text
- 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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In Summary
There you have it, the updated JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English Exam 2024, and the recommended textbooks you should read to help you pass the exam.
This JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English Exam is very important because, without it, you will not know where to concentrate while studying for your exam.
So make good use of this information and let your friends know about this by sharing this post right now with them. You can even form a reading group and discuss the Literature in English syllabus as you get ready for your exam.
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