JAMB Literature in English Syllabus 2023/2024 | Read and Download PDF

JAMB Syllabus for Literature 2023 PDF. The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB has released the 2023 JAMB Literature in English syllabus to help Jamb candidates prepare for the 2023 JAMB examination.

The JAMB Literature syllabus is provided to make the students know the areas of focus and things to expect in the upcoming JAMB examination

Why JAMB Gives Literature Syllabus to its Candidate

The following are the reasons why the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination Board provides Literature in English syllabus to its candidates.

• Stimulate and sustain their interest in Literature in English;
• Create an awareness of the general principles of Literature and functions of language;
• Appreciate literary works of all genres and across all cultures;
• Apply the knowledge of Literature in English to the analysis of social, political and economic events in the society.

JAMB Literature Syllabus 2023

DRAMA

Topics/Contents/Notes:

1. Types:

• Tragedy
• Comedy
• Tragicomedy
• Melodrama
• Farce
• Opera etc.

2. Dramatic Techniques

• Characterization
• Dialogue
• Flashback
• Mime
• Costume
• Music/Dance
• Decor/scenery
• Acts/Scenes
• Soliloquy/aside
• Lighting etc.

3. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts

• Theme
• Plot
• Socio-political context
• Setting

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Identify the various types of drama;
• Analyse 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.

PROSE

Topics/Contents/Notes:

1. Types:

•  Fiction
  – Novel
  – Novella/Novelette
  – Short story
• Non-fiction
  – Biography
  – Autobiography
  – Memoir
• Faction: combination of fact and fiction

2. Narrative Techniques/Devices:

• Point of view
  – Omniscent/Third Person
  – First Person
• Characterisation
  – Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, etc
• Language

3. Textual Analysis

• Theme
• Plot
• Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
• Socio-political context

Objectives: 

Candidates should be able to:

• Differentiate between types of prose;
• Identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to;
• Analyse 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 pre-occupation 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.

POETRY

Topics/Contents/Notes:

1. Types:

• Sonnet
• Ode
• Lyrics
• Elegy
• Ballad
• Panegyric
• Epic
• Blank Verse, etc.

2. Poetic devices

• Structure
• Imagery
• Sound(Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.)
• Diction
• Persona

3. Appreciation

• Thematic preoccupation
• Socio-political relevance
• Style.

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• 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.

GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES

Topics/Contents/Notes:

• 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
  i. Direct imitation in play;
  ii. Versification in drama and poetry;
  iii. Narration of people’s experiences;
  iv. Achievement of aesthetic value, etc.
• Relationship between literary terms and principles.

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Identify literary terms in drama, prose and poetry;
• Identify the general principles of Literature;
• Differentiate between literary terms and principles;
• Use literary terms appropriately.

LITERARY APPRECIATION

Topics/Contents/Notes:

• Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, Prose and Poetry.

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

• Determine literary devices used in a given passage/extract;
• Provide a meaningful inter-pretation of the given passage/extract;
• Relate the extract to true life experiences.

JAMB Literature Novel 2023

Drama:

African:

•  Frank Ogodo Ogbeche : Harvest of Corruption

Non African:

• William Shakespeare : Othello

Prose:
African:

• Amma Darko : Faceless
• Bayo Adebowale : Lonely Days

Non-African:

• Richard Wright : Native Son

Poetry:

African:

• Birago Diop : Vanity
• Gbemisola Adeoti : Ambush
• Gabriel Okara : Piano and Drums
•  Gbanabam Hallowell : The Dining Table
• Lenrie Peter : The Panic of Growing Older
• Kofi Awoonor : The Anvil and the Hammer

Non African:

• Alfred Tennyson : Crossing the Bar
• George Herbert : The Pulley
• William Blake : The School Boy
• William Morris : The Proud King

JAMB Literature recommended Textbooks

1. ANTHOLOGIES
   Gbemisola, A. (2005)Naked Soles, Ibadan: Kraft
   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
   Nwoga D. (ed.) (1967) West African Verse, 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: Heinemann2. 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.

See: JAMB Syllabus for All Subjects

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Last Updated on January 16, 2023 by Admin