JAMB 2025 LITERATURE SYLLABUS

Introduction

JAMB 2025 LITERATURE SYLLABUS aims to prepare the candidates for the Board’s examination. It is designed to test their achievement of the course objectives, which are to:

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

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • 1. DRAMA
  • 2. PROSE
  • 3. POETRY
  • 4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES
  • 5. LITERARY APPRECIATION
  • A List of Selected African and Non-African Plays, Novels, and Poems
  • Recommended Texts

1. DRAMA

Topics:

• Types:
  • Tragedy
  • Comedy
  • Tragicomedy
  • Melodrama
  • Farce
  • Opera
• Dramatic Techniques:
  • Characterization
  • 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

Objectives:

• Identify and analyze the various types of drama.
• Compare and contrast the features of different dramatic types.
• Demonstrate knowledge of dramatic techniques used in prescribed texts.
• Identify the theme, plot, and setting of a play.
• Relate the lessons of the play to everyday life.

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2. PROSE

Topics:

• Types:
  • Fiction: Novel, Novella, Short Story
  • Non-fiction: Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
  • Faction: A combination of fact and fiction
• Narrative Techniques/Devices:
  • Point of view (Omniscient/First Person)
  • Characterization (Round, Flat, Foil, Hero, Antihero)
  • Language
• Textual Analysis:
  • Theme
  • Plot
  • Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
  • Socio-political context

Objectives:

• Differentiate between types of prose and identify the category of each prescribed text.
• Analyze the components of each type of prose.
• Identify the narrative techniques and styles of the author.
• Identify the thematic preoccupation and plot of the prescribed text.

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3. POETRY

Topics:

• Types:
  • Sonnet
  • Ode
  • Lyrics
  • Elegy
  • Ballad
  • Panegyric
  • Epic
  • Blank Verse
• Poetic Devices:
  • Structure
  • Imagery
  • Sound (Rhyme, Rhythm, Repetition, Onomatopoeia)
  • Diction
  • Persona
• Appreciation:
  • Thematic preoccupation
  • Socio-political relevance
  • Style

Objectives:

• Identify different types of poetry.
• Compare and contrast poetic types.
• Identify the devices used by various poets and their aesthetic effect.
• Analyze the poet’s preoccupation and how it relates to real-life situations.

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4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES

Topics:

• Literary Terms:
  • Foreshadowing, Suspense, Soliloquy, Symbolism, Satire, Figures of Speech, etc.
• Literary Principles:
  • Direct imitation in play
  • Versification in drama and poetry
  • Narration of people’s experiences
  • Achievement of aesthetic value
• Relationship between Literary Terms and Principles

Objectives:

• Identify and use literary terms in drama, prose, and poetry.
• Understand the general principles of literature.
• Differentiate between literary terms and principles.

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5. LITERARY APPRECIATION

Topics:

• Unseen Passages/Extracts from Drama, Prose, and Poetry.

Objectives:

• Identify literary devices used in an unseen passage.
• Provide meaningful interpretations of the passage.
• Relate the extract to real-life experiences.

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A List of Selected African and Non-African Plays, Novels, and Poems

Drama:

• African:
  • Wole Soyinka: Lion and the Jewel
• Non-African:
  • John Osborne: Look Back in Anger

Prose:

• African:
  • Buchi Emecheta: Second Class Citizen
  • Alex Agyei Agyiri: Unexpected Joy at Dawn
• Non-African:
  • Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Poetry:

• African:
  • Leopold Sedar Senghor: Black Woman
  • Niyi Osundare: The Leader and the Led
  • Agostinho Neto: The Grieved Lands
  • Oumar Farouk Sesay: The Song of the Women of the Lands
  • Lade Wosornu: Raider of the Treasure Trove
  • Onu Chibuike: A Government Driver on his Retirement
• Non-African:
  • John Donne: The Good Morrow
  • Maya Angelou: Caged Bird
  • T. S. Eliot: The Journey of the Magi
  • D. H. Lawrence: Bats

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Recommended Texts

Anthologies:

1. Gbemisola, A. (2005) Naked Soles, Ibadan: Kraft
2. Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin
3. Johnson, R. et al (eds.) (1996) New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc
4. Kermode, F. et al (1964) Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP

Critical Texts:

1. Abrams, M. H. (1981) A Glossary of Literary Terms, (4th Edition) New York, Holt Rinehart and Winston
2. Emeaba, O. E. (1982) A Dictionary of Literature, Aba: Inteks Press
3. Murphy, M. J. (1972) Understanding Unseen, An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Students, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.