The best way to study for your exam and earn a high mark is to follow the JAMB syllabus.
For each module, the JAMB Literature in English syllabus includes goals. You need to be aware of these goals for every subject you study.
comprehensive list of subjects covered by the JAMB English Literature syllabus.
the contents table
JAMB Literature in English Drama Syllabus
Goals Content Basic Literary Principles
Objectives Poetry Content Objectives Prose Content Objectives Literary Appreciation Objectives
Content JAMB English Literature Text Drama Prose Drama
JAMB Recommended Textbooks for Anthologies of Literature
Important Text
JAMB Literature in English Drama Objectives Syllabus
Candidates must be able to: Recognize the various drama genres.
Examine the drama’s many plots in detail.
Compare and contrast the characteristics of various dramatic genres.
Show that you have a sufficient understanding of the dramatic devices used in each required text.
Differentiate the writing styles of the playwrights you’ve chosen.
Find the text’s theme if one is required.
Determine the play’s plot.
Use the play’s principles to improve your daily life.
Describe the play’s geographical and historical setting.
Types: \sTragedy\sComedy
Tragicomedy
Melodrama
Comedy opera, etc.
Dramatic Methods
Characterization
Dialogue
Flashback
Mime \sCostume
Music/Dance
DeÌcor/scenery
Acts/Scenes
Soliloquy/aside
Luminaires, etc.
The Prescribed Texts’ Interpretation
Social-political Context of the Theme Plot
Setting.
Objectives for General Literary Principles
Candidates must to be capable of
Define literary terms used in poetry, prose, and theatre.
Describe the fundamental tenets of literature.
Distinguish between literary concepts and rules.
Use suitable literary terminology.
Content
Literary terms: in addition to those mentioned above under the various genres: foreshadowing, suspense, theatre, monologue, dialogue, soliloquy, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, figures of speech, satire, stream of mind, synecdoche, metonymy, etc.
literary conventions
Playful direct imitation.
poetry and drama verification.
Experiences of individuals are described.
obtaining artistic value, etc.
relation between principles and literary phrases.
Objectives for Literary Appreciation
Candidates must to be capable of
Identify the literary techniques used in a particular passage or excerpt.
Give a relevant analysis of the passage or excerpt that has been presented.
Connect the excerpt to actual life events.
Content
Unknown quotes or phrases from poetry, prose, and drama.
Poetry \sObjectives
Candidates must to be capable of
Describe the various forms of poetry.
Compare and contrast the characteristics of various poetic forms.
Identify the techniques that different poets employ.
Describe each poem’s use of poetic devices for aesthetic effect.
Determine the poet’s interest from the poem.
Consider poetry to be a form of moral art.
Apply the poem’s lessons to actual circumstances.
Content \sTypes:\sSonnet
Ode \sLyrics \sElegy \sBallad
Blank verse in the panegyric style, etc.
Poetic techniques
Structure
(Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.) Imagery Sound
Diction \sPersona \sAppreciation
Thematic inclinations
Relevance to society and politics
Style.
Prose \sObjectives
Candidates must to be capable of
Distinguish between several forms of prose.
Name the category each required text falls within.
Examine the elements that each form of prose contains.
Determine the narrative strategies employed in each of the recommended texts.
Identify the narrative approach that author uses.
Differentiate between various character types.
Determine the prescribed text’s author’s topic interests.
Describe the novel’s environment, including its time and place, and its plot.
Describe the novel’s temporal and geographical setting.
Connect the reading material to actual events.
Content \sTypes:
Fiction
Novel \sNovella/Novelette
Brief tale
Non-fiction
Biography
Autobiography
Memoir
Faction is a mix of truth and fantasy.
Narrative Methods/Apparatuses:
A viewpoint
Characterization in the First Person Omniscient/Third Person
Hero, antihero, foil, round, flat, etc.
linguistic text analysis
Setting (temporal/spatial) for the theme plot
Political and social context
English-language JAMB Literature Text
The texts for the JAMB Literature in English exam are listed below;
African drama: Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel
Look Back in Anger by John Osborne is not African.
Prose African: Alex Agyei-Unexpected Agyir’s Joy at Dawn
The following is a list of the texts for the JAMB Literature in English exam:
African drama: The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka
John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger is not African.
African poetry: Unexpected Agyir’s Joy at Dawn by Alex Agyei
JAMB Recommendations for Literature Textbooks
The list of suggested books for the JAMB Literature in English exam is as follows:
Anthologies Of Shadows and Rainbows: Musings in Times of Covid (An Anthology of Poems, Plays, and Short Stories), edited by Obafemi O. and Agoi, PEN Nigeria Online
The Penguin Book of English Verse, ed. Hayward, Penguin, London, 1968
R. Johnson and others (eds) (1996) African Poetry New, Ibadan: UP Plc
Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP, Kermode, F., et al., 1964
Odoh Diego Okenyodo and Nduke Ofiono (eds) The Best of Contemporary Nigerian Writing: An Anthology of Young Nigerian Authors, Mace Books Association, New Edition, 2021.
(Ed.) Parker, E.W. (1980) Longman, A Peagent of Longer Poems, London
K. E. Senanu and T. Vincent (eds.) (1993) Lagos: Longman, “A Selection of African Poetry”
Poems of Black Africa, edited by W. Soyinka, Ibadan: Heinemann Critical Text, 1987
In 1981, M. H. Abrams published A Glossary of Literary Terms (4th Edition) A Dictionary of Literature, New York, Holt Rinehalt and Winston Emeaba, O. E. (1982), Aba: Inteks Press
Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Students, by M. J. Murphy, published in 1972, Company: George Allen and Unwin
