WRITTEN LITERATURE

WRITTEN LITERATURE

WRITTEN LITERATURE is the type of literature which represents the human social realities in written form.

In most of African societies written literature came after the invention of writings.

Before that Oral literature was dominant because the societies were illiterate.

That is to say, written literature came as a product of western education whereby elites began writing and printing some written media as a way of communicating their messages to their audience.

Therefore, the presence of written literature expands the mode of presenting social realties to people because people become aware on what goes on in their societies through both the spoken and written form.

GENRES OF WRITTEN LITERATURE.

A genre is a term used in literature when referring to the style which involves a set of characteristics.

In literature genres is used to mean the categories of written literature which have some set of differing characteristics.

Therefore, the term genre is French in origin, which denotes types or classes of literature.

Written literature has three genres

A. Play,

B. Novel

C. Poetry.

A. PLAY/DRAMA.

A Play is a piece of writing which is designed in the way that it can be acted on stage before the audience.

OR- It is a piece of writing which is intended to be acted in a theatre.

Features of Play.

-They are short

-They have some illustrations on top the cover

-They have few Characters

-They take spectacles

-They encompass music

-They have stage direction

-They take few events

-They are told in dialogue

-They divide events into acts and scenes

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

-Any successful drama has six elements namely Thought/Theme /Idea, Action or Plot; Characters, Language or diction, Music or melody and Spectacle.

1. Thought/Theme/Ideas.

This is what the play means. A theme can be clearly stated in the title.

Sometimes it can be stated through dialogue by a character who acts as the playwright’s voice.

On the other hand a theme may be identified after some study or thought.

Thus, themes are abstract or underlying meaning, issues and feelings that grow out of the dramatic action.

2. Action/Plot.

This deals with events of a play.

It looks at the way events happen in a play.

The plot used in plays must have some sort of unity and clarity by setting up a pattern from which each action initiates the next act.

Usually, the plot of a play shows the way characters are involved in conflict that grows from bottom to a top with a certain pattern of movement.

In most cases the action and movement of any play begin from an initial entanglement named exposition, through rising action, then climax, falling action at last to resolution.

3. Characters.

These are people presented in the play in order to peruse the plot.

Every character who is involved in a play can have his or her own distinct personality, age, appearance, beliefs, socio-economic background and language.

Therefore, through the way characters are involved in a play is where a reader can refuse or accept them basing on the way and what represent.

4. Language.

This deals with word choices made by the playwright and the enunciation of the actors of the language.

The Language and dialogue used by the characters helps in moving the plot and action of the play along.

Every playwright can create his or her own specific style in relation to the language one chooses when establishing characters and dialogue.

Therefore, this element focuses on the way words are chosen and arranged by in order to suit the subject matter portrayed.

 5. Music.

Music can encompass the rhythm of dialogue and speeches in a play.

It can also mean the aspects of the melody and music compositions as with musical theatre.

Each theatrical presentation delivers music, rhythm and melody in its own distinctive manner.

Music is not a part of every play.  But, music can be included to mean all sounds in a production.

Music can expand to all sound effects, the actor’s voices, songs and instrumental music played as underscore in a play.

Music creates patterns and establishes tempo in theatre.

In the aspects of the music the songs are used to push the plot forward and move the story to a higher level of intensity.

Composers and lyricist work together with playwrights to strengthen the themes and ideas of the play.

Character’s wants and desires can be strengthened for the audience through lyrics and music.

 6. Spectacle.

The spectacle in the theatre can involve all of the aspects of scenery, costumes and special effects in a production.

These are visual elements of the play created for theatrical event.

That is to say, these are qualities determined by the playwright in order to create the world and the atmosphere of the play before the audience’s eye.

COMMON TERMS USED IN PLAY/DRAMA.

(1)    Rehearsal.

Refers to a practice of a perfomance either a music, dance or a play before a real performance. A rehearsal can be done even without the audience or the actors and actresses may act as the audience. Rehearsal helps the performers to have confidence and to experience the stage before a real perfomance.

(2)    Props.

Refers to material elements which are used on a stage by actors or actresses such as caps and sticks.

Eg. Jero’s cap in “The trials of brother Jero” by Wole Soyinka.

(3)    Costumes.

Is a term used to refer to what is dressed on a stage by actors and actresses. It includes clothes such as dress, shirt, coat, jacket trousers etc. Costumes may make an actor or actress to appear like a suggested character in the directions. Even an eighteen (18) years actor or actress can appear an elder i.e grandfather or grandmother through costumes.

(4)    Pantomime/mime.

Refers the use of body movements and facial expressions by actors to convey a message without speaking. This may include the use of gestures or shaking hands.

(5) Stage/Theatre.

Is a performing area or a place where performance takes place. A stage can be a hall or an open area. Even the ground or stadium. It depends on the arrangement of the director.

important thing about the stage is that the performer is seen by the audience.

(6)    Act.

Is the main division of a play. An act generally focuses on one major aspect of the plot or theme. Between acts there is a change of scenery and the setting may shift to another locale.

(7)    Actor.

Is a man whose profession is acting on the stage, in drama, movies or television.

(8)    Actress.

Is a woman whose profession is acting on the stage, in drama, movies or television.

(9)    Deus x Machina.

Is one among the play actors who acts like a god whose by his judgement and commands resolves the dilemma of the human character. It is an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, often unrealistic.

(10)    Scene.

Is a subdivision of an act of a play in which the time is continuous and the setting is fixed. Shortly a scene is one of the parts into which a play or a film may be divided.

(11)    Film.

Is a story or event recorded by a camera as a series of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television.

(12)    Dramatic Irony.

Is a failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious to the audience.

Eg. In “Oedipus” by Sophocles, when Oedipus fails to realize what the audience knows- that he married his own mother.

(13)    Foreshadowing.

These are hints of what is to come in the action of a play or a story. It is the use of words that suggest the future events in the work of art.

(14)    Enter stage direction.

Refers to a manuscript indicating the entrance onto the stage of a character or characters.

(15)    Epilogue.

Is a short address spoken by an actor at the end of a play that comments on the meaning of events in a play or looks ahead to expected events. i.e an afterword in any literary work.

(16)    Prologue.

Is a sort of introduction to a story that usually sets the tone for the story and acts as a bit of a background into the story. Prologues are typically a narrative spoken by one of the characters and not from the part of the author Eg. “The origin of the story is……”, “It all began one day when.    ”

(17)    Monologue.

Is an oral or written composition in which only one person speaks; or is any speech or narrative presented by one person (18)Dialogue.

Is the conversation between two or more people. It can be either verbal or written.

(19)    soliloquy.

Is the act of talking to oneself, whether silently or aloud. In other words, A soliloquy is a speech in which a character who is alone, speaks to his or her thoughts silently or aloud.

Advantages of soliloquy.

(i)    It gives the motives of the character.

(ii)    We can get the feeling of the character about the prevailing situation.

(20)    Opera (plural of Opus).

Opera are plays set to music. The words are sung and sometimes presented in a dialogue that resembles conversation but sounds like singing.

(21)    Puns.

Puns are very popular literary devices where by a word is used in a manner that suggests two or more possible meanings.

(22)    Play within a play.

This refers to the history of a play within a play narrated by an actor or a character. This literary device is known to have been first used by Thomas Kyd in “The Spanish Tragedy” in 1587.

Eg. “The dance of the lost traveller” in “The lion and the Jewel” by Wole Soyinka.

TYPES OF DRAMA.

Drama consists of different types as explained below:-

a) Tragedy drama– This is the type of drama which takes some serious events. In most cases the main character or hero of this drama ends in suffering, danger or death making the play have sad ending.

b) Comedy drama– This is the type of drama which consists of some amusing, funny and humorous events which always makes the audience laugh.

c) Tragicomedy drama– This is the type of drama which consists of both sad and amusing events. In this drama the main character or hero comes across different hardships but does not end in death.

d) Historical drama– This is the type of drama which portrays on the history of a certain society. This drama also takes some elements of both the tragedy and comedy drama however the main character or hero does not end in danger.

e) Melodrama– This is the type of drama in which characters involved show some stronger emotions than a usual human being can do. In most cases this drama is aimed for entertainment.

B. PROSE/NOVELS

The prose is an extended writing that is continuous written in paragraphs. This genre is subdivided into;

(a)    Novels

(b)    Novella.

(c)    Short stories.

(c) Novelette.

(a)    NOVELS.

A novel is a kind of literary work which is written in prose from. An example of a novel is “HOUSEBOY” by Ferdinand Oyono or “THE CONCUBINE” by Elechi Amadi.

NOVEL AND SHORT STORY

A Novel is a prose fiction with a considerable length taking some fictional or imaginary characters and events. In most cases novels are very long, when they become short are called Novella.

Features of a Novel

-They are long

-They take some illustrations on top of the covering paper

-They are sequential stories.

-They are divided into chapters

-They are told in monologue

-They take many characters

-They take many events

Novella.

Is a short prose fiction shorter than a novel but longer than a short story.

Short Story.

Is a narrative writing which is brief and simple than a novel. A short story is sometimes defined as a story with only one fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborative than a novel. It contains words ranging from 500 to 15,000.

E.g. “Mabala the Farmer” by Richard S. Mabala.

C. POETRY.

Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning in portraying the human social realities.

On the other hand, Poetry is the type of literature which uses beautiful, creative and imaginary language in portraying human daily social realities.

Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words or to evoke emotive response.

In poetry the devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects.

Also, in poetry the use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations.

(a) POEM.

Is a metrical composition characterized by strong imagination, significant meaning and appropriate language. Or Poem is a piece of writing in verses form especially expressing deep feelings in an artistic language.

NB. Poems are meant to be sung or read aloud.

(b)    A POET (man)/ POETESS(woman)

Is a person who composes poems.

(c)    VERSE.

Is a single line in a poem.

(d)    STANZA.

Is a group of arranged verses in a poem making up a complete idea.

TYPES OF STANZA.

(i)    Couplet.

Is a stanza with two lines.

(ii)    Triplet(Tercet).

Is a stanza with three lines.

(iii)    Quatrain.

Is a stanza with four lines.

(iv)    Quintet.

Is a stanza with five lines.

(v)    Sestet(Sextet).

Is a stanza with six lines.

(vi)    Seplet.

Is a stanza with seven lines.

(vii)    Octave.

Is a stanza with eight lines.

TYPES OF POEMS.

Poems are classified according to ;

(a)    Form.

(b)    Kind.

(a)    FORM.

According to form, poems are classified into;

(i)    Bound form/Bound verse/Traditional poems.

(ii)    Open form/Free verse/Modern poems.

(i)    BOUND FORM/BOUND VERSE/TRADITIONAL POEMS.

This refers to poems that strictly follow the poetic conventions or principles especially of meter and rhyme.

Eg. “If We Must Die” by Claude Mc kay.

(ii)    OPEN FORM/FREE VERSE/MODERN POEMS.

This refers to poems that do not strictly follow the poetic conventions or principles of meter and rhyme.

Eg. “Building the Nation” by Henry Barlow.

(b)    KIND.

Classification of poems according to kind normally base on the content of the poem and form to a little bit. According to kind, poems are classified into;

(i)    Lyric poems.

(ii)    Narrative poems.

(iii)    Dramatic poems.

(iv)    Didactic poems.

(v)    Descriptive poems.

vi) Limerick

FEATURES OF GOOD POETRY.

i) It is rich in figures of speech.

ii) It evokes emotions.

iii) It is made of verses and stanza.

iv) It is made in rhymes and rhythms.

v) It meant to be sung.

vi) It gives moral lessons.

TYPES OF POETRY.

Poems can be categorizes basing on their forms and content. Basing on forms, one can divide them into traditional or closed poetry and modern or open poetry.

With traditional poetry refers to those poems which adhere strictly to the traditional rules of composing poems like rhyming schemes, rhythmic patterns, equal number of syllables, verses and stanza.

Coming to modern poetry refers to poems which ignores the structural patterns of composing poems. These poems are also called the free verse poems.

Under content the division of poetry bases on what the particular poem addresses to the audience. Some of such categories are:-

a) Narrative poetry– This is a genre of poetry that tells a story.

b) Descriptive poetry– This is the type of poetry which tells on what someone or something is like.

c) Lyric poetry– These ore poems which expresses personal deep thoughts and feelings.

d) Elegy poetry– An elegy is a mournful, melancholy or plaintive poem, especially a lament for the dead or a funeral song.

-These are sad and sorrowful poems which are sung mainly for remembering someone who has dead.

e) Sonnet poetry– This is the type of poetry which is made of fourteen lines with a particular pattern of rhyme.

f) Ode poetry– These are poems which express the writer’s thoughts and feelings about a person or a certain subject.

-It is a long lyric poem that is serious in subject and treatment, elevated in style, and elaborative in its stanza structure.

g) Ballad poetry– This is the type of poetry in which the poems tells a story with deep feelings.

h) Epic poetry– These are long poems which deal with a historical subject.

-It is a long verse narrative on a serious subject, told in a formal and elevated style, and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race.

i) Dramatic poetry– This is a kind of drama which is written in verse to be spoken or sung.

IMPORTANT TERMS USED IN THE STUDY OF POETRY.

-In the study of poetry one may meet with different terms as discussed bellow:-

i) Poetry– This is the art of composing or collecting poems.

ii) Poem– This is a piece of writing in verse and stanza form which express deep feelings in a beautiful language.

iii) A verse– This is a single line in a poem. This line forms a stanza or a part of stanza.

iv) Stanza– This is the combination or collection of verses. Stanza can also form a poem or be a part of a poem.

v) Poet– This is a man who compose poems.

vi) Poetess– This is a woman who compose poems.

vii) Persona– This is a person who speak in the poem. Sometimes persona is called dramatist.

viii) Rhyme– These are similar sounds which appears at the terminal points either across or at the end of each line of the poem.

ix) Rhythm– These are regular movements of beats occurring in the poem as the result of the rising and falling of sounds.

x) Refrain– This is the repeated line which appears at the end of each stanza in the poem.

xi) Tone– This refers to the quality of voice which is used in the poem depending on the message to be conveyed before the audience.

xii) Mood– This refers to the state of mind of a reader which comes after reading a poem.

xiii) Title– This refers to the name of the poem. Some poems take ironical names from which the reader can identify the meaning of such poems.

xiv) Theme– This refers to the central idea which is conveyed in the poem.

xv) Message– This refers to the lesson that one build after reading a poem.

xvi) Poetic license– This refers to the freedom that poets and poetess has in violating some facts and grammatical rules when composing poems.

xvii) Imagery– This is the figure of speech which creates mental pictures through words. Poems are rich in this figure of speech as it appeals through senses like touch, seeing, smell, taste, sound as well as kinesthetic.

xviii) Symbolism– This is a figure of speech which use objects in presenting ideas.

xix) Poetic diction– This refers to the way words are chosen and arranged esthetically in poems to portray human reality.

HOW TO INTERPRET A POEM.

-In order to analyze any poem well one should adhere to the following procedures:-

a) Look and observe at the poem careful- This helps in identifying the number of verses and stanza that forms it. Also, through this one can understand whether the poem is traditional or modern.

b) Read the whole poem careful.

c) Re-read the poem carefully while identifying the difficulty words used in it.

d) Find the meaning of difficulty words used in the poem.

e) Re-read the poem carefully relating the meaning of difficulty words to the context of the poem.

f) Ask yourself on what the poem is all about?

g) Identify the themes portrayed in the poem.

h) Comment on the mood of the speaker.

i) Identify the messages found in the poem.

j) Comment on the poetic diction employed in the poem.

k) Relate the poem read to you personal and national life experience.

1. Limerick poems.

2. Diamond poems.

LYRIC POEMS

These are song like poems expressing one’s personal feelings.

Eg. “Song of a common lover” by Flaven Ranaivo.

TYPES OF LYRIC POEMS.

Lyric poems are divided into ;

• Ode.
• Song.
• Sonnet.
• Elegy.
• Light verse.

Ode.

Is a serious expression of a single theme. It is sometimes referred to as a poem that addresses a person or a thing or celebrates an event. For instance a poem composed at one’s wedding may fall in this category.

Eg. “I LOVE YOU MY GENTLE ONE” by Ralph

Bitamazire.

Song.

Is a poem set to music.

Eg. “Song” by Jonathan Kariara.

Sonnet.

Is a lyric poem that contain fourteen (14) lines.

Eg. “If We Must Die” by Claude Mc kay.

Elegy.

Is a lyric poem that expresses sadness about someone who died.

Eg. “An Elegy” by Laban Erapu.

Light Verse.

Light verse refers to poems that use an ordinary speaking voice and a relaxed manner to treat their subjects gaily, or playfully, or wittly or with good-natured satire. It is sometimes defined as the witty or amusing verse on a popular subject.

Eg. “The War Song of Dinas Vawr” by Thomas Love Peacock.

(I)    Narrative Poems.

A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story. Eg. “The shebeen Queen” by M. Pascal Gwala.

Types Of Narrative Poems.

Narrative poems are divided into;

(a)    Epic.

(b)    Ballad.

Qn. By using your experience gained in the study of literature, explain on features which make poetry differ from other genres of literature.

Epic.

Is a long dignified poem telling a story of heroic deeds. In other words, an Epic poem refers to a long poem that deals with actions of great men and women or history of nations. Eg. An Epic about Roman Empire.

Ballad.

Is a song that tells a story.

Eg. “Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes.

(iii) Dramatic Poems.

These are poems in which a person is talking to another person or to other persons.

Eg. “Mother to son” by Langston Hughes.

Types Of Dramatic Poems.

Dramatic poems are divided into ;

(a)    Dramatic monologue.

(b)    Dramatic dialogue.

(a)    Dramatic Monologue.

Is a type of poem in which only one person is speaking addressing another person or other persons.

Eg. “If we must die” by Claude Mckay.

(b) Dramatic Dialogue.

Is a type of poem in which two or more people are speaking to each other.

Eg. “Dialogue” by Jared Angira.

(iv) Didactic Poems.

These are poems designed to give instructions to readers. Didactic poems are mainly for political or social messages.

Eg. “Your Pain” by Armando Guebuza.

(v) Descriptive Poems.

These are poems giving picture in words. In other words, a descriptive poem is stated as a poem that uses detailed words to create an image of a person, animal or inanimate object. Eg. “Perfect woman” by William Wordsworth.

(vi) Limerick Poems.

A limerick poem is a funny or humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first ,second and fifth lines are longer than the third and fourth lines. It has the rhyming pattern of “aabba”. The longer “a” lines rhyme with each other and the shorter “b” lines rhyme with each other.

E.g. The Nickelodeon TV show “Spongebob squarepants”, featured a limerick poem that went

“There was an old man from peru-a Who dreamt he was eating his shoe.-a He awoke in a fright-b

In the mid of the night-b

And found it was perfectly true.-a”

(vii)    Diamond Poems.

Diamond poems are poems in a diamond shape about two opposite things. They contain topic A and topic B and they are written in a diamond shape. Diamond poems are special kinds of poems. They are to be read on the page by the reader, rather than just listened to. Look at this example.

Birth Happy, active

Laughing, hoping, living Child, innocence, adult, problems

Thinking, crying, suffering Old,    ill

Death

In the poem above topic A is about birth and topic B is about death.

(viii)    Haiku.

Is a Japanese form of Poetry consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables.

Eg.1

An old silent pond

A frog jumps into the pond, Splash? Silence again.

E.g.2

Light of the moon

Moves west, flowers’ shadows Creep eastward.

E.g.3

Night; and once again,

the while I wait for you, cold wind turns into rain.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD POET/POETESS.

1. He/she must have enough knowledge about human nature.

2. He/she must know the problems of his or her society.

3. He/she must present strong feelings.

4. He/she must educate his/her society.

5. He/she must have much ideas concerning poetry.

CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES OF POETRY.

(1)    Poetry is economical in words. It is condensed into few words. Messages are not portrayed through narrations but imagery and symbolism. This makes poetry to use few words.

(2)    Poetry is rhythmical. It is characterized by the rise and fall of sounds in its verses.

(3)    Poetry is emotional. Poetry expresses feelings and emotions of the speaker. This can make a reader to have a feeling of sadness, sympathy or happiness.

(4)    Poetry is rich in figures of speech. Figures of speech are plenty in Poetry and they are devices and ways of conveying messages.

(5)    Poetry is in form of verses or lines to form stanzas. This means it does not use sentences or paragraphs as in a novel or prose.

(6)    Poetry is spontaneous. This means it is the feeling of an individual speaking without preparing whether to express happiness or anger.

(7)    Poetry is difficult to understand. This is because it uses complex vocabularies and symbolic language in which the meanings of words are not direct.

(8)    Poetry violates the rules of grammar. Poetry does not follow the rules of grammar and this violation of grammatical rules is called poetic lisense in which the poet violates grammar of language to convey intention.

THE LANGUAGE OF POETRY.

Poetry uses a language that is a bit different from the language used in other genres. The language used in poetry has the following features.

1. It is condensed or reduced in nature.

2. It applies poetic licence

3. It is full of imagery. It paints/colours the imagery.

4.    It is more emotional compared to ordinary language.

5.    It has a rhyming pattern.

6.    It is full of ellipsis.

7.    It is rich in figures of speech.

8.    It uses a bit complex vocabulary.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POETRY AND OTHER GENRES OF LITERATURE.

(1)    Poetry is written in verses/lines which are arranged to form stanzas, on the other hand prose is written in sentences and paragraphs.

(2)    Poetry is economical in language uses as it use few words to convey much information. i.e what is written in say one stanza of a poem can be expressed in many pages of the novel. Prose is actually non-economical as it is elaborative. i.e a lot of elaboration are needed for clarity.

(3)    Poetry is more rhythmical. It is characterized by the rise and fall of sound within a poetic line.

(4)    Poetry uses figures of speech more plentifully than other genres of literature.

(5)    Poetry is richer in imagery than other genres.

(6)    Aesthesis is the most important aspect in poetry while in other genres information is the more important aspect.

(7)    Poetry is more connotative while other genres are more denotative.

(8)    Poetry violates grammatical rules of language than other genres of literature.

Poetry has a persona, A persona is a person who speaks in a poem while in prose, the speaker is referred to as a narrator.

ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN LITERATURE OVER ORAL LITERATURE.

(1)    Written literature exists for a long time because it is stored in writings which may exist for a very long time and even centuries.

(2)    Written literature is a source of employment; a person creates his or her own story. When he/she writes it becomes his/her

property, therefore it gives him/her individual income.

(3)    Written literature is accessible. It is found in libraries, schools, bookshops and stationeries. It is therefore easy to access.

(4)    Written literature is mobile. This means a reader can walk with a book and read it at any time he/she wants. At any place and any time. This is not practical in oral literature.

(5)    Written literature is academic. This is because it must involve people who have gone to school and it encourages people to go to school to know how to read. An illiterate or non-educated person cannot be involved in written literature.

(6)    Written literature develops language skills. It develops reading skills when one is reading and writing skills when one is writing.

RELATIONSHIP PRESENT BETWEEN ORAL AND WRITTEN LITERATURE.

a) Both portray on human social realities

b) Both use language as its medium of communication

c) Both consists of two elements that is form and content

d) They perform similar functions like educating, developing language and uniting people.

DIFFERENCE PRESENT BETWEEN ORAL AND WRITTEN LITERATURE.

Qn. “Oral and written literature are inseparable” Show the truth of this statement by giving two examples per each reason.

ADVANTAGES OF STUDYING LITERATURE.

i) It identify the society.

ii) It broadens people’s thinking

iii) It preserves and transmits people’s culture

iv) It educate people

v) It criticize people

vi) It influence people

vii) It develop language

viii) It entertain people

ix) It unite people

x) It encourage people

xi) It create employment to people