Prose
This is an ordinary
style of expression that is straight forward without rhetoric that will require
special effort to understand. Novels are written in prose.
Types
of prose
Prose is
divided into fiction and nonfiction.
Non-Fiction
Non-fiction refers to a story that is true
and not based on mere imagination. It has a historical record that can be
proved.
1. Biography: this is a true life story that
is written about an individual’s experience that could be sad or happy. It is
written by a person other than the same individual.
2.
Autobiography: this story is equally about an
individual but written by the same person. This means that the person tells his
own story.
3.
Memoir:
4.
Epistle:
Fiction
1. Short story: this is a story
about a single theme or subject. It is not as long as a novella or novel,
usually less than three thousand words.
2. Novella: this is longer than a
short story and not as long as a novel, about three to 10000 words.
3. Novel: this is a long fiction
that contains imaginative characters but written based on true life
experiences. A story is best accepted as a novel if it has up to thirty-five
thousand words.
4.
Fable:
this is a narrative which possesses the attributes of surface and metaphorical
meanings. It is usually pointing out societal flaws using animal characters.
5. Allegory:
6. Romance: this refers to a
fanciful tale whose setting, characters, incidents, etc. are out of this world
as it is said in popular parlance. Its characters and events are usually
impossible in the human sense. They are used more only for entertainment.
7. Parable: this a prose work that
is used to capture moral truth. It is often didactic.
Features of prose
1.
Theme/subject
matter
2.
Plot
Types of
plot
i.
Linear:
in a story with a linear plot, the story begins and moves gradually in a
chronological order of events to the middle and then to the end.
ii.
Episodic:
this story is not chronological in that the story can begin from the middle of
the story then to the beginning before jumping to the end. Such stories can
equally start at the end and unveil events that lead to the present state by
moving to the beginning of the story. An example of such stories is the last good man by patience Swift.
Narrative techniques
First
person narrative technique: this refers to a perspective of story-telling from
the standpoint of the narrator. The principle pronouns in such stories are I, me, we, my, our etc. That is, a
person tells a story as though it is his personal experience even though it may
not be.
Third
person narrative technique: this narrative technique takes on the third person
pronouns like he, him, they, their, etc. because it is narrated from a third
person point of view. The narrator tells the story as someone talking about the
experience of another person which he was told or he witnessed; for instance
when you talk about your father, you will use the third person narrative
technique.
Omniscient
narrative technique: this narrative technique is similar to the third person
narrative technique in that it uses the third person pronoun except that the
narrator here is all-knowing. The narrator is like a god that can see different
events at the same time, and can tell the thought of his characters. In third
person narrative technique, the narrator speaks of his experience but in
omniscient narrative technique, the narrator creates the world he chooses.
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How to Understand Poetry: for WASSCE candidates
I know you want to write your literature examination and
pass it; and of course maybe to pass with an excellent grade. Now, that is why
I have written this to help you. Success is actually in your hand; my part is
only of a helper, to give you a guide as you embark on this journey to success.
That you have this write-up does not guarantee you a ‘C’ or an ‘A’ but it is how you use the it that will
determine whether or not you will pass very well in this exam you are preparing
to write. There are a number of books that have been written to help students
pass literature; however, I have seen how students still have challenges understanding
the books; that is why I have written this. I believe that if you have been
having any difficulty in literature this is the end of your struggle. Just
ensure that you do whatever you are asked to do in this book.
As you study, pay attention to the earlier part of the
book because towards the end, references may be made to the earlier part where
we don’t have to repeat some things.
We decide to start with poetry because it is more of
the basic reason for this book. You may be able to read the novels and plays
which you can get from the market. And of course, you may read them and are
able to answer questions on them easily. But in the case of poetry, you may
always need some assistance. Moreover, the poems you are to study are not all
from one poet, so they are not found in one collection.
First, I like you to note that the language of
poetry is not literal as in prose and drama. That is the reason why we have to
study some basic poetic devices before
this discussion. If you have not read those pages on poetic devices, please do so
before you continue here; it is the secret to understanding poetry. Don’t be in
a rush or find a deadly short cut, you will not only get yourself the more
confused, but also frustrated, and discouraged. You need the poetic devices to
unravel the hidden messages behind those poetic lines. Take for instance,
someone says “tell that pig to come in”, of course you will be the real pig if
you actually expect to find a literal pig to invite into the house. Perhaps you
might find some unkempt, dirty and uncoordinated person at the door. That is
the ‘pig’. The device used such situation is metaphor. So in poetry, you must
try to find a meaning different from the meaning of the word in its literal form.
If a person tells you, ‘I held the sun in my hand,
my determination sucked its power to burn,” why would you expect that this is
true - a person to hold the sun in his hand. Could that ever be done? Why don’t
you say perhaps, this person is saying that a difficult situation which seems
almost impossible to overcome, I was able to overcome because of my
determination to succeed”. Friend, this is just how poetry works. You think outside
the box, and you won’t see poetry as a bunch of uncoordinated words that don’t
make any sense.
Now, let us see how we can demystify this bunch of
seemingly uncoordinated words that just won’t make sense at all to you. But
first, you must say to yourself that there is sense in it, and that you must
get the sense to the surface. Even if you read 10 times and still can’t get the
sense, insist that the sense must come out because if there were no sense in
it, no one will be asking you to read it.
Well, the sense to make from it could be from
different perspectives.
1. It
may have an interesting matter to discuss. “Africa” by David Diop for instance
tells you about how Africans suffered in the hands of the White during the
slave era; how even in their suffering, they had hope that someday freedom will
come. Eventually, Obama could become the president of America. This is
interesting, is it not?
2. You
may be drawn to creativity employed to pass the message more than the essence
of the message itself. Imagine these “when the skeletons of stillborn promises
rot in the catacomb’ this is referring to the promises politicians are likely
to make to their people. They are “still born” meaning that before they are
said, they are dead and buried – obvious lies. You can see that the poetic
expression is very weighty with meaning. But literally, someone may say, ‘What
nonsense is this?” “How can promises be stillborn and buried in the tomb when
they are not humans”. You can see personification and metaphor in action.
Interesting, isn’t it? “If insist that the use of poetic devices still does not
make sense, well, don’t think of visiting a native doctor.” Think of reading
this from the beginning again.
We may have to note first what is this poetry about?
Why do people write poetry, is it just to show how much they can play with
words or they just love to confuse their listeners or readers. You may also be
asking why should or must you read poetry.
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