Identifying and Analysing Setting main Plot and Characters

1. Literature cannot be isolated from the origin of man, as it is tied to the labor process and the use of tools.
2. Early literature was oral, including songs (labour songs), myths, and folk tales.

• These forms aimed at warning, encouraging hard work, criticizing evil, and maintaining social values or ethics.

1. Literature and language are inseparable because:

• Literature is created through language.
• Language is the tool of communication in literature; without language, there is no literature.

2. Language develops through the four language skills: listening, speaking, writing, and reading.
3. Literature is distinct from other forms of art (such as pottery, sculpture, painting) because it uses language creatively to describe or express human experiences and realities.

1. Oral/Old literature:

• Literature presented orally from one generation to another.
• It was practiced through verbal expressions like songs, myths, and folk tales.
• It is the foundation of written literature.

2. Written/Modern literature:

• Literature expressed in written form.
• It started with the invention of writing and is a secondary source of literature.
• Modern literature includes novels, short stories, poetry, and drama.

Genres of written literature

1. Novels:

• A long narrative prose that portrays real-life characters and actions in a complex plot.
• Examples: Passed Like a Shadow (B. Mapalala), Spared (S.N. Ndunguru), Weep Not Child (Ngugi wa Thiong'o), House Boy (Ferdinand Oyono), A Wreath for Father Mayer (S.N. Ndunguru).

2. Short stories:

• A short fiction prose narrative, typically dealing with a single major event.
• Example: Encounters from Africa (Macmillan Ltd), which contains "The Voter" and "The Smile of Fortune."

3. Drama/Plays:

• Literary works written to be performed by actors on a stage before an audience.
• Examples: This Time Tomorrow (Ngugi wa Thiong'o), An Enemy of the People (Henrik Ibsen), The Black Hermit (Kivuli Kinaishi), The Lion and The Jewel (Wole Soyinka).

1. Form:

• Refers to how a work of art is structured.
• Includes: Plot, Style/Techniques, Setting, Characterization, and Language Use (Diction).

2. Plot:

• Refers to how events are arranged in a novel/play.
• Includes conflicts (moral, personal, or physical).

3. Style/Technique:

• Refers to the way a work of art is composed.
• Can include narrative style, flashbacks, point of view (omniscient, third person, or first person).

4. Setting:

• Refers to the environment or world in which events occur.
• Includes time, culture, and place.

5. Characterization:

• Describes the creation of characters in a story.
• Can be major (central) or minor characters.

6. Language/Diction:

• Refers to the choice and arrangement of words.
• Includes the use of simple, complex, mixed, grammatical, or figurative language.

Refers to the main subject of a literary work, including its themes, messages, conflicts, climax, crisis, and philosophy.

1. Theme:

• The major idea or subject of a work of art.
• Common themes in African literature: corruption, role of women, poverty, betrayal, alienation, protest, oppression.

2. Message:

• The lesson learned from a work of art.
• Example: This Time Tomorrow teaches the importance of unity and solidarity in the liberation of the oppressed.

3. Conflict:

• A clash between ideas, thoughts, or individuals.
• Can be economic, social, political, personal, or philosophical.

4. Climax:

• The stage at which conflict reaches its peak and resolution becomes inevitable.

5. Crisis:

• The point where conflict causes significant problems and a resolution is necessary.

6. Philosophy:

• Refers to the belief or outlook the author expresses in a work.