JAMB Syllabus For Literature in English 2025/2026

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The JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English is designed to test students’ understanding of drama, poetry, and prose from both African and non-African writers.

It focuses on literary appreciation, themes, figures of speech, character analysis, and historical context. Students must study prescribed novels, plays, and poems to excel.

Mastering this syllabus requires critical reading, analysis, and practice, helping candidates answer both objective and essay questions confidently.

Grab a chilled glass of water and keep reading…..

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JAMB Syllabus For Literature in English

The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) 2025 syllabus for Literature in English aims to prepare candidates for the Board’s examination.

It is designed to test their achievement of the following course objectives:

• Stimulate and sustain interest in Literature in English.
• Create awareness of the general principles of literature and the functions of language.
• Appreciate literary works of all genres and cultures.
• Apply literary knowledge to analyze social, political, and economic events in society.

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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 Prescribed Texts:
  • Theme
  • Plot
  • Socio-political Context
  • Setting

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

1. Identify the various types of drama.
2. Analyze the content of different types of drama.
3. Compare and contrast dramatic features.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of dramatic techniques.
5. Differentiate between playwrights’ styles.
6. Determine the theme of a play.
7. Identify the plot of the play.
8. Apply lessons from the play to real-life situations.
9. Identify the spatial and temporal setting of the play.

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2. PROSE

Topics:

• Types:
  • Fiction: Novel, Novella/Novelette, Short Story
  • Non-Fiction: Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
  • Faction: Combination of Fact and Fiction
• Narrative Techniques/Devices:
  • Point of View:
    • Omniscient/Third Person
    • First Person
  • Characterization: Round, Flat, Foil, Hero, Antihero, etc.
  • Language
• Textual Analysis:
  • Theme
  • Plot
  • Setting (Temporal/Spatial)
  • Socio-political Context

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

1. Differentiate between types of prose.
2. Identify the category of prescribed texts.
3. Analyze the components of each type of prose.
4. Identify the narrative techniques in prescribed texts.
5. Determine an author’s narrative style.
6. Distinguish between types of characters.
7. Determine the author’s thematic focus.
8. Indicate the plot of the novel.
9. Identify the temporal and spatial setting of the novel.
10. Relate the prescribed text to real-life situations.

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3. POETRY

Topics:

• Types:
  • Sonnet
  • Ode
  • Lyric
  • Elegy
  • Ballad
  • Panegyric
  • Epic
  • Blank Verse
• Poetic Devices:
  • Structure
  • Imagery
  • Sound (Rhyme, Rhythm, Repetition, Pun, Onomatopoeia, etc.)
  • Diction
  • Persona
• Appreciation:
  • Thematic Preoccupation
  • Socio-political Relevance
  • Style

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

1. Identify different types of poetry.
2. Compare and contrast poetic features.
3. Determine poetic devices used by various poets.
4. Explain how poetic devices enhance meaning.
5. Deduce the poet’s preoccupation.
6. Appraise poetry as an art form with moral values.
7. Apply lessons from poetry to real-life situations.

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4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES

Topics:

• Literary Terms:
  • Foreshadowing, Suspense, Theatre, Monologue, Dialogue, Soliloquy, Symbolism, Protagonist, Antagonist, Figures of Speech, Satire, Stream of Consciousness, 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:

Candidates should be able to:

1. Identify literary terms in drama, prose, and poetry.
2. Recognize general literary principles.
3. Differentiate between literary terms and principles.
4. Apply literary terms correctly.

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5. LITERARY APPRECIATION

Topics:

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

Objectives:

Candidates should be able to:

1. Identify literary devices in given passages/extracts.
2. Provide a meaningful interpretation of texts.
3. Relate extracts 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 Brontë: 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 Birds
  • T. S. Eliot: The Journey of the Magi
  • D. H. Lawrence: Bats

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RECOMMENDED TEXTS

1. ANTHOLOGIES:

• Gbemisola, A. (2005) Naked Soles, Ibadan: Kraft
• Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin
• Johnson, R. et al (eds.) (1996) New Poetry from Africa, Ibadan: UP Plc
• Nwoga D. (ed.) (1967) West African Verse, London: Longman
• Soyinka, W. (ed.) (1987) Poems of Black Africa, Ibadan: Heinemann

2. CRITICAL TEXTS:

• Abrams, M. H. (1981) A Glossary of Literary Terms (4th Edition), New York: Holt Rinehalt & Winston
• Emeaba, O. E. (1982) A Dictionary of Literature, Aba: Inteks Press
• Murphy, M. J. (1972) Understanding Unseen, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

This JAMB Literature syllabus is essential for candidates preparing for the exam.

Mastery of the prescribed texts, literary terms, and analytical techniques will greatly enhance performance.

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