Candidates are expected to be able to:

• Develop interest in Literature-in-English

• Understand the functions of language in literature

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• Appreciate literary works across all genres

• Apply literary ideas to social, political, and economic issues

🎭 1. DRAMA (JAMB 2026 Focus Area)

📌 Types of Drama You Must Know

Candidates should study the following drama types:

• Tragedy

• Comedy

• Tragicomedy

• Melodrama

• Farce

• Opera

🎬 Dramatic Techniques Tested by JAMB

JAMB frequently asks questions on these techniques:

• Characterisation

• Dialogue

• Flashback

• Mime

• Costume

• Music and Dance

• Décor / Scenery

• Acts and Scenes

• Soliloquy and Aside

• Figures of Speech

📖 Interpretation of Prescribed Drama Texts

Candidates must be able to analyse:

• Theme

• Plot

• Setting

• Socio-political context

👉 JAMB often sets questions directly from drama techniques and themes.

📚 2. PROSE (Very Important)

📌 Types of Prose

You are expected to understand:

✍️ Fiction

• Novel

• Novella / Novelette

• Short Story

📘 Non-Fiction

• Biography

• Autobiography

• Memoir

📑 Faction

• Combination of fact and fiction

🧠 Narrative Techniques & Devices

Candidates should understand:

• Point of View (First, Second, Third, Omniscient, Stream of Consciousness)

• Characterisation (Round, Flat, Hero, Anti-hero, Villain, Foil, Heroine)

• Language, Grammar, Diction, and Clarity

🔍 Textual Analysis in Prose

JAMB will test your understanding of:

• Theme

• Plot

• Setting (Time & Place)

• Socio-political context

📝 3. POETRY (Highly Scored Section)

📌 Types of Poetry to Study

• Sonnet

• Ode

• Lyrics

• Elegy

• Ballad

• Panegyric

• Epic

• Blank Verse

🎶 Poetic Devices JAMB Loves

• Imagery

• Diction

• Persona

• Rhyme

• Rhythm

• Repetition

• Pun

• Onomatopoeia

🎨 Poetry Appreciation

Candidates should focus on:

• Thematic preoccupation

• Socio-political relevance

• Poetic style

⚠️ Unseen poetry questions come from here.

📖 4. GENERAL LITERARY PRINCIPLES

📌 Literary Terms to Master

These terms cut across Drama, Prose, and Poetry:

• Foreshadowing

• Suspense

• Symbolism

• Protagonist & Antagonist

• Satire

• Figures of Speech

• Stream of Consciousness

• Synecdoche

• Metonymy

• Monologue & Dialogue

👉 JAMB may ask definitions, usage, or identification questions.

📚 5. LITERARY APPRECIATION (Unseen Passages)

Candidates will be tested on:

• Unseen drama extracts

• Unseen prose passages

• Unseen poems

Note:

You must be able to:

• Identify literary devices

• Interpret passages

• Relate literature to real-life experiences

📌 JAMB 2026 SET TEXTS FOR LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH