The Sunday News
Charles Dube A COUPLE of weeks ago we showed how students become active learners of Literature and the skills they need to achieve success. We showed that success depends more on the detailed and thorough revision of set texts, development and practice of key skills. I am not going to repeat the ideas presented then but focus on what some students have sought clarity on. They seem not to understand question requirements emanating from lack of understanding terms used.
As examinations time approach students are aware of what types of questions they will have to answer. In most Literature questions regardless of examination boards there are passage-based questions for all set texts. Questions focus on different issues, for example, drama and prose questions ask students to focus exclusively on an extract from the text; other questions will expect them to analyse the passage in detail but also make some reference to how the passage fits into the overall text.
Students should also expect general essay questions. These are also provided for all set texts. I will cite an example from poetry though most centres are not keen on doing poetry. They feel poetry is challenging. Teaching Literature is quite subjective as students are forced to study the teacher’s chosen set texts. Most teachers avoid teaching poetry and other thick texts because they were not good at them. Some poetry questions ask students to focus on one poem while others require them to comment on aspects of two poems.
At times students get to answer empathic questions. These are only set on drama and prose set texts, and never on poetry texts. Empathic questions give students the opportunity to engage creatively with a text by writing as if they were one of the characters. This leads me to offer definitions to some literary terms. Students need to understand key terms relevant to questions if they are to achieve success.
For example, empathic responses are answers that show understanding and sympathy for characters and try to imagine what it would be like to be a particular character in a play, novel or short story. “Empathy” means the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Students of Literature need to understand the meaning of analysis. This is simply defined as the close exploration of the words writers use and the effects these words create for the reader of poetry and prose texts.
Analysis is an important skill in Literature. There is little point in just being able to describe what happens in the texts they study. More important is the ability of students to analyse or explore closely the words writers use and the effects these words create for the reader. Students should read Literature texts with an analytic mind. In a number of instances students come face to face with dramatic conflict, particularly in plays. Such conflict helps to create tension and make scenes dramatic.
What is conflict? These are struggles or disagreements between characters that can often be found at the heart of the play.
These help to create tension, making a scene particularly dramatic and engaging the attention of the audience. However, students should be aware that conflict comes in as one of the themes even on prose texts or short stories, hence it should not be confined to plays only. Critical responses are those that consider evidence in the text and weigh up different arguments.
There are also a number of key terms students of Literature need to know. Some take them for granted at their own risk.
There is imagery which is quite central in the study of poetry. One can picture in his head the literal images created by the words in the poem or even in plays. We also have similes. A simile is the comparison of one thing to another. It is easy to spot where they are used, as they signal comparison by using the words “like”, “as” or “as if”. A simile is the easiest of all images to spot. Close to it is the metaphor. A metaphor does not use words as “like” to compare things: it says one thing is actually another. For example, you can say he is a lion, comparing the strength one has to that of a lion.
Personification is used when something inanimate is given human (or animal) characteristics. Remember it is not enough just to spot and define such devices. If you are to achieve high marks in essays you need to explore: the effects such devices create and how they help convey the meaning. Students need to understand themes. A theme is a word used to explain the deeper meanings of a text. Common themes in Literature are childhood, love, conflict, war, death, ambition like in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and deception.
Students should know areas of focus as they prepare for the examinations. They should consider the following questions as they study characters and themes: Aspects of characterisation — what impression do you form of the character from what they say and how they speak? What impression do you form of the characters from how they behave? In what way does the character contrast with other characters? Is there a conflict between the character and other characters? Is there a conflict within characters?
Aspects of themes: What do characters have to say about the big issues in life? How are characters used to illustrate different aspects of themes?
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