8 min read Mathew Wahome

Introduction to Literature and Its Genres

What is literature?

Literature is creative work in written or spoken form that uses language artistically to express ideas, emotions and experiences. In the Kenyan Senior School CBC (KICD) Literature in English course, you read, analyse and respond to texts by writers such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Grace Ogot, Chinua Achebe and Margaret Ogola.

Why study literature?

Entertains and relaxes
Educates about life, culture and history
Develops language and critical thinking
Builds empathy and values
Preserves and criticises society

Genres of literature

1. Prose - writing in ordinary language, in paragraphs.

Novel: a long fictional story.
Short story: a brief narrative with few characters.
Also essays, biographies and autobiographies.

2. Poetry - uses rhythm, imagery and compressed language, arranged in lines and stanzas. Types: lyric, narrative, elegy and ballad.

3. Drama - plays meant for performance, made of dialogue and stage directions, divided into acts and scenes. Types: tragedy, comedy and tragicomedy.

Oral literature (stories, songs, riddles) also forms part of literature.

Elements of a story

Plot - sequence of events: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.
Characters - protagonist (main), antagonist (opposes), flat or round characters.
Setting - time and place.
Theme - central message (e.g. justice, love, corruption).
Point of view - first-person or third-person narrator.
Style - the author's way of using language.

Basic literary devices

Simile - comparison with like/as: "as fast as lightning".
Metaphor - direct comparison: "Time is money".
Personification - human traits to non-human things: "the sun smiled".
Hyperbole - exaggeration: "I'm dying of hunger".
Irony - the opposite of what is expected or said.
Symbolism - an object represents an idea: a dove stands for peace.
Alliteration - repeated starting sounds: "slowly stepping softly".
Imagery - words that appeal to the senses.

Reading and responding

Read actively: predict, annotate, identify themes, and support points with evidence from the text (short quotes). Write using the Point, Evidence, Explanation (PEE) structure.

Worked example 1

Identify the device: "The wind howled angrily through the night." Answer: Personification, because the wind is given human emotion; it also uses imagery of sound.

Worked example 2

Write a PEE paragraph on theme. Point: The story shows the danger of greed. Evidence: "He kept filling his sack until it burst." Explanation: This shows that wanting too much leads to loss.

Try it

Choose a short story you know and state its setting, theme and two characters.
Write one simile and one metaphor about your school.
Differentiate poetry from prose in two ways.
Write a PEE paragraph on a theme from your set text.