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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
SCHOOL OF GENERAL STUDIES
DIRECTORATE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
WAZIRI UMARU FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC
BIRNIN KEBBI

LECTURE NOTES ON GNS 402: LITERARY APPRECIATION AND ORAL

COMPOSITION

LITERATURE
What is Literature?
In its widest sense, literature can be defined as writings of a writer or about a writer or about
a subject field. Hence, Mathematics, Engineering, Marketing textbooks, for example, can be
regarded as literature in those fields of study.

In its narrow sense which is our primary concern in this course [GNS 402], literature is a field
of study on its own. In this respect, literature can be oral or written. Oral literature had its root
in traditions (beliefs, customs, and practices) as in ceremonies such as coronation, burial,
naming ceremonies. Unlike other disciplines literature is not usually a product of academic
research. Literature as an independent discipline is basically an imaginative composition
drawn from practitioners’ experience and sanctioned or rejected by those he is performing
for. Whether oral or written, literature, as an independent discipline, is creative and fictional.
It is creative because it is usually borne out of imagination and not out of academic research
as in engineering, sciences, liberal arts and other human endeavours. It is fictional because as
a product of imagination the contents of literature may not necessarily be real. For example,
in traditional African societies, crafted stories about tortoise, elephants, and spirits are largely
fictional. Above all, the use of language in literature as a discipline makes it qualitatively
different from how language is used in other disciplines (engineering, sciences, liberal arts,
etc.). The use of language in literature as a discipline is usually colourful especially through
the use of figurative expressions and other literary devices, whereas in other fields of study
the use of language is usually plain.

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It is against the foregoing background that literature can be defined as a unique mode or
method of expression. To this end, literature as a discipline may be defined the following
ways:
1. Literature can be defined as an art or literary work which involves the use of words
for the transformation of imagination.
2. Literature is also defined as the imaginative presentation of events through which
people project life. This is why literature is often described as a mirror of the society.
3. Literature is a form of art consisting of creative and purposeful writings of great value
resulting from imagination and experience.
4. Literature is embodied in the poems, stories and songs which are passed on orally
from one generation to another as in children’s stories, music, folk tales, etc.

IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE
Literature is important because of the inevitable role it plays in life. The following are
some of the functions of literature.
1. Literature entertains. This is the primary function of literature. In other words many
people read works of art for pleasure and entertainment. The plays we watch on the
screen of our televisions and in cinema halls for pleasure are a form of literature.
2. Literature is knowledge itself. We study it for instructions and insights into other
people’s cultures, experiences and lifestyles
3. Literature helps to preserve and transmit culture from one generation to another.
4. Literature enables us to cultivate healthy values and tastes. The moral questions of
good and bad usually contained in some works of art help us to internalise values.
5. Literature helps to brighten our use of language through the reading of novels,
magazine etc.

GENRES OF LITERATURE
There are three broad genres or branches of literature. These are: prose, poetry and drama.

Prose
This refers to a literature written in a language not in verse. In this way any piece of writing
in continuous form can be classified as a prose. Prose is the ordinary form of spoken and
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written language whose unit is the sentence rather than the line as it is in poetry. The term
applies to all expressions in language that do not have a regular rhythmic pattern. Prose is the
most common mode of writing and uses the conventional forms of grammatically complete
sentences. In prose, sentences are almost always presented on the page within a paragraph
structure. As a rule of thumb, we might say that if a piece of writing is not poetry, then it is
prose. Whereas poetry is organized into stanzas, prose can be organized into paragraphs with
no set or pre-determined line length. The language of prose is the closest to the ordinary
language of daily communication. It is relaxed, simple, easy to understand and tends to avoid
the use of too many figures of speech which create complexities in poetic texts. In terms of
thematic scope, the prose fiction aims at telling a full and complete story about the life of its
characters.

THE SUB-DIVISION OF THE GENRE OF PROSE FICTION

The prose fiction can be sub-divided into three: short story, the novella and the novel.

The short Story

Short stories are shorter than novella and tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a
short story will focus on only one incident, a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of
characters, and a short period of time.

The novella
In literature, a novella is a type of prose fiction, which is shorter than full length novels and
longer than short stories. It originates from an Italian word “novella“, which means “new.” It
is a well-structured yet short narrative; often satiric or realistic in tone. It usually focuses on
one incident, or issue with one or two main characters and takes place at a single location.

The Novel
A novel is a long narrative work of fiction with some realism. It is often in prose form and is
published as a single book. Similar to a short story and novella, a novel has some features
like a representation of characters, setting, plot, climax, conflict, and resolution. However, it
does not require all the elements to be a good novel. Among the three sub-genres of prose
fiction, the novel is the most ambitious in its scope. It tries to be total and comprehensive in
its coverage of the events and characters it presents in a story.
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Poetry
Poetry refers to a piece of writing arranged in lines expressing thoughts, feelings or human
experience in beautifully arranged and carefully chosen words usually divided into stanzas
and tending to have a rhythmic pattern. It is sometimes a complex genre that requires a lot of
patience, syntactical know-how as well as good knowledge of the theme. Poetry is a method
of literary expression which invents and suggests meanings through the use of imagery,
rhythm and sound. In short, poetry expresses thoughts by means of invention and
suggestion. In poetry, what is invented or created consists of images, rhythm and sound, and
these are employed for suggesting what the poet wishes to express. The language of poetry is
highly compact or condensed. It is highly compressed and tends to use short lines in which
some words have been left out. Meaning is not expressed directly as is mostly the case in
prose fiction, but indirectly through the use of imagery and figures of speech.

Drama
Drama refers to a composition in prose/verse presented in dialogue. It is also defined as a
piece of life rendered on the sage. A drama is attractive, impactful and real as it presents
characters along with natural and credible aspects. It is very similar to a short story as it also
comprises characters, plot, setting as well as symbolism. However, short story and novel are
not performed in front of the audience, whereas a play is meant to be performed on stage. In
short, a drama provides a live setting where the characters are real and demonstrates the story
in a natural way.

The basic types of play are: tragedy, comedy and tragicomedy. In tragedy, the protagonist
carries a tragic flaw and sometimes the character shows the arrogance or pride which usually
leads to his unavoidable downfall. In comedy characters are represented in a funny and absurd
ways. Tragicomedy is a type of drama that portrays the life or a situation in a realistic way. In
short, it is a mix of tragedy and comedy.

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SOME LITERARY TERMS.

Theme:
The theme is the central idea dominating a literary work be it prose fiction, drama or poetry.
Every writer writes with a purpose in mind. A novelist, for example, writes a novel only
because he wants to share his view on a particular subject matter with his readers. It is,
therefore, the view that the novelist wants to propagate that decides what he writes story
about, the type of characters he uses, the setting he places, the nature of the language of the
characters, the angle from which he tells the story and the linguistic devices he employs in
telling it. Thus, before we know what the theme of a literary work is, we must understand
how the various aspects of the work hang together to reveal meaning to us. This is because
theme is not a direct authorial statement but the implicit meaning emanating from the way a
story has been told. Apart from the central theme of a novel, we may also have many other
minor themes. The latter will also implicitly emerge from the treatment of various episodes
that make up the major story.

Characterisation
Characters are the fictional persons whose stories a literary work tells. There are usually
more than one character in a novel or drama, for example. The major character, however,
often dominates the story and the other characters exist only to shed light on the major
character. The major character in a story often grows or develops in age and maturity and
constantly changes in response to new situations. He/she is often complex in nature and not
as predictable as the minor characters usually are. Sometimes what a literary writer does is to
just project one major character but presents a number of equally important characters in his
work. Characters are presented in two different ways: directly and indirectly. In direct
presentation the reader is told straight out what the character is like while in indirect
presentation the author shows the character through their actions (dramatisation), leaving the
reader to determine what the character is like by what they say or do as in a play. Generally
speaking, a character may be described by what he says, what others say about him and by
what the writer says about him. Characterisation (the way characters are presented) helps the
reader to discover the meaning (theme) of a literary work.

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Point of View
Point of view is the angle from which a story is told. The perspectives from which a story
may be told include:
Omniscient Point of View: the story is told in third person by a narrator who has unlimited
knowledge of events and characters. The use of pronouns such as he, she, it is predominant in
this point of view.
Third Person Point of View: The story is told in third person but from the view point of a
character in the story. This point of view is limited to the character’s perceptions and shows
no direct knowledge of what other characters are thinking, feeling or doing.
First Person Point of View: The author disappears into one of the characters and uses the
pronouns “I” and “we”

The Plot
The sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story. *The plot is
not merely the action itself, but the way the author arranges the action toward a specific end
(structure). Important elements of Plot: *Conflict- A clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills
Types of Conflict: Person vs. Person, Person vs. Environment, Person vs. Self.
Plot is the narration of events usually in the chronological order of their actual occurrence.
This chronological order may however be deliberately reorganised by a writer for special
effect. Hence, the artistic reorganisation of the order of events for special effect is the plot.
Simply put, the plot is the way the author arranges the action toward a specific end. An
important element of plot is conflict which includes a clash of ideas, desires or will. Some
types of conflicts include person to person conflict, person versus his environment conflict,
person versus himself conflict.

Setting
The setting of a story is its overall context: which normally provides information about when
and in what circumstances the action occurs. Types of setting include: geographical (time)
setting, time setting and cultural setting. Geographical setting refers to the physical
environment where the story takes place. Time setting refers to time in all of its dimensions
while cultural setting involves the social circumstances of the story, historical events and
social and political issues of the time.

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Antagonist
In a story, the antagonist is the opposite of the protagonist, or the main character. Typically,
the antagonist in some cases is also called the villain of some kind. The antagonist, simply
put, is the opponent of the main character, or someone who gets in his way.

Climax
Climax is the highest point of tension in a prose, or drama. Often, climax is also when the
main problem of the story is faced and solved by the main character or protagonist.

Comedy
Comedy is a broad genre of literature in which the goal is to make an audience laugh. It exists
in every culture on earth (though the specifics of comedy can be very different from one
culture to another), and has always been an extremely popular genre of storytelling.

Denouement
The denouement is the very end of a story, especially the part where all the different plot
lines are finally tied up and all remaining questions answered.

Flashback
Flashback is a device that moves an audience from the present moment in the narrative event
to a scene or an incident in the past.

Folktale
This is a popular story handed down orally from the past generations. Folktale refers to the
stories or fairy tales which are typically passed down by word of mouth, rather than being
written in books. The fact is that folktale has no author. It just emerges from the culture and is
carried forward by constant retelling.

Genre
A genre is a category of literature identified by form, content, and style. Genres allow literary
work to be classified within the larger canon of literature.

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Imagery
Imagery is language used to create images in the mind of the reader. Imagery includes
figurative language to improve the reader’s experience through their senses.

Protagonist
Protagonist is just another word for the main character. The story usually revolves or cycles
around this character’s experiences, and the audience is invited to see the world from his or
her perspective.

Satire
This refers to the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize
people’s stupidity or vices.

Suspense
Suspense is a narrative device in a story that makes readers ask “what’s going to happen
next?” It is usually produced through an unusual set of circumstances for which the reader
asks for an explanation or a position.

Symbolism
A symbol is any image or thing that stands for something else. It could be as simple as a
letter, which is a symbol. It is a literary and artistic invention to express sensual ideas,
emotion in place of realism

FIGURES OF SPEECH
A figure of speech or figurative language is the use of language in which the resources of
language are employed to heighten the effect of what is being said or described. This
involves deviation from literal or simple and direct form of statement to specialised forms of
expression. Figurative expressions create vivid pictures by borrowing the qualities of some
other things to create the pictures. These figurative expressions are invaluable elements of
writing or speech. They add beauty to our writings and speeches. There are many of them in
English. The commonly used figures of speech especially in poetry include the following:

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Simile
It is a figure of speech that makes an overt statement of likeness between two things that are
similar in respect of a feature but otherwise dissimilar in respect of other features. It is
normally introduced by “as” and “like”.
i).A room without books is like a body without soul
ii).she is red as a rose.

Metaphor
A metaphor is a direct reference to the resemblance a thing has with another which are
otherwise unlike overt signs of comparison such as “as” and “like” are eliminated from
metaphor.
i).Camel is the ship of desert
ii).All the world is a stage

Personification
It is the giving of life, personality and understanding to things that are inanimate and abstract
ideas.
i).Death lays his icy hands on kings
ii).The sun smiles on earth

Paradox
Paradox is a statement that seems absurd at first sight and yet proves to be true on second
thought.
i).Coward die many times before their death.
ii).The child is the father of the man.

Climax
It is the gradual ascent by degrees of presenting the main points by beginning with the least
important idea and ending with the most important one.
i).I came, I saw, I conquered.
ii).Some books are to be tasted, some few to be chewed and others to be swallowed and
Digested.

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Anti-Climax
It is the opposite of climax in which ideas of a point are presented with the least important
one first and the most important one last.
i).He married his wife, paid her dowry and courted her all within six months.
ii).Ayo bought a car, got employed and graduated within the same year.

Hyperbole
It is a deliberate exaggeration not intended to be taken literally.
i).All the handsomeness of the word added together cannot equal his own.
ii).He is a fast reader: he reads five thousand words per minute.

Irony
It is the exact opposite of a thing.
i).I love you with all my heart.
ii).The girl is a virgin.

Onomatopoeia
It is the use of words whose sounds naturally suggest their sense or meaning. Examples of
onomatopoeic words are, buzz, crack, crash etc.
i).His voice echoed through the forest.
ii).Hizz, come here.

Alliteration
It is the repetition of the same consonant sound or sounds in two or more words that are next
to or close to each other.
i).Round the rock runs the river.
ii).His unbecoming is becoming too unbecoming.

Assonance
It is the repetition of the same vowel sound or sounds in two or more words that are next to or
close to each other.
i).Think tall all times.
ii).Do deeds needed now.
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Euphemism
This is the use of pleasant terms for unpleasant ones.
i).The old man passed away last night (died).
ii).He did not perform well in the last examination (failed).

Apostrophe
It is a figure of speech in which a writer addresses some person or thing directly.
i).Death, be not proud.
ii).Milton, thou shouldest be living at this hour.

Metonymy
This is a figure of speech in which something is not called by its name but by something
associated with it.
i).The crown orders his release.
ii).Washington is opposed to the idea.
Synecdoche
This figure of speech is based on the relation of the whole to parts. It takes many forms.
1). The part is put for the whole:
i).Two heads are better than one.
ii).He is an old hand on the job.
2). An individual is put to represent a class
i).A Soyinka has emerged in my class.
ii).The man is the Napoleon of Africa.
3). The abstract is put for the concrete.
i).The military is a privileged class.
ii).the academia is a neglected group.
Pun
It is a deliberate play on words.
i).He is regarded as a man of letters without knowing a single letter
ii).Put the rest of them at rest.

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Innuendo
This is a figure of speech in which something is hinted or implied without directly stating it.
Examples are:
i).A word is enough to the wise
ii).I never consult lawyers for I can do without them.

Antithesis
It is the balancing of unlike ideas against each other so that each may appear more striking
than
the other by contrast.
i).Prosperity best discovers vice but adversity best discovers virtue.
ii).God made the country; man made the town.

Epigram
This figure of speech is a brief and pointed saying involved an apparent contradiction of
meaning
but which quickly draws our attention to itself.
i).To give is much less easy than to forgive.
ii).Clever men are good but they are not the best.

Oxymoron
In this figure of speech, two sharply contradictory words are put side by side with good
effect.
Examples are:
i).The people of the country are as good as living dead.
ii).The man is idly busy.
Enjambment
This isa thought or sense in a line of poetry that does not come to an end at the line break, but
moves over to the next line. In short it is the running on of a sense from one line to the next
without a major pause or syntactical break.

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Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the end of lines in poems or
songs. A rhyme brings rhythm or musicality to poems.

Rhythm
This is a literary device that demonstrates the long and short patterns through stressed and
unstressed syllables, particularly in verse form.

AMBUSH: By Adeoti Gbemisola

The land is a giant whale

that swallows the sinker,
with hook, line and bait
aborting dreams of a good catch
fishers turn home at dusk
blue peter on empty ships
all peters with petered out desires.

The land is a sabre-toothed tiger,

that cries deep in the glade
while infants shudder home
the grizzled ones snatch their gut
from the bayonets of tribulation
halting venturous walk at dusk.

The land is a giant hawk

that courts unceasing disaster
as it hovers and hoots in space

The land lies patiently ahead

awaiting in ambush
those who point away from a direction
where nothing happens
toward the shore of possibilities.

In the first stanza, the poet directly compares the ruling class with a giant whale that
swallows the nation’s resources leaving nothing behind: The land is a giant whale/ that
swallow the sinker/ with hook, line and bait aborting dreams of a good catch. As a result of

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the many years of failed governance, the country experiences all kinds of social problems like
violence, robbery, insurgence, kidnapping thus becoming a sabre-toothed tiger/a giant hawk.
The youths and elder statesmen refrain from agitation for fear of being persecuted or
repressed by government: While infants shudder home/the grizzled ones snatch their
gut/from bayonets of tribulation/halting venturous walk at dusk. While the poet looks
forward to a generation that will take the nation out of its hopeless state toward the shore of
possibilities, his hope is threatened by the ravenous nature of the ruling class: The land lies
patiently ahead/ awaiting in ambush , ready to devour the future change- agents.

Analysis According to Stanza

Stanza One
In stanza one of the poem, Ambush, the poet begins it all by comparing his country to “a giant
whale”. The land has built a terrifying capacity for shattering the dreams of its people. Like
the whale, Nigeria has become a beast of prey. It swallows its own, together with their
potentials and aspirations, never sparing any one of its citizens.
“The land is a giant whale
that swallows the sinker
with hook, line and bait
aborting dreams of a good catch”

Stanza one ends with the poet comparing the widespread lack of achievement or
underachievement in his native land to what happened to the biblical Peter before Christ
Jesus came to his rescue.
fishers turn home at dusk
blue Peter on empty ship
all Peters with petered out desires.”

Thus, much as the people are hardworking, innovative and resourceful, the unfriendly
political and economic environment makes it almost impossible for them to realize their life
dreams. Each day, they come back home from their endeavours extremely exhausted but with
very little to show for their efforts.

Stanza Two
The second stanza of the poem Ambush focuses on the reign of terror and lack of security in
the society. The land controlled by the rich and powerful, is compared to “a saber-toothed
tiger” that instills fear in ordinary citizens. Anybody, young or old, who dare challenge the
status quo or make any attempt to improve their circumstances, is promptly suppressed. The
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heavy-handed might of the corrupt state security apparatus is, indeed, like a ferocious tiger
waiting in ambush to clamp down on dissent and revolution. Rather than be an enabler, the
land and its leadership have become a stumbling block to personal and national development.
While infants shudder home
the grizzled ones snatch their gut
from bayonets of tribulation
halting venturous walk at dusk.

Stanza Three
The third stanza of Gbemisola Adeoti’s poem, Ambush, is made up of only three and yet
powerful lines. Stanza three of Ambush continues with the description of the pervading
atmosphere of insecurity and fear that characterizes the previous stanzas. This time, the
comparison shifts from the giant whale in the sea and the saber-toothed tiger on
the land to a giant hawk in the sky. There is fear; there is despondency and there are
obstacles everywhere in the Nigerian society. Just as the powerful giant hawk hovers and
hoots in space, announcing approaching disaster for its victims down below, so does the
land hold only a promise of aborted dreams, insecurity, poverty, disease and squalor for
its people?

Stanza Four
This last stanza of the poem, Ambush depicts the country and its leadership as enemy rather
than their partner in the quest for a better standard of living. The state has failed in its sacred
duty to create the kind of environment that will enable every Nigerian to work and realize
their dreams. In fact, it has actively done everything, placing obstacles everywhere and lying
in ambush ready to prevent the ambitious ordinary Nigerian to blossom and prosper. The poet
for once acknowledges that Nigeria is a place “where nothing happens” from which people
flee to “the shore of possibilities”.
The land lies patiently ahead
awaiting in ambush
those who point away from a direction
where nothing happens toward the shore of possibilities

THEMES OF THE POEM

The central idea of the poem hovers around the antagonist and parasitic relationship between
the rich and the poor, the ruling class and the ruled class.

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Crush of aspirations
According to the poem, the fishers who set out to catch fishes are being hijacked with their
boat and fishing tools. This reveals the shattering of the dreams of the ordinary man, the
ordinary graduate who takes to the street to fend for himself. His/her or her ambition to get a
good job to meet up with the daily bread is being smashed by nepotism, favouristism and
ethnicity. In fact, the last stanza shows that the authority will still go ahead of you to set a
trap waiting for the next aspiration that you will come up with.

Hopelessness
The very fact that the fishers are made to return home at dusk without a single catch instills
hopelessness. This is exemplified in lines 5 to 7 of the first stanza.
Fear
Fear is another theme that is evident in the poem. The gruesome animals used in the poem
creates fear in the minds of the people, hindering them from taking another step further. Line
10 in the second stanza indicates how the young inexperienced shudder home in fear of the
“saber-tooth tiger” that is howling in the glade. People in our current society are afraid to rise
up against the authority even when it is obvious that the authority is on the wrong side. Why
is this? It is because once an individual speaks up; the government will use its apparatuses in
one way or the other to bring the person down. These government tools are depicted with the
animals in the poem. The last stanza is also an expression of fear rather than hope that, even
after everything the authority has done to bring the fishers down, she will still go ahead of
them waiting patiently to swallow, devour and snatch away their new dreams and aspirations,
or inflict pain on them for pointing to the right thing that the government is supposed to do.

Bad leadership
The government is of the people and for the people. The practice of democracy purports that
the ultimate power rests with the people. Then, government becomes bad if the reverse of the
principles of democracy is in practice. A good democratic government cannot create fear in
the minds of her people. Poverty, hopelessness and partial freedom exemplify this.

Destruction
The animals used in the poem to depict the authority are destructive. This shows that the
authority and her apparatuses are agents of destruction, destroying the hopes, dreams, and the
aspirations of the common man.

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STRUCTURE
It is a four stanza poem arranged in sequence. It does not have a consistent meter pattern or
rhythm.

LANGUAGE
The language is simple but metaphoric. Other literary devices used to convey the poem’s
message include: allusion, pun, irony, repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and run on lines

a. Metaphor
In the poem, Ambush, metaphor is extensively used to treat the themes of failed governance
and unfulfilled dreams, fear and terror, and hope for a brighter future through social
revolution. The title of the poem is itself a metaphor for the methods used by the political
leadership to undermine the hopes and aspirations of a whole nation. The dreams of a whole
society have been “ambushed” by the unpatriotic activities of a few. Other metaphors
employed in the poem include:
The land is a giant whale
The land is a saber-toothed tiger
The land is a giant hawk

In the above three metaphors, the poet directly compares the country to animals of prey –
whale, tiger and hawk. The descriptive words giant and saber-toothed evoke in the
reader visual images of terror. They point to the hostile environment that the political
class has succeeded in creating for the very people they are supposed to serve and protect.
The rich resources of the motherland have been plundered and mismanaged. The
potential of its human capital has been stifled. The land has become synonymous with
danger, insecurity, lack of opportunities and shattered dreams.

The imagery of violence used in “aborting dreams” ties in well with the sense of fear and
terror we are made to experience in the next stanza as we come face to face with the
menacing image of the saber-toothed tiger. “Good catch” is fishing imagery. It refers to the
great desires and hopes that have so far been dashed. This lack of personal and national
achievement continues to create a feeling of despondency within the general populace.

The metaphor, Shore of possibilities evokes a more positive image. It contrasts sharply with
much of what we find in the previous stanzas of the poem. It highlights the poet’s lingering
hope for the brighter future that has eluded the country due to bad leadership. The poet seems
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to suggest that all hope is not lost yet. The country still stands a good chance to effect the
necessary changes that will enable it to attain its lofty dreams.

b. Allusion and Pun

blue Peter on empty ships

All Peters with petered out desires

The poet here is alluding to the biblical story of Jesus’ call of the twelve disciples. Just as
Peter, the hardworking fisherman, returns empty-handed after toiling all day at sea, so has the
society the poet describes to us has nothing significant to show many years after attaining
political independence. The play on words, also known as pun, in “all Peters with petered
out desires” goes to portray the society as a place of elusive dreams.

c. Irony
The poet has cleverly constructed Ambush around another literary device known
as irony. The land is supposed to be the mother, the provider and protector of its
children. But as we have observed, the corrupt and uncaring political class has created a
situation where the land has rather turned on its own, terrorizing them, devouring them,
denying them of what rightfully belongs to them and making life unbearable for them.

d. Repetition
Here come a couple of instances of repetition in the poet, Ambush.

i. The land
The repetitive use of “the land” depicts the reflective mood of the poet. He appears to be
in deep thought, brooding over what might have gone wrong with his native land.
This repetition also emphasizes the poet’s deep love and attachment to his motherland
despite its current difficulties. This is a patriot whose undying love for his country cannot
be questioned.

ii. Giant
The obstacles are huge. However, the poet might as well be saying that, like any other giant,
the problems facing the nation can be overcome with the right leadership and the right
methods.
e. Alliteration and Onomatopoeia
Petered with petered out dreams
hawk … hovers and hoots in space
swallows the sinker – s alliterates
all peters with petered out desires – p alliterates
saber-tooth tiger – t alliterates
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grizzled ones snatch their gut – s alliterates

hovers and hoots – both h and s alliterate

The poet in Ambush makes use of these two sound devices to evoke images of emptiness,
danger and fear.

f. Run-on Lines
Run-on lines in poetry refer to a succession of lines that are not separated by any punctuation
marks. In the first stanza of the poem, for example, the fast-paced movement of the lines is
due to the absence of punctuation marks in many places where they could have been.
The land is a giant whale
that swallows the sinker
with hook, line and bait
aborting dreams of a good catch

These run-on lines help to create a tone of not only fright but of urgency as well. The
poet is urging his countrymen and women to quickly appreciate the danger that is
engulfing the land so as to take urgent steps to reverse the trend.

Symbolism
The animals used by the poet all symbolize the different institutions of the government.
Likewise, the land symbolizes the instituted authority of the country. Yes this was explained
as metaphor.

Metonymy
The land is something that relates to the government as an authority. So, the poet uses it to
refer to the government, making reference to the instituted authority that governs the land and
not the land as an object.

Imagery
This wonderful poem, apart from metaphor, is also dominated by imagery. Land, whale,
hawk and saber-tooth tiger all create visual images in the mind of the reader. The reader is
made to picture a whale that swallows a fisherman, a devouring saber-tooth tiger and a giant
hawk hovering in search of a prey.

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Biblical Allusion
The poetic persona makes reference to Simon peter in the Bible, the fisher man whom Christ
said to, “follow me and I will make you the fisher of men.” Christ met Peter on a very
frustrating day that he (peter) was not able to catch a fish. So, the poet indirectly refers to that
frustration that Peter, the Apostle of Christ, suffered before the intervention of Jesus Christ.

Personification
The land in the poem is given an animate attribute of swallowing, hovering and crying in the
glade. In the last stanza, the land is personified to have the virtue of patience – lies patiently
ahead – and is “waiting in ambush”

DICTION
Diction in poetry refers to the poet’s careful selection of words and expressions to convey his
message to his audience. A poet normally relies on certain carefully-selected expressions to
evoke images that help his audience to grasp the ideas expressed in the poem. Here come
some of the important words and expressions that are used to effectively develop the thematic
issues in Gbemisola Adeoti’s poem, Ambush.
Words and expressions in Ambush that evoke images relating to the theme of unfulfilled
dreams
Swallow
Shattering dreams
Empty ships
Petered out desires
Halting
Nothing happens

Words and expressions in Ambush that depict the theme of fear and terror
Giant whale
Saber-toothed tiger
Shudder
Bayonets of tribulation
Dusk
Giant hawk
Unceasing disaster
Ambush

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Words and expressions in Ambush that depict the themes of hope and social change
Patiently
Ahead
Point away
Possibilities

MOOD AND TONE

The mood is gloomy and sober with a corresponding tone of lamentation and pessimism. The
mood of the poem is sad and the tone is that of hopelessness and fear. There appears to be a
shift in tone in the last stanza as he expresses hope for a better Nigeria.

The Rain Has Not Come by Idris Amali

The rain has not come

And we wallow
In the desert of distress

The rain has not come

As charred bones of camels
Propped in sand dunes
Against desert winds of mobile grave
Torment my vision.

The rain has not come

As swarms of flies besiege
Our oases of hopes
Charred to cracks of distress.

The rain has not come

For brutes, leeches and heroes of unfought war
parade as members
of Anti-desert and flood committees.

But how could there have been rains

When our chase has become a race
To grip our silhouette
Cast against melting mountain of dreams
Where soldier ants
Blossom into baobab size
As only select reeds
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Are nurtured in our desert of hostile faces

for the cannibal drum and dance. (P.11)

The above poem is about the cries or lamentations of disappointments, frustrations and anger
of a group of people who feel neglected, cheated and oppressed on one hand. On the other
hand, the poem is a satire of the vices of the ruling class in the present day Nigeria, which
manifest in exploitation, fraud, greed and nepotism resulting in hunger, starvation and diverse
forms of suffering. The Rain Has Not Come by Idris Amali indeed represents the cries of the
oppressed by the mindless privileged class in the present day Nigerian society. The poet
brings to the fore those strings of themes of social injustice in the society by employing
artistically an array of figures of speech and other literary devices. The first noticeable figure
of speech used in this poem is the repetition of the line ‘The rain has not come’ at the
beginning of every stanza except the last. The repetition is to underscore, heighten or
emphasise in unmistakable terms the theme of betrayed expectations, dashed hopes and
fruitless nostalgia. The repetitive use of the line, 'The rain has not come’ registers the
disappointment, the sorrow of heart, disillusionment of a group of people in the hands of the
powerful, selfish, privileged few who are expected to facilitate the coming tor the much
expected rain.

Another literary device used in this poem is symbolism. The word, rain or is used
symbolically not in reference to the usual outpouring of waters from the sky during the
raining season. The word, rain is used presumably to represent the expectations of the
electorate after elections possibly after the removal of fuel subsidy. The rain being
nostalgically lamented as having not come could also refer to the absence of jobs for the
millions of graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Apart from the symbolic use to the word, rain in Idris Amali’s work, the poem is saturated
with strings of metaphor to depict a picture of poverty, squalor, starvation, suffering,
exploitation, helplessness and despair. In line 2, stanza 2, the word wallow presents a picture
of a state of utter sorrow, pain, suffering, and sadness which the indigent masses grapple with
as a result of the ineptitude, selfishness and greed of the corrupt leaders who are expected to
bring succour. In stanza 2, the gory picture of hunger, starvation and suffering presented in
stanza 1 of the poem is re enacted and is extended even to the animals through the use of
expression, ‘charred bones of camels’. How will the animals not emaciate when their owners
have not been able to take care of themselves. There is palpable feeling of sorrow in the
community. The expression, ‘mobile grave’ is coined by the poet to imply that dignity of
lives has been lost as a result of the rain that has not come. In stanza 3, the metaphor,
swarms of flies refer to a group of people in the society using their privileged position and
power to forcefully deprive the common man of his fortunes. In stanza 4, the theme of
exploitation, corruption is brought to the fore as a group of opportunists described as brutes,
leeches and heroes of unfought war are all out to steal what belongs to the masses under the
pretext of working for the welfare of the people. In stanza 5, the poet extends the frontiers of
his lamentations about the sordid state of living conditions by the Nigerian masses. He
queries rhetorically: ‘But could there have been rains/ when our chase has become a race.
The chase being referred to relates to the expected palliatives of social amenities, jobs for the
jobless and quest for better conditions of living. Tragically, this chase by the common
Nigerians has become what the power brokers in the society are also after to steal, embezzle,
thus depriving the common man of his rights and privileges. Consequently, the expectations
of the suffering masses have become dashed as the dreams have become ‘melted’. This is
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because there is a group of dare-devil cabal in the nation described as soldier ants that feed
on the fortunes of the less privileged and “blossom into baobab size meaning they have been
extravagantly enriched at the expense of the poor in the society. In the same stanza 5, the
themes of inequality, nepotism, injustice are further explored as only select reeds are
nurtured in our desert of hostile faces from the cannibal drum and dance. The phrase
‘select reeds’ suggests undue favouritsm, particularly in the distribution of resources meant
to be shared equitably. The select reeds presumably refer to the children and relatives of
those in government, who are given undue attention, treatment in the allocation of national
resources while the hapless common Nigerians simply watch helplessly and sorrowfully how
the ill gotten wealth by the select reeds is flaunted, lavished and wasted. In summary,
provided below are some of the literary devices employed to project the themes of
deprivation, lack, hunger, exploitation, poverty and others:

the rain has not come: repetition: nostalgic cries for the much expected palliatives or succour from government.
wallow in the desert of distress: a metaphorical expression depicting lack, and utter suffering by a group of people.
charred bones of camel: a metaphorical expression projecting a gustatory image of starvation, emaciation, resulting
from drought, lack, harsh economic realities.
desert winds of mobile grave torment my vision: depicting effects of the sufferings: deaths in droves.
swarm of flies besiege our oases of hope: image of a group of opportunists, selfish leaders and power brokers
exploiting and feeding on the fortunes of the less privileged through their diverse corrupt tendencies.
charred to cracks of distress: sorrow, suffering, hopelessness have become the order of the day as a result of
corruption in the land.
brutes, leeches and heroes of unfought war: metaphor of exploitation and predatory activities of leaders or people in
government.
but how could there have been rains: rhetorical question expressing anger, disgust, disappointment of the less
privileged because of the ravaging corruption in the land.
our chase has become their race: a satirical comment on the greed and mindless exploitation of the less privileged by
the elites in the society.
soldier ants blossom into baobab size: metaphor referring to devourers, saboteurs and plunderers of the [Nigerian]
economy; presumably devourers of the petroleum subsidy, who have fed fat on their ill gotten wealth
select reeds are nurtured: symbolically and metaphorically referring to nepotism, partiality, injustice in the allocation
and distribution of wealth/resources in the land.
Our desert of hostile faces: metaphor projecting hatred, anguish, anger as a result of the activities of the exploiters of
the Nigerian masses.
Cannibal drum and dance: a metaphorical expression lampooning the unbridled revelry by the exploiters in their ill
gotten wealth.

ANALYSIS OF CHINUA ACHEBE’S A MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Profile of the Author

Chinua Achebe was born in 1930 and brought up in a Christian family in a large village of
Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria. Chinua Achebe had markable impact on the development of the
literature of Africa through his early novels Things Fall Apart (1958), No Longer at Ease
(1960) and Arrow of God (1969). Achebe is widely published in almost all genres of
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literature: the novel, short story, poetry, literary essays and children’s literature. The title of
the book is drawn from people’s description of Chief Nanga, one of the characters in the
novel:
” ...they would tell you he is the man of the people…”

Summary of the Book

Achebe’s narrative text, A Man of The people, is a socio-political satire in which socio-
political and economic actors in a fictional Nigerian setting are lampooned for an
unprecedented level of corruption and derailment that characterize the country’s socio-
political life following her independence from British colonial exploitation.

The novel tells us about revolutionary activities of Odili Samalu who aimed to overthrow the
existing corrupt and irresponsible governance of Chief Honorable M.A, Nanga. The anti-
government activities of odili Samalu raised conflicts between Odili Samalu (with the help of
his friends) against chief the honourable M.A Nanga and his followers. A Man of the People
is a novel of the post-colonial era. The story is about chief Nanga, a teacher-turned-politician
and Odili Samalu, a former student of Chief Nanga. Odili was a teacher when Chief Nanga
visited Anata Grammar school where Odili was teaching. Odili, in response to Chief Nanga’s
invitation, went to Chief Nanga’s house in Bori and stayed with his wife and children. He
was welcomed and was provided with everything he needed. Later he had problem with
Chief Nanga who slept with his girl friend Elsie; an incident that made him leave the house
and went to his friend’s house, Max who was his school friend. That was how he, Odili and
his friends mooted the idea of floating a new political party, C.P.C, and planned on how to
defeat the party of chief Nanga, P.O.P, but they later failed. Max was later killed by chief
Koko‘s boys and Odili later married Edna (the young girl that chief Nanga wanted to marry)
to revenge his girlfriend, Elsie who chief Nanga had an illicit affair with. The Military later
took over government and Chief Nanga and all the members of his party who had been eating
and wasting the public fund were displaced.

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CHARACTERISATION
The characters in A Man of the People are:

Odili Samalu
He is a flat character, represents the middle class and he is a political activist. He is a son of
Hezekiah Samalu. He is the major character in the novel. He teaches at Anata Grammar
school. Chief Nanga invites him to his house in Bori. The Chief commits sexual immorality
with his girlfriend, Elsie. Odili with others floated a new political party. Odili determines to
marry Edna as a way of slighting Chief Nanga who messed up with his girlfriend. He
eventually achieves his aim.

Chief Nanga
Odili’s former teacher, he is known as chief Honourable M.A Nanga. He is an irresponsible
leader. He is Minister of culture, but he is uncultured because he is corrupt and morally loose.
For example, he tries to bribe Odili and shamefully sleeps with Odili’s girlfriend right in his
wife’s bedroom. Chief M.A. Nanga is well known as a man of the people. His political career
ends dishonourably with the military’s taking over of government.

Edna Odo
A beautiful young lady, she is Odo’s daughter. Chief Nanga wants to marry as a second wife
but the plan is eventually foiled by Odili who later marries her

Hezekiah Samalu
He is Odili’s father and a former interpreter of the colonialists. He is ex local chairman of
P.O.P
.

Maxwell Kulamo
He is a lawyer and Odili’s friend. He has revolutionary ideals. He is an activist. He introduces
Odili to the new political party C.P.C but later killed by chief Koko’s jeep.

Eunice
She is Max’s fiancée. She revenges her fiancé’s death by shooting chief Koko. She is a
revolutionist.

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Elsie
A nurse by profession, she is Odili’s girlfriend who eventually betrays his boyfriend by
surrendering her body shamefully to Chief Nanga because of material gains.

Chief Koko
He is a minister and he is very brutal as he masterminds the death of Maxwell Kulamo
because of political gains.
·

Other characters are: Josiah (a shopkeeper in a certain shop at Anata), Azoge (the blind
beggars at Anata), Hon T.C Kobino (the minister of public construction), Jean and John
(advisers of the government), Dogo (chief Nanga security stalwart), Edmund, Boniface,
Mama, Peter.

THEMES;
Some of the themes in A man of the People, are:

Betrayal
Chief Nanga betrayed Odili by sleeping with her girlfriend Elsie and also Elsie betrayed Odili
by allowing Chief Nanga to touch her

Corruption and bribery

The government in power is not living up to expectations in the community. All that the
political office holders are interested in is material acquisition at the detriment of the poor
masses. Chief Nanga attempts unsuccessfully to bribe Odili before the election. Conversely,
Chief Koko succeeds in bribing Max and asks him not to participate in the election.

Vengeance
Odili’s interest in Edna is purely borne out of the desire to pay Chief Nanga back in his own
coins for having illicit sexual affairs with his girlfriend, Elsie. In the same vein, Kulamo’s
death by Chief Koko is retaliated by his fiancée.

Brutality
Chief Nanga is brutally committed to achieving his political ambition not minding whose ox
is gored. He seeks to eliminate Odili at all cost. Similarly, Chief Koko is portrayed as a
wicked politician who deploys all machinery at his disposal to eliminate Maxwell.

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Other themes in the novel are: man’s lust for power, immorality, greed, insecurity and others
Develop the themes highlighted above by making copious reference to the text to
strengthen each point. In addition, look for more themes in the novel and discuss them.

ORAL COMPOSITION
There are different types of oral composition. These include: debate, conference, workshop,
symposium, and speech making. Refer to your first semester class presentations on those
elements of oral composition just mentioned.
Generally, the steps in developing an oral composition include:
1. Define the purpose
2. Select a topic
3. Frame the subject sentence
4. Define materials for developing (c) above
5. Draw up the outline
6. Select the mode of delivery
There are different modes of delivering an oral composition. These include: memorization,
reading, impromptu, extemporaneous. An oral composition just like a written composition
consists of three basic parts: Introduction, Body/Development and Conclusion.
17
INTRODUCTION
The Introduction should perform two functions. First, it should arouse the reader’s interest
and then announce and limit the subject. The theme should be clearly stated. The presenter
should indicate whether his point of view is personal or impersonal.

BODY/DEVELOPMENT
Organiise the main body of your composition into groups. Each group now represents one
paragraph of your body.

CONCLUSION
The conclusion too should perform two functions. First, it should bring the composition
unmistakably to a close through phrases such as “in conclusion, finally”. Second, it should

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leave the listener in no doubt as to the theme of the composition. A reiteration of the theme
may need to be reiterated at the end.

GOOD LUCK!

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