COURSE

GUIDE

ENG 212
CREATIVE WRITING 1

Course Team Professor Kalu Uka (Course Developer: ) -

University of Uyo
Professor Kalu Uka (Course Writers) - University
of Uyo
Prof. A. R. Yesufu (Course Editor) – NOUN
Onyeka Iwuchukwu (Course Coordinator) – NOUN
Prof. A. R. Yesufu (Dean) – NOUN

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

ENG. 210 COURSE GUIDE

© 2017 by NOUN Press

National Open University of Nigeria
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Lagos Office
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any

form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed 2009, 2017

ISBN:978­058­987­7

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ENG. 210 COURSE GUIDE

CONTENTS PAGE

Introduction ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 3

What you will learn in this course ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 3
Course aims ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 3
Course objectives ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 4
Working through this course ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 4
Assignment file ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 6
Presentation schedule ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 6
Assessment ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 6
Tutor marked assignments ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 6
Final examination and grading ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 7
Course marking scheme ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 7
Course overview ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 7
How to get the most from this course ….. ….. ….. ….. 8
Tutors and tutorials ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 9
Summary ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. 10

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INTRODUCTION

ENG. 212: Creative Writing is a one-semester, 3-credit unit course. It

will be available to all students who possess a natural inclination to
imaginative creating in the genres of fiction, drama and poetry as they
can be used to explore social phenomenon, philosophy of life,
interaction and conflict resolution through relevant cultural
characterization, situational engineering and insighting human
relationships.

The course will comprise 21 units in three modules of seven units each
in fiction, drama and poetry writing. These three are the “Trinity of
Literature”. In each, distinctions will be made on how to use imagination
to re-order and to structure, to verbalize, and give meaning to various
issues of man in his cultural milieu, his history, his political
development or evolution, his psychology. The pre-requisite for this
course is therefore the possession by the prospective student of the
willingness to let his imagination be controllable in moulds of ordered
command of words, ideas and feelings, the flair for envisioning in the
social system.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS COURSE

The overall aim of Eng. 212: Creative Writing is to introduce the

student to the tools of writing, the use of those tools such that he could
churn out delectable story-feeling-based explorations of life around and
even outside of himself. Fiction, drama and poetry are ‘phrases’ of the
written art of the teacher, the painter, the philosopher, the historian, the
mythologist and the scientist, forming a composite, like a rose, called
‘literature’. The student will learn in the process that not all literature
simply tells a story. Reflectiveness, satiric exploration, jovial indictment
are some of the necessary attitudes that can inform good, well-written
literature.

COURSE AIMS

Eng. 212: Creative Writing is planned to impart to the student a

number of tenable procedures and disabuse his mind of the untenable
assumptions about the nature of artistic writing. There were those who
believed that a writer is “born”, not “made”. The student will learn that:

* Ever since G. B. Shaw asserted that all creative writing, because

it involves imagination, is “ninety-nine percent hardwork” and
“one percent inspiration”, creative writing can be taught and can
be learned. It is a conundrum of existence.

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* Practical analogies illustrates how good or specialized writing

could be achieved. For instance, all two-legged tall-standing
human beings, all things being equal, can walk, or run, or dance,
or speak learned or mother-tongues, BUT NOT ALL PERSONS
CAN DO SO WITH SKILL and EXPERTISE. There is much
difference between the TRAINED ATHLETE in the use of body,
arms, legs, head and heart, in the deliberately, result-oriented
manner and the ordinary human person, whose use of the same
equipment is loose and unordered. Practice leads to harmonic
coordination.

* Creative writing is therefore the fully developed conscious effort

and manoeuvre to “birth” a poem, or play, or novel by a mind
nurtured that takes it to the level of deserving {to be} “literature”.

* To borrow from Laurence Perrinne such literature must have its

own autonomy. That autonomy must be a process imbued with
“structure → sound → sense” – in that order of combination, to
become an ORGANIC WHOLE.

* Procedures, parameters for attaining such a feat can be acquired,

exercised upon and reproduced many times, as the varied and
various written works of great writers in the world have
established ever since man went from papyrus to printing and to
digital reproductions.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The aims set out above have been fairly well objectived. So, objectified,
it reduces or cuts off, the tendency for individualistic styles and
approaches to writing to seem to be impositions. In the unit details the
specifies of each genre, included therein, will guide the student to find
his own métier. “How well have I done?” should always be a question
on the lips of the student as he does the exercise in each genre. “Rome”
they say, “was not built in a day”. So, the intensive, but gradualist
objectives of the course, to achieve the aims shall be:

• To be able to distinguish the ‘languages’ of fiction, drama and

poetry.
• To know the varieties of “dialogue” in the genres
• To know what “conversation” is.
• To know differences between “conversation” and “drama”.
• To understand the nature of “action” and “dialogue”.
• To be able to relate “action” to “character”.
• To differentiate between “stories”, especially in fiction and
drama.
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ENG. 210 COURSE GUIDE

• To know that essentially the poem is different from the other two
forms.
• To appreciate the elements common to all the genres of literature.
• To grapple with and understand and be able to use key technical
apparatuses such as “progression”, “exposition”, “informational
devices”, “plausibility”, “tempo”, “naturalness”, “motivation”,
“concentration”, “rhythm”, “symbols” in words and actions.

WORKING THROUGH THIS COURSE

This course is completed when you have studied ALL the study units;
Read (all) the recommended books, and some miscellany. Each unit
contains summaries and assessment questions and exercises. You may
be required to submit a number of assignments, a minimum of two in
each genre for assessment purposes.

COURSE MATERIALS

The major components of the course are:

1. Course Guide
2. Study Unit
3. Textbooks
4. Assignment file
5. Presentation Schedule

Each student needs to possess the materials. There are bookshops in

University of Lagos for instance, that custody some of the textbooks.
AFRICANA sections of libraries have some. Foyles in London, can
oblige some requests online. Other access request, maybe through
IEEE’s CSDL (Computer Society Digital Library), 1730 Massachusetts
Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20036, USA.

Study Units

There are twenty-one study units in this course:

Module I: Fiction

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in fiction writing – techniques

Unit 2: Story selection and projection
Unit 3: Setting in situation and environment
Unit 4: Structure of plots and plotting
Unit 5: Sound-Rhythm of prose and dialogue flow
Unit 6: Charactier(ization) with symbols and images
Unit 7: Sense as total meaning and import/message.

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ENG. 210 COURSE GUIDE

Module II: Drama

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in Drama(tic) composition: Devices

Unit 2: Thought/Idea
Unit 3: Plot
Unit 4: Character(ization)
Unit 5: Language: dialogue and action
Unit 6: Spectacle
Unit 7: Music and Dance/Sound (Effects)

Module III: Poetry

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in Poetry Writing.

Unit 2: What makes a poem
Unit 3: Creative blocks: Emotion in tranquility
Unit 4: Sensory Awareness: Feeling in thought
Unit 5: Imagery and Allusion: expanding scope
Unit 6: The Material of Poems: Legend and history
Unit 7: The Finished Product/Glossary of terms

TEXT BOOKS AND REFRENCES

(Actually there cannot be any “Required” or “Compulsory” texts.

Expansive reading is necessary.Some are these)

Brooks, Cleanth. The Well Wrought Urn (N.Y., Holt & Co., 1947)
Brooks, Cleanth & R. P. Heilman: Understanding Drama (New York:
Henry Holt & Co., 1955)

Heilman, Robert B. This Great Stage (Baton Rouge: Louisiana, State U.

Press, 1948).

Perrine, Laurence: Literature: Structure-Sound-Sense (New York,

1990).

Spurgeon, Caroline,Shakespeare’s imagery.(London :Methuen, 1960)

ASSIGNMENT FILE

In this file, you will find details of the work you must submit to your
Tutor for marking. The marks you obtain from these assignments will
count towards the final marks/grade you obtain for this course. Further
information on assignments will be found in the Assignment File itself
and, later, in this Course Guide, in the section on Assessment.

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PRESENTATION SCHEDULE

The presentation schedule included in your course materials gives you

the important DATES for the completion of Tutor-marked Assignments
and attending tutorials. Remember, you are required to SUBMIT all
your assignments by the DUE DATE. You should guard against falling
behind in your work.

ASSESSMENT

There are TWO aspects to the assessment of the course. First are the
Tutor-Marked Assignments. Second, there is a written examination. In
tackling the assignments, you are expected to apply information and
knowledge acquired during this course.

The Assignments must be submitted to your Tutor for formal assessment

in accordance with the DEADLINES stated in the Assignment File. The
work you submit to your Tutor for assessment will count for 30% of
your total marks in the course.

At the end of the course, you will need to sit for a final three-hour
examination. That examination – a review of theories – will count for
30% of your total course marks, while the actual work, practically
visible, finished work (not printed, but a typed mss of a fictive short-
story (for the novel genre) a play script (in one act) and a poem (14 lines
or more) will count for the remarking 40%. Total 70%.

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS

There are nine (9) Tutor-marked assignments, three in each module, in

this course. You need to submit ALL the assignments. All count, and the
total marks for nine is 30% of the total course marks.

Assignment questions for the units in this course are contained in the
Assignment File. You should be able to COMPLETE your assignments
from the information and materials found in the recommended source-
books, reading and study units. You are, however, advised further to
seek and use other references in order to broaden your viewpoint and
obtain deeper understanding of what the subject requires.

When you complete an assignment, SEND it, together with Tutor-

Marked Assignment Form to your Tutor. Ensure delivery to your Tutor
of every assignment on or before the deadline (date-due) prescribed in
the Assignment File. If, for any acceptable reason, you cannot complete
your work on time, do contact your Tutor beforehand to discuss
parameters for extension.

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FINAL EXAMINATION AND GRADING

The final examination in Eng. 210 will be in two parts and have a value
of 70% of the total course grade. Part I will be essentially a theoretical
review and will attract 30%. The questions will reflect the types of self-
testing recall of applicable terms and concepts that a writer uses. Some
of the Tutor-marked problems you encountered will be there. Part II will
be the PRACTICAL packaged piece of written created work in the
fiction, drama and poetry genres which you will reproduce in the exam
hall, in forty-five minutes per genre. All areas are assessed.

You are advised to REVISE the entire course (after studying the last
unit) BEFORE you sit for the examination. Review your Tutor-marked
assignments and note well your Tutor comments on them before the
final examination.

COURSE MARKING SCHEME

The table below shows how the actual course marking (grading is
broken down)

ASSESSMENT MARKS
Assignment: 3 per genre (9 30% - Excellence in one module
altogether) does
not exempt/compensate poor
performance in others.
Final examination 70% - Must pass in each area to
obtain
passing grade
Total 100%

COURSE OVERVIEW

The next table below brings together the Units, the Number of Weeks
you should take to complete them, and the assignments that follow
them.

UNIT TITLE OF WORK WEEK’S ASSESSMENT

ACTIVITY (END OF UNIT)
COURSE GUIDE 1
1 Preliminary issues in fiction 1 No assignment
writing
2 Story selection and 1 Assignment 1
projection
3 Setting: situation and 2
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ENG. 210 COURSE GUIDE

environment
4 Structure of plots & plotting 3 Assignment 2
5 Sounds Rhythm of prose 4
and dialogue
6 Characterization (with 5 Assignment 3
symbols)
7 Sense: total 6
meaning/Writing
8 Prelim Issues in Drama 6 No Assignment
9 Plot creation/titling 7 Assignment 4
10 Characterization 7 Assignment 5
11 Thought and idea 8
12 Language: Dialogue and 8
action Assignment 6
13 Spectacle 9
14 Music and sound and dance 9
effects
15 Prelim Issues in poetry 9 No Assignment
writing
16 Theme/subject matter 10
17 Emotion recollected 11 Assignment 7
18 Sensory awareness 12
19 Imagery and allusion 13 Assignment 8
20 Legend and history 14 Assignment 9
21 The finished product / 15 Revision/Review
Literary terms

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS COURSE

In distance learning, the study units replace the University Lecturer.

This is a great challenge and advantage. The student can READ, and
WORK THROUGH specially designed study materials. This is done at
the student’s own PACE, at a time, and at a place which suit the student
best. The student must think of each study unit as if he were reading a
lecture, rather than listening to a lecturer physically. As a lecturer might
set some reading for the student to do, so the study unit tells the student
WHEN to read set texts/books or other material. Just as a lecturer might
give an in-class exercise, so the study unit provides exercises for the
student at APPROPRIATE POINTS.

Each STUDY UNIT is patterned similarly, following a common format.

The first item is introductory of the unit’s subject-matter. Then it is
shown how a particular unit is integrated with other units and with the
entire course. Then follows a set of LEARNING OBJECTIVES which
let the student KNOW what he should be able to achieve by the time the
unit is completed. These objectives should guide study. When the units
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ENG. 210 COURSE GUIDE

are completed, the student must return to CHECK whether objectives

have been achieved. Such re-checking must become a habit in order to
significantly IMPROVE on one’s chances of excelling in the course.

The MAIN BODY of the unit guides the student through the
REQUIRED READING from other sources, drawn from relevant
materials.

READING SECTION

Remember that your Tutor’s job is to HELP you. When you need help,
don’t hesitate to call and ask your Tutor to provide it.

1. READ THIS COURSE GUIDE THOROUGHLY

2. ORGANIZE a study schedule. Refer to the “Course

Overview” for more details. Note the time limit for each unit
and how the Assignments relate to the units. Whatever
METHOD you choose to use, decide on, and write, in your
own dates for working on each unit.
3. Once the student has created his own schedule, he must do
everything possible TO STICK TO IT. The major reason
students fail is that they get behind with their course work. If
there develop any difficulties with the schedule made, do let
the Tutor know so as to offer timely help.
4. Turn to Unit 1 and read the introduction and the objectives for
the unit.
5. Assemble the study materials. Information about what you
need for a unit is given in the “OVERVIEW” at the beginning
of each unit. The student will, almost always need BOTH the
study unit being worked on AND a set-text/book on the desk
at the same time.
6. Work through the unit. The content of the unit itself has been
arranged to provide a SEQUENCE for the student to follow.
As the work through the unit progresses, the student will
receive instruction on sections to read from the set textbooks,
articles, or other material. Use the unit to guide reading.
7. Review the objectives for each study unit to confirm that you
have achieved them. When the student is not sure about any
of the objectives, he should go over the study material, or
consult his Tutor, or both.
8. The student can start on the next unit after ensuring a
confident grasp of the preceding unit’s objectives. He must go
unit-by-unit through the course. Study must be paced so as to
keep on schedule.

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9. When an Assignment has been submitted to the Tutor for

marking, the student need not wait for its return before
starting on the next unit. Keep the schedule. When the
Assignment is returned, the student must pay particular
attention to the Tutor’s comments, both on the Tutor-Marked
Assignment Form, and also on what is written on the
Assignment. If there are questions, doubts, or other
observable matter, contact your Tutor soonest.
10. When the student has done the last unit, the course should be
REVIEWED, and PREPARATION for the final examination
made. Student must CHECK that he has achieved the Unit
objectives as listed at the beginning of each course unit and
the course objectives as listed in this Course Guide.

TUTORS AND TUTORIALS

There are 12 hours of tutorials provided in support of this course. The

student will be notified of the dates, times and location of the Tutorials,
together with the name and phone number of the Tutor, after the student
is allocated a Tutorial Group.

The Tutor will mark and make comments on Assignments. There must
be a close watch on progress, a raising of any difficulties or gray areas in
the course by the Tutor. Tutor will then provide needed help.

The student must mail Tutor-marked assignment to the Tutor promptly

and well before due date. The Tutor will mark and return soonest all
assignments.

DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT YOUR TUTOR BY

TELEPHONE, E-mail or discussion board, when you need help. The
following might be circumstances in which you would find help
NECESSARY.

• When you do not understand any part of the study, units or the
assigned readings.
• When you have a question or problem with an assignment, with
your Tutor’s comments on an assignment, or with the grading of
an assignment.

Tutorials are mandatory. You must try as much as possible to attend

them. There you will have a chance for a face-to-face contact with a
Tutor, to ask questions to which answers are given right there. You can
raise any problem emanating from the course. Always prepare a list of
questions which you must bring to a Tutorial Session. Participating in

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discussions in an active manner sharpens imaginations for a creative

writer.

SUMMARY

Eng. 212 is intended to introduce you to powers of creative writing in

any or in all three genres of serious literature – fiction, drama and
poetry. When you complete the course, you should be able, in addition
to enhance self-expressiveness, conversationality, to

• know the procedures for starting to write and structure and title a
good play, poem, or novel or short story.
• know the art of a raconteur who can re-organise in an ordered
fashion the chaos that is daily living.
• discriminate between worthwhile subject-matters for a working
art and frivolous superficialities.
• dig down into human psychology and create memorable
characters that jump out of the book page onto the social
vocabulary and popular usage.
• creative entertainment built out of human concerns, desires and
hopes and need for relaxation or reflection of the meaning of life
(Not an exclusive list.)

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 MAIN
COURSE

CONTENTS PAGE

Module 1 Fiction

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in fiction writing – techniques

Unit 2: Story selection and projection
Unit 3: Setting in situation and environment
Unit 4: Structure of plots and plotting
Unit 5: Sound-Rhythm of prose and dialogue flow
Unit 6: Charactier(ization) with symbols and images
Unit 7: Sense as total meaning and import/message.

Module 2 Drama

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in Drama(tic) composition: Devices

Unit 2: Thought/Idea
Unit 3: Plot
Unit 4: Character(ization)
Unit 5: Language: dialogue and action
Unit 6: Spectacle
Unit 7: Music and Dance/Sound (Effects)

Module 3 Poetry

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in Poetry Writing.

Unit 2: What makes a poem
Unit 3: Creative blocks: Emotion in tranquility
Unit 4: Sensory Awareness: Feeling in thought
Unit 5: Imagery and Allusion: expanding scope
Unit 6: The Material of Poems: Legend and history
Unit 7: The Finished Product/Glossary of terms
ENG 212 MODULE 1

MODULE 1 FICTION

INTRODUCTION

Unit 1 Preliminary Issues in Fiction Writing

Unit 2 Story Selection and Projection
Unit 3 Setting: Situation and Environment
Unit 4 Structure: Plots & Plotting
Unit 5 Sound: Rhythm of Prose and Dialogue Flow
Unit 6 Character(ization): Symbols and Images
Unit 7 Sense: Total Meaning and Import/Message

UNIT I PRELIMINARY ISSUES IN FICTION WRITING

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 How to “Open”; Method
3.2 Purpose
3.3 Shaping
3.4 Tools in hand-your mind, your pen, your notebook,
Machines
4.0 Concluding on Preliminaries
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Creative writing is a many-sided (ad)venture. There can be many

approaches to it. Indeed, one could assume that there is really no
distinction between a good novel, and a good play and a good poem.
That they are all ‘phases’ of one phenomenon – products of the
imagination. But in fact, all writing is CRAFT. From such “crafting”,
yes, a learner or reader could extract ‘knowledge’ of various kinds, from
either one greater and famous writer, or from various works of many
great and famous writers. Because it is “craft”, writing is a “task”, a
practical task. But because the ‘practice’ of ‘describing’ an object,
‘narrating;, ‘telling’, about that one object, is different from
“dialoguing” with that object when it is a person, a character in action
on a stage, which character has a specific “voice”, a particular feature,
creative writing needs to be “artificially” separated into fiction (novel),
drama (playwriting) and poetry (poetic composing-like music).

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2.0 OBJECTIVES

It is therefore hoped that by the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• Appreciate the many-sided splendour of creative writing.

• Appreciate the need for revising and correcting the first inspired
onrush of words and ideas when you start writing
• Discuss the joy and exhilaration, or the challenges that you faced
initially.
• Determine from the beginning what kind of “knowledge” or
information you consciously want your reader to imbibe from
your work.
• Determine the content of your work(novel, play or poem)
beforehand because it is not accidental.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 How To ‘Open’ Novel-Writing

As is being emphasized all writing is purposeful. Think now of the

word, “Creative”. To “Create” means to bring about by imaginative skill
something purposefully new. Because the process affects the producer,
the product, and the consumer (here, the reader) of the product,
“creative” now becomes an all-affective thing which envelopes all three
“stakeholders”. This is why a work of art interests the artist, appeals to
the art appreciator, and remains a memorable thing with an autonomous
life of its own.

3.2 Purpose and Method must then merge and drive each other along,
much as the fuel in the tank of a car must be in an internally burning
engine to ‘exhaust’ itself as it pulls/propels the engine along. How does
a writer “pull the reader” into his story in the first place? the first
sentence in the first paragraph on the first page of the book. A reader
must be “hooked”, like a fish attracted to a bait is. The fish is given an
attractive reason to want to feed. That is why he sees the bait, goes for
it, and gets “hooked”. Remembers your fish need not “die”, but can be
coaxed therefrom into an experiment, living or dying later? “Narrative
Hook” as Rita Clay Estrada and Rita Gallagher call it, must make your
reader CURIOUS, INQUISITIVE, give him a REASON for staying on
to read your novel. Method and Purpose also underline a writer’s
technique.

Consider the following three or four “Openers”/Methods and see the

Intent/Purpose of the author(s).

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

. “Metal on concrete jars my drinking lobes”

[Soyinka’s Sagoe in opening the novel, The Interpreters]

“Akwaasa!: [The lorry blew through the breeze]”

[V.C.Ike in opening the novel, Toads for Supper].

“Once upon a time a young man was savouring the pleasures of a new
car”.
[Nkem Nwankwo in opening the novel, My Mercedez Is Bigger Than
Yours]

“Even before my death I have become a ghost…”

[Ayi Kwei Armah in opening the novel, Why Are We so Blest?]

Some American Romance novel openers include:

“She stood alone and lonely under the dim street lamp”.

and “I’m sorry, but my ad stated female, not male, to share my house”,
Joan Evans said, ignoring her instant attraction to the handsome man at
the door.”

Self-Assessment Exercise on 3.2.1

Pick any three of these six examples of openers as intimation of method
and purpose, and write down five ways in which they are good “baits”
to draw a reader into the story and keep him there.

3.3 SHAPING

Also, in the preliminary stage of beginning a novel, the ‘shape’ of the

story is intimated. At the beginning the story rolls loosely around a
number of subjects and persons. It may be around a family history, or a
political event, or a police clash with a community, or a student who’s
gone missing from school or village. You don’t know whether to write
down a “facts or anecdotes” collection. Shape comes into your mind as
you THINK and as you think, do not trust your mind to retain all of it;
get a notebook, or some sheets of paper, plain sheets or ruled feint with
margin; remember writing is hard work, and it needs tools to shape it,
even as we use our hoes to shape mounds in the farm; or matchets to cut
and clear the bush for farming; our spades to make the straight or
curving ridges, etc. An unshaped written novel is an uncleared bush, full
of brambles and undergrowths and wet, rotten leaves-strewn ground.
“Writing is refined thinking”, says Stephen King (2000:131), like a
well-shaped form is great harvest.!

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3.4 Your tools:(in your hand)

Natalie Goldberg [Writing Down The

Bones (Boston: Shambhala, 1986.5-7) says that since writing is an

attempt to “penetrate life”, student learner-writers must begin at the
beginning – that is, with their mind. I agree. The beginner’s mind
embarks on a journey, a task. To shape the journey (see 3.3 above), to
expedite the task, let’s lend you Robert Olmstead’s analogy: writing, he
asserts, is like driving at night. You only have your headlights, but
manage to get where you’re going. As writers, we have our shaped
novel, play, poem, short story, essay, memoir destination in mind. There
are “small concerns” – tools we need. Goldberg lists these tools of
concern: the pen you write with. What kind is it? – ballpoints, pencils,
felt tips… are slow. Use a fast writing pen so your thoughts are caught
up with your hand. Pen must “feel the connection and texture” with
paper. You also need a notebook which is to you what “a hammer and
nails are to a carpenter”) – preferably a cheap spiral note book easy to
carry in a notebook size purse. The notebook may have your favourite
commercial, or school, or government advert cover. Also, try out a
variety of blank-lined or graphed-paged notebooks, some are hard cover,
others are soft. Even when you are travelling on a bus, or in an
aeroplane, and a thought you must capture turns up, use the ticket back
cover. Some famous writer-doctors used their prescription pads. There
was this colleague – brother writer of mine in New York when we were
postgraduate students-he never had a notebook. He always typed, and
once on train, he had his type-writer on his laps while I played “Travel
Scrabble” with someone else beside him. Well, today, there are laptops-
do you have one? Late J. D. Ekwere always “wrote” by speaking into
the reel-to-reel tape recorder in his office. But nowadays there are the
handy Japanese – Chinese, or other Asian-made mini cassette/radio
recorders, cheap and battery operated, so you could beat PHCN!

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Discuss the use of at least two “tools” in the prelim stages. How would
they help you later?

4.0 CONCLUSION

People always come to the business of creative writing thinking that

“technique” means the actual manner in which a writer struggles to
shape his material. Here we have tried to let you see that “technique”
really means not just those technical details in the actual execution, but
also the manner in which you set about, right at the beginning, to acquire
those BASIC physical necessities – the needs of the crafts – with which

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the desired aim in writing will be accomplished. Thus knowledge of

what you want to write; the shape of what you are to write; the manner
in which, like great masters of writing, you want to hold your consumer
of product, your basic tools, from pen to paper and machines – this
knowledge is basic. With them you are prepared to WRITE DOWN
THE BONES – a strong, meaningful creative work which has
MARROW!.

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Why do you agree, if you do, with this conclusion?

5.0 SUMMARY

In this first unit, we have not burdened you with an overload of

definitions. Writing in its process and processing defines and re-defines
itself. We have instead led you to appreciate how to open a novel like
the old masters, why you need to shape your thinking, and why you
must know your basic tools.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS

1. In what sense or senses is creative writing a ‘task’

2. Open a story of your own in a paragraph using any method as
“bait” for your reader.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Goldberg, Natalie.(1986) Writing-Down The Bones. Boston & London:

Shambhala Publications.

Olmstead, Robert. (1997). Elements Of The Writing Craft. Cincinnati,

Ohio: Story

Press Books.

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ENG 212 CREATIVE WRITING 1

UNIT 2 STORY SELECTION AND PROJECT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is “Story”?
3.2 Sources to “select” from and principles of selection
3.3 “Outlines” of stories
3.4 Projecting the story. Defences
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Some writers believe that a good story is the best assurance of success in
the final product called the novel. And so, they emphasize the need for a
well selected story. In every culture the world over people thrill over to
a good story. So, in this unit we shall let you into the VALUE and
PLACE of story selecting and the legal implications.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this Unit, you should know, and be able to follow:

• Identify what constitutes a story

• Discuss the varieties and variations in story perspectives
• List sources from which to select
• Discuss the principles basic to selecting a story
• Project the story as if you were a camera-eye

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 What is “Story”?

Ordinarily, as any good dictionary or thesaurus can tell, a story is just

the account of events or incidents whose ordering may be extremely
loose, tight or disorderly but in whatever form They ultimately posses
elements of human sense to an extent. We see “Stories”, more or less, in
this sense in the TV news, or newspaper thrillers or sensational
rendering of a killing, a theft with perpetrators breaking and entering, a

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conversion or healing of persons on a Christian crusade ground, or even

church worship occasion. In fact, our everyday life is full of “stories”.

However, when it comes to creative writing, story assumes a special

dimension. It becomes an “imagined” or “imaginative”, “invented” –
and so, called “fictional” narrative, full of contrived intrigues so plotted
as to receive a variety of names such as “Anecdote” (when full of
humour and amusement), or “legend” (when couched as transmitted
history of a people from their previous times), or “romance” (especially
as in a cowboy adventure from America, or a science-fiction/thriller
from an H.G. Wells or a Jules Verne, or a Girls’ or Womens’ chit-chat
magazine, or an H. Rider Haggard ‘mystery’ in a remote African jungle)
when a man and woman, or a boy and girl fall in love.

Still, nor every kind of fictionally imagined tale with the love-element is
a romance story. For instance, N.T.A’s “Super Story” is not romance;
the series has one “heart-kicking dilemma, one life-threatening quandary
or another, one fear-raising or emotional death or divorce or another as
“elements”. So “Super Story” is a “soap” (opera). Other television
shows such as “Desperate House Wives” is not romance, though the
stories show the women “experiencing” “growth”, “new beginnings”,
“raising children” (alone), ‘leaving their husbands’, “becoming
economically independent”, or even attaining worker-status for the first
time.” The story is “women’s fiction”. Once creativity comes into play,
however, a story is a story when well plotted and is arrestingly gripping.

So, you need to clarify to yourself, ‘ab initio’, what story you are going
to tell: what it is about; how well ordered; theme, and basic idea; and
premise (the road map the story follows), (Estrada & Gallagher. 1999:1-
5).

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

What makes a story? Why must you select?

3.2 Sources to “Select” from & Principles of Selection

If you have understood “story” as treated above, you’ll realize

immediately that there are, and can be, so many stories, and varieties
and variations and that as a writer you need to select carefully and
meticulously.

But first, where does one select from? As can be seen, and has been
foreshadowed above, everyday life is a vast source to pick stories from.
In addition, you could pick and build on pre-existing folk-tales and
communal stories. After all, as a writer you are also a researcher.

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However, there are principles of selection involved here. In using

everyday stories and communal folksy stories which are in the society’s
common pool of available story stores, there are no copyright laws. The
writer-researcher is free to take the folksy stories, re-shape them, modify
the characterization, give them new language.

In fact, this selection freedom is what the whole principle of adaptation

is all about; it is what the imagination is to re-create (see Unit 1, 1.0).

However, where there is a previously told story, especially written up

under a known individual’s name and title, you must respect the
copyright restrictions so as to avoid going to the “Revenue Court” for
plagiarism or manuscript stealing.

Armed with unrestricted materials, the writer must now “find” his/her
own “story”. To find the story, you must “twist” a plot, give characters
new motivations, believable behaviour, add your “invented”
complications so as to give your selected story a personality, a
uniqueness that will enliven the tale.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Apart from communal property folktales, and your everyday life

observed sources, can you name and assess some three other sources for
stories (Re: TV news, World disaster areas and the like).

3.3 “Outlines” of Stories

Someone has said that a writer, creative writer, is an architect, a cook,

and farmer. He knows the concrete names of things around him. He
must bring them specifically to life, give them their correct, living
names, and put them in an order, in an outline. Through an outline he
creates a list that may form chapters, or even chunks of the same story.
An “outline” helps you grasp and grab your ideas, and stick to them. Jot
down something like these ten “ideas”. As Natalie Goldberg would:

• Swimming
• The stars
• The most frightened you’ve ever been
• Green places
• How you learned about sex
• Your first sexual experience
• The closest you ever felt to God or Nature
• Reading and books that have changed your life
• Physical endurance

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

• A teacher you had

(Goldberg, 1986.21)

Each is concrete, not abstract; each is real stuff. In “Outlining” you are
forced to be honest, to be down to earth, not a romantic dreamer, or an
escapist coward. Making an outline disciplines you; force you to avoid
procrastination. Chinua Achebe says it forces you to do now, not go on
proposing, “I’ll do, I’ll do”, for ever like the rat without a tail that ever
hoped to grow one but never did. An outline gives you the chapters;
gives you the characters; defines directions and situations, sharpens your
mind to see the entrances and exits for your personages, may even push
you towards seeing a resolution or conclusion, an ending to your story,
especially when from a well-tuned, well-directed, soul-rending conflict,
you have given your characters appropriate motivations for action within
their assigned personalities.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

What is an “outline”? Expand on one of the ten listed above from

Goldberg.

3.4 Projecting the Story

There is a novel, Anywhere but here, written by Mona Simpson. The

story opens in a crisis, like this: “We fought. When my mother and I
crossed State lines in the stolen car, I’d sit against the window and
wouldn’t talk. I wouldn’t even look at her. The fights came when I
thought she broke a promise. She said there’d be an Indian reservation.
She said that we’d see buffalo in Texas. My mother said a lot of things.
We were driving from Bay City, Wisconsin, to California, so I could be a
child star while I was still a child.

“Talk to me,” my mother would say. “if you are upset, tell me”. But I
wouldn’t. I knew how to make her suffer. I was mad. I was mad about a
lot of things. Places she said would be there, weren’t. We were running
away from family. We’d left home.

Then my mother would pull to the side of the road and reach over and
open my door.
“Get out, then”, she’d say, pushing me.”

Robert Olmstead has suggested that a lesson in “story projection” can be

deduced by analysis this way:

This novel begins with a two-word sentence “We fought” – a subject,

“we” and verb, “fought” It (the sentence) tells what has been happening

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between the narrator and her mother, from the narrator’s point of view.
These two words give conditions. They create a complicated dynamic.
Yet one that is easy to understand. It is not a drama taking place before
your eyes, but still a drama that was and is constant. The word, “would”
maintains the past tense. ‘Would’ is the past tense of ‘will’ and indicates
habitual action, in this case, the relentlessness of the fighting.

In the second sentence we find out that their car is stolen. But this
information comes to us through an adjective inside a prepositional
phrase inside a clause. That the car is stolen is made to be much less
important than that they are fighting. Nevertheless, we are told the car is
stolen and it isn’t mentioned again in this passage. Simply put, this
information is revealed in an adjective, not in a statement of fact, as the
fighting is.

Another statement of fact is “I was mad”. Notice how each time the
narrator makes a statement of fact, she follows it with an example,
reason or detail. The thinking is personal and childlike. Sometimes it
doesn’t make sense. But more important, it appears to make sense. The
narrator’s strength is in her thinking. This is why her mother’s
behaviour in the fourth paragraph is so striking. It has consequence.
Knowing the car is stolen now comes back to haunt us. The crisis is
enlarged. However dangerous we thought the situation, we find we
misjudged.

Look at all the italicised words and phrases, and you will agree the story
and its opening crisis are concretely projected. The reader is on solid
ground, the author-creator is on solid earth; the ‘personae’ of the story
are solid reality.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Open your own imaginary story with a two-word sentence. Come up

with ten possibilities. I suggest these three examples for you:

• “We argued…”
• “We ran…”
• “He cried…”

4.0 CONCLUSION

If you are, or were a javelin-throwing sportsman you would have no

problem appreciating the word, “projection” “throwing-forth and far
away”. The action will be full of energy, excitement, breath-taking. This
Unit tells you just the place of “projection, “audible-visible” energy of a
story that starts its narrative journey.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Write in three more sentences following my own sentences, to expand

your understanding of the importance of “story projection”. Or is a story
better “handled” than “projected”?

5.0 SUMMARY

In this second Unit you have been given the concrete grounds for
knowing what a “story” should be; for seeing how even the smallest
word/phrase could energize a tale, for knowing the place of “outlines”;
for knowing how to select from sources without breaking intellectual
property laws.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. What is “copyright”?
2. Discuss any difficulties or problems you had in self-Assessment
Exercise on 3.4
3. Give three reasons why thinking of “outlines” for your story is
equivalent to evolving suitable topics for sections of your
imaginative work.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Goldberg, Natalie.(1986) Writing-Down The Bones. Boston & London:

Shambhala Publications.

Olmstead, Robert. (1997). Elements Of The Writing Craft. Cincinnati,

Ohio: Story

Press Books

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ENG 212 CREATIVE WRITING 1

UNIT 3 SETTING: SITUATION & ENVIRONMENT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Setting by what you see: vision & space
3.2 Setting by what you hear: sounds & storms
3.3 Setting by weather and geology: environment
3.4 Setting by character: environment & personality
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Estrada and Gallagher insist, very correctly, that a story is not written in
‘chapters’, but rather is written in “scenes” and their “sequels”, that is in
actions organized round a situation and the reaction contrary to the
previous . A setting must be like a string of beads to keep a story on
track. When well set out you can see a pattern that we diagram like this;
and you must be able to describe and define concretely.

SCENES = ACTION SEQUELS =

REACTION
Composed of
1. Goal (direction you are going) 1. Reaction (may be opposition)
2. Conflict 2. Dilemma (Choice must be dictated
now)
3. Disaster 3. Decision

Indeed, for a story to begin well, the writer must think it through first.
To think it through you must be able to know exactly which direction
you are going, where exactly you are at any given stage, how you are
going to reach your destination.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, you should be able to know how to:

• Establish a good story in the first scene you set to hold your
reader in the first few pages.
• Determine ewhat a STORY GOAL is
• Determine what is a SCENE GOAL is.
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ENG 212 MODULE 1

• Decide how to end each scene in a conflict or preparation for a

coming conflict, big or small.
• Decide how to adjust a story so as to balance pacing, length,
emotion and actions in scenes you have set.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Setting By What You See: Vision and space

In a novel called State of Grace, Joy Williams writes a setting like this:

“… And the ground never dries. The yard is rich mud with no definition
between it and the riverbank. Tiny fish swim in the marks our feet make.

The trees are tall and always look wet as though they’d been dipped in
grease. Many of them are magnolias and oaks. Pods, nuts and Spanish
moss hang in wide festoons. The river is the perfect representation of a
Southern river, thin and blond, swampy, sloppy and warm. It is in
everyone’s geography book. I was not shocked at all when I saw it. I
was not pleased, although it is quite pretty…”

This SETTING relies on What can be seen. Olmstead avers that only a
storyteller who has, and is, as a sharps teller like Williams has an eye
for SURROUNDINGS, and a DISCERNING language for the
particular vision can write so distinctly or clearly. The “world” this
writer describes is “oozing” and “shimmering”. The movement suggests
a person’s gaze crossing a landscape, moving from ground, to the tress,
to the river. Each descriptive sentence is TIGHT. Each begins the same
way: “…The yard… is…, the trees are…, the river is ….”, with simple
verbs, relating simply what is seen, what what is seen is. This
description defines. The trees are defined: magnolias, oaks. ‘pods, ‘Nuts
and Spanish moss hang in wide festoons’. This programme developer is
reminded of an almond tree in his compound at that time of the year
when it sheds its dried broad leaves and they scatter far and wide in the
wind beyond the foot of the tree itself into the neigbours’ compounds
and onto the streets. In this kind of setting a writer shows confidence in
how to perceive land and environment. In the end what is seen is not just
physical but begins to embody an inner, spiritual dimension that gives a
setting its peculiar character(istic) and magic and attraction.

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ENG 212 CREATIVE WRITING 1

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

If you think you have followed this part of the Unit, do two things now:

a) Choose a setting you know well, be it your yard at home, a part

of Lagos lagoon near you, or the stretch of highway from Abuja
International Airport into the city centre, and describe it.
b) Use a simile/metaphor to give a “push” to five descriptive
phrases of your own: e.g. “The water is rotted, smelly…” With a
“push”- “The water is rotted, smelly like a lifeless pond where no
fish can live”.

3.2 Setting By What You Hear

In a collection of short stories by Obi B. Egbuna titled Emperor of the

Sea (London: Fontana Modern Novels. 1974), we read this setting.

“…Falilah suggested we went for a walk down to the creek. The

moon was out… Falilah and I sat on a log of wood, all by
ourselves in the silent stillness of the night… like two birds of the
air… everything peace and in accord with nature… for about two
hours, no word passed between us. She just sat there, in complete
silence, staring at me, with a mysterious smile on her face… like
a High Priestess in a trance… her eyes burning right through
me… I began to feel uncomfortable …tried to get up and tell her
it was time to leave, but… it was as if an invisible force was
holding me down….. Then, suddenly, Falilah said, ‘Can I trust
you?’…”

And, from the book, The Fearful Void by Geoffrey Moorhouse, we read
a setting:

“…It was a child, screaming in nightmare, which woke me. As I rose

from the depths of my sleep, sluggishly, like a diver surfacing from the
seabed, the corridors of the hotel echoed with those pealing, terrified
cries. They poured over the balcony beyond my room and filled the
courtyard beneath; they streamed out into the town which was cooling
itself, ankle-deep in sand under a new moon, and they were lost,
plaintively, among the low dunes scattered to the south and to the east. I
reached consciousness to the dimmer sound of a father’s voice gentling
the infact terrors away, and the night became stealthy with silence again
…..”.

In each we observe dramatic settings. Obi Egbuna’s is a novel/short

story; Moorhouse’s is a travel book. Each main character is involved in
night, a strange, exotic setting. We enter the experience of nightmarism

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and mesmerism with the tellers. Names are concretized – “Falilah”, “I”.
They do not know what lie ahead. Sound becomes silence, and silence
sound. “Down to the creek…” “Moon was out,” “silent stillness of the
night…”, “no word passed…” “…mysterious smile as a High Priestess
in a trance” (Obi Egbuna’s). Then, “…cries poured,… filled… was
cooling… ankle-deep… scattered…” (Moorhouse’s). There is innocence
in both Falilah and the child. Silence gains human attribution – the
ability to move as a thief or as a High Priestess in a trance. In a gripping
setting what you hear may be as tough as the silence you don’t seem to
hear. That kind of paradox gives strength to the setting.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Take a setting like this: “The girl and I walked on in the silence, only
hearing our breathing and the crunch of sand beneath our bare feet. Then
suddenly, as if determined to jar us or separate us, an eerie wind as if
driven by a thousand whistling pines crashed into us…”. Continue with
three other sentences.

3.3 Setting By Weather And Geology: An Environment

James Lee Burke has written, in a novel, In The Electric Mist With The
Confederate Dead, like this:

“…The sky had gone black at sunset, and the storm had churned inland
from the Gulf and drenched New Iberia and littered East Main with
leaves and tree branches from the longcanopy of oaks that covered the
street from the old brick Post Office to the drawbridge over Bayon
Teche at the edge of the town. The air was cool now, laced with light
rain, heavy with the fecund smell of wet humus, night blooming jasmine,
roses, and new bamboo…”.

Peter K. Palangyo of Tanzania has written in the novel, Dying in the

Sun, as follows:

“…She had weighed him down to the ground and she was running her
hands over his short woolly hair, kissing his throat and chest with tears
of joy, of life rediscovered, wetting his neck and chest. He surrendered
himself with his arm around her repeating slowly and inaudibly, ‘yes,
yes, my darling’… They lay there… Darkness was slowly closing in but
one could still see the narrow pathway that meandered in its
carelessness toward the destination they were not too impatient to
reach. Birds were still singing, especially the evening dove, and
grasshoppers were moving around noisily in the dry grass. A few herd
boys were crying goodnight to each other across the valleys. A cow too
was mooing because of its overloaded udder or because it missed its

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calves…. Kachawanga was strikingly quiet … with birds and

grasshoppers singing their praise to God…”

In these extracts, weather and environment clearly give TEXTURE to

setting, to story. Thunderstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, extreme heat or
cold, the narrowness of the pathway of a place the author knows well,
the meandering of the path, the movement and singing of grasshoppers
in the dry grass, the valleys of cows and herd boys – all these
STRENGTHEN your setting.

Men and women live in weather and coldness or heat, in darkness and
twilight everyday. Weather can enhance Mood. They travel together in a
story. See how oblivious the lovers in Palangyo are: she “weighing him
down…”, he “surrendering…”. Detail upon detail informs the reader
about what lies beneath the ground, what other lives float around,
“…birds singing, …grasshoppers… noisily in dry grass…” Take note of
the words which describe. “…churned… drenched… littered… cool…
laced… light… heavy… face and wet… blooming…” in Burke; and
“…weighed… running… short woolly hair… wetting… repeating
inaudibly…” in Palangyo.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

1. Make a list of as many words as you can which describe or evoke

weather, dry or rainy.
2. Where do you live in Nigeria? Follow any of the two patterns
above and write about a storm, or a lovers’ meeting scene which
is descriptive and evocative of place and emotion.

3.4 Setting By Character: Environment & Personality

Here is how Asare Konadu in the novel, Ordained By Oracle, tells us of

a man who would not sleep on a bed but rather preferred a mat on the
floor because he complained that the bed was too soft.

“…This man was a farmer. He had lived through most of his life on his
farm, sleeping as we are doing now (on a coarse mat on a floor).
Sometimes he even slept on tree trunks when hunting. Now, he had some
money and wanted to see Accra…”

“…To him it was like the Moslie man from the Republic of Mali coming
to Kumasi,…

“…Yes, as the Moslie proverb goes, he who does not know Kumasi has
not seen heaven. But to him the heaven was Accra. He booked into a
hotel and at night when shown into his bedroom refused to sleep in the

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

bed… He said any time he fell asleep he found himself in a deep, deep
hole and he kept dropping through a bed of feathers which fluttered
round him. So he rose and slept on the carpet on the floor. It was then
he had a fine sleep”.

You can see here that Konadu gives this farmer an “interior” as well as
an “exterior”, with his taste for a particular kind of sleeping comfort,
and imagination of what could befall him otherwise. Here is set, a
character who loves to balance rural life-time exposure with the
“heaven” of cities, and for whom only one city, Accra, holds out that
taste of heaven. By the last sentence you see this character is set as a
man of realism, set habits, a ‘traditional’ man, rugged – “slept on tree
trunks when hunting…”; a kind of adventurer, now that he has made
some money. You can see how the contrast provided, even
speculatively, about Accra and Kumasi makes places, towns, to shape an
image of this farmer for the reader.

4.0 CONCLUSION

This Unit has elaborated for you what setting relies on in a good,
gripping story. You must know your imaginary places well, be they a
road, a river, some bush, or forest; be they big or small, such as seeing
all of a country, like Ghana from a small hotel room. Sounds and
silences give texture and concreteness to setting. They create
environment; food eaten, or being prepared; a marriage planned or
hoped for as in Palangyo’s work, a sense of the eerie or extraordinary,
even a dream as in Egbuna or Moorhouse. Setting gives flesh to both
situation and environment.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this third Unit, you have been exposed to the characteristics of setting
in a story. You have seen the range and variety of settings. Your
“vision”, in the things you can see physically as well as the things you
can imagine expands through settings; what your ears can gather, “off”
and “on” stage, as it were; the kinds of weather - stormy, calm, rough
and unsteady, hot or cold give your setting of a story some substance.
You can now “see”, “hear”, and “create”!

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Invent a diagram of your own in line with suggestion in 1.0

(Introduction) to illustrate “setting as a string of beads” (You may
consult your Rosary! If you have or believe in one).

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2. Which writers seem to you to make “better” settings – Africans

or non-Africans? What do you regard as “better” – vocabulary
and diction, or descriptiveness?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Goldberg, Natalie.(1986) Writing-Down The Bones. Boston & London:

Shambhala Publications.

Olmstead, Robert. (1997). Elements Of The Writing Craft. Cincinnati,

Ohio: Story

Press Books

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

UNIT 4 STRUCTURE: PLOTS AND PLOTTING

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Are plots necessary?
3.2 Story inside story
3.3 Handling Conflict
3.4 Action as Determiner
3.5 Description inside structure
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Since creative writing is purposeful work, just as we have purpose in

everyday life, the story must needs be solid, practical and ordered. That
way writing becomes vital, clear, and good. There must be a pathway of
travel in the story. Structuring the story is the key to shifting into the
essentials of the human experience you wish to express. Structuring
gives the writer a perspective. Structure builds together the elements of
the story you want to tell. Disparate as trees, the sky, the moon, the stars
may be, they are bonded in structure. Embedded in the structure are the
plots and subplots. These fertilize the story. Structure helps generate the
ideas. Structure itself is idea in itself too. By it you know where you are
going. Your mind will be ‘leaping’, because structure is metaphor.
Structure is image. Structuring helps you to slowly grapple with the
positions which the pillars and pins of your human tale must take.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

As the Introduction has tried to emphasize, STRUCTURE is the basis of

all design and architecture. So, by the end of this Unit, you are expected
to know fully the “architectonics” of putting a story together,
highlighted as follows:

• Determine why plots are necessary.

• Decide how to plot your work withou making them mechanical.
• List the many dimensions that make up a story.
• Determine the the correct handling of the intricacies of story
structure
• List many kinds of what is called “action” in the novel.

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ENG 212 CREATIVE WRITING 1

• Decide how to handle action ii fiction-writing

• Decide how to use action or actions to project the fullness and
significance of the story.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Are ‘Plots’ Necessary?

Once you have decided on what you are going to write about, which
normally would be something you know, and you are to tell it in truth,
remembering that truth is so vital that the Lord Jesus always pointed its
importance by telling his listeners, “Verily, verily… I… unto you …”,
you must settle to plot it out. You must be careful here. Life itself as we
lead it is not quite a “plotted” thing. You plan a trip, yes, for instance.
You plan to have a family, true. But you do not set about these
mechanically. Some very serious – and successful – writers have said in
interview that they do not believe in plotting, because they see “plotting
and the spontaneity of real creation” as incompatible. They believe that
“stories make themselves”, and that the job of the writer is to give a
story “a place to grow”, and so merely “transcribe the stories”. The real
truth of course is that even if stories are “relics” one “finds” in life, as
“fossils” are found by the geologist in the ground, the writer uses “tools”
from a “toolbox” deliberately to shape them or present them intact to the
world. How do you use your “tools”?.

Your tools are used consciously because you have an aim and a
direction in which you are moving. As in our tradition, the Elders used
to admonish young girls newly married and learning to prepare pounded
yam (foofoo) for their beloved husbands, “pound well, and you pound
inside the mortar, but pound carelessly, and you’ll crush the bones of
your thighs …”. A writer of a story is a pounder. The “pestle” and
“mortar” are tools. They must be used with care, caution and
deliberateness, moving on in the direction of achieving the smoothest,
most appetizingly edible pounded yam. The process is not just carried
on “intuitively”. We go stage-by-stage, knowing when and how much
water to add, when to turn the malleable powder in the mortar right or
left, when to pick up the small knife and scrape off the bits of the foofoo
from the pestle. Plotting a story is like using these necessary steps.
Therefore, do not think that those who reject plotting are altogether
right. Indeed, it was the case that the earlier debate we referred to (see p.
… of… ) on whether creative writing can or cannot be taught hinged on
this argument about the necessity of plots. A famous successful writer
like Stephen King, while seeming to distrust plotting, eventually spells
out the inevitability of the need to plot a story when he asserts that:

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…..Plot is a big tool… it’s clumsy,

mechanical, anti-creative…. plot is… the
good writer’s last resort the dullard’s first
choice. The story which results from it
(plot) is apt to feel artificial and laboured …
lean more heavily on intuition… because my
books tend to be based on SITUATION
rather on STORY….

After this, he goes on to stress that the use of the “outline” and
“notebook” – filled CHARACTER NOTES may “enslave” or “liberate”
a writer’s, even produce a good plotline in a story by a device called the
Edgar Wallace Plot Wheel. A good plot helps to sustain the interest of
the reader in a novel.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

1. How can the “plotting” of a story be a check on the absence of

control which “intuition” alone could cause in the process?
2. Give two differences between “SITUATION” and “STORY”.
(see further in TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT below).

3.2 Story Inside Story

When you have plotted, that is, outlined your story well, got your
intuition to be controlled, and remain controllable, you may wish to tell
a “story” inside the main story. The problem is how you move with
grace and smoothness into that second story.

Here is how a well-known novelist/creative writing teacher once

illustrated the process.

“It was with those feelings that he heard the uncle’s suddenly Solemn
voice. What was this voice? This tone? What story?.

It was in the dark afternoon on a November day of sleet, told the uncle.
We waited and we waited for Louetta to get home from her trip into
town. The darker it got the scareder we got”.

What does a learner writer learn from such a beginning as this? The
author of the story is a man called William Goyen.

Now, see, first, how he moves both reader and listener WITHIN THE
LARGER STORY. The movement is gradual; it is inexorable. It is as
if things are sliding under water, falling under a spell. Robert Olmstead
describes this first move as that as of the ‘solemn sound of the voice’.

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Then the question, “What voice”?. Then a reference to TONE, then

“What story?”, and before any answer is forthcoming, the story
commences. Yet we are not sure until we too are already under its spell
and read the words, “TOLD THE UNCLE…”. The story, second story,
has thus already ‘Begun’! The storyteller inside your story will sound
different from the narrator, will be unique within the larger story.

SELF –ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.2

1. Write down five phrases that describe a voice. For example, “His
voice (sounded like) metal on stone”.

3.3 Handling Conflicts

You need to know what “conflict” in creative writing really means,

implies. Conflict is not simply disagreement. It is not simply the tug and
pull of opposites.

Take this passage from the story “Two Stories” by Bret Lott. He writes,
via the narrator:
“…I used to imagine it wasn’t the flu that killed my mother, but a
broken heart at the death of her beloved.

But the truth of the matter was he’d moved into a logging shack a year
before he’d broke his neck, and only showed up to our house at twilight
on Saturday nights to have at my mother, then to attend church the next
morning, his black hair slicked back and shining with pomade”.

Here, something is happening in a mind. A soul is troubled. That is the

“conflicted mind”. The writer lets you know and feel, through the
narrator, the imaging of a broken heart.’ ‘the fact of flu,’ ‘the truth of
abandonment,’ ‘the reality of a broken neck’ – all in four lines! The
conflict occurs in a contentious mind, a mind that has to face up to the
differences between imagination and truth. The author also reveals and
explores the way the imagination can still operate in the face of what it
knows to be a fact.

Let us take another example in which conflict is in the minds of the

characters. Here is a passage from the story, “Living through the winter”
by Mary Bush. It’s a telephone talk.

“…He was ready to hang up when she answered

‘Hello? She said
He couldn’t move. The voice went through him like ice. He could feel it
even after she stopped speaking.

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

‘Hello’: She said again.

He heard noise in the background, the TV going, and a man saying,

‘who is it?’ Over the sound of the TV.

‘Who is this? She said

He hung up the phone gently.

He sat there for a long time, dazed, not feeling a thing…”

See the conflict: someone, a man, a young boy, whoever intends to talk,
to converse with some other person – a girl, a woman. He is intimidated,
somehow. The scene is full of sound. Conflicting sounds – the ‘voice’ at
other end of the phone which goes through him like ice’, TV set is going
in the background, like a voice through ice. Then there is a man’s voice,
booming, perhaps, with ‘who is it?’ and the girl or woman on this side
repeating, ‘Who is this?’ You can see the conflicts and the thwarting of
the caller’s intentions – ‘dazed’, ‘not feeling a thing – the conflicts lead
to a defeat, according to writer Bush.

Conflicts can be created, especially in war situations, boxing arena

settings, football pitches, or even in a classroom. They must indicate a
direction to solving their tanglings or to reveal a commitment or a
disengagement, a lack of interest, timidity or stubbornness.

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.3

Make two (2) lists for phrases, like (see the one from Lot’s story) “I
used to imagine …” and a second list for phrases like “He was ready
to…” (From the Bush story). Do five phrases for each:

e.g “I used to imagine (think) that girls are shy, but to tell you the
truth…” (5 times )
e.g “He was ready to give up the effort, but just then his big brother
showed…”(3times)

3.4 Action As Determiner

A master of the art of how novels are structured, Dwight V. Swain has
been quoted as asserting as follows: “That a story tells how a character
overcomes obstacles on the way to an important goal” (Estrada &
Gallagher. 1999. 47). The actions of characters, especially when in
conflict or in unpressing opposing views, make a story. Estrada and
Gallagher affirm that a so-called story about “happy people, in a happy
house, in a happy town, in a happy country, in a happy world” is NOT A

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STORY. There must be obstacles to action, or action producing

challenge to what someone would want to but then cannot do.
Characters are determined by actions. That is life. In a well-written
novel (romance novel, for instance), Estrada and Gallagher insist that
“love, that most basic emotion that is part of every person on this planet
hurt, anger, despair and betrayed must mingle with hope, doubt,
anticipation, desire, fear, disloyalty, wishes and faith” (1999:48). Action
in all these is determiner of conflict. Take this passage that Robert
Olmstead uses to show how action to interior’ determines characters,
from the story, “Shed of Grace” by Melissa Pritchard.
“…I will not defend myself. I was experiencing a… revenge towards my
sister. But I intended this familiarity to stop; I fully intended to control
its limits.

Later, when he drove onto the dirt road which led to the graveyard,
saying that he had left something, I knew that my revenge had conjoined
with his and that we would very soon prove uncontrolled, weakly
submissive to our instincts.

He parked behind the white shed, leaving the door of the truck yawning
open…”

See how the mutual ambitions of the Narrator (Sister) and the Husband
(of the first woman) to betray her become one. See the ‘action in the
character’s interior – what Gabriel Okara calls the inside, in the second
paragraph. The action takes place as ‘thought’ – so it is not told, it is not
narrated – but the use of the first person narration style carries it. The
first person narrator is in alliance with the reader, thus drawing him to
immediately share potential action as completed action.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.4

1. List phrases that show a character expressing interior action. For

example, “I was experiencing …”; “I know at once that …”; “I
had planned…”
2. In the first two lines of the passage, the narrator-character
explains herself. Create a small movement where one of your
characters does the same thing. For example, “…I was enjoying
what was happening on a Lagos beach at Xmas…” You may
further refer to the opening scene of Wole Soyinka’s The Trials
of Brother Jero.

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3.5 Description Inside Structure

In 3.4 we tried to show how action can drag the reader into the heart of a
story when well told. We indicated that sometimes not all action is
narrated, as Pritchard demonstrates.

Now we do not mean that describing a scene or describing narratively is

not necessary. After all, a story must be told. We now want to refer here
to the importance of description inside the story structure - remember we
are still elaborating on the phenomenon of PLOT.

Stephen King asserts (2000:173) that description is what makes the

reader a SENSORY PARTICIPANT in the story (emphasis mine). Good
description is a skill one must learn. You learn it by reading a lot, and
writing a lot. How much must one write? Just write. Don’t be like the
young female lecturer who started writing a novel, describing characters
and situations six times, then discarded all, because she said each
attempt made her “sound like Achebe”, but she wanted to be different!
How? Is Chimamanda not like an Achebe in Purple Hibiscus?

In description, you fist VISUALIZE what your reader is to experience;

then you TRANSLATE that vision into words inside your story.
Description must be neither thin, nor too thick.

Let us examine Elechi Amadi’s The Slave, chapter 10:

“…Olumati felt vaguely happy and wondered why. Then he

remembered he was due to occupy his new house in a few day’s
time. The walls were now dry and smoothly scrubbed. So were
the floor and sleeping mounds. What remained was the charcoal-
and-chalk decoration on the front wall. It was not really
necessary, but Aleru was insisting. His house, she said, should
look right, whether he was worried or not…

…As usual, Aleru called in Adiba to help. Adiba was known to

be good at putting on wall decorations. Some said she took after
her brother in matters of skill. Like flood waters which always
collected in the same places after rain, skill tended to reside in
certain families,….” (The Slave. 1978.83).

Here, description consists in a few well chosen details - Olumatis new

house, … walls now dry, smoothly scrubbed,…” remaining the
“charcoal-and-chalk decoration on front wall…”. The skills of the Adiba
family is like “flood waters… collecting in same places after rain…”

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Description here too is straight. Not too thin. Not too thick. It is also a
set scene.

4.0 CONCLUSION

This unit has given you all the possible main guidelines to place of plot
and description or narration inside a story. The main content is that a
plot is as necessary to a story as arms and legs are to a total body.
Conflict, Action and Description are those limbs.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this fourth unit of module 1, we have dealt with structure in totality.

The human anatomy, for instance, without flesh, is a gathering of bones
without beauty, dry and frighteningly white. When bones of an anatomy
are covered with full flesh, there is beauty of form. Structure in the
beauty of a story.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. What do you understand by the “architectonics” of story-telling?

2. Give a brief description of the lounge of a modern fast food joint
in a Nigerian city of your choice as prelude to a story on a festive
occasion.
3. Name ten novels you’ve read and find descriptions in them
memorable.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Goldberg, Natalie.(1986) Writing-Down The Bones. Boston & London:

Shambhala Publications.

Olmstead, Robert. (1997). Elements Of The Writing Craft. Cincinnati,

Ohio: Story

Press Books

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

UNIT 5 SOUND – THE RHYTHM OF PROSE AND

DIALOGUE FLOW

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Syntax & Rhetoric – is it important?
3.2 Language of the word, or the word of the language?
3.3 Dialogue
3.4 Rhythm and voice
3.5 When is language poetic, when prosaic?
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The English language is not the African’s native tongue/language. Both

as speaker and as writer of it therefore, the African must know the rules
of correct usage of the language, though he may be doing his thinking in
his indigenous idioms or thought – patterns. The creative writer who is
African therefore needs a particularly careful approach to the use of
English if he is to be successful writer. He must be master of
GRAMMAR. There is ‘grammar’ in ‘conversational’ language, there is
‘grammar’ in reading, there is ‘grammar’ in writing. For us in Nigeria,
in particular, one must notice there is a difference, somewhat, between
American and British grammar, just as in oral speech, there are
differences. Many of us are confused. Despite the domination of the
computer and information technology language/communication systems
by the American, it is suggested here that as far as possible, the creative
writer to be here sticks with the British for British grammar, says
Stephen King, is more “sturdy” than the American. Whether
Americanizing, or Anglicising, any way, you need to know that Bad
grammar produces bad sentences. A good novel is always written in
good sentences.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit you should know, and be able to:

• Determine the importance of exhibiting a good knowlede of

syntax in your writing;
• Distinguish between Complete and ‘Incomplete’ sentences

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ENG 212 CREATIVE WRITING 1

• Make language sound ‘pliable’

• Create good dialogue
• Distinguish between ‘prosaic’ and ‘poetic’ language in the novel

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Syntax:

Natalie Goldberg does three things to illustrate the centrality of good

syntax for the writer who has a good ear for language, who knows all the
parts of speech of English, who can distinguish between ‘nouns’ and
‘verbs’ and ‘articles’ and ‘conjunctions’. To the writer, the good writer,
words in English are not simply wooden blocks to be moved around at
random. As the mind is always trying to construct a meaning, so the
words must be arranged to make sense (see unit 7). To adapt the first
example of the three which Natalie Goldberg uses, let us write, like this:

1. “…I can’t write because I’m a bucket of water and my mouth

goes dry and there’s nothing to say and I’d rather drink
water from a cup…”

Now, if every word was equal to the other, and there was no ordering of
words, and your mind cannot construct anything, you’ll have to repeat
the words, something like this

2. “Write I’m an mouth rather water say drink and nothing dry I an
write say and my goes drink cup I’m an write I nothing say goes
can’t because nothing cup I’d dry to and say water rather my
bucket nothing there’s say.

Or, she suggests, now put in some full stops, a question mark or two, an
exclamation mark, colons, or semi-colons. Do that any how, without
thought. Don’t try to make sense. Have fun.

3. “… Write I’m an mouth rather water. Say drink and nothing dry!
I am write rather say and; my goes drink cup because an there’s.
I’d to dry goes write can’t. Cup my bucket nothing. Rather to my
water…”

Here, you see clearly that the English language, British or American
(and therefore, any other brand – Nigerian – others African, Australian
or Canadian) needs to be locked into a sentence – syntax of this formula:
S – V – (O), that is Subject – Verb – Object (direct or indirect). So,
sentences come out as, “I see the bird” – or “Okon killed the goat”,
where a “subject” acts on an object, where “I” or “Okon” is the centre of
the universe. The way we think, in sentences, is the way we see.

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Philosophically, for the writer, there is a two-way traffic. “I see the bird”
– but the “bird ‘sees’ me” too “Okon killed the goat, - but the goat has
an effect on him too. This philosophy, opened up, is the spread of
perception, along the slide of language, for writer and reader! Natalie
Goldberg rightly insists that “the more you are aware of the syntax you
move, see, and write in, the better CONTROL you have and the more
you can step out of it when you need to… breaking open syntax, you
often get closer to the truth of what you need to say” (Goldberg:63).
Nouns and verbs remain the “two indispensable parts of writing”; They
make subject and predicate, beginning with a capital letter, and ending
with a full-stop, they combine to make a COMPLETE THOUGHT
which starts in the writer’s head and then “leaps to the reader’s”.

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.1

1. Name all the parts of speech in English that you know.

2. How important to good grammar is syntax?

3.2 Language of the Word, & the Word of the

Language

As we have seen from the section on the place and significance of

syntax – that is that ordered arrangement of words in a sentence to
create sense, feeling, and total meaning – words are the key to basic
thinking for the creative writer. There’s the “tale” told about James
Joyce, the famous Anglo-Irish novelist who authored Ulysses and
Finnegan’s Wake, monuments of word-craft in 20thc novel-writing.
Joyce had spent a whole day in his study, supposedly writing chapter of
the novel, Ulysses. Later in the day, his friend and biographer, Stuart
Gilbert, came to see him. Joyce, the story goes, looked all wan and
exhausted from his exertions. Gilbert asked how many chapters Joyce
had written that day. The reply was short, shocking but insightful and
significant – “one word”, Joyce is said to have replied, “One word, all
day?” Gilbert couldn’t believe it. “One word”, Joyce repeated, and fell
silent.

The “language” which a “word” speaks, then, in any good writing, tells
tales and is far-reaching. Because the writer must have the ear, the mind
(intellect) and the skill, to select and select the most fitting, fitting to
character, situation, plot and overall meaning!

For instance, Stephen King illustrates, emphasizing the need for brevity
in style, and accuracy in choice of words, that there are two types of
verbs: ACTIVE and PASSIVE, where the first does something, while
with the second is being done to the subject of the sentence. “YOU
SHOULD AVOID THE PASSIVE TENSES”, because everything about

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its use is passive, unresponsive, weak, circuitous, tortuous and cold, like
lawyers; Torts language!! King says, and one must agree. Write:

1. “Freddy and Myra carried the body out of the kitchen…”.

Not “The body was carried from the kitchen by Freddy and
Myra…”.
2. “The meetings is at seven…”.
Not “The meeting will be held at seven o’clock…”.
3. “My romance with Shayna began with our first kiss..”.
Not “My first kiss will always by recalled by me as how my
romance with Shayna was begun!..”
4. “The writer threw the rope…”.
Not “The rope was thrown by the writer…”

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.2

1. Make three sentences using the passive tense, and another three
using the active form of the verb:
2. Give three reasons for preferring your active sentences.

3.3 DIALOGUE

We are still focusing on sound in the prose of the novel you are to be
taught to write. Dialogue, well written, can flow, can carry humour and
entertainment; can be poignant; can give insight into the colour of the
soul of your characters; can not only tell the story, but also move the
telling along, propel it, dig into the forward-moving action. It is
important to let you know that “dialogue” is not “conversation”. Lynn
Emery asserts that “…conversations ramble on with lots of digressions.
In fiction, dialogue …serves a purpose – to increase tension, share
information with the reader … move the plot along…” (Estrada:85). So,
there are four purposes of good dialogue:

(i) to reveal information about the characters and their backgrounds,

or supply back story
(ii) to increase tension
(iii) to move the story forward
(iv) to show character motivation, growth, perspective, emotion.
(Estrada.86)

Let us use Estrada and Gallagher’s illustration to show how these four
purposes can be achieved.

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First, a man and a woman meet. They start to “dialogue” as follows:

“You want to marry me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because I’m thinking’ we get on well together.”
“And that’s a basis for a lifetime of wedded bliss?”
“Yes, ma’am”
Here, there is a bit of characterization – the woman is a bit resistant.
There’s a bit of plot – there is a proposed marriage. But there is no
description of the characters or their actions.

Now, let’s see what happens when there is some narrative, some
description:

Angela’s hand stilled on the tea pitcher. She stared at the man who sat
on her new leather couch as if he owned it himself. As if he already
belonged there.

“You want to marry me?”

“Yes, ma’am”, he said, his green eyes full of fun and mischief.

He was as handsome as always and twice as unreliable as he used to be.

Some things never changed; Rand Martin was one of those things. Her
hands shook as she poured tea into a glass and filled it with ice cubes.
She couldn’t think of one logical reason for this madness.

With a voice as calm as she could make it under the circumstances, she
asked the question that popped into her befuddled mind. “Why would
you want to do that?”

“Because I’m thinking’ we get on well together”. She blinked several

times, absorbing his words but not really understanding his meaning.
“And that’s a basis for a lifetime of wedded bliss?”

He looked surprised at her question. “Yes ma’am.”

Here, the dialogue is unchanged. But elements of narration and

description have added more to the scene – the setting is clear; the
characters now have names; it is clear why the woman is resisting; she
is nervous because she is attracted to the handsome Rand Martin,
though he seems unreliable.

The four purposes must combine to flesh out all the robustness of the
novel, build tension, show the characters’ characters (inside) and
advance the story by a known pace to the resolution.

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SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.3

1. Do the man and woman speak similar dialogue?

2. How does the “external” balance the “inside” of a character once
dialogue opens?

3.4 Rhythm and Voice

Must a writer always write complete sentence each and every time?
Stephen King gives us an appropriate answer. “If your work”, he says,
“consists only of fragments and floating clauses, the Grammar Police
aren’t going to come and take you away. Even William Strunk, that
Musolini of rhetoric, recognized the delicious pliability of language. ‘It
is an old observation’, he writes, ‘that the best writers sometimes
disregard the rules of rhetoric’. Yet he goes on to add this thought,
which I urge you to consider: ‘Unless he is certain of doing well, [the
writer] will probably do best to follow the rules’… If you don’t have a
rudimentary grasp of how the parts of speech translate into coherent
sentences, how can you be certain your are doing well? There is a
comforting simplicity at the heart of the rudiments of grammar, where
there need be only nouns, the words that name, and verbs, the words
that act.”

In other words the rhythm and voice of the writers creation are
embedded in an effective use of correct language. For example, “Rocks
explode!”; “The Broadcaster transmits!; “McCrimon urges in Writing
with a Purpose.

3.5 “Poetic” And “Prosaic” Language

It is in the need to create, with correct, sharp sentences, and clothe up

word with unusual meaning that the writer creates “poetry” and/or
“prose”. Especially, if the voice on the particular subject is expressing a
deeply felt, urgent message from the heart, the passion-filled heart of a
speaker. The language, for instance, of most of Martin Luther King Jnr’s
speeches in the pursuit of human rights and equality of status for black
people in America in the 1960’s; the speeches of Winston Churchill
urging Britain on to war against a tyrannical Hitler; or the speeches of
Dr. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe baiting the colonial masters of Nigeria in the
years, 1934-1964. Even the language patterns created by today’s
Pentecostal pastors in their prayer and devotional daily manuals, one can
see “poise” and “poetry” flowing together. This example may suffice; it
is a prayer from Rev. (Dr.) Chris Kwakpovwe’s Our daily manna
Devotional booklet. Observe the rhetorical patterns, balances of
associated sounds and phrases:

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“This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!
Today, I declare and confess… all spiritual blessings…. I boldly
declare… and dwell… I believe and I declare no evil, no plague ... can
come near my dwelling… I believe and I declare that I shall not die, but
live… To day, … the Lord is my helper… Today is shall not waste my
destiny… Today I declare and I declare the Lord is my banner… Today,
I hear the sound of … rain…

4.0 CONCLUSION

From the main content, it is clear that good, clear language is at the root
of good, winsome writing. One does not have to be a musician to plant
music into the language of a story in a novel. Emphases on selected
words, each sweetened as roasted groundnut, to modify an old Irish
playwright’s summary of it, will see the vision of an author gain a place
on the shelf of classics.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have underscored and illustrated the major objectives of

language usage when “prose” becomes “poetry” as the author opens his
heart, whether it is in a persuasive public speech of a character, or it is in
the impassioned prayer language of a devotee in the privacy of his
church premises.

We’ve seen that language needs to be “pliable” – syntactically coherent

and grammatically “sturdy”.

We’ve seen how to use sentences with active verbs. So that our language
‘marches’ like a soldier in a parade, not lilt along like a wounded snake
through dry grass.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Use a good library to search out a speech from one of Martin

Luther King Jnr. of America, Sir Winston Churchill of Britain,
and Dr. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe of Africa, and note five language
qualities of the speeches.
2. Write a sample “speech” for a male or female character in a
novel you propose to write on the consequences of exam
malpractice in a tertiary institution. (See the example of Camillus
Lekah’s when the wind blows).

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7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

See as for numbers 1 and 2 in Unit 1.

Political speeches from various sources of excellent public speakers like:

America’s Malcolm X

America’s Martin Luther King, Jnr.

Nigeria’s Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, President, Federal Republic of

Nigeria

Winston (Sir) Churchill, war-time leader of Great Britain

Prayer Devotionals by top class world Evangelical Preachers such as

Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai, Rev. Dr. Chris Kwakpovwe, Reinhardt Bonke and
others.

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ENG 212 MODULE 1

UNIT 6 CHARACTERIZATION (WITH SYMBOLS AND

IMAGES)

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Building the character
3.2 Character and life
3.3 Symbols and Images Characters
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A novel is like a rich forest. A forest which human beings depend on for
its wealth of crop trees. The crop trees are tall oaks, deciduous and
evergreen Iroko; fruit – bearing mangoes; or pear trees. The edge of the
forest may be lined with climbing shrubs even sweet-smelling flower
shrubs. There may even be a few tall palms – oil palms, coconut palms,
date palms at the edge of the forest. Characters, men, women, children;
professionals, from domestic servants, vehicle drivers, artisans, to
royalty and rulers, politicians, dictators, emperors, presidents and kings
occupy places at the edge, in the middle or dead-centre of the book –
characters are the ‘trees’ of the novel. They have to be tall enough to be
remembered; fat enough to hold certain ground; intelligent or foolish,
or wicked or kind enough to move and be moved in the ‘world’ of the
story being told; in the ‘universe’ of the story. Who does not recall
Achebe’s Okonkwo? Who has forgotten Elechi Amadi’s ‘Concubine’
Ifeoma? Who does not relish Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Sailor’ and even the
‘Sea’ which though watery, lives with the old man’s medal as a lively,
concrete, creature? Indeed, it is in characterization that the writer
readily becomes a creator and a style maker. Ezeulu in Chinua Achebe’s
Arrow of God, for example, is so gripping in attention that the reader
and interpreter of the soul of the story of a collapsing civilization can no
longer even remember that he was just an ‘illiterate’ high priest of a god
of a tribal setting battling the ‘civilized’ giants of a cultured and
colonizing religion and commerce-driven empire! When a character is
that good, the reader suspends disbelief! Real ‘drama’ resides in the
character.

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2.0 OBJECTIVES

It is therefore hoped that by the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• Create or build a character in fiction.

• Create characters based on life experiences or and the
imagination alone.
• Detect the difference between character in non-fiction and
character in fiction (Olmstead 14-15; Goldberg, 143;)
• Determine what makes a character real in a real world
• Discuss the meaning of appearance in a character.
• Determine the position of both hero and heroine – in the mesh of
action called conflict;
• Discuss the development or growth of a character in fiction.
• Infuse proper motivation for your characters, whether they are
protagonist or antagonist (adversary)

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Building the character

Society is made up of a range of people. In some the people are said to

be in “classes” – poor and working class; rich and leisured; they live in
the countryside or cities and urban conglomerates; they work in farms or
in factories. In a work of fiction, the writer draws from this range of
people. The characters, that is, the personages of the action in the story,
like the crop trees of a rich forest, must be built, constructed, made rich,
richer, than ordinary mundane life-living people in everyday society.
Stephen King says “…the job (that is of building the character) boils
down to two things; paying attention to how real people around you
behave and then telling the truth about what you see. You may notice
that your next-door neighbour picks his nose when he thinks no one is
looking. This is a great detail, but noting it does you no good as a writer
unless you’re willing to dump it into a story at some point” (King.189).

Let us take one illustration. Aubrey Kachingwe of Malawi (born 1926)

has written a novel, No Easy Task.

“Briefly, the novel tells the story of Jo Jozeni, son of a village pastor. Jo
is offered a job on a newspaper in Kawacha, the capital of a British
colony in Central Africa. Although his roots are in the country, Jo
gradually takes to life in the city; and through his colleagues becomes
involved in politics, though always remaining a little outside the ‘inner
circles’ suddenly his attitude changes: at a political rally… it is his own
gentle, retiring father who emerges as a hard, and determined political

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fighter. Jo is faced with a difficult choice: should he identify himself

with his father? Or take the line of least resistance, marry his girl, and
settle down? Or look for something else out of life?”

I have quoted the blurb on the Heinemann African Writers Series,

editorially advised by Chinua Achebe, word for word. That gives you
the setting. That gives you the environment. To see how Jo Jozeni’s
character is built up and merged into the circumstances in which he must
make his choice, let us look at the very opening of the novel:

“I’m sorry, man. We can’t take any more passengers in the

bus. It’s full”, the conductor said. He started to close the
door.

“Can’t you squeeze me in, please?” I pleaded. “I have

only this small suitcase. That’s all”.

“I can’t take any more”, he said firmly.” The traffic

patrolmen are very strict these days. You want me to lose
my job?”

He rang the bell.

“This is the last country bus for today, and I have been
standing here waiting for it in this hot sun for over one
hour”, I said, half to myself, “surely, you can’t leave
me?”

I dropped my suitcase and clung to the rails of the door of the bus. The
conductor pushed me off and I almost fell under the wheels as it started
to move. My suitcase was run over but I was luckier.

I stood up, dusted myself, and looked at the suitcase. It had been
flattened out of shape, and was gaping half open. A little dust had got
inside.

It made me bitter to think that I would have to walk three miles back to
the school at Makwasa, and possibly spend the night alone in an empty
classroom. The place was empty now because the school was closed. I
had just been there to see the principal about getting me scholarship to
England, but he had promised nothing. Now I was returning to my
father at Bangwe, a little mission station thirty miles farther in the
interior.

I did not like to go back to that school even for a night. The principal
would probably tell me to go away. Reverend John Webb and I never

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got on well, although he was the missionary in charge of all this area,
including Bangwe where my father was the parish priest, and had thus
known my parents years. Lately he had been my principal. Perhaps we
knew each other too well.

Suddenly, I heard a car hoot. Shaken, I jumped off the road. The car
pulled up, and the two men inside it laughed heartily.

I recognized the one driving. “I am very sorry for blocking the road, Mr
Dube”, I said apologetically.

“One should expect that sort of behaviour on a country road”, he said

without anger. “But you are educated, Jo, and ought to know how to
conduct your self on a highway.”

“I am sorry, Sir, I repeated.

“That’s all right. Jo. Only don’t do it again,” he said. “Now, why are
you here?”

“I am going to Bangwe – I was going – but the bus has left me behind,”
I said. “There was no room”
“I am going there, can I give you a lift?”
“If you can, Sir, most grateful”.

“Take your bag and come in,” he said. He turned to his friend. This is
Jo, the son of the Reverend Josiah Jozeni.”

“And this gentleman. Jo” he said to me, “is Mr. Zake Lukani, a great
friend of mine. We are both going to see the old man. Make yourself
comfortable”

I shook hands with Mr. Zake Lukani as the car started to move…

Dan Dube was the first African to be a municipal councillor on the

white-only Kawacha Town Council… an outstanding businessman and
clever politician… tall and broad, at forty-five … respectably
handsome… I never understood how the mysterious Dan Dube and my
father were such good friends… my father was over sixty, and, because
of poverty and hard work, looked much older than his age… laughed
seldom, and outside his clerical work… had no ambitions. Yet the two
were good friends.

(Kachingwe: No Easy Task. 1966.1-3).

In this tightly-knit, economical writing, you can see how the characters
of Jo Jozeni, Dan Dube, Reverend Josiah Jozeni, Mr. Lukani, and even

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Reverend Webb have, with deft touches, been made to stand as the trees
in this forest of a story!

The rest of the novel develops details that tell the reader of poverty,
ambitions, politics, beliefs, views and conditions that move society.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.1

1. Point out how you see character build-up here.

2. What “traits”, from the bus conductor to Dan Dube’s offer of a
lift to Jo, tell you that Jo will have “no easy task”?
3. Use a Dictionary to see how many meanings “trait” has.

3.2 CHARACTER AND LIFE

The big question is, “Are the characters in fiction drawn directly from
life?” If they are, why then do writers often disclaim the fact when they
write, ‘… any resemblance to any living person here is purely
coincidental and unintended … characters here are all imagined …’.

If novels are about life, if they are about society as men and women and
children and families and communities, share experiences in a context,
then the characters must reflect life, must come out of society.

Natalie Goldberg says, if fictional characters must do this, that is reflect

life, come out of society, the writer must follow the old adage. “Don’t
tell, but show” – that is, “don’t tell us about anger – or any of those big
words like ‘honesty’, ‘truth’, ‘love’, ‘sorrow’, ‘life’, ‘justice’ – show the
reader the situation “in which the character brings out the particular
feeling or embodied idea. Let the character live sharp and clear and be
the concrete picture you describe. For instance you can write about the
nature of life from observing the birth of a child in a modern hospital:
just describe WHAT you see: the mother’s face … the rush of energy as
the baby finally enters the world with a piercing cry, after the nurses
have urged and/or bullied the woman in her several attempts at
“pushing”, the husband breathing with his wife… the reader will see
characters illustrating the nature of life.

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.2

1. Recall a number of “life-situations” in Nigeria, such as a traffic

jam, a scuffle between two children retiring from school and
struggling to pick mangoes, and do two – three sentence
“showing” of the characters involved.

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2. Describe one breath-taking incident you’ve ever experienced in

no more than a paragraph.

3.3 Characters as Symbols and Images:

You may wish to write an allegory, or a parable. In such seeming

“fantasy” writing, your characters are “abstract” objects personified. In
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, in many Biblical “stories” which
Jesus used to illustrate facts and rules of life, the characters were not
always “persons” as we normally think of them. Instead you may want
to focus on the things around you that make you ask whether life is
worth living or not, things like crime, poverty, injustice, death; or the
“things” inside each one of us, things like frustration, boredom, despair,
and turn them into “living” characters. Read carefully the parable of
Jesus at Mark 4:1-10, 13-20, and you will see how an abstract of
“farmer” (“Sower”), “Seeds” on “path”, on “rocky places”, or “thorny
ground”, and on “good soil” translate from abstractions to concrete
features of life in “the word” of God among various experiences of
people – with Satan, with superficial attitudes, with succumbing to
deceits and temptations. In the end, “sower”, “seed” and “soil” become
lively characters.

To further clarify how abstract, symbolic characters may be understood

and created, let us look at a contrast: realistic characters created in
action. Remember that all your characters are in a setting, have voices,
have beliefs and concerns in their environment, do develop and evolve.
‘Abstract’ characters tend to be fixed in a situation where they exist to
illustrate some idea or belief. Now, real-life characters are real.

Let us take an example of a character really created by “showing” her

actions, in the famous American novel. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, as Robert Olmstead illustrates it.

“…The other girl, Daisy, made an attempt to rise – she leaned slightly
forward with a conscientious expression – then she laughed, an absurd,
charming little laugh, and I laughed too and came forward into the
room.

“I’m p-paralyzed with happiness”

She laughed again, as if she said something very witty, and held my
hand for a moment, looking up into my face, promising that there was
no one in the world she so much wanted to see. That was a way she had.
She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was
Baker. (I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people
lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.”

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Here is a character, real, with a name; you come to know her from
WHAT she is doing: - “attempts to rise, “leans”… “laughs”…
“speaks”… “laughs again”…” “hold hands”…
looks”…”promises”…”hints”…”murmurs”…. Each action affects the
story-teller because, he in turn, “…leans”, “laughs,” “listens”, “holds”
her hands. Behaviour and appearance here help to further concretize the
character. It is not like that in the abstract characters of the parable or
allegory.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.3

1. Make a list of your own of as many movements as you can which

you think a person could make to display ‘character’
2. One character’s series of actions observed by another do affect
that observer. Now, take these examples:
a) “Ugo was crying and I started to cry too”

b) “Nkwekwe tossed the bone in the air and the dog leapt and
grabbed it in its snout”

c) “Esther leaned toward me and I learned away”

Using one of these, develop a short scene between two characters.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Character and character creation are a big challenge to the writer. He has
to build them; he has to take them from life, but not brazenly or
carelessly; he has to balance various aspects and observe and use the
least detail, provide them with believable motivations, or even make
them abstract. Characterization produces excellent story.

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 4.0

Do you agree that characters are the tall tress that populate the forest that
a good novel is?

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, characterization, we have set facts about character-making

in fiction concretely out for you.

• Characters must be well-drawn to become memorable.

• A notable character can be made out of any kind of social type
• Characters are built, develop, and are not still-pictures, but
mobile and dynamic in their actions and words.

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• Characters come from real world and life around the author, not
just from imagination.

6.0 TUTOR – MARKED ASSIGNMENTS

1. What do you understand by the expression “Reader suspends

disbelief when a character is good”? (See ‘introduction above)
2. Do African stories differ from American or other non-African
ones? In what concrete ways?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Goldberg, Natalie.(1986) Writing-Down The Bones. Boston & London:

Shambhala Publications.

Olmstead, Robert. (1997). Elements Of The Writing Craft. Cincinnati,

Ohio: Story

Press Books

Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress.

“Ecclesiastes” in the KJV of the Bible.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby.

Kachingwe, Aubrey. No Easy Task. London: Heinemann, 19

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UNIT 7: SENSE AS TOTAL MEANING, IMPORT AND

MESSAGE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Reality and Illusion
3.2 Chronology and Chronicle
3.3 Endings and Import
3.4 Revisions and Corrections
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor – Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In the novel, as in any other branch of the creative language arts, one
must agree with Stephen King that “…the business of meaning is a very
big deal. If you doubt it, think of all the times you’ve heard someone say
‘I just can’t describe it’, or ‘That isn’t what I mean’…”

If you believe that then you know that meaning is central. As it is, then
remember what has been said about the word. The word is a
representation of meaning; for, even at its best, writing almost always
“falls short of full meaning” (King 118). In this unit, full meaning of a
creative work is the total, overall sense which it conveys at the end of it
all. Words must be appropriate. The vocabulary must be fitting,
suitable, not dressed up, nor pretentious, or bombastic. Meaning is not
necessarily destroyed with “big” vocabulary however, or with “simpler”
vocabulary. The word just has to be appropriate. Let us take some
examples:

1. When I was a young secondary school student we used to make a

joke of Psalm 23. Psalm 23 goes, in the KJV (King James
Version) Bible, as follows:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
He leadeth me beside the still waters
He restoreth my soul
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I shall fear no evil.

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Note the impeccable, irreplaceable “simple” words employed here. The

Bible, as had been said often, is the classic of “simple” deep language…

We, as students, changed that simple vocabulary in order to let Psalm 23

read like this:
The Deity is my pastor, I shall not be indigent!
He causes me to repose in verdant lawns
He conducts me by the quiescent pools…
Yeah! Though I perambulate diametrically via
glens of Sepulchral dormitory,
I shall not be perturbed by any apparent catastrophe…

Clearly, our schoolboy version [in which “the Lord” becomes “the
Deity” and “Shepherd” becomes “pastor”, and “to lie down in green
pasture” becomes “reposing in verdant lawns…” and “walking through
the valley of the shadow of death” becomes “perambulating dametrically
via glens of sepulchral dormitory”] [as in italics above] is inslubrious,
even ludicrous. Stephen King has a joke from George Carlin which
spells out the inappropriateness of such: says Carlin, “…in some
company it’s perfectly all right to prick your finger, but very bad form to
finger your prick (King:118). Sense depends to a large extent on the
word.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

In the light of the above, you will, by the end of this unit be able to:

• Choose the right words and vocabulary that make total meaning
pleasurable;
• Adopt Methods of re-vision and re-writing that would ensure a
perfect work;
• Determine when to present a real or illussionary meanings;
• Discuss the importance of the final message of a novel.

3.0. MAIN CONTENT

3.1. Reality and Illusion

Meanings in a work of art may be calculated to create a feeling that the

word, the universe is a concrete reality, or is a fantasy, an illusion. The
classic example of illusion Alice in Wonderland by “Lewis Carroll”
(Charles) Lutwidge Dodgson). Alice in Wonderland(1865) and Through
his Looking-Glass (1871) says George, Sampson, “originating in stories
told to little girls, have become an enduring part of English “nonsense
literature” (Sampson. 604). The illusions appeals to all ages of readers,
whereas by contrast, the novels of Daniel Defoe about low class people
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are known in literature as “supreme realistic pictures of low life. Moll

Flanders (abbreviated). The effort by a writer to create truthful reality
can be found in the very character of the writer himself. For example,
here is how George Sampson summarizes the life of Daniel Defoe
(1659-1731).

Defoe’s life and work (total meaning) defy

summary. A few general considerations will
help us to understand him. Like Dickens …
he was highly endowed with the
“experiencing nature”. Nothing was too
small to escape his notice, nothing was too
large to fit into his comprehension. His
curiosity was insatiable, and he knew how to
turn the smallest detail to literary account.
To write was as natural to him as to breathe.
He made fiction seen like truth and truth
seen like fiction. Neither his mind nor his
character can be called lofty; yet his gifts
were many and various. He was the perfect
journalist. He could write on anything or
nothing… (Sampson: 378)

We are urging you here, as a creative writer to be, as a creative writer

whose works will make total sense, present a message and have import,
you need to emulate Defoe: be able to “experience” nature; be able to
observe the minutest details in life around you – e.g the small ants
carrying a dead huge grasshopper, rolling the carcass along, to their
hole-home to prepare to feast during the rainy days, be insatiably
curious; breathe writing, eat writing;

In the case of Defoe, realism even took a turn in the full titles of his
novels. The one we call Moll Flanders is a novel fully, humorously,
titled:

The FORTUNES and MISFORTUNES

of the famous MOLL FLANDERS
who was born in NEWGATE PRISON
and during a life of – continu’d variety for Threescore Years…
was Twelve Years a Whore, five times a wife
(whereof one to her own brother) Twelve Year a Thief-
Eight Years a Transported Felon in Virginia
at last grew Rich, liv’d Honest and died a Penitent,
written from her own Memorandums.

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Defoe, even in the title of Moll Flanders wanted to take Realism to the
extremity of truth in order to show how faithfully his writing reflected
true life.

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.1

1. Write out five instances where you have “experienced nature”

2. Can you use any one of the five above to provide a concise title
for a possible novel?
3. Name any writer you have found realistic” and any you have
found illusionistic in Africa.

3.2 Chronology and Chronicle

The achievement of a good overall meaning – ‘Sense’ – in a novel can

also come from the way a writer has handled and touched up what
Estrada calls “Time Line” in a work that has been written over and over
again. Time line, or chronology helps you re-set and set the ‘vision’. The
time span within which a story takes place, the manner the writer ties up
all loose ends, show how well the goal of meaning overall has been
attained. A story is not mere ‘chronicle’ – Rita Clay Estrada and Rita
Gallagher have suggested, appropriately, that the writer may do well to
follow a story “worksheet” all through the period of writing so that a
total senseful story can emerge. A meaningful story is a story that has
remained ‘on track’, so to speak. You may need to keep the worksheet in
your computer, to fill the blanks with as much information as you need.
A good worksheet will show you, they say, “how neatly your mind
connects the dots to a better plot, character and, consequently, the
book”. Here is a modified chronology/chronicle story checklist
worksheet:

NAME OF STORY: START DATE

PREMISE: END DATE
STORY GOAL:
i. Lesson goal
ii. Any holidays (break)

FEMALE CHARACTER NAME

i. Any story behind it?
ii Physical Description:
iii. Tags:
iv. Her Goal:
v. Personality Quirk
vi. Growth Area:
vii Her Hobby:
viii Her Career:

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MALE CHARACTER NAME

Any story behind it?
Physical description:
Tags:
His Goal:
Personality Quirk:
Growth Area:
His Hobby:
His Career:
1. Friend/Relative
Any story behind it?
Physical description:
Tags:
Quirk/Habits:
Purpose/Goal

Revelation of conflict during first meeting

Important relation of conflict during other meetings

Twist of thoughts
Dark period
Revelation of right or wrong
Who?
Why?
Adversary other than person
Overall time line
Resolution

(Estrada & Gallagher, 109-111).

SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 3.2

1. Provide a Time Line for an imaginary story titled “Uju buys her
first book “or” Kola visits Coca-Cola factory”.
2. Give ten reasons why a novel needs to be revised for fullest
meaning to stand out.

3.3 Endings and Import

Every novel has a theme. Some writers regard theme as the “most sacred
of sacred cows” (King; 200). “If”, King asserts, “you write a novel,
spend weeks and then months catching it word by word, you owe it both
to the book and to yourself to lean back… when you have finished and
ask yourself why you bothered – why you spent all that time, why it
seemed so important … what is it all about…”

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Here, let us take you back to the forest comparison. The characters, we
said, the actions, the thoughts, the conflicts are analogous to “trees” in
the forest. When you finish, you have to step back, as a good portrait
painter would, or as a good mathematician seeking to gain a perspective
on the diagram of the theorem on the blackboard he wants to prove, you
step back and look at the forest. Your novel may not have too much
symbolism, or ironies, or musical flow of language – prose - , but the
book is about something. What is that ‘some – thing’? Look at the
chapters, one by one, see how the characters are linked (remember your
worksheet in 3.2?) – how good, or bad, or ugly those personages you
created are, what concerns they share – same tribes, same professions,
differences in a civil war situation, such as Nigeria has had; in a post-
colonial setting as much of Africa has known. How did you envision a
final import of your massage? Refer to Ayi Kwei Armah’s The
Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, or the U.S.A based Why Are We So
Blest? Or, look again at Yaw Boateng’s The Return. You will see where
characters come to a dead end, where they must tell a lie to survive,
even in the squalor of slums, where they love, as Seku Wattara loves the
beautiful Mbinge exclusively; what the slave trade that ravaged Africa
(and is still ravaging?) did. Your novel must create a “world” – violence,
terrorism, human error, pride, ambitions, people who cheat, who betray
others in marriage, in politics and who “serve God”, even as Rev. King,
must be made to carry meaning, even as the children of Israel
worshipped, to their peril, the Aaronic Golden Calf while Moses was
away on Sinai obtaining life-giving divine laws for them. Your novel’s
world may conclude that there’s only a thin line between reality and
fantasy (Go back to 3.1 above). King says, “… once your basic story is
on paper, you need to think about WHAT it means …” (King 208).

3.4 Revisions and Corrections

Hints have already been given about how necessary it is to look back at
what one had written. At this point we want to focus on actual revisions
and corrections specific. Many drafts of a work are made as the writer
tries to tune and re-tune, but basically there should be two drafts: one
original and a polished version. King has asserted as follows: “…re-
writing varies from writer to writer… Kurt Vonnegut, for example,
rewrote each page of his novels until he got them exactly the way he
wanted them. The result was days when he might only manage a page or
two of finished copy.. but when the manuscript was finished, the book
was finished…” (King. 209).

There is one inescapable truth about revising or proof-reading, or pre-

viewing a work. The author will always see or hear only that which
he/she originally had in mind. So, you need a second reader, a more
objective, dispassionate person, someone who can detect an error, a

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goof, and loudly and clearly and unflinchingly points it out but without
humiliating the writer or beating him/her over the head with a club of
criticism! The story is told of America’s famous suspense – master.
Alfred Hitchcock as follows:

“…Not long after finishing psycho, Hitchcock screened it for a few

friends. They raved about it, declaring it to be a suspense masterpiece.
Alma (Hitchcock’s wife) was quiet until they’d all had their say, then
she spoke very firmly: “You can’t send it out like that”.

“There was thunder struck silence, except for Hitchcock himself, who
only asked why not. ‘Because,’ his wife responded, ‘Janet Leigh
swallows when she’s supposed to be reading”.

“It was true. Hitchcock didn’t argue …”. A second reader will look at
the subject – matter also. We are aiming to obtain overall solid meaning.
Many times it is this reader who sort of tells the writer who has just
finished a novel, …” blow your nose, Sir” as an intimate family member
would tell the Dad, as he comes out of the toilet with his flap unzipped.

There’s the reader who must be a critic, not a friend. He is unbiased, and
correct factual errors. Like when this programme developer was
completing his novel, The Courtmartial, he had to consult his friend,
Major Gbulie, to have facts about guns, about procedures, and protocols
in a case of actual courtmartial (trial) corrected. Chinua Achebe tells of
how some critics object to his tone of English in Arrow of God, and he
has a sample of how he would re-write it. If he agreed to the sugestion,
the novel would ‘sound’ but wouldn’t be his style. So, watch the
sugestions of your critics/revisers. They may not always be the answer.
Some opinions, you see, do not carry weight. Just never forget that there
is always an Ideal Reader who will enjoy all your writings and see the
total meaning the way it is presented.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The total import, meaning or message of a novel is a complex thing. It

requires many inputs to establish it – author, critical readers, correctors,
and rewriters. Whether specifically true – to – life to the last detail, as
those 17th and 18th c. English novelists are as culturally relevant as the
Achebes and Boatengs of Africa, realism and illusion have a place in the
final meaning of a prose work of art. The author needs possess a
listening ear and a cool head. The impact of the finished work may well
be the result of their combination.

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SELF – ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ON 4.0

Study again the life of Defoe. How does personality inform writing
styles and finishes?

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have touched on the place of realistic and illusionistic

approaches to subject matter. It is hoped that you will see clearly the
need for wide reading in order to give widest meaning with all accessory
implications to your story. You will also know that as a writer, you are
both reader and author, but you need your second or third, objective or
biased, reader, preferably a non-friend.

6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. What do you understand by “sense” and “non-sense” literature?

2. How important is a title of a work? Give full illustrative examples
3. “Time Line” and “Worksheet”: how crucial are these to the
serious creative writer’s job?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

In addition to the stand ones (see

Goldberg Natalie

Olmstead, Robert

King, Stephen

Read

Armah, Ayi Kwei : The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. London:
Heinemann
Why Are We So Blest? London: Heinemann

Boateng, Yaw M. (1977): The Return. London: Heinemann

3. As many African and non – African novels as you can lay hands
on.

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MODULE 2 DRAMA

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in Drama(tic) composition: Devices

Unit 2: Thought/Idea
Unit 3: Plot
Unit 4: Character(ization)
Unit 5: Language: dialogue and action
Unit 6: Spectacle
Unit 7: Music and Dance/Sound (Effects)

UNIT 1 PRELIMINARY ISSUES IN DRAMATIC

COMPOSITION DEVICES

CONTENTS

1.0. Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0. Main Content: Basic Steps
3.1 Conceptualization
3.2 Geminal Idea
3.2.1 Sources of Geminal Idea
3.3 The Process
3.4 Scenario
3.5 Tools
4.0. Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This unit introduces you to the preliminary issues in playwriting for the
stage, the television, the radio, and the celluloid. You are being
introduced to the basic steps in playwriting mainly for the stage. I will
end this introduction with Femi Osofisan’s “Ten Commandments of
Good Writing”. He was not prescribing for writers but just gave his
opinion on issues he felt could help writers as follows:

1. Write always out of self respect.

2. Find a model among the finest minds and the best craftsman and
apprentice yourself.
3. Do not ever agree to prostitute your writing or tarnish your
profession by lending to vulgarism for whatever financial
inducement.

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4. Write always with a consciousness that art is still a powerful

force in our society; therefore, someone may want to learn some
wisdom from your work.
5. If what you write cannot give joy to you, it cannot give others
joy.
6. Write with the knowledge that you owe an obligation to the
society and those who are voiceless.
7. Make your writing a road to beauty and insight.
8. Always remember that you are a tool, the better refined you are,
the better your writing.
9. Read constantly, listen more carefully, and observe more closely.
10. Love is always vital to the career of every writer. Find it

With these at the back of your mind, you will now be taken through the
first steps in play writing. Femi Osofisan incorporated these
‘commandments in his keynote address at the First International
Conference of Women Writers Association (WRITA) at the Institute of
Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos in 1998.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Conceptualize an idea
• Develop that idea into a full-length play.
• Acquaint yourselves with the basic tools you need.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Conceptualization

In the process of playwriting, first of all the playwright visualizes and

conceptualizes the idea he wants to explore. After the conception of the
idea, he writes it down immediately on a sketch book so that he will not
forget it. It is this idea that metamorphoses into a play but not exactly as
conceptualized in the imagination of the playwright. Playwriting is
therefore based on the creative imagination of the playwright. He needs
mental and intellectual abilities that find expression in a fertile creative
imagination for him to create effectively. He must have a mental picture
of the story he intends to write because
according to Anthony Duruaku “… creativity is not possible without the
imagination because the creative ability evolves from the ability to
synthesize experience and rework it to accommodate present
circumstance” (30). When he conceives the idea he wants to explore it.
The next step is to think of how to present it as a story, in a dramatic
form.

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3.2 Germinal Idea

A playwright starts from a germinal idea which is the creative

compulsion. This starts in his imagination. He imagines a situation or a
story and proceeds to create incidents, situations, characters, and the
environment where the characters will exist and interact . The probable
source of the germinal idea of Wole Soyinka in The Trials of Brother
Jero may have been religious hypocrisy. In this course material we will
draw examples and illustrations where necessary, from published plays
written by national and international playwrights. So get the cited plays
and read them very well to enable you derive maximum benefit from
this course.

3.2.1. Sources of Germinal Ideas

Germinal ideas could emanate from the following:

a. An individual: This could be a person who the writer has seen in

his imagination or interacted with in real life. This encounter can
spark off an idea which could be developed into a play. In
Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero may have encountered a
fake Pastor before he wrote The Trials of Brother Jero and this
encounter may have influenced his decision to explore the theme
of religious hypocrisy.

b. An environment/location: A place or an environment with

peculiar things which inspire the writer to write about that place
or environment. In the early days of Christianity in Igboland,
most of the Pentecostal churches operated by the river side or
beach. This explains why in Awka, Anambra State, they are
called ‘Ndu Uka Mmili’ which means, ‘the people of the Water
Churches’. You may have observed too that the setting of
Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero is the beach.

c. An incident: A particular incident could produce an occasion for

drama. For instance, a fight you witnessed could inspire you to
write a play. An incident in good hands stretches into a full length
play.

d. A basic idea of life which is sometimes referred to as the

conceptual thought can induce a fertile creative mind to develop
it into a play. It could be a phrase or a sentence.

e. Human relations as seen in people of different ideas and

background coming together. The relations should be able to
generate situations which in turn give rise to conflicts. These

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conflicts could be harnessed and coordinated to craft a play.

Conflict is a very important element in playwriting.

f. Information Area: An informational area which the writer has or

is interested in can ignite the creative impulse of the playwright.
In order to portray it very well (accurately) he goes to watch or
study the situation and presents it in the dramatic form. Having
decided on religious hypocrisy Soyinka may have visited such
churches. When I wrote my play, Sons for Son, I visited such
churches several times and when I wrote Like Father Like Son, I
had to attend few court sessions at different magistrate and high
courts to get a first hand experience on the presentation of cases
by the defence and prosecution counsels.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

In your own words, list and explain three possible sources of geminal
ideas in play writing.

3.3 The Process

The process of organization starts after you have conceptualized your

idea or situation, and visualized the type of characters that will be able
to carry that story. The next step is to imagine the environment where
these characters will exist. This is called setting. This setting could be a
home, a school, an office of anywhere that is most suitable for you to
write on. Once you have decided on the best environment, you then
sketch the human relations. You should try to figure out the number of
characters you need, how they will interact and how the protagonist’s
ideas are going to clash with those of the antagonist. After that, the next
step is the preparation of the scenario.

3.4 Scenario

Scenario is the projection of a viable format for the play. Here you
decide who and what will be included in the play, and at what point each
character will make his appearance, then you will imagine how long
each segment will last and the probable length of the entire play. Finally
you propose how to link the sequences of action to form an organic
structure and a rational whole. Other issues to be considered in the
scenario are:

a. Title: In most cases a playwright chooses a working title which

may be a tentative title. You may end the play with that tentative
title or as the play progresses, you might be compelled to change
the title. The title helps you to maintain the focus on your main

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idea. A good title gives the audience an idea of what the play is
all about.

b. Action: This covers the activities of the characters. You must

have an imaginative picture of your characters. In addition you
should have an idea of what each character would be doing at
every stage of the development of the play.

c. Genre: You should decide whether you intend to write a comedy,

tragedy, satire or tragi-comedy. The choice of the genre will
affect the action of the play. Tragedy is not supposed to have the
same language with comedy. In comedy, humorous scenes will
be present while language in tragic plays is usually serious.

d. Circumstances: These comprise the involvement of the various

characters in the play, what they do which lead to important
actions contained in the play. Let us illustrate once more with
Soyinka’s play: what circumstance led Br. Chume to expose Br.
Jero and to find out that Br. Jero is a crook. He meets Amope as
she comes to ask Br. Jero to pay for the velvet cape he bought
from her.

e. Clarity: Remember that what we are discussing here is the plan,

a kind of an outline for the play. Clarity here means that you need
to state the definite idea /information you want to explore in the
play. It will act as a focal point for you so that you could refer to
it from time to time as you write to ensure that you explore it
adequately. This will also help to avoid the bringing in
introduction of many ideas in the play without relating them to
the action of the play appropriately. You need to state the definite
idea/information of the play clearly.

f. Characters: As much as possible, give detailed descriptions of

your characters, what they are and what they will do in order to
sustain the action of the play, create conflict and suspense that
will produce good drama.

g. Conflict: State at what point of the play the conflict will emerge.
Who opposes/fights who? What major principle/belief will clash
with the other so as to create tension? This tension that is created
through the interactions of characters and ideas is the conflict.

h. Story. Give a synopsis or a brief summary of the play. You

should present it in form of a general but brief narration that
states what happened or what is happening in the play. This will
form your plot as you write the actual play.

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i. Motivation. This is the individual thought of all the characters

that propel them to do whatever they do in the play. Ensure that
your characters’ actions are properly motivated.

j. Dialogue. This story in (h) is eventually presented in dialogue

which is the pattern of writing and presenting a play.

k. Time Plan. This is your working schedule. Do you think that you
can complete the play in a month, a year or more? Once you take
this decision, you will plan a breakdown of what you expect to be
in each segment (call it scene, act or movement). You will then
decide how long it may take for you to complete each segment,
and eventually the tentative deadline for the completion of the
play.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Prepare what you think would have been the scenario of Wole Soyinka’s
The Trials of Brother Jero.

3.5 Tools

Apart from creative imagination, a playwright needs the following tools:

1. A good knowledge of the stage

2. Pen and notebooks.
3. Comfortable writing table and a chair “located in a quiet
environment”. And reliable lighting at night (Ike 213) if you
intend to write at night.
4. Money for your basic expenses like travels (where you need to
carry out a research or obtain information) a typewriter. If you
cannot type, you should write and send it for typing on a
computer which is popular nowadays.
5. If you can afford it, obtain a desktop computer or laptop.
6. A good or standard dictionary for “accuracy in spelling and use
of words”(Ike 214)
7. Any good thesaurus of English words and phrases.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Playwriting requires both talent and skill. One may have the talent but
do not possess the skill. This course is expected to provide guidelines
for the acquisition of the skill by aspiring playwrights. The basic steps
and tools are presented above.

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5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit we examined the basic steps of playwriting from

conceptualization to the scenario.

6.0 TUTOR – MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Describe the process of playwriting.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Duruaku, A.B.C. (1997). A Handbook on Drama and Theatre. Owerri:

Colon Concepts.

Ike , Chukwuemeka (1991). How to Become a Published Writer. Ibadan:

Heinemann.

Onyekuba, Onyeka (1995) Sons For My Son. Awka: Mercury Bright

Press.

_______________(1995) Like Father Like Son. Awka: Mercury Bright

Press.

Soyinka, Wole. (1964) The Trials of Brother Jero in The Jero Plays.
London: Eyre

Methuen.

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UNIT 2: THOUGHT/IDEA

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objective
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Theme
3.2 Subject Matter
3.3 The Story
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this Unit you will learn about thought or idea in dramatic writing.
You will also be in a position to distinguish between theme, subject
matter and the story. At the point of conceptualization, you focus on an
idea that will yield your story from which the theme and subject matter
will emerge eventually.

20 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this Unit you should be able to:

• Identify the idea or unit of though around which a particular play

revolves
• Distinguish between theme and subject matter
• Attempt to tell your story in a dramatic form based on an idea.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Theme

Theme is the main idea that permeates the entire play. You have the
major theme but you could also have other themes, hence, you could
have a variety of themes in a single play. Themes could emerge from a
concept, an idea, an abstract quality or an incident which the playwright
uses to send his message to the audience. The theme of The Trials of
Brother Jero for instance is religious hypocrisy or deceit. As the
playwright explores the theme, he gives his perspective on the issue. The
theme of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is revenge. By the end of the play as the
principal actors die, it becomes clear that Shakespeare does not support

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revenge. Hamlet, in his bid to avenge his father’s death, loses his lover,
his mother, his peace of mind, his happiness and eventually dies.

The playwright could write his play on an idea based on events around
him. Drama mirrors the society and through that mirror the dramatist
informs and educates while entertaining his audience. He is also referred
to as the conscience of the society, so he is expected to dramatize the ills
of the society or the good sides of that society in an impartial manner.
Through the theme, he condemns those aspects of the society that hinder
progress, while he promotes social injustice/inequality, or crime. In
Nigeria for instance, many playwrights explore themes of bribery,
corruption, bad leadership, insecurity, and other forms of misdemeanors
that bedevil contemporary Nigeria.

Apart from contemporary issues, themes could also be drawn from

myth, legend, history, or folklore. In all these, the propelling factor for
the playwright is to send a message to the audience through an
entertainment medium- drama. Most playwrights believe that they can
make their societies better through the dramatization of the themes that
promote positive values in the society with the hope that the audience
will be influenced to take constructive steps for the progress of their
societies. The theme is presented as an interesting story through an
appropriate dramatic genre. In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores the theme
of revenge through the tragic mode while Soyinka presents the theme of
religious hypocrisy through the comic mode. As the audience laughs at
Brother Chume’s foolery and Jero’s antics, they learn to be wary of false
or fake prophets. A particular theme could be dramatized by many
playwrights. Each playwright explores the theme from his perspective to
give it the desired originality and mark of uniqueness.

The theme of the play gives it significance because without a

recognizable and definable theme, the story presented in the play will be
commonplace and meaningless. So, as a playwright, you should strive to
ensure that you focus clearly on your theme. This is because it is the
motivating force of the story. You see that in Hamlet every step taken by
Hamlet points towards his revenge intent. In The Trials of Brother Jero,
the old man’s allegation against Brother Jero and Jero’s reaction
foreshadow his dubious nature that gives him away as an impostor, and
a fake prophet. Also, his admiration of the young lady that goes to the
beach every morning lends credence to his lustful nature. He does not
allow Brother Chume to beat his wife because he does not want to lose
Chume as a member of his congregation. Finally, the way he dodges
Amope each time she comes to collect the money he owes her points to
his dubious nature.

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Each playwright chooses a theme before choosing the style to adopt.

Other aspects of the play like characters, plot, setting and language are
carefully chosen in such a way that they advance the major theme of the
story. A play could have more than one theme, in which case we talk
about sub-themes. Usually, the major theme is obvious because the main
action of the play revolves around it while the sub-theme is subsumed in
the main theme but discernable.

The theme of a play could be given in one word, a sentence, a statement

or a phrase. In some complex plays, it might be difficult to decipher the
theme. However, as a budding playwright, it is advisable that you
choose a theme and focus on it in such a way that it will be discernable
since it is the central thought, the controlling idea in the play.

A theme could be symbolic or literal. At this stage, it is easier to deal

with literal themes. The audience is expected to distill the theme
consciously or unconsciously as the play progresses. In some cases, the
theme emerges after the reading or watching of an entire play. Although,
this idea is presented in form of fiction which according to Oakley Hall
is “an euphemism for lies”(23), in writing your play, you should give
this fiction a semblance of truth which in the novel is referred to as
verisimilitude. What we mean here is that the play should be as close as
possible to reality. You can achieve this through the presentation of
realistic characters who are involved in possible and plausible actions.
As a playwright, you should strive to convince your audience of the
authenticity of your story through make-belief and they will be in a
good position to assimilate your story through a willing suspension of
disbelief as if you are presenting real life situations on stage. So, you
will have to select, alter, distill, distort and sometimes exaggerate facts
to create this dramatic “truth”. This truth is dramatized in a process that
could hold and engage the imagination of the audience. In drama
therefore you strive to present an imitation of real life. The most
important factor is that this real life is represented in an artistic form.

3.2. Subject Matter

The subject matter is different from the theme but some students of
literature interchange them since they believe that they are the same. As
a playwright you should be in a position to distinguish one from the
other. The subject matter is the topic of discussion in the play. In many
plays, the subject matter is extracted from the title of the play. In
Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel for instance, the theme could be
tradition versus modernity or to be more explicit, the triumph of African
Tradition over Western Culture but the subject is the fame of Sidi (the
Jewel) a young and beautiful girl and her fall through her a seduction by
the Bale (the Lion) who is old enough to be her father. In many plays,

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the title explains the subject matter. This play presents a relationship
between the Lion, Bale and the Jewel, Sidi. This alliance does not only
affect her growing fame adversely but also deprives her of a marriage to
a younger man, Lakunle. So in the play, the title illuminates the subject
matter of the play. Also, in The Marriage of Anansewa, Efua Sutherland
explores the theme of love but the subject matter is how Ananse marries
his daughter to a chief she has never met. It means that the subject
matter of any play is the subject of discussion from which the theme is
extracted. Usually the theme is subsumed in the subject matter. Just as
the theme is explored through other aspects of the play, the subject
matter is highlighted through events, incidents and the action in the play.

Subject matter is reflected in the action which the playwright presents in

the play. In most cases, the statement is about human problems from the
playwright’s perspective. It his vision of the world and in a good play,
the statement is expected to have universal validity or relevance for all
ages.

3.3 The Story

Every play tells an imaginary story through action. This story is the
unification of the events or incidents in the play in such a way that it
forms a coherent whole. The story holds the audience and raises its
expectations on this or that aspect of the play as it progresses. They
watch or read the play following the story with keen interest as they
want to know what happens next. A good play tells an interesting story
and holds the audience spellbound while an uninteresting story sends it
to sleep. It is in the story that the playwright organizes his ideas in such
a way that he produces something that he could hold together to achieve
the desired result. In a nutshell, the story in the order or sequence of
events, an outline of the incidents or events in the play, is called plot.
This will be discussed in detail in Unit 3, the next unit.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

What in your own understanding, is the difference between theme and

subject matter.

4.0 CONCLUSION

We have explained that it is a unit of thought or an idea that gives rise to

a play. We also explained what theme is and its importance in the play.
We tried to distinguish between theme and subject matter which tends to
be confusing concepts for some students.

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5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit we examined the concept of thought in playwriting. We

equally discussed how this thought crystallizes into a play. In addition
we examined the story which we identified as a narrative / account of
incidents in the play. They are mainly imaginary tales.

6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

The main idea in the play is the theme. List ten ideas from which you
could develop a play.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Duruaku, A.B.C (1979). A Handbook on Drama and Theatre. Owerri:

Colon Concepts.

Grebanier, Bernard (1979). Playwriting. New York: Barnes and Noble.

Hall, Oakley (1989). The Art & Craft of Novel Writing. Cincinnati
:Story Press.

Ike, Chukwuemeka (1991). How to Become a Published Writer. Ibadan:

Heinemann.

Shakespeare, William (1984). Hamlet. A. L. Rowse (ed). New York: Mc

Graw-Hill.

Soyinka, Wole. (1977) The Trials of Brother Jero in The Jero Plays.
London: Eyre Methuen.

Yerima, Ahmed (2003). Basic Techniques in Playwriting. Ibadan: Kraft

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UNIT 3 PLOT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is Plot?
3.2 The Sub Plot
3.3 The Plot Structure
3.4 Types of Plot
3.4.1 Simple Plot
3.4.2 Complex Plot
3.4.3 Unified Plot
3.4.4 Episodic Plot
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A playwright, as we have seen in Unit 2, tells a story. He is concerned

about the story and how to make the story as interesting as possible.
This story is realised in action. Action is more important in drama than
the story. After he has chosen/selected an idea, the next step for him is
to see how best that idea can be expanded to yield a story. His next
preoccupation becomes the arrangement of this story to form a logical
entity. This arrangement of the story is referred to as the plot. In this unit
we will discuss the plot and different types of plot.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to

• Identify what plot is.

• Appreciate and undertake plot construction.
• Identify different types of plot.
• Distinguish plot from story.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 What is Plot?

Plot is the organization of the events of a play. In simple terms, it is the

arrangement of the story in the play so that it will have a beginning, a
middle and an end. In the novel, the novelist presents his plot by
describing the characters, their actions, the environment where they
operate, their motivations, their hopes, and aspirations, but the
playwright presents his plot mainly through dialogue in the interaction
of the characters.

A good dramatic plot is expected to be an organization of series of

events in the play in such a way/manner that it moves through series of
conflicts, complications, and the climax to the resolution. In a play,
every event is part of a carefully designed model and progression of a
wholly interconnected system of events. These events are selected and
arranged deliberately to fulfill an intricate set of dramatic purposes and
theatrical conditions. It comprises everything which takes place in the
imaginative world of the play and the playwright ensures that the
“totality of the events must create a coherent imitation of the world”
(Scholes and Klaus 65).

Aristotle sees plot as the most important element of drama. He refers to

it as the soul of tragedy. The playwright should therefore pay particular
attention to the construction of his plot. He should arrange it in such a
way that the story will be interesting. A good plot should have a
beginning, middle and an end. Once the idea is conceptualized, he draws
an outline of the story using some characters. The next step is to arrange
this outline in such a way that it has a beginning, middle and end.

Plot is the structure of the actions which in a particular pattern is

presented in order to achieve particular emotional and artistic effects in a
play. It helps to give the play its organic unity and a coherence that
makes the play easy to understand. According to Aristotle, the plot is
arranged in this order - exposition, point of attack, complication, crisis,
climax discovery, and denouement or resolution. Discovering
(anagnorisis) often tends/ commences the untangling of events in
denouement or resolution.

In drama, plot is expected to produce a result or an effect on the

audience so, as an aspiring playwright, you should package your play in
a particular way to produce your desired impression or effect on the
audience. This is why a theme like religious hypocrisy could be treated
by different playwrights in different ways. in Soyinka’s The Trial of
Brother Jero, Jero swindles people of their money with a promise of

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securing promotion or political positions for them. But in Onyeka

Onyekuba’s Sons for My Son, the pastor takes advantage of childless
women, extorts money from them and sleeps with them. In her other
play Like Father Like Son, the pastor becomes an accomplice in a crime
of fraud and exam malpractice. Each playwright presents plot from his
own perspective with the aid of other stylistic devices. In some cases he
proffers solution that could help to minimize or eradicate the ills of his
society. The success of a play depends largely on the plot as it aids the
audience’s or the readers’ understanding of the playwright’s message.

For the playwright to achieve this, he needs to design and construct his
plot in such a way that the interest of the audience is aroused
continuously as the play progresses. The audience should be curious
about future events in the play especially as it concerns the fate of some
characters. This expectancy and curiosity of the audience about the fate
of some characters or the outcome of some events is called suspense. A
good playwright therefore uses suspense to sustain the interest of his
audience.

Plot comprises the action that takes place on stage and the action that
occurred in the past which is usually recalled through a flashback or
reported speech. In The Trials of Brother Jero for instance, the curse
placed on Brother Jero by old man is presented in a flashback as Jero
recalls it in his monologue at the opening of the play. The important
element here is the arrangement of these incidents both past and present
in an orderly manner. In real life incidents and events are not ordered in
that form. Plot is different from scenario and story. Scenario is based
mainly on the action that takes place on stage. Story is the series of
incidents whose development does not necessarily depend on each other.
These incidents may or may not be related or connected but in the hands
of a good playwright, these seemingly unrelated incidents are
coordinated and fused to form a story. It is said that every adult has at
least one story in him. If you take the story of your life, for instance, you
will find out that there are many incidents that are not related or
connected. For instance, take a day in your life as a child: you woke up
early in the morning, brushed your mouth, took your bath, ate your
breakfast and went to school. At school, a teacher came to your class,
met a noisy class and punished all of you. Is there a connection between
what you did at home and what happened to you in school? Is the
punishment a consequence of your waking up early or brushing your
teeth? If you decide to write a story based on those incidents, you might
decide to add that the toothpaste was an expired one so at school you
started having stomach ache. Your crying and discomfort attracted the
attention of others in the class and there was a commotion. At that
moment, the teacher came in and without questions punished everybody
and that included you.

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The playwright might decide to present in a flashback how your mother

bought the toothpaste without checking the expiring date or how
somebody saw that it was unfit for human consumption but out of
mischief allowed you to use it. The problem could not have been with
the toothpaste but with the breakfast. In this case, the flashback would
demonstrate how your breakfast was poisoned by a wicked stepmother.

You can see from this simple illustration that plot especially a unified
one thrives on causality. In it, one incident is presented, and as a result
of that incident, the next one happens and the situation must be related
to each other. In a unified plot there is a beginning, middle and an end
where the beginning gives rise to the middle and the conflicts initiated in
the middle are resolved in the end. This resolution of the conflicts
completes what was started in the beginning.

3.2. The Sub Plot

The subject (sub) plot is subordinated to the main plot. The main plot
deals with the major events while the sub plot deals with other incidents
which can be dependent on the main plot but presented as complete and
interesting stories. In most cases, the sub-plot is used to enhance the
audience’s understanding of the main plot or to illuminate some aspects
of the action. In Hamlet for instance, the play-within–play (The
Mousetrap) helps to illuminate the disposition of Claudius and heighten
his sense of guilt. It further strengthens Hamlet’s resolve to avenge his
father’s death as it confirms to him that his uncle is guilty of murder and
of his illicit affair with Hamlet’s mother.

3.3 Plot Structure

Ideally a good a good play as stated above should have a beginning,

middle and an end. According to Oscar Brockett, the beginning contains
the exposition or the setting forth of information about earlier events, the
identity of characters and the present situation. The point of attack
which is part of the beginning is when the main story starts unfolding
and a possible conflict is identified. In The Trials of Brother Jero the
exposition in Brother Jero’s monologue which gives information about
himself, about Brother Chume and the curse by the old man. The curse
could be seen as the point of attack as Old Man tells Jero that women are
going to cause his downfall.

A series of complications constitute the middle. A complication is the

introduction of a new element that changes the direction of the action
and it leads to the discovery of new information. In that same play,
Amope’s appearance provides the complication for Brother Jero and this

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leads Jero to discover that she is Br. Chume’s wife. Consequently, he

allows Brother Chume, to beat her. This leads to a crisis which
culminates in the climax when Br. Chume chases Br. Jero calling
himself a fool for being so gullible that he allowed another man to
dictate for him how to run his household. That discovery leads to the
resolution of the play which exposes Jero as an imposter.

3.4 Types of Plot

It is not in all plays that we find what may be referred to as good plots as
described above. It is therefore not surprising that we have different
types of plots. Aristotle talked of purity and unification of plot. He
divides plot into simple and complex plots.

3.4.1 Simple Plot

In a simple plot, the action is simple and continuous. In this type of plot
the complication is not usually much and the conflict is not intense.
There could be a change of fortune but usually there is no reversal of
situation and no recognition. In simple plots the action runs
chronologically and causally from the beginning to the end.

3.4.2 Complex Plot

In a complex plot, as the name suggests, we are presented with complex

incidents and complications. The change of fortune here is accompanied
by a reversal of situation or by recognition or by both.

3.4.3 Unified Plot

In the unified plot, the incidents are presented in a logical, chronological

and causal order. Here one incident leads to the other and that other one
happens as a result of the previous action. The beginning, middle and
end are obvious in the unified plot.

3.4.4 Episodic Plot

Here there is no causal arrangement of incidents. Obviously, the only

relationship between the incidents is that a particular character is
involved in all of them. In a unified plot the excision of an aspect or a
part of the play affects the meaning and the organic structure of the play.
There is nothing like cause and effect in an episodic plot as a part of the
play could be removed and it will not affect, change or destroy the plot.

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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

List and explain the four types of plot as presented in this unit.

4.0 CONCLUSION

From the discussion so far, you have seen the importance and centrality
of plot in playwriting. An aspiring playwright should be conversant with
different types of plot. This will help him in the arrangement of
incidents in his play to ensure that he does not just produce an
interesting story but that the story is presented in a manner that will
arouse and sustain the interest of the audience.

Like I said in Unit 1, a playwright is not confined to any rule especially

in contemporary times. Modern playwrights experiment with different
forms and the result is that some plot less plays and illogical plots have
been presented by the existentialist and absurdist playwrights. Modern
and contemporary dramatists do not seem to be interested in any rule so
they borrow ideas from available traditions and mix them up to expand
the horizon and boundaries of their artistic expression and ideological
positions.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit you have learnt more on what plot is and different types of
plot. This experience will be at the back of your mind as you prepare to
write or as you write your play.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What is a well-made plot and what is its relationship with incidents in

the play.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Brockett, Oscar (1980) The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt Reinhart
and Winston .

Scholes, R. and C.H. Klaus (1971). Elements of Drama. New York:

Oxford University

Press.

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UNIT 4
CHARACTER/CHARACTERIZATION/MOVEMENT/THE
STAGE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objective
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Characters
3.2 Characterization
3.3 Movement
3.4 The Stage
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Drama comprises action and this action is presented through characters.

Characters are those human beings, animals or abstract qualities. The
important issue is that, they present the story that is conceptualized by
the playwright.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to

• Differentiate the characters in a play;

• Distinguish between character and characterization
• Differentiate between movement and motivation
• Discuss/design the stage geography and show how it affects you
as a playwright

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Characters

Like I said in the introduction, characters could be human beings, they

could be animals as we find in allegorical plays. Good examples of
allegorical plays are Tess Onwueme’s The Desert Encroaches and Ban
Empty Barn. Characters could also be abstract qualities as we find in
Everyman.

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As you conceptualize your play, the next step is to think of the

characters you could use to realize your goal. When you create your
human characters, you should endow them with moral and dispositional
qualities to make them real. You know that as a playwright you do not
have the time and space for vivid description of characters, events and
the environment like the novelist. You should therefore give the
necessary information about characters through the dramatis personae at
the beginning of the play, stage directions, and through the dialogue. It
is only through these means that you can present your comments on the
character’s age, his physical attributes, his mode of dressing, his
temperament and other information you need.

You should be able to differentiate your characters through variation in

manner of behaviour, social status, external appearance and language. In
as much as they should be differentiated, they should be able to relate
with one another to achieve your goal. The interpersonal relationship of
characters is very important because you reveal your characters also
through their words, action and what other characters say about them as
W.T. Price says “characters can be brought on in no other way than by
throwing people in relation” (280). You can also reveal your protagonist
by pitching him against supernatural forces as Shakespeare did to King
Lear or Macbeth or Sophocles did to Oedipus. This could be attributed
to the fact that in the classical tragedy destiny played an important role
in the fate of the characters. So the tragedy that befalls the character is
not necessarily as a result of conflict between him and other characters
but predetermined. Hence Romeo submits: “…He that hath the steerage
of my course direct my sail” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 1 Scene 4).

You should have a good knowledge of different types of characters

(refer to the course material, Elements of Drama). This will enable you
determine the type of characters you want to create. The hero or
protagonist must be at the centre of the story. Usually, he is pitted
against another important character. He changes as the play progresses.
His behavioral changes are attributed to new awareness or revelation or
change in the social structure in the world view of the play. The
static/stock or flat character does not change in any basic way in the
course of the play. Usually, he represents a group or individuals in the
society. He emerges from rigid or static social and temperamental
features characteristic of the profession, ethnic group, tribe or nationality
he represents. It means that he must act according to the stereotyped or
rigid features of the interest he represents.

3.2 Characterization

Characters live on stage as they act out the story. Characterization is the
ability of portraying/creating the characters. The aspect of your

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conceptualization that gives birth to the characters is called

characterization. In your imagination you create these characters and
decide the best attribute for each of them. When you form/conceive your
idea, the next step is to develop it and then think of appropriate
characters you will need to tell your /their story effectively. Your ability
to create the right characters, make them appear at the right places at the
right time, say the right or wrong things (depending on the effect you
want to create) at the appropriate or inappropriate times and places is
referred to as characterization.

The important factor in characterization is consistency and motivation.

You must strive to create consistent characters. If for instant you create a
servant who speaks in pidgin, he must be consistent from the beginning
to the end. If suddenly he starts speaking Queens English, then he is not
consistent, except if he improves himself through formal or informal
education which must be highlighted in the play. This education now
becomes the motivation for speaking Queen’s English. Motivation in
simple terms is the reason behind the action of a character. The
motivation for each character’s action must be obvious if not, the action
will become illogical. You can present inconsistent characters and
illogical actions if you are writing an absurdist play. If you are not
writing an absurdist play or in the existential tradition, you are obliged
to create plausible characters who indulge in plausible actions that are as
close as possible to reality. You must therefore try to create credible
stories for them to fit in the action appropriately.

3.3. Movement

You may wonder why movement and stage are discussed here. The
reason is obvious. Drama thrives on action. Characters in the play are
involved in action and the performance of the play; the action is realized
through the movement of the characters on stage. As a playwright you
must learn to inject action into your play to make it vibrant and
interesting. The action is realized in movement on stage. If you do not
have sufficient action in your play, it becomes drab and boring. You
should be aware of the entrances, exits and other movements of your
characters. It is not only the director that concerns himself with
movement on stage. A good playwright should state the movement of
the characters clearly in the stage direction. He should also decide on
appropriate cue words i.e. what a character should say before or after a
movement is made. For you, a budding playwright, to be able to do this
effectively, you must have a good knowledge of the stage. The
commonest stage is the proscenium stage. Before you write a play, in
addition to the experience you may have acquired in the course and
Theatre Workshop visit a theatre and get yourself acquainted with the
stage geography.

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3.4 The Stage

In theatre workshop, you learnt that there are different types of theatres.
They include the arena, the proscenium, the open theatre, the pit theatre
and many others. In this course, we will not discuss these types of
theatre but we will concern ourselves with the stage. As stated earlier we
will concentrate on the proscenium stage which is very close to a room
though without the fourth wall. It is through that fourth wall that the
audience watches a play. Watching a play on the proscenium stage is
like watching a television. So with this in mind you will create your
doors and windows on the remaining three walls.

You should also have a fair knowledge of lighting to know when the
light will come up, dim, or blackout. This knowledge will help you in
the series of scene changes which is anticipated in drama. However if
you are writing for television or for film, you will not be constrained to
the particular exits. This is because the camera, light and other
technological equipment are used to create the desired effects and
realistic environments. Moreover, realistic settings are used in celluloid
where the camera aids the provision of an unlimited time and space for
the script writer. For instance, on stage you cannot bring in a car but in
TV and film the special camera is used to record the dialogue of
characters (actors) driving along an expressway. In radio plays you need
more of sound effects. So if you are writing a play to be published, you
must have a stage in mind. For literary or stage plays, the best approach
is usually to produce the play before you publish it. Generally, it is
believed that ‘a play is not a play until it is seen live on stage’. It means
that if you have the opportunity of performing your play before you
publish it, you will have the advantage of adding or cutting some scenes
in the play before publication.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

List two ways through which you could inject action into the play you
intend to write.

4.0 CONCLUSION

We have explained that you should create your characters in such a way
that they can effectively carry your story. We noted also that you should
ensure that the story is credible, the characters plausible and the action
possible for you to have a good play. We also said that a good
playwright should have a good knowledge of the stage and method of
lighting.

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5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit we examined how a playwright creates his characters. We

also looked at what he should bear in mind as he creates them. These are
credibility, plausibility, possibility, consistency and motivation.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What is the importance of the proscenium stage for the playwright?

7.0. REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Duruaku, A.B.C (1979). A Handbook on Drama and Theatre. Owerri:

Colon Concepts.

Grebanier, Bernard (1979). Playwriting. New York: Barnes and Noble.

Yerima, Ahmed (2003). Basic Techniques in Playwriting. Ibadan: Kraft

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UNIT 5 : LANGUAGES, DIALOGUE AND ACTION

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Language
3.2 Diction
3.3 Dialogue
3.4 Action
3.5 Matching Language to Character
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Language is a vital tool for the literary artist. In drama where the action
is presented on stage, in addition to the spoken words, language includes
gestures, facial expressions and other forms of action that help to convey
the desired message. In the novel, the writer describes events, setting,
atmosphere and character as vividly as possible. In the omniscient point
of view, the writer goes further to reveal the thoughts, hopes and
aspirations of characters through description. In drama, the playwright
does not have the time and space for such descriptions. Everything is
therefore conveyed to the audience during performance through
dialogue and action. However, in written texts, other important
information is given through stage direction.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

In this unit you will learn

• Determine the importance of language in playwriting

• Distinguish different forms of language
• Determine the functions of dialogue in a play.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Language

Language has been defined as a tool of communicating from one source

to another. It has also been postulated that language is purely a linguistic
behaviour that shows a social interaction that exists among people in a
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given speech community. The above definitions are echoed in David

Crystal Encyclopedia of Language where language is said to be the
human and non-instinctive means of communication used by individuals
in a given speech community. However a contemporary definition of
language postulates that it is the vocal or graphic representation of
sounds in writing, used systematically and conventionally by the
members of a speech community for communicating views, opinions,
information, facts, and emotions and so on.

Interestingly, language is important to humans because it can either be

spoken or written. This variable makes it completely different from
animal form of communication “animalese”. It is important to remember
that communication must not be confused with language because
language is the tool for effective communication. Finally, we should
note that the use of language for effective communication is context-
specific. Communication is the process of exchanging information,
views, opinions, feelings emotions from one source to another.
Language is the medium you use in that communication.

3.2 Types of Language

Spoken Language/Verbal
Non-Spoken/Nonverbal

3.2.1 Spoken Language

Spoken Language as the name implies is the realization of

communication in speech. Each speech community has its own language
but English language is the general mode of communication in Nigeria.
A playwright chooses the language to use in writing his play. Some
playwrights like Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (Kenya) Peninah Muhando
(Tanzania) Bode Osayin (Nigeria) Goody Onyekaonwu (Nigeria) have
written plays in their native languages of Gikuyi, Swahili, Yoruba, and
Igbo respectively. The problem here is that the audience is limited to
only those who can read or understand the native languages. Perhaps
this explains why Ngugi Wa Thiong’o translates his plays later into
English Language to enable him reach a wider audience.

In Nigeria, many playwrights include their mother tongues or pidgin in

their plays. In some cases, the words phrases/sentences are explained in
the glossary, or alongside the vernacular or pidgin but in some other
cases no explanation is given, and the audience is expected to decipher
the meaning within the context it is used. You can read Ola Rotimi’s
Hopes of the Living Dead and Tess Onwueme’s Then She Said It for the
use of pidgin and for the inclusion of mother tongue which is common
among African playwrights, especially in form of songs in the plays.

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The language used by a playwright is spoken by the characters on stage.

The spoken language could be in form of speech, laughter, shouting,
crying and other forms of utterances made by the characters in the play.
The important point here is that it is a form of sound produced through
the mouth.

3.2.2 Non-verbal language

Non-verbal language comes in form of action, gestures, and facial

expression. It comprises actions that send messages about a character’s
action or state of mind that is not expressed through vocal sounds.

3.3 Diction

Diction in playwriting refers to the choice or selection of the words you

use in writing your play. From the onset, take a decision on your choice
of words. Your diction could be simple and straightforward or difficult
and obscure, etc. So you must, as a matter of utmost importance, write
accurately. If however a particular character is to speak inaccurate
English, let it be consistent. A very good example is Mrs. Malaprop in
Richard Sheridan’s The Rival. Her language is full of malapropisms and
she speaks consistently in that form from the beginning of the play to
the end. Malapropism is the misuse of words in an amusing way. Here
the word that is used incorrectly sounds similar to the intended, word
but means something quite different. You should therefore learn the
basic grammatical rules especially as it concerns subject-verb
agreement, tenses, punctuation, spelling, active and passive verbs,
capitalization, faulty expressions and some other common errors.
However, some faulty expressions result from direct or literal translation
of mother tongue to English or pidgin.

Apart from accurate grammatical expression, you should learn to write

beautiful language. You should therefore search continuously for the
most suitable words to use. These are words that not only express your
thoughts very well but are also the most appropriate words in that
context. To achieve this, therefore, you need to read widely especially
creative works like plays, novels and short stories. A rich vocabulary
helps to “bring variety and freshness to your writing” and helps you to
reduce the “excessive flogging of certain words and expressions” (Ike
19). You should also be conversant with the sentence structure in
English Language. This will enable you know when to use simple
sentences and when to use compound sentences. In choosing your
words, it is important to bear your audience in mind. The words and
expressions you will use in a play for children will not be the same with
the ones you will use for a play meant for senior secondary students and

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undergraduates. For instance, a play for market women or people in the

village may contain a lot of pidgin.

Finally, in choosing your words try to stamp a mark of originality in

your work. You can

learn from others but do not copy what they have written. As
Chukwuemeka Ike says:

make your writing your own because your

writing can only be refreshingly different
from others if you view everything
happening before you from your own unique
experience rather than through the eyes of
other people. (20)

3.4 Dialogue

Dialogue is an exchange of speech between two people. There may be

many people in a particular scene but the exchange must be between two
people at any given time time. However, in a crowd scene, it may be
between one group and another or between a group and a character.
Even at that, except for choruses, only one person from the group speaks
at a time.

Dialogue in drama is an integral part of the play because, through it,

characters are revealed, themes are highlighted and the action is enacted.
It “crystallizes relationships, conveys information, propels the plot, and
precipitates revelations, crises, and climaxes” (Hall 94). Dialogue is
used for exposition and characterization, so it must involve action for it
not to be static. You must therefore design your dialogue in such a way
that there is always a progression to a change or resolution of the action
coordinated.

Your dialogue must express characters, advance the action, and record
pertinent information all at once. The dialogue must be relevant and
should move swiftly but at the same time you should give the
impression that it is a transcription of live speech. Try to avoid
obscenities or profanities; write correct/standard English and avoid the
use of slang except for special effects.

A very good rule in dialogue is to limit it to one thought at a time and

keep the lines short. Also, avoid words like ‘oh’, ‘uh’, because such
exclamations often serve no purpose except to establish a hazy sense of
authenticity or real life experience. Such words, if not handled properly
could set up an irritating or monotonous rhythm to the speeches.

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Soliloquies are becoming old fashioned but you could create

monologues in your play. The monologue like dialogue helps to reveal
character and propel the plot. A good example is found in Efua
Sutherland’s Edufa (see Seguwa’s monologue). The important factor is
that you must be able to integrate it very well in the action. You can read
more on dialogue in Module 1, Unit 6 of Elements of Drama – A course
material in the Department of English.

3.5 Action

Dialogue is realized through action. Action is the process of performing

a task. It involves series of events that a character engages in, in the
play. It includes what a character does or fails to do. The action must be
logically presented and properly motivated except in absurdist plays. In
drawing your outline of the play and the characters, you should be able
to decide which action follows the other and the engagements of the
characters at every stage of the development of the play. Each character
is revealed through action.

Action could be physical when it involves the visible movements of the

characters. It may or may not involve verbal expressions. It could be in
form of movement from one place to other, or picking/dropping of
objects, opening and closing doors, sitting or standing, facial movement,
gestures and other such movements. You may not be able to bring all the
actions on stage. The actions that you cannot present on stage are
reported by appropriate characters. It is pertinent to note here that in
stage plays, you should include only actions that are realizable. The ones
that are not realizable should be avoided. Reported mental action is
usually manifested through gesture or facial expression.

3.6 Matching Language to Character

This is a very important aspect of language in drama. You must strive

towards consistency in your language. Decide at the outline stage, the
language you want to use. Do you want to use language to delineate
characters like causing specific characters to speak in specific ways? Do
you want all of them to speak correct English irrespective of social
status or educational background? Do you want any of them to speak in
verse for a particular effect? Do you want to use pidgin? What is your
purpose? You need to answer these and other questions to ensure
consistency and for you to really match language to character.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

List five ways to ensure good dialogue in a play.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, we have tried to explain the role of dialogue in playwriting.

We have also given you information on how to choose your words,
construct your dialogue and build your action

5.0 SUMMARY

Language is a vehicle of communication in drama. Drama is written or

presented only in dialogue when it is verbal. Action in drama can be
accompanied with or without dialogue. Both dialogue and action must
be properly motivated and consistent. Illogical actions, obscenities and
profanities should be avoided.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Explain in your own words and experience what matching language to

character means.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Hall, Oakley (1989) The Art and Craft of Novel Writing. Cincinnati.
Story Press.

Ike, Chukwuemeka(1991). How to Become a Published Writer. Ibadan:

Heinemann.

Iwuchukwu, Onyeka(2008). Elements of Drama. Abuja: National Open

University of Nigeria Regent.

Onwueme, Tess. (2002). Then She Said It. San Francisco: African
Heritage.

Rotimi, Ola. (1988). Hopes of the Living Dead. Ibadan: Spectrum.

Sutherland, Efua (1987). The Marriage of Anansewa. London:

Longman.

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UNIT 6 SPECTACLE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main content
3.1 Costume
3.2 Make Up
3.3 Scenery
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Spectacle refers to all the visual elements that contribute to the

aesthetics of any dramatic production. They include the costume and
make up, scene and light design and even the props. In the Aristotelian
concept of drama, spectacle is mentioned as one of seven elements of
drama. Do you know the other six? Refer to your course material on the
Elements of Drama.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

In the course of this unit, you will be in a position to

• Determine what spectacle is, in a play.

• Identify aspects of spectacle.
• Determine its importance in dramatic performances.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Costume

In simple terms, costume is the dress which actors wear on stage. As you
know, actors in a play are just pretending to be somebody else. This is
called role-playing. An actor could therefore be a very good husband
and father in one play and in another be drunkard who spends his whole
fortune on women and wine, a reckless man. The same actor could in
another play the role of a mad man. Apart from his utterances and
action, costume helps to accentuate the personality of each actor. Once
you see an actor in dirty rags, what comes to your mind is that this is a
mad man. In The Marriage of Anansewa for instance, Ananse’s way of
dressing changes as soon as he becomes wealthy.
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Costume is not just the dress but it includes other accessories like a hat,
a walking stick, shoes, earrings, necklace, sunglasses and many others.
Hand bags could also be classified as costume but in some cases as
props. If for instance, a lady enters with a hand bag which matches her
shoes and head gear or dress and does not drop it until her exit, it is
costume because it forms part of her dressing. However, if the hand bag
is placed somewhere and she goes to pick it or is given to her by another
actor, it becomes a prop. Costume could be designed like the dresses
worn in everyday life or it could be symbolic. The important factor is
that a well designed costume should suit the character in terms of age,
social status and state of mind.

The two major categories of costume are period (age) or ethnic. The
period costume helps to situate the play appropriately in its historical
setting. That is why we talk of classical costume, Elizabethan costume,
Restoration costume, costume of the modern period of the nineteenth
century and contemporary costume. If for instance you want to stage
Oedipus Rex, you must study the Grecian mode of dressing in about the
fifth century B.C. Period costume is usually influenced by fashion. So
you need to know the fashion of that period.

Ethnic costume reflects the cultural background or ethnic affiliations of

the characters. Ethnic costume has a relationship with the period
costume. While you consider the age/period, you should also consider
the socio-cultural background of the play. Like I said above, it is not the
dress worn by the Greeks of the fifth century B.C. that the Americans or
Africans of the fifth century wore. Since fashion is cyclical, some
dresses worn in an earlier century could be fashionable in the
contemporary period of the same country or another country. The ethnic
costume helps the audience to tell where a particular character comes
from. There is no defined style in costume but each costume is designed
to fit the wearer (depending on the effect) and to reflect the period or
ethnic affiliation of the wearer. In Nigeria, an actress in Iro and Buba,
especially made from Aso Oke materials shows that the character
represents a Yoruba woman.

The functions of the costume should be clear from the explanations

above. The most important function is that it is used to distinguish (a
person). Characters highlight their ages or their moods through their
costumes. A person in mourning is usually dressed in black while white
flowing gown with a veil depicts a bride that is about to wed or that has
just wedded. Costume helps also to show a character’s occupation.

You may ask what you as a playwright has to do with costume since you
are not a director or a designer. As a playwright, you should contribute
to the costuming of the characters in your play. You can do this through

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stage direction or dialogue. Below is an except from a play where

information on costume is given through the stage direction. The play is
Regal Dance, by Onyeka Onyekuba. (A procession of twelve ‘Udes’ file
past ….. they are dressed in expensive long white shirts and golden
wrappers. Each carries a long staff which they stamp on the ground in
unison as they walk majestically to the king. The king is seated on his
throne and on getting close to him, they do their obeisance to him by
raising their staves towards him three times. Two other bare-chested
men dressed in white wrappers lead Akubuike forward to the king. He is
wearing a very expensive lace material. Two younger men dressed like
the other two men come up in their rear. One is carrying a golden staff
while the other one bears a cape-like robe, made from an expensive
glittering golden material…) (83-84)

You can picture this scene in your mind’s eye because it is described
vividly. The stage direction must not be as long as this for it to contain
information concerning a particular character’s dress. In Femi
Osofisan’s Morountodun. Also, as Titubi and her group enter with
placards and distribute handbills, Osofisan describes them as being
(superbly dressed, with lots of jewellery and make-up and wearing
conspicuously the moremi necklace then in vogue – a little gold dagger,
surrounded with golden nuggets. Leading them is Titubi, a pretty,
sensual and obviously self-conscious woman) (7).

In drama, everything is condensed in dialogue but the dialogue cannot

contain every bit of information especially about the characters, attire,
setting, and mood. In any play, stage direction is given in italics and
enclosed in brackets as you can see from the examples given above.

3.2 Make Up

Usually, costume and make up go hand is in hand but for clarity we have
decided to split them. Make up as the name implies is to some extent
like everyday make up. It is the cosmetics worn by actors and actresses
to highlight their appearances. Make up complements the costume in
revealing the character which the actor plays. Make up enhances the
actor’s physical appearance and like costume reveals age, period,
culture, mood and social status. There are two types of make up. They
are straight make up and character make up. Straight make up is like
everyday make up worn especially by the women. It helps to accentuate
or highlight the personal features of the actor. On the other hand,
character make up is used to highlight specific features that help to
transform a particular actor to suit the role he is playing. For instance,
when a thirty year old lady is cast in a play to play the role of an eighty
year old woman, the make up artist will, through make up, inscribe

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wrinkles, grey hairs and other features on her to make her appear like an
old woman.

As a playwright you should try to indicate the profession and other

special features like the age of your characters. Some playwrights do
this in the dramatis personae (cast list), in the stage direction or in the
dialogue. The information is necessary to aid the director’s
interpretation of the script.

3.3 Scenery

As a playwright you do not have much to do with scene or lighting

design. It is the duty of the designer to conceptualize or conceive the
suitable dramatic environment for the play. Scene design therefore is
creating the appropriate environment for the play. Scene and lighting
designs help to enhance the meaning, clarify emotions, moods and
depict the environment for the dramatic action. The setting of the play
comes alive through the scene and lighting design. For details on this,
refer to your course material on Theatre Workshop. However, as a
playwright, you should be able to indicate the setting directly or through
inference. This is reflected either in the stage direction or dialogue.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

List the functions of costume in drama.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Spectacle is all the visual aspects of dramatic production which help to

enhance the meaning by projecting the theme/subject matter, depict the
background and clarify the moods as well as the emotions in the play in
performance. You will understand more about this if you have watched
any play on stage.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt that spectacle is an element of drama which
is realized mainly in performance. It consists of costume and make up,
scenery and lighting design. Through them, the meaning, emotions,
moods and the setting are highlighted.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What is the relationship between the playwright and spectacle?

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7.0 REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING

Onyekuba, Onyeka (1994). Regal Dance. Awka: Mercury Bright

Osofisan, Femi (1982). Morountodun and Other Plays. Ikeja:

Longman.

Sutherland Efua. (1975). The Marriage of Anansewa. London:

Longman.

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UNIT 7 MUSIC /DANCE (SOUND EFFECTS)

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main content
3.1 Music
3.1.2. Types of music
3.2 Song
3.3 Dance
3.4 Sound Effects
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0. INTRODUCTION

Music is part of life. Drama presents life on stage so music is part of

drama. However, music is not found in all forms of drama. The
inclusion of music in drama is the prerogative of the dramatist. Music
contributes to the aesthetic quality of the play. If it is handled properly
music helps to enhance atmosphere, mood and even helps to highlight
the theme. Sometimes music is accompanied with dance.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

In the course of this unit, you will be in a position to:

• Identify the place of music in drama

• Differentiate between Music, song and noise
• Determine the use of dance in play writing
• Identify and efficiently use music in playwriting
• Identify and effectively use sound effects in drama.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1. MUSIC AND SONG

3. 1.1. Definition of Music

Music is defined as “organized sound” A musical tone is said to be “ a

product of regular vibration, perceived when an inner part of the
listener’s ear is made to vibrate in sympathy” (Sadie and Lathan14). By

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contrast, noise is a product of irregular vibration. It means that banging,

blowing, scraping may produce music or sound according to the object
banged and the way it vibrates, depending on how it is organized or
disorganized.

Music is one of the three great arts. The three major arts are literature,
visual arts and music.

In every society, in every period of history, men and women have made
music. They have sung it and danced to it. They have used it in solemn
rituals and in light hearted entertainment. They have listened to it in
fields and forests, in temples, in bars, in concert halls and opera houses.
They have made it not only with their voices but by adapting natural
objects and banging them, scraping them, and blowing through them.
They have used it to generate collective emotions to excite, to calm, to
inspire action, to draw tears. Music is a central and necessary part of
human existence. People enjoy music for leisure, engage in music as a
form of profession and music is used in ritual, religious, social and other
ceremonial events.

Every culture has found a musical style and a means off expressing it
that arises from its needs, its history, and its environment. In Black
Africa for example, where there has been a crucial need for quick
communication over long distances, the musical culture is more closely
concerned with drums and drumming than in other cultures of the world.
The ‘gong-chime culture’ of Indonesia, owes its existence to the fact
that the region discovered its musical character during the late Bronze
Age, hence their most important musical instruments are sets of gongs
(Sadie and Lathan).

3.1.2 Functions of Music in Drama

Music contributes to the beauty and impact of the play on the audience
in the following ways:

a) It helps to create and intensify the atmosphere of the play. You

may not have watched stage plays but let us use the home video
films to illustrate. As you watch a particular movie, the music
that is presented indicates whether a particular scene is a love
scene, a happy/joyous occasion; a mourning or sorrowful scene
or if danger is being anticipated.
b) It initiates activity. Whenever music changes in a play by an
increase or decrease in tempo, you expect a change in the action
of the play. The music we are discussing here includes songs and
dances.

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a) It helps to advance the theme and explicate the plot;

b) It helps to uplift the spirit and endear expected emotions in
the audience because it helps the audience to respond to
the action of the play in a particular manner.
c) It helps the audience to focus attention or concentrate on
the action on stage, this helps it to understand the play
better. However, if it is not handled properly, it distracts
the audience.

3.1.3 Types of Music

There is much music in our lives, music surrounds us as we shop, drive,

sit in parks, and in other places. We have radios in our cars, phones,
portable cassette players, and many other sources of music. We listen to
music because we desire and enjoy them. There are other undesired
forms of music like noise in our daily environment, music that is tuned
very loud as they are heard from neighbour’s stereos, supermarkets,
markets, and other public places.

A wide range of music, include jazz, reggae, juju, rap, pop, rock, blues
and traditional drumming. We can absorb music without really paying
attention to the lyrics. This is passive enjoyment. In some cases, we
enjoy music leisurely while we concentrate on other things; it can be in
the background, entirely unnoticed (Titon). Music expresses what words
and paintings cannot. And for true understanding of music, we must pay
careful attention to the beating and the lyrics as it involves the
engagement of the intellect, just as painting and literature do. Music
expresses some social issues concerning people in the society. And like
other forms of arts, music is found in historical and social contexts.

In many regions of the world, music forms part of a festival, ritual,

ceremony or other forms of activity. Studying music without
considering its context can provide half the picture. The most “frequent
appearance of music in the world is in the combination with dance”
(Yudkin 13). So when you decide to infuse music in your play, think of
the dance that would accompany it if it requires a dance. The music in
your play must have a purpose. Do you want to present an element of
culture, accentuate the setting or the mood. There are many forms of
music and because, it is a fluid art, it “changes to suit the expressive and
emotional desires of humankind” (Titon 25). You should therefore
understand that your choice of music is able to express the emotion you
want to convey in your play. The music you use in a scene that contains
a marriage ceremony should definitely be different from the one you
would use in a funeral service. The music in the opening scene of your
play helps to set the mood and illuminate the expected action and the
disposition of the characters in that scene. The blues music at the

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opening scene of Tess Onwueme’s Shakara: Dance Hall Queen, gives

some information on the way wardness of Shakara who spends most of
her time in night clubs.

I have tried to explain music, different types of music and how music
could be used in drama. Playwrights use music to create certain effects,
moods and atmosphere or even to draw attention to a particular
character.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

List and explain the functions of music in a play.

3.2. Song

Song is a form of music which is produced with the mouth so it contains

words. It is a piece of music that one can sing. It is through the words of
the music that a musician conveys his message. A playwright also
conveys part of his message through the songs. Song helps to enrich
drama if it is handled properly. A playwright, through the lyrics of a
song exalts or condemns specific issues or ideas raised in the play.
Traditional songs in plays help to highlight the playwright’s
background. Femi Osofisan, for instance, uses songs extensively in his
plays and they are mainly Yoruba songs. Some playwrights use
vernacular to present songs in their plays but also give the English
translations of the songs but others present the songs in vernacular
without any translations. The contention is that the songs cannot be
translated perfectly in English as it is difficult if not impossible to reflect
the beauty and other nuances of the local language. In the latter case you
must ensure that the songs are inserted appropriately to synchronize with
the plot so that the audience will not lose the message you want to
convey.

3.3 Dance

Dance is a human experience that has existed through the ages and
among all peoples and races. It is an expression of an inner feeling of
man through body movement. Dance is used to express the emotions of
joy or sadness. Dance like music helps to accentuate the cultural
background of the playwright, of the setting, of the play or a particular
scene. A story is told through song and dance.

Dance occurs in reaction to music which could be in any form. The

playwrights use dance to heighten the mood or the thematic
preoccupation of the play. Dance in plays could be inserted in the stage
direction or in the dialogue. In most plays the occurrence of dance is

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indicated in the stage direction but it is usually an accompaniment of

music or song except for specific effects. One of such special effects is a
situation where a drunkard or a mad man is one of the characters; the
possibility of any of them dancing without music is high.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

In what ways can you highlight your theme through song in the drama.

4.0. CONCLUSION

We have seen that music, song, and dance in drama contribute to the
overall aesthetics of the play. Wherever music is present in a play, it
directs and gives shape to the action. It is not compulsory for you to
include music in the play you wish to write. It depends on your theme,
your perspective and the overall effect you want to achieve.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have acquired the basic knowledge of the meaning of
music, song and dance and their functions in drama. You are now in a
better position to apply what you have learnt when you want to write
your own play. You have also learnt that it is not compulsory for you to
include music and dance in your play. However if you choose to include
any of them, make sure that it blends perfectly with the plot and that it
helps to illuminate your theme.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED READINGS

Explain the types of music in drama, as discussed in this unit.

7.0. REFERENCECS / FURTHER STUDIES

Blau, Sheridan (1992). The Writer’s Craft: Idea to Expression. Illinois:

McDouglas Littell.

Sadie, Stanley and Allison Lathan ed. (1995). Stanley Sadie’s Brief
Guide to Music 3rd edition. Eaglewood Cliff, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall

Titon, Jeff Todd, (2001). Worlds of Music: An Introduction to Music of

the Worlds Peoples. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth/Thomson
Learning.

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Wilson, Edwin and Alvin Goldfab (2002). Theatre: A Lively Art. New
York: McGraw Hill

Yudkin, Jeremy (1995). Understanding Music 2nd edition. Englewood

Cliff, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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MODULE 3 POETRY

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues in Poetry Writing.

Unit 2: What makes a poem
Unit 3: Creative blocks: Emotion in tranquility
Unit 4: Sensory Awareness: Feeling in thought
Unit 5: Imagery and Allusion: expanding scope
Unit 6: The Material of Poems: Legend and history
Unit 7: The Finished Product/Glossary of terms

UNIT 1 PRELIMINARY ISSUES IN POETRY WRITING

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objective
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Setting
3.2 Atmosphere/mood
3.3 Tone
3.4 Types of Poems
3.4.1 Lyric
3.4.2 Ballad
3.4.3 Narrative
3.4.4 Epic
3.4.5 Sonnet
4.0 Summary
5.0 Conclusion
6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit you are introduced to the preliminary issues in poetry

writing. We will start with the setting of the poem through the
atmosphere/mood, tone and finally some types of poems.

2.0 OBJECTIVE

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• Identify mood and atmosphere in a poem.

• Distinguish setting in a poem
• Determine the relationship between the setting and atmosphere.
• List the major types of poems.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Setting

You may be surprised that we are starting this module with setting
instead of the subject matter. Poetry is the most emotional of all the
genres of literature. The setting is therefore important because you may
have encountered a setting that left a memorable impression on you and
you decide to build your poem around it. It could be a unique scenery, a
busy road, a slum or a battle field. It could also be a historical period
like Nigeria in the First Republic, or during the military period. Your
setting could be a physical environment, or a social environment. The
emotion you express in your poem must take place somewhere for it to
be realistic and relevant to human experience. In fiction and drama the
setting is specific because in most cases the work is set in a physical
environment since human beings do not exist or operate in a vacuum. In
poetry, it could be specific like the cell in Dennis Brutus’s “Letters to
Martha” but it could also reflect an emotional state, a spiritual plane or
other unearthly experiences. In poetry according to Tanure Ojaide
setting “varies in degrees from being amply presented to being
minimally there. It could be narrow or broad, direct or indirect,
depending upon how related and relevant the experience being
expressed is with where it takes place” (40-41).

Like we said earlier, setting helps the reader to visualize the situation
being described in the poem but in some cases, it is just there to provide
the environment. While in the first instance, you could compare it to the
scenery or decorative background in a stage play. However, setting
assumes greater significance in poetry if the poem is written specifically
to draw attention to the physical and social characteristics of a particular
place at a given time. A good example is this excerpt from Niyi
Osundare’s “A Song For Ajegunle”.

Through roads portholed by callous rains

Through hovels eaves-deep in swelling pools
Through gutters heavy with burdens
Of cholera bowels
Through the feverish orchestra
Of milling mosquitoes
I saw you sprawled out
Like the daub of apprentice painter

Here evenings are pale smokes

Snaking out of idle kitchens
The toothless swagger of beer parlours

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The battering clamour of weeping wives

The satanic rumble of supperless stomachs
The salaaming clarion of manacling mosques

I saw you sprawled out

Like a sheath with an absent cutlass

And night, ah night, when it comes

The shadowy thunder of hurrying feet
The hooded stench of nightsoil pails
The brooding brow of startles pangs
The sweaty stupor of crowded mats
The gutsy blast of angry guns

I saw you sprawled out

Like a stream without a bed (Lines 9- 32)

3.1.1 Creating your Setting

How do you create your social or physical setting? You could create an
imaginary environment or base your setting on your knowledge of an
existing physical and social setting to suit your purpose. The important
factor here is the intent. What do you intend to achieve? Do you want to
create an imaginary world to serve as your vision of an ideal society or
to warn of the dangers inherent in such an environment as we see in
Wilfred Owen’s “Strange Meeting” that seems to be set in a horrible
situation where the enemies do not seem to be enjoying their stay there.
In this poem Owen only used his imagination to create/evoke a
phantasmagoric setting for these two “enemies” who, but for the lies of
the politicians who cause or manage wars (as in J. P. Clark’s
“Casualties”), might have been friends and had a few drinks together.

If you intend to write a historical poem, you must ensure that you relate
your setting to the physical and social environment prevalent at that
time. In this type of poem, you must ensure that you use accurate data to
create your setting. If necessary carry out a some research to ensure the
accuracy of your information. If you don’t do this, you might paint an
unreliable picture in your poem. As a budding poet, it is better for you to
avoid writing historical poems. Just record your emotion the way you
feel it or as the inspiration comes to you.

You will do better if you create your setting from your personal
recollections of events, rooms, rivers/streams, houses, landscapes,
animals, birds, plants and other objects. You will write better if you
write about familiar environments than writing about an entirely
fictional one. As a creative writer, exposing yourself to various types of

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physical settings or environments will be beneficial to you. Each time

you find yourself in an environment or each time you encounter a place
that makes an impression on you, contemplate what possible use you
could make of the setting. The poet finds beauty or ugliness in
everything and expresses it in his poem. So you should start now to see
settings differently and try to see their relevance to you or to the next
poem you are going to write.

From now on pay particular attention to your environment taking in the

details that before now you did not observe. The flowers should become
more colourful, the normal sunset becomes more picturesque, the glow
of worm in a dark night assumes a different dimension, the gentle breeze
sends a message to you and even the snoring of your partner creates a
melodious tone in your ears. Start observing the weather, the seasons,
living and dying closely. In all these and more, you will find a suitable
environment to set your poem. Setting can be symbolic, it could be a
joyous occasion, serious and unserious events, memories, dreams and
other situations and events.

3.4 Atmosphere/Mood/Tone

According to Ogungbesan and Woolger, atmosphere refers to “the

feelings suggested by the physical details in the poem”. The mood is the
emotion which a poem rouses and the tone describes “the poet’s attitude
(e.g. ironic, sympathetic, detached, critical, etc). The setting therefore
directly or indirectly generates the atmosphere or mood that
consequently sets the tone that conditions the choice of images and
diction used in the poem (Ojaide 40).

The setting influences the atmosphere, mood and tone of your poem.
You should therefore vary your setting to enable you elicit appropriate
atmosphere, mood, tone, imagery and diction that constitute significant
aspects of your poem. Mood in a poem is an overall emotional effect
created in the poem. To a large extent, it reflects the degree of emotional
involvement of the poet which affects the reader in almost the same
way. Consequently, it draws the reader to empathize with the subject
discussed in the poem. It is the impression which the reader forms of the
poem as a whole.

3.5 Types of Poems

There are different types of poems. Sometimes a poet decides to write a

particular type of poem but at other times, the poem is written without
consideration to the type. As you read through this, it will help you to
appreciate and classify poems. It will also help you to choose your style

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when you are writing your own poem. However, some modern poets
write in styles that are difficult to classify.

3.5.1 Lyrics

Lyric means in Greek a song that is sang with the accompaniment of a

lyre. Lyric is the commonest form of poetry. It is usually short and
musical. Lyrical poems record emotions and are not narrated. Most
nursery rhymes are lyrical. It is the kind of poetry that Plato approves of.
In lyric, the poet’s emotions or feelings on some issues or objects are
expressed in an exciting and vivid manner to achieve the musical effect
that characterize this type of poem. The rhythmic and harmonious
pattern in lyric are achieved by the use of repetitive patterns like
alliteration, assonance, rhythm and musical rhyme schemes. Lyrics
convey personal experiences so are “intensively personal for they
express individuals emotions, moods and thoughts (Maxwell – Mahon
4). Originally, lyrics were sung with musical accompanied.

3.5.2. Ballad

Ballad is the oldest form of poetry. It tells a simple story but is presented
in verse form. Originally, they were composed as songs with refrains for
the audience to sing. In a strict sense, ballads are written in a series of
four-line stanzas in which alternate end-line words rhyme. In Ballads,
certain words or phrases are repeated throughout the poem. This helps to
heighten the musicality of the poem. The language is usually simple,
straight forward and easy to understand. Some scholars refer to ballad as
folk songs that are meant to be danced to.

3.5.3 Narrative Poetry

A narrative poem tells a story presented either in verses stanzas or in a

long continuous verse. Although it tells a long story, the poet is usually
cautious so that it does not translate into the stringing together of
connected or unconnected incidents.

A poem that is narrative invariably tells a story. A good narrative poem

presents incidents or episodes that are relevant to the central idea or
theme. Thus, “theme and action must form a unified structure that will
not become overburdened with the addition of unnecessary incidents or
that will disintegrate with the subtraction of any vital ones” (Maxwell-
Mahon 47). The story told in a narrative poem could be a serious or
unserious story. Ballad and epic are examples of narrative poems.

3.5.5. Epic

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Epic is a long great narrative poem. It tells the story of marvelous deeds
of one or more characters, mainly, from myth, legend or history. It is
usually about the adventures or exploits of a hero. It thrives on vivid
description of incidents, events and actions. The subject matter in epic is
always rendered in a serious manner. Epics are great poems and are
planned carefully by the poet to achieve the desired effect.

The hero in epic encounters severe obstacles but in the end, like in
melodrama, is able to overcome all the obstacles. He emerges
triumphant but after a turbulent struggle.

3.5.6. Sonnet

Sonnet is a fourteen-lined poem. Usually, it is divided into two sections

of eight and six lines in which the first eight lines present a situation,
while the last six express the poet’s thoughts or feelings on that
situation. Sometimes, a sonnet is presented in three sections of four-
lines, in which each section presents a different form of argument that is
summed up in the final couplet (two lines) in the end.

This shows that there are different types of sonnets. We stated above
that a sonnet has fourteen lines but there are exceptions to this rule
because there are some with more than fourteen lines. The arrangement
of lines and the rhyme scheme also differ. The regular or Italian
Sonnets, is the one stated above that consists of a group of eight-lines
and another group of six lines. The eight line section is called the octave
while the six-line section is the sestet. The octative can be sub-divided
into two sections of four lines each and the sestet into two three line
sections.

The English sonnet popularized by Shakespeare is divided into three

four-line groups known as quatrains and a single two-liner called
couplet. Usually, the couplet presents a concise conclusion or resolution
of issues raised in the three quatrains.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Where do you live? Try to write five simple lines to describe your
environment.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Setting is a very important element in the writing of poems. This is

because it influences the atmosphere, the mood and the tone of the
poem. The setting could be obvious, suggested, or symbolic. The basic
forms of setting are physical and social. In some poems you find the

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physical setting while in some the social and in some others both. The
setting creates the environment in the poem. Diction is very important
because it is the tool that you need to convey your message to your
readers.

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5.0 SUMMARY

You have learnt in this unit that setting is important to the poet. You
should therefore identify possible settings in your environment, nature
and human interactions. You can only do this with poetic eyes which
enable you imagine what you could create in/with them. You have also
learnt that there are different types of poems. This knowledge is
expected to guide you as you decide to write your own poems.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

List and explain briefly, five types of poems.

7.0. REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Barnet, Sylvan, Marton Berman and William Burto (1988). Literature

for Composition: Essays, Fiction, Poetry and Drama. 2nd edition.
Illinois: Scott Foresman.

Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2005). The Mastery of Literature Vol 3.

Lagos: Macckho Ricckho

Maxwell-Mahon, W.D. (1984). Van Schaik’s Guide to Creative Writing.

Pretoria: J.L.Van Shaik.

Ogungbesan, K and D Woolger (1978). Images and Impressions. An

Oxford Secondary Poetry Course. London: Oxford University
Press.

Ojaide, Tenure (2005). A Creative Writing Handbook for African

Writers and Students. Lagos: Malthouse.

Osundare, Niyi (1976) “A Song for Ajegunle” in Senanu, K. E. and

Theo Vincent ed. A Selection of African Poetry. Harlow Essex:
Longman

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UNIT 2 WHAT MAKES A POEM – CONTENT AND

DEVICES

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objective
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Theme
3.2 Subject Matter
3.3 What Makes A Poem
3.3.1 Sound
3.3.2 Rhythm
3.3.3 Rhyme
3.3.4 Diction
4.0 Summary
5.0 Conclusion
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In all forms of creative writing, the writer writes about a particular idea.
This idea gives rise to the subject matter. The idea expressed in subject
matter constitutes the message which the writer wants to send to his
audience. In this unit, we will introduce you to theme and subject matter
in poetry, and what actually makes a poem a unique genre of literature,
i.e. the devices used by the poet to give memorable expressions to his
content (subject matter and theme).

2.0 OBJECTIVE

By the end of this unit, you should be able to

• Identify the theme in a poem

• Identify the subject matter
• Identify the uniqueness of poetic diction
• Determine the importance of sound and rhythm in poetry

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Theme

In prose or drama, the theme is the underlying idea in the work. In

poetry also, the theme is also the main idea which the emotion

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expresses. The poem offers instruction or information in a pleasant and

persuasive way. You can draw your theme from a concept, an event or a
series of events, contemporary or historical, an interesting situation,
setting, mood, a person, an event or a personal experience. The poet or
write does not “draw” the theme in a poem from legend, myth or
folklore. The important thing is that it is that idea which permeates the
entire poem and is the message which the poet wants to communicate to
the audience. In most cases the theme is by the reader in one word like
corruption, love, war, bad leadership, revenge, and many others. This
word is what you decipher from reading the poem and not that the poet
will write that s/he is treating the theme of corruption for instance. We
will read the poem below and try to discover the theme.

“Let me not to the Marriage of True Minds”

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickles compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks
But bears it out even to the edge of doom
If this be error, and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
William Shakespeare.

Read this poem for at least three times. What is the underlying idea
which you could call the theme? You will observe that the constancy of
perfect love is stated clearly in the first quatrain. The distinct message is
that a perfect love is not affected by any impediment, does not alter by
any alteration or can it be removed by any remover. As you read further
down, the poet states boldly that although time can affect people
physically, it does not affect this perfect love. One can therefore state
with confidence that the theme of the poem is love. But it will be more
explicit to say that it is “perfect love”, “true love” or “permanent love”.
So the message the poet is sending to his audience is that true love
cannot be affected by any obstacle such as sickness, suffering, and
sorrow. I decided to use this simple and straight forward poem written
by Shakespeare in the 16th century to show that a good literary work is
usually relevant in all ages and nationalities. You can see also what we
said in unit one about choice of words. The poet selected simple words
that convey his message in a straight forward manner

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3.2 Subject Matter

The subject matter in poetry is the same with the subject matter in other
literary genres. It is the topic of discussion in the poem. In most cases,
we deduce the subject matter from the title of the poem. It is from this
topic of discussion that the theme is extracted, which means that the
theme is usually subsumed in the subject matter. If we look at the poem
discussed above for instance, we agree that the theme is “perfect love”
what then is the subject matter? Let us took at the title again “Let Me
Not to the Marriage of True Minds”. You may ask yourself what
Shakespeare means by that. Then you start reading the poem and you
find out that the sentence is not yet complete in the title but is completed
in the second line. It then reads “let me not to the marriage of true minds
admit impediments”. This means that any marriage between two true
minds should thrive irrespective of perceived obstacle or barrier.

If you have been observant, when the bans of marriage are called in the
church (especially in the Catholic Church), the catechist ends by saying
“anybody who knows of any impediment to this marriage should report
to the priest in charge”. The impediments, according to the cannon law
of the Catholic Church are thirteen (13). Shakespeare is saying that these
impediments, no matter how grave they are, should not hinder the
marriage of true minds. In the second and third lines he affirms this
position that any love that is altered by any obstacle (alteration) is not
love. From these, we can confidently say that it is only perfect or true
love that can exist in such circumstance.

3.3 What Makes a Poem

Poetry is not just about language and ideas. It is an emotional exercise

so it involves an experience. In this experience the poet explores a
subject that crystallizes in a theme. In this experience, the poet expresses
his feeling about that idea (theme) through the creative manipulation of
words in a language he chooses. When this experience and expression
are fused creatively he produces a very good poem. If however there is
no blend of the experience and expression, the poem will not be
coherent and consequently the audience/reader will not get the desired
or the right message. In such situations the poet fails to communicate.

In poetry you cannot separate experience and expression. It is like a

separation of content and form. If a poem is just the recording of an
experience without proper attention being paid to how it is expressed, it
ceases to be art but a record of ideas. On the other hand, if it is just a
cluster of beautiful words that is joined together but does not express an
idea, it becomes meaningless. What makes a poem therefore is what is
said and how it said. The experience is what is being said while the

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expression is how it is said. The experience could be a real or an

imagined encounter, factual or fictional, objective or subjective, but to
which the poet responds and expresses.

As a budding poet you should be aware of the fact that you should learn
one thing or the other from any experience you encounter in life. You
should be ready to open yourself to learn something new from every
situation. You learn through all your senses as you touch, see, hear, feel
and taste events, objects, things and other experiences of everyday of
your lives. You record each experience in your memory because through
them you could respond to fresh experiences in a new way to give them
fresh realizations. Some of the common experiences in life include fear,
love, and loss of dear one, hunger, poverty, sickness, victory, defeat,
success and failure. Some of these experiences come in simple forms
while others are appear in complex forms. The experience could be
serious or light.

You are not expected to respond to all the experiences you encounter in
life but to only those that affect you emotionally. It must be a unique
experience that you would want to share with others in a poetic form.
You should be able to decide which experience is worth expressing or
communicating to your audience or reader. It is worth expressing if in
your perception, it is significant and towers above others. Recall the
poem above and note that an experience is worth expressing if it has a
universal appeal and a human dimension that can improve humanity or
your society. It may or may not be a new experience and unique as the
Russian poet Boris Pasternak opined; “My abiding dream was that the
poem should contain something, a new thought or a new image” (quoted
in Ojaide 47). In poetry, your thoughts and feelings are inseparable. It is
the same in other genres of literature but the feeling is made manifest
more in poetry as the poet joggles imageries, and figures of speech to
pour his “emotion in a rhythmic grace” (Eruvbetine 3).

3.3.1 Sound

In poetry, words are very important because over and above the basic
meaning, they constitute and create the real beauty of the poem. Words
give impressions of the emotions of the poet and that is why specific
words should be used instead of the other. For instance, a poet and may
decide to use the word ‘chant’ instead of ‘song’ or ‘music’. Apart from
the meaning, he chooses particular words because of the sound effect he
wants to achieve.

You know that words, though symbols on paper, are sounds in daily
speech or spoken forms. Words, as individual sounds are selected
because of the patterns which they can form to create a special meaning.

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Certain words in poetry are chosen to heighten the sound effects in a

poem. Sound effects are achieved more through patterns of sound
repetition in form of consonants or vowels. The sound patterns in figures
of speech are mainly ‘alliteration’ and ‘assonance’ ‘consonance’ ‘pun’
and ‘onomatopoeia’.

Sound patterns in poetry are not often used only to create specific effects
but also used to convey a special emotion. Poetry is a product of the
mind or imagination; when there is a strong excitement in the mind, it is
often conveyed in a rhythmic pattern and sound patterns therefore are
used to create rhythm in poetry.

3.3.2 Rhythm

Rhythm is usually associated with music – song, dance, drumming and

other forms. Rhythm is also associated with motion, architecture or
mathematics. In all these, repetition is constant, though, with certain
forms of development and variation. It appeals to the senses. Words are
given prominence by the rhythm.

Poetry is musical because of the rhythmic pattern in which it is

presented. Rhythm is also produced through stressed or unstressed
syllables that are patterned in metre. The best way to describe metre is
measure. It is the measurement of words in a poem.

Metre as stated above is the measurement of words and it is based on the

stress on syllables of the words in a line. In simple terms, a syllable is
that minimum utterance that can be produced with one breath or pause.
In poetry accent is the stress that is placed on certain syllables in a line
of poetry. A line of poetry contains a number of accented (stressed) and
unaccented syllables arranged in a particular order or pattern. This order
or pattern is called metre.

There are different types of metre in poetry. Each metre is categorized

based on the number of feet in a line of poetry. A foot is used to describe
a group of syllables that form a metrical unit between two or three
syllables.

3.3.3 Rhyme

Poets produce musical effects in the poem through rhythmic patterns.

Apart from the production of rhythm in poetry through alliteration and
assonance, another important aspect of rhythm is rhyme.

Rhyme is the repetition of the same sound usually at the end of each
line. Assonance and alliteration could be located anywhere within the

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line but rhyme is the repetitive pattern or sound found at the end of two
or more lines.

The sequence in which the rhymes occur in a poem is called rhyme

scheme. The rhyme scheme is indicated by the use of alphabets at the
end of the line. Some of the popular rhyme schemes are aabb, abab,
abcb, abba. There are many rhyming patterns that are not indicated here.
You should just learn that sound repetitions at the end of the lines are
matched to form the rhyme scheme. Let us use a simple nursery rhyme
to illustrate this:

Twinkle twinkle little star, a

How I wonder what you are, a
Up above the world so high, b
Like a diamond in the sky. b

In this short poem, ‘stars’ and ‘are’ have similar sounds while ‘high’ and
‘sky’ share the same sound. Here is another simple illustration:

Baa baa black sheep, a

Have you any wool, b
Yes sir yes sir, c
Three bags full b

Here ‘sheep’ and ‘sir’ do not have similar sounds while ‘wool’ and ‘full’
also have similar sounds. So the rhyme scheme here is abcb.

3.3.4. Diction

Diction is simply the choice of words. It is important for you to choose

the right words that will help to convey your idea appropriately. As a
beginner you should use simple, ordinary and plain diction. Do not try to
be deliberately poetic by engaging in obscurity and affectation. You
should also avoid unnecessary inversions and high sounding words in
your language which you may think might impress your readers. Always
ask yourself if your choice of words could effectively convey your
feelings or your idea.

The best way to know if you are on the right path is, according to
Ojaide, to ask yourself the question, “is this the way I talk to people”.
Remember that you are trying to communicate your idea to your reader
or audience though your poem. You should therefore ensure that you
communicate to them in a language that they will understand. It is the
intensity and beauty of the language and not its obscurity or bombast
that makes a good poem. As much as possible, therefore, avoid cliché,
slangs, phrases and other unfamiliar or common terms. However, in line

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with poetic license you could make proper use of deviations in syntax,
structure or form to make your poem unique.

You should acquaint yourself with different poetic forms. This will
enable you decide the most appropriate form through which you may
wish to convey your idea. Poetry strives on rhythm, so choose words
and metres that will allow your poem to flow in a particular rhythmic
pattern. Do not hesitate to delete any word that obstructs this free flow
in your poem. Diction in poetry could be simple or obscure. A poem that
is presented in a simple language is straight forward and very easy to
understand because the words chosen by the poet is are simple and very
familiar words. On the other hand, obscure diction in a poem means that
the words may or may not be simple words but presented in such a way
that it will be difficult for you to decipher the message of the poem
immediately and appreciate the poem easily. Compare the two poems
below:

(A)
From the west
Clouds come hurrying
Turning
Sharply
Here and there
Whirling
Tossing up things on its tail
Like a madman chasing nothing.
From David Rubadiri’s “An African Thunderstorm”

(B)
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The Landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. “Madam”, I warned.
“I hate a wasted journey- I am an African.”
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick-coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder-pipped….
From Wole Soyinka’s “Telephone Conversation”

Poetic language is unique. The poet chooses his words in such a way
that together they will be able to produce the desired emotional effect,
convey the message and at the same create the desired effect and
rhythmic pattern.

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The choice of words reflects the intentions of the poet, the effects s/he
wants to create and even the poet’s target audience. The poet uses
figurative language and figures of speech.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Which of the two poems above could be said to have been presented in
an obscure language.

4.0 SUMMARY

Theme is the central idea in a poem. It is the core message that the poet
communicates to the reader or the audience. The subject matter is the
topic of discussion in the poem. It is usually found in the title of the
poem. In most cases, this central idea that constitutes the theme is based
on an experience by the poet. He then expresses this experience using
the right words and appropriate sounds to create the rhythmic balance
which makes poetry a beautiful experience.

5.0 CONCLUSION

You have learnt in this unit that the theme of the poem is the underlying
idea which is different from the subject matter, the topic of discussion in
the poem. You learnt also that an experience is worth expressing in
poetry if it has a universal appeal and that you should try to express it in
a unique way to imprint your mark of originality on it. The basic tools in
poetry are words. You have therefore learnt that an appropriate choice of
words helps to create rhythm which is the hallmark of poetry.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

In your own words differentiate between theme and subject matter in a

poem.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Eruvbetine, Agwonorobo Enaeme (2002). “Poetic Existence: A Personal

and Social Imperative”. Inaugural Lecture Series. Lagos:
University of Lagos Press.

Ojaide, Tanure (2005). A Creative Writing Handbook For African

Writers and Students. Lagos: Malthouse.

Rubadiri, David.(1976) “An African Thunderstorm” in Senanu, K. E.

and Theo
Vincent ed. A Selection of African Poetry. Harlow Essex: Longman.

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Soyinka, Wole.(1976) “A Telephone Conversation” in Senanu, K. E.

and Theo Vincent ed. A Selection of African Poetry. Harlow
Essex: Longman

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UNIT 3 CREATIVE BLOCKS: EMOTION IN

TRANQUILLITY

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Creative Blocks
3.2 Emotion
3.3 Emotion in Tranquility
4.0 Summary
5.0 Conclusion
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit you will be introduced to the creative blocks in poetry. By

creative blocks we mean the basic steps in writing a poem. These steps
are not rigid so may vary from one poet to the other. We will try to lead
you through the process, from the moment the poet conceptualizes an
idea to the time he writes the poem.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you will be able to:

• Identify creative blocks in the world around you and within you
• Determine the place of emotion in poetry
• Distinguish between the expression of emotion by people in their
daily lives and the expression of emotion in poetry.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Creative Blocks

Playwrights and novelists in most cases start their creative writing with
the development of a synopsis or an outline. The poet in most cases does
not need an outline since he does not necessarily write a story with a
plot line. Poems are short in form and express emotions of fear, joy,
admiration and many other forms of feelings. What then are the creative
blocks for the poet? According to William Wordsworth, poetry is a
“spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions recollected in tranquility”.
If this is so, it means that the poet in most cases creates as s/he imagines

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the idea. He writes the way he feels as he pours his emotions on paper.
This explains why a few lines of a cry of anguish could constitute a
beautiful poem. This is against the case of the novelist or playwright
stated above where the idea is put down, a story created based on that
idea and the writer decides how to present it, whether to use
chronological or episodic plot. The writers there takes a decision on the
age, disposition and qualification of the character.

The creative block which forms the foundation of the poetic building is
a fertile imagination. The poem comes from the poet’s imagination. It
however starts from a germinal idea which he conceives before he writes
or develops as the poet writes. Sometimes, it comes out wrongly and he
will have to start all over again. Sometimes, instantly as it is for most
poems, the first draft metamorphoses into the main poem except for a
few revising and retouching here and there in order to get a perfect form.
In writing your poem, learn to take one idea at a time, work on one
poem at a time until you conclude it. Learn to write or work serenely
and happily as the poem flows in your mind. Allow the poem to flow
and don’t force yourself to write except when you have the inspiration to
do so. Once you are focused on the idea, whether you have written the
entire poem or not, try to add one block at a time and “cement a little
everyday, rather than add new fertilizers” until you get your final draft
(Hall 152). This means that if you should revise and revise the original
poem until you are satisfied that the idea is clear and the right emotion is
conveyed in a rhythmic grace.

Some people erroneously believe that artists, poets inclusive are weird
or abnormal human beings. I hope that you are not one of those who
hold this view especially in contemporary Nigeria where literary artists
rank among the elite in the society. Among the literary artists are
university lecturers, medical doctors, pharmacists, engineers and other
professionals. So as you conceive the idea, and write for your next poem
remain human by going to normal places, visiting your usual joints and
doing exactly what you feel like doing. However, as the inspiration
comes, always try to put it down immediately in your note pad. At such
times, you can afford to forgo the joints, the exciting or places, friends
and other good times because you could do that afterwards but once the
inspiration comes it may be difficult to be recalled afterwards. That does
not mean that you should be a recluse because you are writing a poem.

Each time you start a poem, concentrate on it and forget the other poems
you want to write and think only of the one you are writing at the
moment. Thinking about the poem is not wondering about what to write
but about how to put finishing touches on what you have written. Many
poems are written at a sitting because as the experience crystallizes into
an idea and takes shape in your mind, the poem flows. Once it starts

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flowing, allow the poem to lead you. If you do that, you may not have a
lot to revise. My experience as a playwright is that I hear the characters
interacting in my head and I record what they are saying quickly. I do
not claim to be a poet since I have not published any poem.

However an experience in 1990 forced me to write the poem below. It is

not a perfect poem but just to illustrate the need to move with your note
pad and to record your experience as soon as you have the inspiration.
Before the incident, I had the notion that an academic environment
should present an ideal place where there should be rule of law and
respect for human dignity. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. On that
fateful day, two lecturers who I had respect for very much abused
themselves in the public in what I considered ‘gutter language’. It was
so horrible, at least for me, that one of them told the other that he could
not father a child and that one retorted that he would rather stay childless
than to father sickle cell anemic children. One said that the other was not
a man because his wife was paying their rent. Instantly, I started
scribbling on my note pad what came to my mind. The product of that
scribbling is hereby recorded.

I No wan Go School
I happi say I be illiterate
I dey live mai life jeje
I no dey envi anybody
I no dey jealous anybody.
I dey content with wetin I get
Mai wife no dey fight for right.

I no wan go school becos,

I no wan be like Prof. dis or Dr. dat
Wey dey abuse each other for public
Pass ‘agbero’ wey dey motor park..
Dem say na education.
Dem say na emancipation.
Dem say na liberation.

I no wan go school becos

I no wan be like Prof. dis or Dr. dat
Wey ask im wife
To feed dem family
Make im pay rent
Wife to buy uniform
Make im pay school fees
Wife say im want equality
Husband give am equality
But for responsibility only

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I no wan go school becos

I no wan be like Prof. dis or Dr. dat
Wey sabi gossip pass dey lectures
Wey dem dey deliver
For backbiting
Dem dey
For slandering,
Dem pafuka

If na so people
Wey go school dey behave,
Walahi Talahi
I hapi say I be Illiterate

Later, I looked at it but did not review it much. I was disgusted with the
action of these lecturers and recorded my feeling on paper. I used pidgin
because of the persona of the illiterate man which I used.

3.2 Emotion

Emotion refers to strong feelings in a person. It could be a feeling of

love, joy, pain anger, sorrow and many other forms of feeling. It reflects
the state of a person’s mind, fond feelings or an agitation of the mind.
The emotion could be real, fake, exaggerated or controlled. You hear
often when people are asked to control their emotions. The emotion
could be that of grief or hurt which are usually manifested through
shedding of tears (crying). Joyous emotions can also be expressed
through tears of joy. Emotion is therefore that strong feelings in our
minds that are manifested through our actions.

For the poet, his emotion is expressed on paper with words. Thus a
painful emotion well expressed could elicit tears from the reader.
Sometimes, you find a reader smiling to himself while reading a poem.
It means that the emotion expressed by the poet has been communicated
very well. Wordsworth calls it powerful emotion. Now that you are
being introduced to writing of poems, you should try to record your
emotions. The only tools you need are pen, paper or computer and the
right choice of words. In poetry, the writer composes the poem the
moment something strikes him/her. Some poets claim that the poems
appear to them the way they are written. Coleridge for instance, claims
that “Kubla Khan” was a product of a dream stimulated by opium
(Norton Anthology 61). All the lines are documented the way he saw
them in that dream. He was in a trance/dream and the poem appeared to
him but unfortunately, a visitor came and disrupted his flow of thought
and he lost most of the lines and never recovered them again. This
means that that particular poem is not a product of rational action. This

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means that the poem flowed in the poet’s mind the way it appears in the
fragment in the published.

3.3 Emotion in Tranquility

You can only create when you are at peace with yourself. You may find
yourself in a noisy environment, depending on you and your creative
attitude, you could still recoil into yourself and write. To recollect an
idea in tranquility also means writing as you observe but most people
agree that a poet creates better in a quiet and peaceful environment. This
is true but poems have been written in buses and other public places.
The important factor for any poet is to find how and where he/she
creates better. Find your rhythm and the best environment for the
realization of your poetic imaginations.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

What is the role of emotion in poetry?

3.0 CONCLUSION

Generally, creative writing involves a process of discovery of oneself

and environment. When you conceive/conceptualise a poem, you
discover your disposition towards the idea or emotion you go on to
express it in the poem. The poet also discovers the environment in a
very special way as s/he views things or objects differently. Certain
issues or objects that are taken for granted are seen and given new
insights. If for instance, you read Milton’s “An Ode on a Grecian Urn”,
you will wonder if all the things said in admiration and expression of the
emotions evoked by the Grecian urn are just for an ordinary flower vase.
The poet sees and expresses what we all take for granted, in a special
way and we now view that object, issue or environment differently.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, we have tried to explore the creative blocks in poetry. You
have learnt that a poet creates differently from the novelist and the
playwright. This is because poetry is an emotional exercise so could be
started and completed in a very short period. A poet could record his
emotion the way he feels it and instantly that becomes a poem. You also
learnt that this emotion must be recorded for it to be a poem because if it
remains in the poet’s imagination, nobody will know about it, hence the
recollection of that emotion in tranquility.

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6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

List the basic steps in poetry writing.

7.0 REFERENCE/FURTHER READINGS

Hall Oakley (1989). The Art and Craft of Novel Writing. Cincinnati
Stone Press.

Mack, Maynard, General Editor (1992). The Norton Anthology of World

Masterpieces.

Sixth edition, Vol. 2 London: W. W. Norton & Company.

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UNIT 4: IMAGERY AND ALLUSION: EXPANDING THE

SCOPE

CONTENTS

1.0. Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Imagery
3.2. Allusion
3.3. Figures of Speech
4.0 Summary
5.0 Conclusion
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit you will be introduced to the creative blocks that help you to
expand your scope in poetry. Imagery, allusion, and figure of speech
help the poet to present so much in few words to achieve the desired
condensed language that is the hallmark of poetry.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit you will be in position to:

• Identify the position of imagery in poetry

• Identify allusions in poems
• Identify figures of speech in poems
• Distinguish between ordinary language and poetic language.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Imagery

Imagery is a collective term for images which present in the mind the
likeness of an object, human beings, other animate or inanimate objects
or even events. It helps to bring an idea or a picture to the mind or the
imagination. An image may not present an exact picture but allows the
reader to see through his mind’s eye or imagination an appearance
which closely resembles the original. It helps the reader to form a mental
picture of what is being presented. When these mental pictures (images),
figures of speech are presented in general or collectively, it is called
imagery. Imagery is used to enhance the aesthetics of the poem.

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Aesthetics is very important in poetry-writing because, every poet

strives to express himself beautifully so that the poem can provide
artistic or aesthetic pleasure for the reader.

Imagery is referred to as “a central component of almost all imaginative

literature and is often said to the chief element in poetry” (Ojaide27).
There are two types of imagery - literal and figurative. Literal imagery is
used to describe things or events in such a way as to evoke the things
referred to. In literal imagery, it is easy to identify the object that is
being represented. It is highlighted through vivid descriptions.
Figurative imagery works also through description but here the object is
likened to something else. Imagery helps the poet to concretize ideas
and feelings in a poem so that the reader can actually imagine what the
poet is saying. It helps to give the poets feelings “tangible and real
existence rather that a purely intellectual one. It provides the reader with
a sense of vividness and immediacy” (Ndem25). Figurative imagery is
akin to symbolism because all symbols depend on images. Imagery
helps to make the scenes created in a poem to be more realistic to the
reader. Figurative language embraces image and imagery. Image is
usually a mental picture of something. It involves other senses of
hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting.

Poetry expresses the poet’s own feeling and temperament. In most cases
it is created to instruct and at the same time give artistic pleasure. The
poet therefore tries to instruct through an embellished and sometimes,
lofty language. He/she uses imagery and figures of speech, assembles
appropriate words that will aid the realization of his goal of conveying
his message as well as giving artistic pleasure. In some poems, the
message is easily discernable while in some it is difficult to decipher the
meaning. Some poems are written in simple conversational language
while some are shrouded in images and figures of speech. It depends on
the style adopted and the creative imagination or the talent of a
particular poet. “I” could be and often is the person speaking in a poem.
Many poems written in the first person “I” are likely to have
recognizable traits of the poet’s own person, circumstances, aspirations,
experiences or states of mind. The justification for this claim is that the
poet’s emotion expressed in the poem comes from within him.

Wordsworth insists that the source of a poem is not in the outside world
but in the individual. It means therefore that since the essential materials
for the poem are the inner feelings of the poet though based on external
people and events. The important factor is that the poet presents his
poem in a language that is understood by his audience. In oral poetry,
the problem of obscurity does not necessarily arise because the poet uses
familiar images drawn from his immediate environment which the
audience is also familiar with. Also the oral poet renders his poem in a

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language that understood by his audience. In literary poetry, on the other

hand, the poet may have been familiar with the “rules” that govern the
type of poetry he is writing and deliberately chooses the images in line
with the rules to achieve the desired effect on the audience. Although
modern poets write with the intention of achieving a global acceptance,
the images are still drawn mostly from the environment of the poet or
the setting of the poem. Images are important in poems because they
help to highlight in precise forms, the variety of themes and forms. The
imageries help the poets to achieve the desired coherence of content and
form and for deeper explanation of their subject matters.

The scope from which imageries or external objects are drawn in poetry
are expanded “… transformed or irradiated by the author’s feelings”
(Norton Anthology 613). Coleridge insists that great works of literature
are produced through “a self-originating and self – organizing process
that begins with a seed-like idea in the poets imagination, grows by
assimilating the poets feelings and the diverse materials of sense –
experience”,( Norton Anthology 614) and evolves into an organized
whole in which the parts that are integrally related to each other and to
the whole. The subject of poetry ranges from the “universal to the
particular from humankind to nation or ethnic group from animals to
plants from animate to inanimate objects”(Ezenwa-Ohaeto 32). Imagery
help the poet to create vivid pictures. In most cases, imageries are draw
from nature.

It is important for a poet to know how to use and apply imagery in

poems to achieve a logical whole. They are necessary devices which he
needs to create an image in the reader’s mind. Imagery, in addition to
other figures of speech, helps to create the desired rhythmic grace in a
poem and to make the poem really poetic. An effective use of imagery
and figures of speech sets apart a good poet from a mediocre. Imagery
and figures of speech are presented in words and it is the proper
organization of the words that produces rhythm in a poem. And the
appropriate use of imagery gives the poem its uniqueness and provides
liveliness and vibrancy.

Some Nigerian poets adopt pidgin English as the mode of

communication in their poems and with appropriate use of imagery, the
poems are interesting. This medium was popularized by Aig
Imoukhuede and Ezenwa-Ohaeto. Most of the poems in pidgin are
satirical. Pidgin, according to Ezenwa-Ohaeto, is a medium of
communication that provides a bridge between the orality of verbal
communication and the formality of the written words which enables the
writer expand the dimensions of orality in literature (Ohaeto 27). Many
of them are usually direct social commentaries and are easy to
understand. My poem above may not be a very good example so I

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hereby present “How I Go Believe You” from Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s If to

Say I be Soja:

HOW I GO BELIEVE YOU

You say you no get kobo
But your dress dey expensive
Your shoe na imported
De car you get too cost
De thing way you bi
Just talk loud pass your word
You say you no get kobo
How I go believe you,

You say Kontri no rich

Oil money you carry alone
You say make I dey manage
De food your dog chop
My family never see for one year
You say Kontri no rich again
How I go believe you.

You say you be honest man

Public property you don steal
You go award plenty contract
With ten percent for your account
You say you no bi bad man
How I go believe you,

You say you get better plan

All bad people na your friend
When you make small ceremony
Na only thief people go full dere
Dose wey you dey help na rogues
You say you get better plan
How I how I go believe,

Your say you like us plenty

For morning you flog us koboko
For afternoon your dog bite us
For evening you put us for detention
Your boys dey harass us plenty
You say you like us plenty
How I go believe you.

One prominent feature of pidgin English is that it explores social

realities in a humorous and lighthearted manner. The use of humour is

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intrinsic but it differs depending on the effect which the poet intends to
achieve. The humour in Frank Aig-Imoukhuede’s Pidgin Stew and
Sufferhead differs from the humour in Mamman Vatsa’s Tori for Geti
Bowleg and both differ from the humour in the poem above. As stated
above, most poems in pidgin are satiric and satire is a genre of comedy.
The language itself sounds humorous even when serious issues are being
communicated. So if you intend to write in pidgin, remember that
humour is “seen as part of the creative quality that has heightened the
communicatory aspects of pidgin literature” and that it “enables the
writer in pidgin to explore social realities insightfully, and interestingly
because it is achieved through hilarious allusions, ironic perceptions,
succinct imagery and the tabulation of incongruities in human
behaviour” (Ezenwa-Ohaeto 14).

3.2 Allusion

Allusion is an indirect reference in passing to an object, idea or a human

being dead or alive. In allusion, a thing is referred to without explicit
mention, explanation, or with suggestion of further associations.
Because of this casual reference, it is difficult for the reader to decipher
what is alluded to in some poems. A reader who is not familiar with the
bible, for instance, may not be able to detect the allusion in John
Milton’s poem below.

3.3. Figure of Speech

Figure of speech is used mainly to “associate or compare dissimilar

things” (Ojaide 28). The aim is to create an image in the mind of the
reader. There are many figures of speech but we will mention only a few
here. You should get a good dictionary of literary terms to learn more
about figures of speech. You need to get acquainted with them for you
to be able to use them while writing your own poems. The ones we will
consider briefly here are simile, metaphor and personification.

Simile compares two unlike things with the use of “as” or “like”.
Metaphor also compares two unlike things without the use of as or like.
For example, “he is as strong as a tiger” (simile). “He is a tiger”
(metaphor). Personification aids the poet attribute human characteristics
to non human beings, objects or ideas. We will analyse the poem below
and try to present the poetic devices we have been discussing so far.

ON HIS BLINDNESS

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide
And that one talent which is death to hide

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Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve my maker, and present
My true account lest He returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask, But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.

Allusion

If you are a Christian, you would recall the parable of the gold coins in
Mathew 25: 15-30 where servants were given a gold coin each by their
master. All of them invested the money and made profit for their master
but one of them buried his one coin in the ground where it was lodged
and was useless. When the master returned, the servant is called to
present an account and he did not make any profit so his master scolded
him and said that at least he would have kept his money in the bank
where it would have yielded an interest.

You have seen how I explained the underlined words which together
form the biblical allusion in the poem. Milton alludes to the uselessness
of his eyes to the uselessness of a gold coin buried in the ground.
However, it is important to note that the soul is eager and able to serve
(not useless). Indeed Milton, in spite of his handicap, went on to
produce monumental poetry using the daughter as scrivener. Allusion in
the hands of a skilful poet expands the scope of the reader’s knowledge
and understanding of the world. Here, the awareness and virtues the
reader would gain are:

(1) Endurance and courage in suffering

(2) Life of absolute trust in God
(3) No condition is permanent

Theme

The theme of the poem is the relationship in service between human

being and God. John Milton became blind when he was about forty-six
years, due to the kind of work he was doing which involved interpreting
and translating Latin. And that is why the fourteen-line poem (sonnet)
starts on a note of reminiscence as he says” “When I consider how my
life spent/Ere half my days in this dark world and wide”. His life
provokes some thought in him. Part of the thought is that it is useless for

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anyone to waste his/her talent. It is not proper for anyone to leave ones
talent unused especially when one knows that one must account to God,
how one’s talent entrusted to him has been used.

A rhetorical question of line seven, “Doth God exact day-labour, light

denied?” is a response to his predicament. He wonders whether God
would give somebody a gift of a bag of salt and accompany the gift with
a rainfall. His mind tells him that “God doth not need/Either man’s work
or his own gifts”, meaning that God does not need our services or our
labour or efforts. What is important to God is our love for Him and for
our fellow human beings. Charity, faithfulness and obedience to God’s
will. That is, his “mild yoke” which pleases God so much. In God’s
kingdom, the angels and other divine beings worship Him in obedience
and “serve him best” endlessly, “o’er land and ocean without rest”.

The poem teaches us that whatever condition we find ourselves in this

world, whether good or bad we have to accept it as we see it, because
there is a purpose behind every action. In the poem, the poet recognizes
the omnipotence and omnipresent qualities of God and notwithstanding
his blindness, determines to serve God with all his strength hence”…my
soul more bent/to serve therewith my Maker…” God does not give us
anything in life because of our righteousness, though that may enhance
it because he does not need our work, according to the poet.

Diction: The diction is simple, straightforward and condensed. The first

eight lines (octave) provide a question, while the last six lines (sextet)
supply the answer. The poem is a Miltonic sonnet which rhymes ABBA,
ABBA, CDE, CDE. The run-on-lines of the poem add to its descriptive
vividness. One other thing noticeable about the pattern is that the lines
are made up of about ten syllables which is the hallmark of a sonnet.

Imagery/Symbolism: The dominant images in the poem help to

illuminate the relationship between man and God and the poet’s
blindness words like “world”, “soul”, “Maker”, “God”, “mild yoke”,
“kingly”, all point to this. “Thousands at his bidding speed”, “stand and
wait”, help the reader to see in his/her imagination, thousands of angels
that worship God all the time.

Mood/Tone: There is a general feeling of regret and hope. The poet’s

blindness makes him sad but as he remembers his “Maker”, a new lease
of hope rekindles in him and he expresses it with a tone of determination
and resignation.

Alliteration: The rhyming scheme in the poem makes the piece musical
and some other alliterative words add to this, e.g.; …this… world and
wide (‘w’ alliterates), “patience to prevent” (‘p’ alliterates), “…serve

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who… stand” (‘s’ alliterates). Note also that in “God doth not”, ‘o’
assonates.

Euphemism: The poet makes light a serious ailment like blindness and
thereby reduces the high voltage of emotion that ordinarily would be
deployed to describe the situation. So, when the poet says “my light is
spent” “…half my days”, “…one talent/lodged with me useless”, “mild
yoke” “bidding speed”, he is being euphemistic.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The novelist and the playwright have enough time and space to present
their stories. The poet presents his works in a very limited space.
Sometimes, time is not considered since poetry thrives on emotions that
are recorded without regard to time. What we mean by time here is that
a story for instance starts from the morning and ends in the evening but
poet who expresses joy at the sight of a loved one does not present the
joy in a way that it lasts from morning till the evening. The poet is able
to present the poem in the limited space because he makes use of
imagery, allusions and figures of speech. These devices aid the
presentation of a poem in a condensed language. This brings out the
differences between the poet and an ordinary person which is that the
poet feels the joy found in nature and renders it in such a way that the
reader feels it or shares it with the poet.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt more about imagery, allusions and figures of
speech. You have also learnt that the poet needs these devices because in
poetry, much is said in very few words. This is achieved through
connotative and denotative language. Imageries fall under connotative
language where a word could connote other things depending on the
meaning and the picture the poet wants to evoke.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What do you understand by figures of speech in poetry. List at least six

figures of speech.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Ezenwa – Ohaeto (1998).If to Say I be Soja. Enugu: Delta Publications.

Ojaide, Tanure (2005). A Creative Writing: Handbook for African

Writers and Students. Lagos. Malthouse Press Ltd.

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Samuel Taylor Coleridge in (1992 edition). The Norton Anthology of

World Masterpieces. 6th edition, Vol. II. Maynard Mack (General
editor) New York: Norton.

The Estate of Ezenwa-Ohaeto/Ngozi Ezenwa-Ohaeto (2007) Subject,

Context and the Contours of Nigerian Fiction, Edited by Pia
Thielmann and Eckhard Breitinger. Eckersdorf, Germany:
Bayreuth African Studies 81

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UNIT 5 THE MATERIAL OF POEMS: LEGEND AND

HISTORY

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0. Main Content
3.1. History and Legend
3.2. Myth
4.0 Summary
4.0. Conclusion
5.0. Tutor-Marked Assignment
6.0. References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit you will be introduced to myth, legend and history as

possible areas from which you could draw your poetic materials. We
will also present a historical poem for illustration.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit you will be able to:

• Determine the place of myth and legend in poetry

• Describe how history could be utilized as material for poetry
• Enumerate the ways you could apply myth, legend, or history in
writing your poem.

1.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1. Materials from History and Legends.

All over the world, people had oral poetry embedded in their cultures
before the literary poetry. The materials for some of the poems
especially the epic are drawn from history and legends. Good examples
of such poems are the Iliad, Odyssey, Sundiata and many others. The
History of the Hebrews was that of bitterness and struggles against
foreign masters from their bondage in Egypt through wars in their
journey to Canaan, the Promised Land and series of exiles. Thus their
political and economic history ended in series of disasters. Local
cohesion and universal solidarity eluded them for most of the times.
Consequently, there was no serious peaceful and harmonious existence
which could produce great artists. Thus “they left behind them no

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painting or sculptor and little or no secular literature, no drama for

example, no epic poetry (but) left a religious literature, the Bible. (Mack
3) However, the Bible contains many poetic expressions which could
have passed for classical poems if they were recorded as secular
literature.

The Greeks produced great literature because of the level of civilization

and brilliant culture that existed in ancient Greece. Despite the dark age
of Greece, Homer produced two great poems – the Iliad and the Odyssey
which are based on their history and legend. Iliad is a Greek epic that is
based on the Trojan wars for the recovery of Helen of Troy, the wife of
an Achaean Prince, Menelaus. Odyssey is another epic by Homer that
presents the peace, after the war. It is concerned with the return of the
heroes that survived, especially the return of Odysseus of Ithaca.

The Romans did not just produce great warriors and conquerors, they
also patronized art. They were said to have conquered half of the world
before they began to write. A prominent Roman poet was Virgil who
wrote the Aeneid, the Roman epic which he could not complete before
his death in 19th B.C. It is a historical poem based on his love for Dido,
the Queen of Carthage and the fall of Troy. Another great poem drawn
from legend is Beowulf. It is believed that Beowulf marks the beginning
of English literature. It is an epic poem which traces the legend of the
Danish rulers, and relates the legendary killing of two monsters, Grendel
and his mother by Beowulf, the hero in the poem. He also kills a dragon
but was mortally wounded.

During the Renaisance, John Milton wrote an epic poem, “Paradise

Lost” based another legend of the defeat of Lucifer in heaven. The
Augustans who belong to the “Neo Classical Period” or the Age of
Reason, laid more emphasis on the intellect and the human mind. They
drew inspiration from the classical Roman Age and looked upon that
period for poetic models. In their poems, they directed their attention to
“intricate interchanges and conflicts between aspects of human life”
(Mack 1). They emphasized adherence to convention in terms of form
and content. Satire flourished in that tradition as exemplified in
Alexander Pope’s “Rape of the Lock”

The Romantics were more interested in nature and the lowly life but still
paid attention to history and legend. They were more concerned with life
as it was lived especially by the lower class. That perhaps explains why
they emphasized the language of ordinary people in poetry. As a poet,
before you could draw your material from history, or legend, but you
must be familiar with that particular legend or historical event. This is
because historical events are factual and not imaginary. So first of all,
you learn the facts of the particular historical event you want to portray

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before putting it in a poetic form. Remember that like in drama and

fiction, you are not expected to reproduce history accurately the way it is
recorded by historians but you could borrow the material and present it
in an artistic form in your own unique manner.

Like the Romantics many contemporary poets write from their

imagination and present issues that are regarded as commonplace in
their poems. Modern poets in an attempt to reject old conventions
produce a new tradition. They draw their materials from history, legend
and contemporary life depicting its rapid change, technological
advancements with its positive and negative effects. They react to
present historical events or draw from legends and present the poems in
contemporary modes of expression. Poets redefine history and legend to
suit contemporary experience.

A very good example of a historical poem is David Rubadiri’s “Stanley

Meets, Mutesa”. It is a Malawian poem that recounts the visit of Henry
Morton Stanley, a nineteenth – century explorer who made journeys to
Africa. In one of such journeys, the one recounted in the poem below, he
meets Mutesa, the king of Buganda who was regarded as the most
powerful king in East Africa. The result of this encounter is the spread
of British influence in that area and the establishment of the Ugandan
protectorate in 1894. In the poem, Rubadiri, imaginatively recreates this
visit recounting the difficulties which the travellers encountered on their
way, how they were received in the court of Mutesa and the significance
of the meeting.

Stanley Meets Mutesa

Such a time of it they had;
The heat of the day
The chill of the night
And the mosquitoes that followed.
Such was the time and
They bound for a kingdom.

The thin weary line of carriers

With tattered dirty rags to cover their backs;
The battered bulky chests
That kept on falling off their shaven heads.
Their tempers high and hot
The sun fierce and scorching
With it rose their spirits
With its fall their hopes
As each day sweated their bodies dry and
Flies clung in clumps on their sweat-scented backs.
Such was the march

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And the hot season just breaking.

Each day a wary pony dropped

Left for the vultures on the plains;
Each afternoon a human skeleton collapsed,
Left for the Masai on the plains;
But the march trudged on
Its khaki leader in front
He the spirit that inspired
He the light of hope.

Then came the afternoon of a hungry march,

A hot and hungry march it was;
The Nile and the Nyanza
Lay like two twins
Azure across the green countryside..
The march leapt on chanting
Like young gazelles to a water-hole.
Hearts beat faster
Loads felt lighter
As the cool water lapt their sore soft feet.
No more the dread of hungry hyenas
But only tales of valour when
At Mutesa’s court fires are lit.
No more the burning heat of the day
But song, laughter and dance.

The village looks on behind banana groves,

Children peer behind reed fences.
Such was the welcome
No singing women to chant a welcome
Or drums to greet the white ambassador;
Only a few silent nods from aged faces
And one rumbling drum roll
To summon Mutesa’s court to parley
For the country was not sure.
The gate of reeds is flung open,
There is silence
But only a moment’s silence –
The tall black king steps forward,
He towers over the thin bearded white man
Then grabbing his lean white hand
Manages to whisper
‘Mtu Mweupe karibu’
White man you are welcome.

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The gate of polished reed closes behind them

And the west is let in. – David Rubadiri

In this poem, there is an allusion to another poem, “Journey of the

Magi” by T.S. Eliot in terms of the hard times faced by the travelers.
The opening stanza of this poem is:

A cold morning we had of it,

Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey
The ways deep, and the weather sharp
The very dead of winter.

In the same way, such difficulties are expressed in the first stanza of
“Stanley Meets Mutesa”. Go back, read that first stanza and compare it
with the one above.

This is a narrative poem in which the poet uses the persona “we”. The
first stanza sets the tone of suffering encountered by the travellers. You
see what we have been discussing about poetic diction and images. In
line two, instead of explaining how the travellers trudge under the heat
of the sun during the day, the poet says simply “the heat of the day”.
Also expressions like “tattered dirty rags” and “battered bulky chest” do
not only described the poor state of the travellers and their heavy loads,
but also help to heighten the mood and rhythm of the poem. They help
to create a picture of the deplorable state of the crew.

The death of horses and human beings are described in a condensed

language thus:

…a wary pony dropped

Left for the vultures on the plains
…a human skeleton collapsed.
Left for the mosaic on the plains

The human skeleton here presents the image of someone that has
emaciated so much that what is left is a virtual skeleton. The imagery of
human suffering is evoked with words like “sweat-scented backs”
“shaved heads” under “sun fierce” and scorching” “bodies dry” and
many others. There is also the image of a harsh weather condition seen
in words like “chill”, “heat”, “hot” compare this with “the weather
sharp” and “the very dead of winter”, T. S. Eliot’s “Journey of the
Magi”.

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The poem ends with

The gate of polished reed closes behind them

And the west is let in.

The last line, here, refers to the colonization of that African State.
This is a historical account but the poet’s feelings towards this encounter
between Africa and the whiteman is discernable. It is a feeling of
sadness. This is highlighted in the description of the Africans who
carried the load of the whiteman.

The mood of the poem is that of suffering, hardship and frustration and
the tone is that of helplessness, hopelessness in the first part of the poem
and that of resignation and the mood of apprehension in the second part.

Also, the cold reception they received in the court of Mutesa shows that
they are not really welcome. There are no songs or chants instead
children peer behind the fence while the adults nod silently.

3.2 Myth

Just like the poem above is based on a historical experience, a poem

could also be written based on myth. The poet explores a mythical figure
or incident in a poem.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Read the poem “Casualties” by J. P. Clark and state the historical event
it is based on and the feelings of the poet about the subject matter
expressed in the poem.

4.0 CONCLUSION

All along, we have emphasized that poetry thrives on emotion. This

means that in most cases, the poem is a consequence of the poet’s
feelings because poetry is an imaginary art. The element of imagination
is not absent in all forms of poetry because the poet imaginatively uses
material from history legend or mythology to produce a poem. The main
story or a segment of the historical event for instance is usually present
in the poem. The difference lies in the employment of appropriate poetic
devices to produce an aesthetically satisfying poem. We have also been
concerned with the expression of emotions. In some cases, the poet
decides to write a poem based on a myth, legend or history. However,
feelings play an important role here too because through the presentation
of the subject matter, the poet’s feeling is discernable. If for instance, a
poet writes a poem based on the Nigerian Civil War, the poet’s

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alignment with either Nigeria or Biafra would be discernable or even

obvious.

5.0 SUMMARY

You have seen in this unit that in as much as poetry is a record of a poets
emotion, the poet could also write a poem based on a myth, legend or a
historical event. You have also seen that even when the material of a
poem is from history, for instance, the emotion of the poet is still
present.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

What do you think is the poet’s feelings in the poem “Stanley Meets
Mutesa”.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

David Rubadiri “Stanley Meets Mutesa. In Senanu, and Theo Vincent

eds (1988). A Selection of African Poetry. New edition. Harlow,
Essex: Longman Group.

Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2006). The Mastery of Literature Vol. 1 2006

– 2010. Lagos: Macckho Ricckho Press.

J. P. Clark, “Casualties” in Senanu, K. E. and Theo Vincent ed. A

Selection of African Poetry. Harlow Essex: Longman

Mack, Maynard, General editor (1992). The Norton Anthology of World

Masterpieces. Sixth edition. Vol.1 & 2. New York: W. W.
Norton.

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UNIT 6 THE FINISHED PRODUCT

CONTENTS

1.0. Introduction
2.0. Objectives
3.0. Main Content
1.1 Revising a poem
1.2 Analysis of “Abiku” by J. P. Clark
1.2.1 Theme
1.2.2 Diction
1.2.3 Mood/Tone
1.2.4 Figures of Speech
1.3 Glossary of Poetic Terms.
4.0. Summary
5.0. Conclusion
6.0. Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0. References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit you will be introduced to revision in poetry and how it helps
in the poet to produce good work. At the end of your poetic exercise,
you are expected to revise what you have written to ensure that your
emotion is presented in a coordinated manner. In this unit you will be
led through the analysis of a very simple and popular poem “Abiku” by
J. P. Clark. The intention is to illustrate how he has utilised the concept
of “Abiku” to produce a very good poem.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

In this unit you will be able to:

• Revise your poem to produce the final copy

• Identify poetic devices in a poem.
• Identify the theme in a poem
• Undertake a general analysis of a poem.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Revising a Poem

The immediate act of composition of a poem is spontaneous. It arises

from an impulse to create or record an experience or feelings. At the
stage of recording this feeling the poet writes as the ideas flow and at the

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point, he does not care about rules and regulations. But once that first
sketch of that “spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions” is put on
paper, it is followed by a reflection. This reflection may be likened to
Wordsworth’s “recollection in tranquility”. It is at this tranquil stage that
the poem is refined. The poet arranges and rearranges the poem to
achieve the desired rhythm and musicality. He ensures that he has
chosen the right diction and that images, figures of speech and figures of
sound are applied appropriately. He also ensures that he has made the
right allusions, chosen the appropriate setting, set the right
atmosphere/mood and tone. He arranges his poem in lines and or stanzas
to create the desired body or form. He re-reads and revises the poem to
ensure that he has conveyed his intended message and that his theme is
discernable. By the time he concludes his revision, the poem assumes its
final form. That is when we say that the sense has been refined as we the
poem as it appears is produced.

3.1 “Abiku” by J. P. Clark

3.2.1 Theme

The poem see the theme of reincarnation is explored in the poem. It is

treated from the perspective of an Abiku. The concept of “Abiku” is one
of the cultural beliefs of some Nigerians. “Abiku” in Yoruba is
“Ogbanje” among the Igbos. It is a child who is believed to have the
powers to die and re-enter the mother’s womb to be born again. The
baby could do this as many times as it wishes. This causes a lot of
heartache and torment for the parents.

In the poem, a moving plea is made to the abiku who is considered

wicked because of the sorrow the child causes its mother. The appeal is
for the abiku to pity its mother, to be considerate and stay like a normal
child. This would bring solace and joy to the mother but if it refuses to
do that it should ‘stay out’ permanently – to die and not return again.
This is because the child’s “coming and going these several seasons” is
a means of tormenting the mother who suffers the pains of pregnancy
and pangs of childbirth several times yet remains childless. The act of
going through a pregnancy and giving birth is enough burden for a
woman so you can imagine how it would be for a woman who gives
birth several times only for the child to die each time she gives birth to
it.

3.2.2. Diction

The diction is simple and clear. The poet’s rhetorical technique aids the
tight structure of the poem. He makes good use of imagery, figures of

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speech like repetitions, alliteration, assonance and other forms as is

presented below.

Many words used in the poem are familiar in the village setting.
“Baobab tree”, “thatch”, “eaves” “bamboo walls”, “fresh fish”, “bats”,
“owls”, “fire”, “rack”, etc. These words are chosen carefully and applied
appropriately to make the poem an enjoyable one. The proper sound-
patterned words enhance the musicality and rhythm of the poem yet
helps to capture the agonizing state of the mother of the abiku child.

3.2.3 Mood/tone

The mood induced by the tone is undoubtedly that of unhappiness,

frustration, disappointment and sorrow. The coming and going of the
abiku these several years affects the general state of the household. The
effect is that of gloom, tiredness and resignation to fate. The overall
tones captured in the poem are that of agony and an appeal for
sympathy.

3.2.4 Figures of Speech

Assonance: Some of the expressions that assonate in the poem are:

“Coming and going” (‘O’ assonates); and “And at harmattan, the

bamboo…”(‘a’ assonates) in the poem, the above stressed vowels
agreement help to energise the poet’s views and clarify same.

Simile: When one considers the following lines, they register in our
minds’ eye resulting in a better and deeper appreciation of the poem
even when we close our eyes, for instance: “Serrating down your back
and front like beak of the sword-fish”.

Alliteration: The following alliterative expressions which make the

poem melodious. musical, rhythmical and motion-like are used in the
poem.

“Several seasons” (‘s’ alliterates); “Through the thatch” (‘t’

alliterates); “Brim the banks” (‘b’ alliterates), “Fresh fish” (‘f’
alliterates), “Many more” (‘m’ alliterates), “Step in, step in and stay”
(‘s’ alliterates), and “Many more mouths” (‘m’ alliterates)

Repetition: The effective use of repetition in the last stanza of the poem
as in: “Step in, step in and stay” and “her body is tired,/Tired”, has made
the invitation of the spirit child and the excruciating pains of the mother
very emphatic and serious.

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Synecdoche: This is when a part stands for a whole or vice versa. In the
poem “Seasons” represent years, the “healthy stock” stands for
lineage/ancestry/ancestral abode and “several fingers” stand for many
personalities, and “More mouths” stand for more children.

3.2.5 Imagery

Many examples of vivid pictures abound in the poem especially in the

emotive descriptions of Abiku; consider the following:

(1) “We know the knife-scars

Serrating (teeth-like cutting) down your back and fronts”
(2) “And both your ears, notched
As a bondsman to this house”
(3) “When floods brim the banks”
(4) “And the bats and the owls
often tear in at night through the eaves”

All these help to make this poem beautiful and satisfying

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Try to identify other poetic devices used in the poem.

3.3 Glossary of Selected Poetic Terms

We present here selected literary terms culled from the books listed in
the reference section. These terms are expected to guide you in your
choice of words for the poem you intend to write.

Abstract

Abstract is the opposite of concrete. A sentence can be described as

abstract if it makes a general statement about a class of persons or
objects or if its object is an abstraction – that is, a quality considered
apart from its object – such as wealth and beauty. “Honesty is the best
policy” is an abstract statement, but “Hotchkiss is a thief” is concrete.
The latter statement refers to a particular object rather than to a general
class of objects.

Accent

The special emphasis given to one syllable over others in pronouncing a

word, or to one word over others in say a phrase. It is used in poetry to
determine the metre.

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Aestheticism

This is a term loosely applied to an English literary movement of the

second half of the nineteenth century. The roots of the movement lay in
the reverence for beauty instilled by Keats and the pre-Raphaelites.

Allusion

A rhetorical term applied to that figure of speech that makes casual

reference to a famous historical or literacy figure or event. “He, like the
Prodigal Returns Home”. Prodigal here is an allusion to the Biblical
prodigal son who returns to his father after spending his father’s fortune
recklessly.

Ambiguity

This occurs when double or multiple meanings are attached to words or

to situations. Figurative language is somewhat ambiguous. While
ambiguity is never desirable in normal formal writing, it is useful in
poetry. It brings several meanings that can illuminate more fully the
complexities of the experience that the writing offers.

Anthology

A collection of poetry or prose, sometimes divided into categories such

as lyric verse, satiric verse, etc.

Antithesis

The placing of a word or an idea that is in contrast to it or that its

opposite. This figure of speech is characterized by strongly contrasting
words, clauses, sentences, or ideas. It is a balancing of one term against
another for impressiveness and emphasis. “Unlike we stand, divided we
fall”

Anticlimax

This is the opposite of climax. Instead of an action in a play/novel

moving from the lowest point to the highest, it moves in a reverse order.
If the work of art peters out after a climax, the weak ending is
anticlimactic.

Atmosphere

The mood which is established by the totality of a literary work.

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Blank verse

Unrhymed verse, particularly that form of unrhymed heroic verse which

is commonly employed in English dramatic and epic poetry. Blank verse
consists of lines of 10 syllables each, the second, fourth, sixth, eighth,
and tenth syllables bearing the accents (iambic pentameter).

Couplet

Two lines in immediate succession usually, but not necessarily of the

same length, forming a pair, and generally marked as such by rhyming
with each other. A pair of lines joined by rhyme is considered a couplet,
whether it forms part of a stanza, or constitutes a metrical group by
itself. The grave’s a fine and private place but none, I think, do thee
embrace. (from “To His Coy Mistress”).

Denotation

The specific, exact meaning of a word, independent of its emotional

coloration or associations. Connotation which is the opposite of
denotation, refers to the references and associations which a word has
collected in the course of its use in addition to its denotation.

Dramatic Monologue

A poem which reveals “a soul in action” through the conversation of one

character in a dramatic situation. The character is speaking to an
identifiable but silent listener in a dramatic moment in the speaker’s life.
The circumstances surrounding the conversation, one side of which we
“hear” as the dramatic monologue, are made clear by implication in the
poem, and a deep meaning into the character of the speaker is given.
E.g. Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess”, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s
“Tithenus”

Elegy

A sustained and formal poem which presents the poet’s meditations

upon death or upon a grave theme. The meditation often is occasioned
by the death of a particular person, but it may be a generalized
observation or the expression of a solemn mood. E.g. Thomas Gray’s
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”.

Emotive language

Language designed to evoke or express emotional reactions towards its

subject, as opposed to referential language.

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Empathy

Signifies an experience in which we identify ourselves with an object of

perception and seem to participate in its physical sensations, especially
of posture and motion. The experience is sometimes described
metaphorically as “an involuntary projection of ourselves into an
object,” animate or inanimate.

Epigram

In Greek literature, a poetical inscription placed upon a tomb or

monument. Later it was extended to encompass any very short poem –
amorous, elegiac, meditative, complimentary, antidotal, or satiric –
which is polished, terse, and pointed. Usually an epigram ends with a
surprising or witty turn of thought. It is usually a short emphatic witty
saying that involves antithesis or a paradox. It is similar in form to a
proverb but it is a creation of the individual writer.

Euphemism

A mild, delicate, or indirect word or expression used in place of a

plainer, and more accurate one, which by reason of its meaning or
association might be offensive, unpleasant or embarrassing.

Figurative Language

Intentional departure from the normal order, construction or meaning of

words in order to infuse strength and freshness of expression in the
poem to create a pictorial effect. It helps the poet draw an analogy, or to
discover and illustrate similarities in otherwise dissimilar things.

Form

A term used to designate the organization of the elements in a work in

relation to its total effect. For example, verse form refers to the
organization of rhythmic units in a line and stanza form refers to the
organization of the verses. Form is the pattern or structure or
organization which is employed to give expression to the content of a
literary piece.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which emphasis is achieved by deliberate

exaggeration. Like many such figures, it appears in ordinary speech as

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well as in verse. Such common expression as “They were packed in the

subway like sardines”, is an example of hyperbole.

Image

An image is a literal and concrete representation of a sensory experience

or of an object that can be known by one or more of the senses. The
image is one of the distinctive elements of the “language of art”, the
means by which experience in its richness and emotional complexity is
communicated. The image is, therefore, a portion of the essence of the
meaning of the literacy work, not ever properly a mere decoration.

Imagery

Descriptive representation; sensory content of a literacy work; figurative

language intended to evoke a picture or an idea in the mind of the
reader.

Imagination

The power or process of using all the faculties so as to realize with

intensity what is not perceived, and to do this in a way that integrates
and orders everything thus present to the mind so that reality is
enhanced thereby.

Innuendo

An oblique hint; an indirect intimation about a person or thing; an

inferential suggestion, commonly used in a bad sense, but sometimes in
an innocent one.

Internal Rhyme

Occurs within a single verse. It may serve several functions; giving

pleasure in itself, pointing up the rhythmical structure, or, breaking a
long line into shorter units.

Invective

Harsh, abusive language directed against a person or cause; vituperative

writing.

Irony

A device by which a writer expresses a meaning contradictory to the

stated or ostensible one. There are many techniques for achieving irony.

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The writer may, for example, make it clear that the meaning he intends
is the opposite of his literal one or he may construct a discrepancy
between an expectation and its fulfillment or between the appearance of
a situation and the reality that underlies it. Whatever his technique, the
writer demands that the reader perceive the concealed meaning that lies
beneath his surface statement.

Lament

A poem expressing some great grief, usually more intense and more
personal than that expressed in a complaint.

Lampoon

Writing which ridicules and satirizes the character or personal

appearance of a person in a bitter, scurrilous manner.

Malapropism

A blunder in speech or writing caused by the substitution of a word for

another similar in sound but different in meaning.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to

which it is not literally applicable, in order to suggest a resemblance.
“He is a lion”

Metonymy

A common figure of speech which is characterized by the substitution of

a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the
word itself. In this way we commonly speak of the king as “the crown:,
an object closely associated with kingship thus being made to stand for
“king”.

Mock Epic or Mock Heroic

Terms frequently used interchangeably to designate a literacy form

which burlesques epic poetry by treating a trivial subject in the “grand
style”, or which uses the epic formulas to make ridiculous a trivial
subject by ludicrously overstating it. When the mock poem is much
shorter than a true epic some prefer to call it mock heroic, a term also
applied to poems which mock romances than epics. Ordinary usage,

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however, employs the terms interchangeably. E.g. Alexander Pope,

“Rape of the Lock” John Dryden, “The Dunciad”.

Objectivity

A quality in a literary work of impersonality, of freedom from the

expression of personal sentiments, attitudes, or emotions by the author.

Onomatopoeia

The naming of anything by a more or less exact reproduction of the

sound which it makes, or something audible connected with it. E.g. “The
bee is buzzing”.

Oxymoron

A figure employed in an expression or statement which is apparently

self-contradictory but in which a point is involved as in “cruel kindness”
or “to make haste slowly”.

Paradox

A statement or opinion seemingly self-contradictory or absurd, that may

actually be well-founded or true. E.g. “The Nile and the Nyanza lay like
two twins” (From “Stanley Meets Mutesa” Rubadiri)

Personification

A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract ideas are

endowed with human qualities or actions. E.g. “The grass is singing”.

Plagiarism

Literary theft. A writer who steals the plot of some obscure, forgotten
story and uses it as new in a story of his own is a plagiarist.

Poetic License

A privilege or liberty taken by a poet of departing from normal order,

diction, rhyme, or pronunciation to produce a desired effect.

Pun

A play on words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but differ in
meaning and which results in an odd or ludicrous idea. E.g.
History’s art not fact

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History…Herstory His tory

Sees sees seas
Politics politricks politricks
(From Riot in Heaven: Tess Onwueme)

Rhyme

The repetition of the same or similar sounds, whether vowels,

consonants or a combination of these in one or more syllables, usually
stressed and occurring at determined and recognizable intervals.
Masculine or male rhymes are those in which the final syllable is
accented, while feminine or double rhymes are those in which the final
syllables is unaccented. Internal rhyme refers to rhyme which occurs
within the line, as n “the splendour falls on castle walls”.

Rhythm

In language, the sense of movement attributable to the pattern of

stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of prose or poetry or to the
lengths of sounds in quantitative verse. In verse, the rhythm is
determined by the metrical pattern, whereas in prose or free verse, it is
the effect of an arrangement of words more nearly approximating
natural speech.

Romantic

A term used of literature that is centred upon the inner rather than upon
the outer world and that tries to convey the writer’s feelings in a manner
uniquely expressive of his experience and his personality though not in
traditional formal patterns. These features distinguish it from classical
writing. The romantic movement that started at the close of the
eighteenth century was a reaction against the formalism of a period
dominated by a mechanistic view of life. Romanticism, another name
for this reaction, applies also to any trend that exalts nature above
artifice, sensibility above intellect, the foreign above the familiar, energy
above restraint, and the search for an absolute above concern with the
here and now. The romantic is one who takes this attitude. One of the
prominent poets of the Romantic period is William Wordsworth.

Sarcasm

A form of verbal irony, in which, under the guise of praise a caustic and
bitter expression of strong and personal disapproval is given. Sarcasm is
personal, jeering, intended to hurt, and is intended as a sneering taunt.

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Satire

A literary work or mode of writing intended to arouse ridicule,

contempt, or disgust at abuses and follies of man and his institutions,
and aimed at the correction of malpractices by inspiring both indignation
and laughter with a mixture of criticism and wit. E.g. Wole Soyinka,
“Telephone Conversation” Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”
Samuel Johnson, “Vanity of Human Wishes”.

Simile

The comparing or likening of two things that have some strong point or
points of resemblances, both of which are mentioned and the
comparisons directly stated. It compares something to something else
using words like as and like. “He is as brave as a lion”

Stanza

A recurrent grouping of two or more lines of a poem in terms of length,

metrical form, and, often, rime-scheme. However, the division into
stanzas is sometimes made according to thought as well as form, in
which case the stanza is a unit not unlike a paragraph of prose. Strophe
is another term used for stanza, but one should avoid verse in this sense,
since verse is properly reserved to indicate a single line of poetry.

Structure

The planned framework of a piece of literature. Though such external

matters as kind of language used (French or English), prose or verse, or
kind of verse, or type of sentence are sometimes referred to as
“structural” features, the term usually is applied to the general plan or
outline. Thus the scheme of topics (as revealed in a topical outline)
determines the structure of a formal essay. The logical division of the
action of a drama and also the mechanical division into acts and scenes
are matters of structure. In a narrative the plot itself is the structural
element. Often the author advertises his structure as a means of securing
clearness, while at other times the artistic purpose of the author leads
him to conceal his structure (as in narratives) or subordinate it altogether
(as in some informal essays). In the novel today, as the most reliable as
well as the most revealing key to the two, structure is used to define not
only verse form and formal arrangement but also the sequence of images
and ideas which unite to convey the meaning of the poem.

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Style

The arrangement of words in a manner which at once best expresses the

individuality of the author and the idea and intent in his mind. The best
style, for any given purpose, is that which most nearly approximates a
perfect adaptation of one’s language to one’s ideas. Style, then, is a
combination of two elements: the idea to be expressed, and the
individuality of the author.

A study of styles for the purpose of analysis will include such general
qualities as: diction, sentence structure and variety, imagery, rhythm,
coherence, emphasis, and arrangement of ideas.

Symbol

On the most literal level a symbol is something which is itself and yet
stands for or suggests or means something else; as a flag is a piece of
coloured cloth which stands for a nation. All language is symbolic in
this sense, and many of the objects which we commonly use in daily life
are. Literal symbols are of two broad types: one includes those which
embody within and suggest time and eternity; the voyage suggests life;
and phallic symbols ate universally recognized. Such symbols are used
widely in the world’s literature. The other type of symbol secures its
suggestiveness not from qualities inherent in itself but from the way in
which it is used in a given work. Thus in Moby-Dick the voyage, the
land, the ocean – these objects are pregnant with meanings that seem
almost independent of Melville’s use of them in his story; on the other
hand, the white whale is invested with meaning – and differing
meanings for different crew members – through the handling of
materials in the novel. Similarly, in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms,
rain, which is merely a physical fact in the opening chapter, is converted
into a symbol of death through the uses to which it is put in the book.

Symbolism

In its broad sense, symbolism is the use of one object to represent or

suggest another; or, in literature, the use of symbols in writing,
particularly the serious and extensive use of such symbols.

Symbolism is also the name given to a literary movement which

originated in France in the last half of the nineteenth century, strongly
influenced Irish and of British writing around the turn of the century,
and has been a dominant force in much British and American poetry in
the twentieth century. It sees the immediate, unique, and personal
emotional response as the proper subject of art, and its full expression as
the ultimate aim of art.

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Synecdoche

A form of metaphor which in mentioning a part signifies the whole or

vive-versa. In order to be clear, a good synecdoche must be based on an
important part of the whole and not a minor part and, usually, the part
selected to stand for the whole must be the part most directly associated
with the subject under discussion.

Theme

The central or dominating idea in a literary work. In non-fiction prose it

may be thought of as the general topic of discussion, the subject of the
discourse, the thesis. In poetry, fiction, and drama it is the abstract
concept which is made concrete through its representation in person,
action and image in the work.

Tone

Tone is used in contemporary criticism, as a term designating the

attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary
work. In such a usage, a work may have a tone that is formal, informal,
intimate, solemn, sombre, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or any
of many other possible attitudes. Clearly, tone in this sense contributes
in a major way to the effect and the effectiveness of a literary work.

In another sense, tone is used to designate the mood of the work itself
and the various devices that are used to create that mood. In this sense,
tone results from combinations and variation of such things as metre,
alliteration, assonance, consonance, diction, sentence structure,
repetition, imagery, symbolism, etc.

Unity

The concept that a literary work shall have in it some organizing

principle to which all its parts are related so that, viewed in the light of
that principle, the work is an organic whole. A work which has unity is
cohesive in its parts, complete, self-contained, and integrated.

Universality

A critical term frequently employed to indicate the presence in a piece

of writing of an appeal to all readers of all time. When writing presents
the great human emotions common to all peoples of all civilizations –
jealousy, love, pride, courage, etc – in literary form and through
characters and actions that remain meaningful to other ages, it may be
said to have universality. Of all qualities which make for universality in

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literature, the successful portrayals of human character is the most

important.

Verse

A line in a poem, especially one that has a formal structure, or

sometimes used synonymously with stanza, notably in hymnology.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The poet writes a poem, whether it was planned, or recorded as the

given in a dream or trance or as an outpouring of emotions. At the end
of the exercise, the poem is revised to ensure that the desired rhythmic
balance is achieved. The poet ensures that images, figurative language
and figures of speech are used appropriately to convey the intended
message. This revision also ensures that the final product expresses the
poet’s emotion appropriately.

5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit you have learnt the importance of revision in poetry writing.
You have also evaluated a poem “Abiku” by J.P. Clark and have seen
how he employed the poetic devices to present an experience. You have
also been exposed to some other poetic terms that are described briefly.
You should make an effort to learn more about them. This knowledge is
necessary for every poet.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

List five figures of speech used by J. P. Clark in the poem “Abiku” and
explain them.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Harmsworth, J.R. (1968). Dictionary of Literary Terms. London: Coles.

Iwuchukwu, Chinweikpe (2008). The Mastery of Literature for JAMB.

Lagos: Macckho Ricckho

Murfin, Ross and Surpryia M. Ray (1997). The Bedford Glossary of

Critical Terms. New York:Bedford Books.

Ogungbesan, K. and D. Woolger (1978). Images and Impressions.

London: Oxford University Press.

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Ojaide, Tanure (2005). A Creative Writing Handbook for African

Writers and Students. Lagos: Malthouse Press.

Senanu, K.E. and Theo Vincent (2003). A Selection of African Poetry.

Harlow, Essex: Longman.

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