KIBABII UNIVERSITY
DEPT. OF ENGLISH, LITERATURE, JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION
Course Unit: JMC 1130 - Introduction Creative Writing
Academic Year: 2024/2025
Lecturer: Zakayo I. Amayi
Email: zamayi@kibu.ac.ke
Tel: 0724 160 617
Office: ABB 119
LECTURE NOTES
MODULE I: LANGUAGE AND THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE
1.1 Language
Language refers to the principal method of human communication. It consists of words used in a
structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing or gesture.
1.2 Literary Language
i. A literary language is the form (register) of a language used in written literature, which can be either
a nonstandard dialect or a standardized variety of the language. It is the language used in literature for
expression;
ii. Literary language is a way of artistic expression in which the writer tries to convey an idea in an
aesthetically beautiful manner in order to capture the reader’s attention;
iii. Literary language prioritizes the way of transmitting the message than in the message itself.
1.3 Characteristics of Literary Language
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Literary language is based on special words with specific meanings. Literary language
emphasizes on the attractiveness of words and their usage. Literary language is formally used by
novelists, journalists, poets, and other creative writers.
One of the essential characteristics of the language of literature is originality. The writer has the
freedom to write in an original and unpublished way.
The final intention of literary language is to create a work of art. It privileges the style and the
way of saying the message.
Literary language takes advantage of all available expressive possibilities to produce curiosity
and attention on the part of the reader. Example: (1) Riggy G’s signature morning walks. (2)
Raila is a proverbial cat with nine lives.
Literary language can be used in prose or verse. It is used in novels, short stories, dramatic works,
autobiographies and newspaper stories. In verse, its composition is more careful and demanding
because the lyrical works measure the number of syllables, the rhythmic accents in the verses
(rhythm) and, the relationship between the verses and the stanzas.
Literary language communicates with a specific class like educated and intellectuals. Common
people cannot understand such a difficult language. Example: The Kenyan Gen Z opened the
Pandora’s Box which shook the political class.
Literary language is a source of creation. It is a source of sending a literary piece of writing to
people having literary taste.
Emotions are involved in literary language. It has capability to impress a reader through
emotional style.
Defamiliarization: literary language helps to delay meaning. Example: The first year journalism
students are wet behind the ears/inexperienced. Use of literary devices facilitates delay of
meaning.
1.4 Literary Terms and Expressions
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi
Literary devices are divided into two groups as literary techniques and literary elements. Literary
elements are the basic elements such as plot, setting, and theme that are essential to a story. They are
unavoidable characteristics of a story. On the other hand, literary techniques are the way language is used
in order to make a piece of writing to be more appealing to the reader. Unlike literary elements, literary
techniques are avoidable.
 Figurative Language - it is language that is intended to create an image or other effect in the mind
of the reader. For example, the use of simile and metaphor can be used to create mental images in the
mind of the reader;
 Symbolic Expressions - symbolism is a figure of speech that is used to create a certain mood or
emotion in a work of literature. It is the use of an object, person, situation or word to represent
something else in literature, for example, red-rose symbolizes love; wedding-ring symbolizes
commitment and matrimony;
 Metaphor – metaphors, also known as direct comparisons, are one of the most common literary
devices. A metaphor is a statement in which two unrelated objects are compared to each other.
Example: This tree is the god of the forest. Metaphors allow the writer to pack multiple descriptions
and images into one short sentence. The metaphor has much more weight and value than a direct
description.
 Simile - similes, also known as indirect comparisons, are similar in construction to metaphors, but
they imply a different meaning. Like metaphors, two unrelated objects are being compared to each
other. Unlike a metaphor, the comparison relies on the words “like’ or “as.” Example: This tree is
like the god of the forest. This tree acts as the god of the forest.
 Imagery - imagery can be both literary and figurative. Imagery is the use of figurative language to
describe something. It helps to create mental images.
 Irony - the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal
meaning. Verbal irony occurs when a speaker’s intention is the opposite of what he or she is saying.
Situational irony occurs when the actual result of a situation is totally different from what you would
expect the result to be. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows a key piece of information
that a character in a play or novel does not;
 Satire - the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity
or vices;
 Sarcasm - the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. A wounding ironic remark;
 Alliteration - the repetition at close intervals of consonant sounds for a purpose. For example,
wailing in the winter wind;
 Allusion - a reference to something in literature, history, mythology, religious texts etc, considered
common knowledge;
 Ambiguity - double or even multiple meaning;
 Flashback - a scene or an incident that happened before the beginning of a story;
 Understatement - the deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it is actually
is; a deliberate under-emphasis;
 Personification - endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics;
 Oxymoron - an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined;
 Hyperbole - intentional exaggeration to create an effect. Examples: I’m so hungry I could eat a
horse. You are the king of the kitchen.
 Foreshadowing - the representation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is
to come later in the work;
 Euphemism - an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant;
 Atmosphere - the mood prevailing in a literary work. It often relates to the writer’s tone;
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 Idioms - an idiom is a term whose meaning cannot be determined from the literal meanings of the
words it is made of. Examples:
MODULE II: THE BASIC GENRES OF LITERATURE I: ORAL LITERATURE
1.0 THE MAIN GENRES OF LITERATURE
The term genre refers to the classification of artistic works based on particular defining features or
characteristics. Like all other works of art, literature, which is a form of communication, can be classified
into the following main genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama, oral literature and creative non-fiction.
1.1 ORAL LITERATURE
According to S.K. Akivaga and Bole Odaga, Oral literature is a spoken, acted art whose media, is words.
The spoken word and performance are the important features of oral literature. It is through the spoken
word that oral literature has been kept and continues to be kept alive. It is usually transmitted from one
generation to the other.
People usually use the spoken word to reflect on their everyday experiences and concerns. They create
stories, songs, proverbs, riddles, etc. which expresses emotions that concern them such as love, happiness
and despair. People may also create stories and songs about their origins as a community, about their
believes in supernatural powers and about the things they value for holding their community together over
a long time. As a genre, oral literature is as old as humankind.
1.2 Forms of Oral Literature
Oral literature is divided into the following forms: oral narratives, songs, proverbs, riddles and other short
forms. It is important to note that different people have different names and terms for forms of their oral
literature. For example, the Maragoli of Western Kenya uses the word tsingano for both the narrative and
the proverb.
a) Songs and Dances
Songs and dances are very common in East African societies. There is usually no communal activity that
is not accompanied by song and dance. Examples of songs include: war songs, initiation or circumcision
songs; marriage, birth and child-naming songs; sacrificial, burial or funeral songs, praise songs and love
songs.
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Importance of songs and dance:
i.
Songs and dance form an important part of the lives and thinking of the people, i.e. songs can be
used as tools for education because they usually have important messages.
ii. Through songs people learn, laugh, mourn, console each other, inspire one another and at times
pass secret messages.
iii. It can be used to preserve history.
iv. Songs are usually often for entertainment purposes.
Lullabies
Lullabies are sung by parents or baby nurses looking after children to soothe them to sleep.
Characteristics of Lullabies:
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Lullabies are usually sung softly and slowly.
Quite often they do also tell us something about the particular family or community.
Most of the lullabies are short and repetitive.
Love Songs
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It is usually expressed in words of extreme beauty and romance.
Though love songs are supposed to be happy, there are many that are sad, expressing the anguish of
rejection or loss of a loved one.
The presentation of love songs varies with situations and from community to community.
Some love songs are sung by individuals while others in groups by either young men or women.
Others, especially songs of courting, take on a form of dialogue, a call and response.
Funeral Songs
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Funeral songs are those sung when somebody dies. They are also called dirges. The songs and
dances vary from community to community and in some communities they vary depending on the
age and importance of the deceased person.
Death is an occasion for mourning and sorrow because it removes loved ones from the midst of the
living.
Political Songs
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Oral literature plays a major part and in raising the political awareness of the people, for example,
during the electioneering period in Kenya, songs were composed about some political parties.
Riddles or vitendawili were also used.
Songs are an effective way of protesting against some form of injustice or mobilizing people to fight
against injustice in society.
Political songs can be broadly divided into three categories: songs of social protest, songs for
creating political awareness (i.e. for political mobilization) and for creating political conformity.
Praise Songs
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Praise songs are used for many different occasions. For example, they can be used in weddings to
praise the bride and the bridegroom.
They are used at initiation ceremonies and other occasions.
They can be used to praise and glorify people who have made some significant contribution to
society like leading their people in wars without betraying them.
The main functions of these songs are to give credibility to leaders, draw attention to their
achievements, and encourage others, especially the young ones, to emulate whoever is being
praised.
The songs can be characterized by extensive use of metaphors, particularly the comparison of
people to animals, in order to highlight certain admirable qualities in those people. For example, a
leader may be described as an elephant.
Circumcision Songs
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Circumcision is an extremely important event in the communities who practice it. The practice is
considered a graduation to manhood. A person who evades circumcision or circumcised in hospital is
usually despised or even rejected as an outcast for avoiding the ceremony.
b) Short Forms
The short forms include proverbs, tongue twisters and idioms among others.
Proverbs
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Proverbs occur very frequently in the speech of the African peoples. They form an important part in
oral literature.
A proverb teaches, cautions or advices us about something and is transmitted from one generation to
another.
Proverbs communicate an idea more deeply than ordinary language.
Proverbs will reveal to you a people’s condition and philosophy of life.
Proverbs draw their material and images from a particular environment or society.
Riddles
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Jane Nandwa and Austin Bukenya define a riddle as: a word puzzle in which an object or situation
is referred to in unusual figurative terms and one is expected to discover or decipher in literal terms
what is meant.”
 A riddle therefore is a short oral puzzle which presents the peculiar characteristics of a concept
whether those characteristics are physical, behavioural or habitual and requires the unraveling of the
concealed literal reference. The recipient of a riddle has to decode the literal reference and identify
the concept meant.
 Riddles are short sayings intended to make a person use his wit in unraveling a hidden meaning.
They differ from proverbs in the sense that they lack seriousness of the latter.
 Riddles are favorite with children since they can be used in their playtime.
 Riddles usually require two people or groups of people.
 Different communities have different ways of introducing riddles.
c) Oral Narratives
The word narrative simply means a story or a tale.
Qualities of a Good Story Teller:
i.
He must be able to create a story anew each time he tells it, making it a memorable and meaningful
experience for each particular audience. The success of any story depends on how it is told. When
performing to children, for instance, he will use simple and clear language.
ii. A good narrator is usually a person who is interested in the culture of his people and feels proud
about it.
iii. He is usually a pleasant person who enjoys entertaining people and is happy to pass on some of the
knowledge he possesses to others.
iv. He is an open minded person who is not shy or timid because he has to use some words which may
be considered obscene. He is also a bold actor who enjoys gesturing with hands and other parts of
the body as a dramatization of his story.
v. He must understand both the past and the present world.
The Role of the Audience:
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Active audience – Participates actively with the narrator when the story is being told. The audience
makes comments on the story, laughs, asks questions and joins in the singing if there happens to be
a song in the story. The mood of the audience whether sad or active will infect the story.
Passive audience - Remain passive but attentive. But the attentiveness of the audience still acts as a
stimulant to the artist.
Forms of Oral Narratives:
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi
The categories of oral narratives include: myths, legends, trickster stories, aetiological stories, dilemma
stories and monster stories.
Myths - A myth is a story that explains the origins of a group of people or tells us something about the
early development of a group of people. Certain myths also explain the origin of a phenomenon such as
death, birth, creation, humanity, etc. Most myths usually tell us about sacred beings and divine heroes.
They are closely connected to the religious beliefs and practices of a people. They reveal the existence of
spirits and supernatural powers. These powers are seen as having been involved or instrumental in making
things happen at the very beginning. For example, “the Origin of the Gikuyu”
Legends – It is also called hero story. It is similar to a myth in that it tells about someone or events out of
the past. The only difference is that myths recounts from the beginning (for example, the creation of the
world). A legend on the other hand is normally a narrative revolving around a historical character or
events, although characters in legend assume superhuman abilities. For example, there are many stories
told about Elijah Masinde and Dedan Kimathi. There are legends about outstanding medicine men.
Trickster Narratives – Trickster narratives are very common and popular in East Africa. They primarily
involve one character feigning friendship with another or others with the intention of exploiting this
friendship for his selfish gain. It is a story about a character who practices his cunning on others. For
example “Hare and the Hyena”
Explanatory or Aetiological Narratives - It explains the meaning or existence of something or
relationship. Most of them are simple in structure.
d) Oral Poetry
Oral poetry is the expression of powerful human feelings (emotions), thoughts and ideas using words and
sounds arranged in the best possible manner. Song is just one way of delivering poetry. A poem may be
sang or recited. Like verse, song may be devoid of poetry.
Oral Poetry Performance: The oral poem is principally composed and rendered using word of mouth;
dramatization - this is the use of the body, face and movement to reinforce the words and voice;
instruments can be used; the text is not always fixed during performance, i.e. it can be altered; it can be
made a public affair.
Social Functions of Oral Poetry:
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Socialization.
Cultural and historical record.
For literary beauty, i.e. aesthetics. Poetry selects what is most appealing and puts it together. The
aspect of play on sounds comes out so powerfully in the ideophones, alliteration, assonance, rhyme
and rhythm.
Interfluence - the coming together of two or more genres in one performance. For example,
narratives may be incorporated in oral poetry sessions.
1.3 Field Work: Collecting Oral Literature Materials
Preparation Stage
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Visit the area and try to get suitable informants and if possible, do not rely on one person.
Remember to mix both young and old people in your list of informants. Make sure you cross-check
on the skills and experience of the informants. Establish a proper working relationship with them.
Meet and mix with the people. Do not feel awkward.
Develop an interest in their lives. Try to understand their likes, dislikes and their difficulties.
Be very clear in your mind about what you want to collect, for example, if you have planned to
collect oral narratives, do not change your plans at the last time.
Know exactly when to carry out the actual interviews, when to stop and also how to best put
questions to the different informants in order to get what you want.
Learn to ask questions. Remember you are the student and they are the teachers.
Your general appearance also counts. The clothes you wear should be neat and modest.
Downplay any differences that might exist between you and the informant.
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You need to document the collected materials.
Methods of Collecting Oral Literature Materials:
i.
Listening - It is a useful method of collecting materials. You can listen and memorize the material.
However, the listener may offer inaccurate interpretation since not everything will be remembered.
ii. Participation - Participation for example in weddings or circumcision ceremonies gives the
collector a chance to not just record, but experience the aesthetic joy of the event.
iii. Writing down - You can carry a pen and a paper. Write down the materials.
iv. Recording on tape - This is the most accurate method for those who own a tape recorder. It gives
you the chance to participate as you tape record and the material so collected can be listened to and
analyzed, and then preserved for a longer time for study. Video camera can also be used to do the
recording.
Other Field Work Requirements - Make biographical sketch of the performers; keep a record of
experiences during research; and keep a record of the people’s attitude to their oral literature.
MODULE III: THE BASIC GENRES OF LITERATURE I: PROSE, POETRY AND DRAMA
1.0 PROSE FICTION
1.1 Introduction
 It involves the narration of a story in a continuous form. It resembles story telling activity.
 The main instrument for presenting prose-fiction is narration. The narrator tells the readers (the
audience) what happened, to whom, why it happened and at what time it happened.
 Prose-fiction is arguably the commonest and most utilized form of literature in the modern world.
But it shares a lot with the story traditions of the ancient world which comes in the form of myths,
parables, romances, folktales, etc, and which are all also narrative in form.
 Prose-fiction is made up of the novel, the novella and the short story, all of which are narrative in
form. The commonest among the forms of prose fiction is the novel, which is also the lengthiest of
the three.
 The novel is the newest and the most popular among the literary forms. It came into life after
poetry and drama had become established literary genres.
 Literary critics have cited Robinson Crusoe (1919) by Daniel Defoe as the world’s first novel.
 The essential distinguishing factor between the novel, the novella and the short story has to do with
length/volume. The novel is basically longer than the novella, while the short story is the shortest
of the three. The novella, a subgenre of prose-fiction, is a very difficult form to describe, shorter
than the novel and longer than the short story.
 The novella is closer to the novel than the short story. Like the novel, the novella tries to capture
life and experiences in some detail, even if this chronicle ends up being shorter than the novel. It is
more difficult to distinguish between the novel and the novella than between the short story and the
novella. That is why the novella is a much restricted form of literature, being represented by a
small body of output. Famous examples of the novella form include Joseph Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness and Alex La Guma’s A Walk in the Night.
 The short story has been described as the form of prose-fiction which narrates fundamentally, just
one event, or an aspect of one event, making an immediate impact on its reader in the process.
1.2 Characteristics of the Novel and the Short Story
Novel
The ‘novel’ derived its origins from the Italian word Novella which means a tale or a piece of news. The
novel therefore is a genre of fiction.
 A novel is a story about people. The writer creates imaginary characters and involves them in
dramatic situations of his/her own choosing.
 In Aspects of the Novel (1962), E.M. Forster notes that a novel should have at least 50 000 words.
 There are different genres of the novel, including: epistolary novel, psychological novel,
propaganda, detective novel, crime novel, the spy novel, the thriller, police procedural novel,
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi
sociological novel, campus novel, and, the novel of adventure. Epistolary novel is written in form
of a letter, e.g. Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter. Crime novels are centered on criminal activities,
e.g. John Kiriamiti’s My Life in Crime.
 Most novels cover a long span of time and there is room for the development of characters.
 A novel can accommodate many characters as compared to short story.
 A novella simply refers to a short novel.
Short Story
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It is shorter than the novel.
It covers a short span of time.
A short story accommodates few characters and themes.
1.3 Elements of Prose Fiction
The main elements of prose fiction as a genre of literature are: characters and characterization, plot,
setting, theme, point of view, conflict and language.
(a) Characters and Characterization
Characters are the agents of actions while characterization refers to the method of projecting the
characters. There are two broad types of characters in a narrative fiction: (i) flat character and (ii) round
character. A flat character is created around a single idea or quality. He is very easy to describe as he is
simple in thoughts and actions. He/she does not change in the course of the story. Unlike the flat
character, a round character is complex in thoughts and actions and so cannot be described as easily as the
flat character. Like human beings in real life, he cannot be predicted with a high degree of accuracy.
Characters may be portrayed either by telling or by showing. By telling, the author tells us everything
about the characters but by showing, the author allows the characters to interact and by that we know
them, through what they do and say as well as what others say about them.
(b) Plot
This is the ordering of the events in a novel towards the achievement of a particular effect. The plot
means more than the story. It is also the way the story is ordered and rendered. The plot of a story may be
chronological. At times, a story may be dislocated in time order. The technique of flashback dislocates
events in terms of time.
(c) Setting
This refers to where and when the activities in the story take place. It is not limited to the physical
environment only; it includes the social circumstances i.e. the atmosphere and the time the action occurs.
For example, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is set in the traditional Igbo society of Nigeria, at the time
Christianity was making its way into the society.
(d) Theme
The theme of a work is the philosophical underpinning of the work and it is deduced from the subject
matter. One of the themes of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, for example, is culture conflict. Okonkwo, the
hero, is caught up in the conflict and because of his rigidity, he does not survive it.
(e) Point of View
This is the perspective from which the action, story and characters get revealed to the reader. The point of
view of a work can be:
 First person: Here, the narrator is usually one of the characters and usually the chief character and
through his eyes we see the events in the story: The signal word here is the use of the pronoun “I”.
 Third person point of view: Here, we see the work from the point of view of the author who acts as
the omniscient narrator. Like God, he is the creator of the characters and so sees their thoughts and
tells us why they do what they do. For example, Elechi Amadi’s novel The Concubine is written
from this point of view. In addition, there can also be multiple points of view. This is seen in
Ngugi’s A Grain of Wheat and Petals of Blood.
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(f) Conflict
Conflict is the backbone of the plot in a prose fiction. It is the moving force and it holds the plot tightly
together. Conflicts arise when two forces pull the opposite ways. The conflicts could be either internal or
external. It is internal if it concerns inner emotional struggle like the urge in a person to want to do either
good or bad and without a firm grip on which of the two to hold on to. If it is external, it is inter-personal,
involving two or more people and opposing forces. Amadi’s The Concubine contains a lot of interpersonal conflicts.
(g) Language
This is the most important element of prose. It is language that gives expression to other elements of
prose. In looking at the language of prose, there are two important dimensions: the authorial language and
the language of the characters in the story. One important means of characterization is the language which
the author makes the characters to speak.
NOTE: Language is the most important because it is through language that other elements come into life.
In order to do a good stylistic analysis of a prose fiction, it is necessary to be familiar with the essential
elements of prose. While the elements may also be present in the other forms of literature, they will have
different significance. But you should remember that one form of literature may be borrowed into
another. When this happens, we have a feature of intertextuality - i.e. the tendency of a text to repeat
another text.
2.0 POETRY
2.1 Introduction
 Literature provides its writer with a medium to pour out his emotions and feelings. No other genre
of literature can help the writer achieve this more effectively and more convincingly than the
poetic form.
 Good poetry has always been said to come from the soul and not the head, because it talks about
very strong feelings coming from the inspired mind which may not find proper and appropriate
expressions under ordinary, less inspired situations.
 Language is the most distinctive factor in the poetic form; it is dense and concentrated,
supercharged with meanings. The main characteristics of poetry are verse, sound, and compression
of statements.
Example: In a Station of the Metro - Ezra Pound
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The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
We have different forms of poetry. The epic is one of the oldest poetic forms which dates back to
the earliest periods of the pre-literate story telling world.
An epic is a poem that tells a long story about the great deeds of a great individual or group of
individuals at one point or the other in the process of their development as a people. An epic is a
heroic poem that is long and narrative in nature. Examples of the epic are Homer’s Iliad and
Odyssey, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, etc.
The elegy is a poem that is used to lament the death of a person.
There is also the lyrical poem, a type of poem that is sung and/or accompanied by the playing of
musical instrument. The lyric has grown and developed to embrace other descriptions in more
modern periods. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem.
The knowledge of the different forms and traditions of poetry is necessary to carry out a stylistic
analysis of poetry.
2.2 Elements of Poetry
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a) Persona
The voices we hear most of the times in poems are not always those of the poets. Poets sometimes adopt
the identity of some other person(s), real or imaginary, in a particular situation, also real or imaginary.
Whenever a poet adopts someone else’s personality or uses this device, he is said to be adopting a
persona. So, in examining a poem, we must first of all identify the voice. We need to know whether it is
the poet speaking directly or the poet is speaking through another voice.
b) Imagery
Imagery as a term is difficult to describe with precision because of the way it is used loosely. In a broad
sense, it can be used to describe any writing which is descriptive, and helps the reader to visualize a
scene and so to experience the poet’s experience. Imagery depends on the emotive power of words for
its success. The most condensed form of imagery can be found in figures of speech although not all
figures of speech involve visual imagery. Examples include: metaphor, simile and symbolism. Other
figures of speech that can perform this function are hyperbole, euphemism, irony, personification,
metonymy, synecdoche, etc.
c) Sound Patterns
Most poetry in English is based on rhythmical patterns. Despite the fact that these patterns exist in all
utterances, some kind of irregularity is often imposed on the patterns in poetry. These patterns can be
called the rhythm. Rhythm is expressed by a series of syllables, some of which are stressed and some
unstressed. Stress, you will remember, is the emphasis placed on a sound or syllable by pronouncing
it more loudly or forcefully than those surrounding it in the same word or phrase. In poetry, it means
the emphasis placed on a syllable or a word as part of the rhythm of a poem or line of poetry.
d) Sound Effects
With the use of special sound patterns and sound imagery, certain sound effects can be created, namely:
Onomatopoeia: This is the most obvious of all sound effects. It is the use of words whose sounds
suggest their meanings. The most simple examples are words which are the names given to actual
sounds. For example, some bells ring, tinkle, clang; a cat mews, a lion roars and cars screech. There can
also be a splash of water and a booming of a gun.
Alliteration: This is closely related to onomatopoeia. It is the use of a succession of the same
consonant, usually at the beginning of successive words. These are few examples:
1) I bubble into eddying bays (2) I babble on the pebbles (3) God makes man; man makes money;
money makes many men mad.
Rhyme: This has to do with the recurring use of similar vowel sounds, especially at the end of lines of a
poem. Rhyme, like alliteration, attracts the reader’s attention to something of importance in a poem.
2.3 Forms of Poetry
We shall discuss four major poetic forms.
2.3.1 Lyric poem
A lyric poem is a relatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single speaker unfolds a state of mind
or an emotional state. Lyric poetry retains some of the elements of song which is said to be its origin.
The lyric poem has various forms, namely, elegy, ode and sonnet.
Ode: This is a long lyric poem with serious theme written in an elevated style. Good examples are
Wordsworth’s Hymn to Duty.
Elegy: In modern usage, elegy is a ceremonial lament for the death of a particular person. In another
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form, the term elegy is used for solemn meditations, often on questions of death, such as Grays Elegy
Written in a Country Churchyard.
Sonnet: It is the most widespread and most formal of lyric poems. Originally, the sonnet was a love
poem which dealt with the lovers sufferings and hopes. It originated in Italy and turned out to be popular
in England in the Renaissance. After the seventeenth century, the sonnet was used for other topics than
love. Sonnet is written in a single stanza of fourteen lines with an intricate pattern.
2.3.2 Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry gives a verbal depiction, in verse, of a series of connected events and it drives
characters through a plot. It is always conveyed by a narrator. Narrative poetry has categories such as:
epic and ballad.
Epic: Epic operates on a large scale, both in length and topic, such as the founding of a nation. It relies
on the use of an elevated style of language, and supernatural beings take part in the action. Epic, is a long
narrative poem, grand both in theme and style and it deals with famous or historical events of national or
universal significance, involving actions of broad sweep and grandeur. Most epics operate on the
exploits of a single individual, thereby giving unity to the composition.
Mock-epic: Mock-epic makes use of epic conventions, like the elevated style and the assumption that
the topic is of great importance, to deal with completely insignificant occurrences. Mock-epic is derived
from the serious epic. It satirizes present-day ideas or situations in a form and style burlesquing the
serious epic. A famous example is Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, which conveys the tale of a young
beauty whose suitor secretly cuts off a lock of her hair.
Ballad: Is a song, initially transmitted orally, which tells a story. It is a vital form of folk poetry which
was adapted for literary uses from the sixteenth century onwards. A ballad is a short narrative folk song
that deals with the most dramatic part of a story, stirring to its conclusion by means of dialogue and a
sequence of incidents. The word ballad was first used in a broad sense to mean a simple short poem.
Such a poem could be narrative or lyric, sung or not sung, crude or polite, sentimental or satiric, religious
or secular. It was vaguely associated with dance. In terms of structure, a ballad is often in a stanza,
usually a four-line stanza.
2.3.3 Didactic Poetry
The purpose of a didactic poem is principally to teach some lesson. This can take the form of very
precise instructions. Until the twentieth century, all literature was expected to have a didactic purpose in
a general sense, that is, to impart moral, theoretical or even practical knowledge. To this effect, Horace
in particular demanded that poetry should combine learning and pleasure.
2.4 The Language of Poetry
Poetry is simply the renewal of words. Whenever we pick up a poem to read, the impression we are given
is that language is spiritual. For us to get closer to poetry, we need to fine-tune our sensitivity to
language and to its histories, overtones, rhythms, meanings, and suggestions. Language makes a
successful poem. If we endeavour to have a relationship with poetry, we will become more sensitive to
language.
We start getting the urge to identify instances of beauty, sensations to meanings in a single phrase, and
2.5 Poetry and Sound Patterns
A good poet thinks more than what a word means; he also considers how a word sounds. The sound
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of a well-chosen word can strengthen a mood or make an idea more forceful. The sounds of words can
also create a musical quality in a piece of writing. In order to achieve special sound effects, poets make
use of alliteration, assonance, rhyme and rhythm and onomatopoeia, among other things.
Alliteration: Poets call our attention to certain words in a line of poetry by using alliteration. Alliteration
is the repetition of the same consonant at the beginning of words that are close together. It is used to
create a pleasant, rhythmic effect. Let us see the exuberance of alliteration in the following line:
Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling!
(Walt Whitman, Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun)
Assonance: This refers to the repetition of vowel sounds to stress words or ideas. Assonance is
used to add a musical quality to a poem. It helps in setting the mood of a poem. In general, long vowel
sounds suggest either a free, joyful mood or an eerie mood.
Rhyme
Rhyme gives a musical quality to poetry. Rhyme occurs at the ends of lines in a poem. If two or
more lines end in the same sound, we say they rhyme. Letters are used to describe the rhyme scheme of a
poem. Each rhyming sound is assigned a different letter and lines that rhyme are given the same letter.
Generally, the use of intonation and the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, together with
rhythm, helps to create sound effects in poetry. And rhythm can suggest meaning in poetry.
Onomatopoeia
Poets use this to add excitement to the sound of a poem. It is the imitation of natural sounds by words.
2.6 Some other Figures of Speech
Synecdoche
This is a figure of speech in which a part is used for a whole or vice versa e.g. (1) Gen Z will
visit Kenyan parliament again. (2) Kenya is meeting Rwanda today in a friendly football match.
Personification
This is a form of comparison which attributes human characteristics to abstractions or things which are
not human.
Metonymy
This is a figure of speech in which an object is used to stand for its users e.g. The pen is mightier than the
sword.
Irony
This is a literary device that is dryly humorous or lightly sarcastic with a speech which words are used to
convey a meaning contrary to their literal sense. Irony is an expression of double meaning, and a
statement in which the words suggest the opposite of their literal sense.
Hyperbole
This is an exaggeration employed to give force or intensity to a statement. It is a form of inordinate
exaggeration according to which a person or thing is depicted as being better or worse, or larger or
smaller, than is actually the case.
2.7 Conclusion
Poetry is a form of literature that emphasizes rhythm, other intricate patterns of sound, imagery as well
as other many possible ways that words can suggest meanings. Unlike other genres of literature, its
language is often complex, sentimental, condensed and esoteric. It is not only what is said in poetry that
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is of significance. The manner in which it is said is of a special importance. In order to do a stylistic
analysis of a poem, you need to read the poem carefully, paying close attention to the title, language,
form and the general style of the poem. Poetry calls for a creative use of language and its analysis must
also be rigorous and creative.
3.0 DRAMA
3.1 Introduction
Drama is a form of literature that tells a story through the words and actions of the characters. A
drama, also called a play, usually is meant to be performed by actors and actresses in front of an
audience. Brecht (1964:15) says that proper plays can only be understood when performed. To reveal its
fullness and significance as a literary form, it is designed for the theatre with characters assigned roles
which they act out in actions enacted on stage. Characters can be human beings, supernatural beings,
animals or abstract qualities. The raw material of drama is people interacting in a society and that
society must be alive. Therefore, drama is an adaptation, a recreation and reflection of reality on
stage enactment through the ability to create alternative modes of being to that of our existence in
measurable flesh and blood.
Drama is essentially an art form which can be fully realised in the theatre. It is a creative experience in
which audience and actors are engaged in a search which opens up new areas to them. Through watching
a play and empathizing with actors, the audience is equipped to come to terms with the surrounding
world. Consequently, drama is distinctive among the genres of literature, given its instantaneous
impression on the audience. It is employed to inform, educate, entertain and, in some cases, mobilize the
audience. Drama educates by helping the entire society to face its problems and burning issues, by
suggesting alternatives, as a means of reflection on the human condition and by urging social cohesion.
3.2 The Nature of Drama
 Drama is the most presentational of the three genres of literature. This is because while other
forms of literature are essentially designed to convey their messages in words, drama is designed to
present its statements in a combination of action and words.
 In drama, characters assume life and act out the story of the play. This is why drama has
been variously described as the genre of literature that is closest to life and that has the most
immediate impact on the audience.
 Even when plays are written in black and white, they are written with the intention of being
eventually presented on stage. A play is therefore a work for an audience which gives its
spectators a close feeling that they are part of what is happening on stage.
 The dramatic form of literature basically has three broad subgenres, namely: tragedy, comedy and
tragi-comedy. There is a vast array of other forms associated with the fundamental ones listed
above.
 Ordinarily speaking, a tragic story should be one that ends so sadly that the audience cannot help but
feel pity for the characters, for the misfortune they have suffered. Tragedy, then, is a representation
of an action that is worthy of serious attention, complete in itself, and of some amplitude; in
language enriched by variety of artistic devices appropriate to the several parts of the play;
presented in the form of action, not narration; by means of pity and fear, bringing about the purgation
of such emotion.
 For Aristotle, tragedy does not begin and end at being a story that concludes on a sad note. In
addition to the above, it must be the story of how an elevated member of the society falls from grace
to grass, ends up in shame, humiliation or even death because of a combination of his behavioural
shortcomings (tragic flaws) and the influence of supernatural forces. For Aristotle, a person who is
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not distinguished in the society cannot be a tragic hero, because his tragedy cannot be of any
significance to the human society.
 The tragicomic subgenre of drama was popularized by the prolific and extravagantly talented
English dramatist and playwright, William Shakespeare, who is also widely reputed as one of the
world’s greatest literary figures of all time.
 A comic play is a dramatic presentation that not only ends on a light-hearted note with no serious
misfortune such as hurt and death to the major characters, but is also designed to create and involve
humour.
 In spite of the fact that comedy has been thought to have no social function, it has been proved that
the comic play can teach moral lessons and make concrete sociopolitical and economic statements.
3.3 Elements of Drama
The elements of drama are the essential features that we expect any form of drama to possess. These
include:
(a) Plot
The plot is the sequential arrangement of events in a play. It is said to be linear when there is a kind of
chronological or sequential events in the play. On the other hand, we may have a play in which time order
is dislocated. This happens, for example, when we have flashbacks.
(b) Theme
This is the message of the play or what the play is all about. It is possible to have a theme or multiple
themes in one play. The theme is the philosophical underpining of a play. It is derived from the plot of
the play.
(c) Conflict
This is the bone of contention between the protagonist and the antagonist. There is a conflict when two
forces pull the opposite ways. Conflict can be inter-personal or intra-personal. Actions are generated
through conflict. In Ola Rotimi’s The Gods are Not to Blame, there are conflicts between characters and
characters as well as between characters and supernatural forces.
(d) Characters/Characterization
The agents responsible for actions and conflicts in plays are known as characters. It is the formation of
the characters by a playwright that is known as characterization. It should be noted that the characters
can be human agents as in most plays and they can be animal agents.
(e) Language
The language of drama is the exchange means or communicative method adopted in the play. Azeez
(2001) identifies three types viz. verbal (spoken), gestural (paralinguistic like nodding, eyeing etc) and
symbolic (semiotic). Language gives expression to other elements of drama. The language of drama may
be poetic or prosaic.
(f) Setting
This involves the location of the play. It may be divided into three: time, place and atmosphere.
Time relates to when the action takes place, place indicates the location of the action in terms of physical
space while atmosphere describes the socio-psychological mood of the play.
3.4 Some Basic Terms in Drama
Below are some terminologies that are associated with drama and which you may find necessary to use
when analysing a play:
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 Cast: It is a list of actors and actresses given defined roles in a drama by the playwright or
director.
 Playwright: A playwright is the writer of a piece of drama or play.
 Conflict: This involves the protagonist and the antagonist in their rivalry and struggle for
assertion of influence or relevance in a piece of drama.
 Protagonist: A character who plays the most prominent role in a play. A protagonist is also often
referred to as the hero (man) or heroine (woman) or the chief character.
 Antagonist: He/she is a character in a play who opposes the protagonist rightly or wrongly. Often
he/she contradicts the protagonist.
 Denouement: It is also known as the resolution or the unknotting of events, it is the resultant
process soon after the climax has been reached. Here, the conflict in a play is finally resolved.
 Catharsis: This means purgation (from purging, the original Greek word). It is the feeling by an
audience of a sense of release or the cleansing of the mind of excess emotion, often through the
shedding of tears as when a great tragedy is being played out on stage.
 Tragic Flaw: It is a costly mistake made by the protagonist in a play or drama. It could also mean
an inbuilt or inherited weakness (flaw), say pride (hubris), which aids the downfall of the
protagonist. The tragic flaw in Hamlet the character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is indecision.
 Dramatic Irony: It is a situation in a drama in which a character, out of ignorance, says or does
something which runs counter to the course of action whose real outcome is known to the
audience, but is hidden from the character in question.
 Suspense: It is the state of anxiety and expectation in the reader/audience of a play as to the likely
outcome of events. It raises a reader’s interest and keeps him/her guessing as to what will happen
next.
 Soliloquy: It is a device in drama which allows a character to engage in a loud self- talk which
enables the reader/audience to have access to what is in his/her mind.
 Prologue: It is the formal introduction to a play written in prose or verse whose content is
relevant to the unfolding events in the play. This device is used in Ola Rotimi’s The Gods are Not to
Blame.
 Epilogue: It is the closing comment in a play which justifies an earlier course of action or fills an
untreated gap.
 Chorus: It is a couple or a band of people in a play who may take it upon themselves as
a group to comments on the proceedings of dramatic actions. The group sheds light on the
unfolding events and prepares the audience for what is to follow.
 Flashback: This is literary technique involving the recalling of an earlier scene, action, or event
which sheds further light on what is currently happening.
 Director: The theatre artist who directs the speech, movement and actions of the actors and
actresses in the interpretation of the different characters in the play is called a director.
 Producer: In stage drama, this refers to the person or organization who brings the performance
about and also funds it.
 Interlude: A brief performance which serves as an interval to a main performance.
 Prompter: During a performance, the prompter is the person who stays out of sight to remind an
actor or actress of lines which escape his or her memory, to ensure the continuity of actions.
 Role Play: The playing of a specific role in a dramatic activity without fully transforming
into character. This is different from acting which involves a total transformation of a
character. In role playing, the personality of the performer does into fully dissolve into the role
being played.
 Audition: The process by which actors and actresses are chosen for specific roles in a performance.
This partly involves the reading of lines from the play to the hearing of the director.
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 Climax: The climax of a play is the moment of greatest tension when the conflict attains its peak
and is now fully ripe to be resolved
3.5 TheLanguage of Drama
Language in drama reflects the seriousness or laughability of a dramatized story. The theme or subject
matter of a particular play is determined by the language of such a play. The style of the language
employed when such a play is a tragedy is different from when it is a comedy; indeed, plays are meant
for different audiences. The choice of language is, therefore, determined by the audience for which a
play is meant and the nature of the play itself- serious or otherwise. The language of drama is patterned
on real-life conversations among people, and yet, when we watch a play, we have to consider the
differences between real talk and drama talk. The language of drama is ultimately always constructed or
made up and it often serves several purposes. On the level of the story-world of a play, language can, of
course, assume all the pragmatic functions that can be found in real-life conversations. For instance, to
ensure mutual understanding and to convey information, to persuade or influence someone, to relate
ones experience or signal emotions, etc. Among the devices used in drama for serious dramatic effects
are dialogue, dramatic irony, pun, allegory, soliloquy etc.
Dialogue
A play exists in dialogues. Therefore, one prominent feature of the language of drama is
dialogue/conversation. When they are engaged in dialogues/conversations, characters use language that
reveals their status, background, motivations, and so on.
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony entails a situation where the reader (or audience) knows something about what is
happening in the plot, about which the character(s) has/have no knowledge. Dramatic irony can be used
in comedies and tragedies, and it works to engage the reader, as he is drawn into the event. The audience
may sympathize with the character, who does not know the true situation. Or, the reader may see the
character as blind or ignorant. The clues may be rather obvious, but the character may be unwilling to
recognize the truth.
Allegory
Allegory is an expression of a truth by means of a particular symbolic meaning. The symbolic meaning
can be either a character taking on the role of a personal quality or trait, or it can be clues that lead to a
deeper meaning. In allegory, abstract qualities are seen and personified into characters. An actual
character becomes the quality discussed.
Pun
The primary function of dramatic pun is to capture the conflicts and complex meanings of the characters
experiences through the individual words. Puns used in comical situations are common in Shakespearean
plays. The prominence of the puns demonstrates that words, like the human actions they describe, are
subject to multiple interpretations. Shakespeare’s plays exhibit many different kinds of puns, and
characters employ them for multiple functions. Romeo and Juliet is one of the plays with puns. Hamlet,
on the other hand has puns linked to vengeance and desperate state.
Soliloquy
Soliloquy is a dramatic speech uttered by a character speaking aloud alone on the stage. The character
thus reveals his/her inner thoughts and feelings to the audience. We see for example, instances of
soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hamlet.
3.6 Conclusion
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Drama is a form of literature written for performance or at least written in a style that would allow for
stage performance. Drama, as a genre of literature, is characterized by different movements that evolved
with varying ideologies in a way to speak out the anxieties of different people. However, there are some
devices that animate the language of drama. Above all, the language of drama is simple and strikingly
impressive with the playwright conscious of the fact that drama is written to be performed. The characters
in a play may use prose or poetry form in their patterns of communication, depending on status, age,
socio- cultural background, purpose, and so on.
4.0 POINTS OF VIEW
4.1 Introduction
Point of view occupies a prominent place in narration. Therefore, choosing your point of view in
literature is one of the most vital things you will have to do as you sketch your story. To do it well, one
must be aware of the details of viewpoint and reflect on how the viewpoint will impact the story.
In fictional writings, the person who tells or narrates a story and how it is told are critical issues for an
author to decide. The tone and the meaning or sense of a story are usually affected or determined by
who is telling the story and from what perspective. We should recall that someone is always between
the reader and the action of the story. That someone between the reader and the action tells the story
from his or her own viewpoint. Whichever point of view is chosen by the author, the principal thing he
or she does is to narrate a story. The difference is the perspective from which he chooses to narrate his
story. The three major types of point of view in novels are first-person, third-person-limited (focuses
on one characters observation) and omniscient (all-knowing narrator outside the story itself). Others
are: second person, limited Omniscient and alternating person points of view.
4.2 First Person Narration
First person point of view or the autobiographical narration, describes a situation where the protagonist
speaks through the author who adopts the pronouns, I and We. With the first-person point of
view, one of the novels characters narrates the story. For example; a sentence in a novel in the first
person might read, “As I stopped to stare into the river, 1 heard a strange sound behind me.” The narrator
of the story is the person who has experienced or witnessed the events he narrates, or in some literary
pieces, the author may assume this position. From time to time, the first-person narrative is used as a
way to directly convey the deeply internal, otherwise unspoken thoughts of the narrator.
4.3 Third Person Narration
This mode of narration occurs when the writer does not connect himself with the other characters in the
novel. In this category of narration, the narrator does not take part in the action of the story as one of
the characters, but let the audience know exactly how the characters feel. We gain the knowledge of the
characters through this outside voice. In this frame of narration, the author is provided with the greatest
flexibility and, as a result, it turns out to be the most commonly used narrative mode in literature. In the
third person narrative mode, each character is referred to by the narrator as he, she, it or they. For
example, a sentence from a story in the third person limited might read, “As they stopped to stare into
the river, they heard a strange sound behind them.” In the third person narrative, it is essential that the
narrator be merely an unspecified individual that conveys the story, but not a character of any kind
contained in the story being told. The third person singular (he/she) is awesomely the most common
type of third person narrative voice. An example of the third person narration can be seen in the
works of the American writer, Henry James, who employs the third-person-limited point of view to a
great effect in books such as Daisy Miller (1879) and The Portrait of a Lady (1881), with the
central character acting as a person who can evaluate the significance of events and in turn transmit that
evaluation to the reader.
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4.4 Omniscient Narration
In a novel written from the point of view of an omniscient narrator, the reader knows what each
character does and thinks. The reader maintains this knowledge as the plot moves from place to place or
era to era. An omniscient narrator can also provide the reader with a direct assessment of actions,
characters, and environment. An omniscient narrator plays no part in a story but is aware of all facts,
including the characters thoughts. It sometimes even takes a subjective approach. One advantage of the
omniscient narrator is that it enhances the sense of objective reliability of the plot. The omniscient mode
of narration is the least capable of being unreliable - although the omniscient narrator can have his own
personal judgements and opinions on the behaviour of the characters. In addition to reinforcing the sense
of the narrator as reliable, the main advantage of this mode is that it is eminently suited to
narrating huge, sweeping, epic stories or complicated stories involving numerous characters.
The omniscient point of view has advantages and disadvantages. Using an omniscient narrator allows a
writer to be particularly clear as regards plot developments. This point of view also exposes the reader
to the actions and thoughts of many characters and deepens the readers understanding of the various
aspects of the story. However, using an omniscient narrator can make a novel seem too authoritarian and
artificial, because in their own lives, people do not have this all-knowing power. If clumsily executed,
providing thick details may cause the reader to lose sight of the central plot within a mass of scenes,
settings, and characters.
4.5 Second Person Narration
This mode of narration is uncommon in literature. However, it is common in song lyrics. It is
grammatically represented by the second person pronoun you, therefore making the audience feel as if
he or she were a character within the story. The second person narrator can be a difficult style to
manage. However, whenever it is used, the narration allows the reader to imagine himself or herself
within the action of the novel. The second-person narrative mode is often paired with the first-person
narrative mode in which the narrator makes emotional comparisons between the thoughts, actions, and
feelings of you versus “I”. Although, Second- person narration can be a difficult style to manage, when
handled properly, it allows the reader to imagine himself or herself within the action of the novel. It is
capable of putting across strong accusatory tone, which can be achieved if the narrator condemns or
expresses strong feelings about the actions of the focal character you. It can also be effectively used to
place the reader in an unknown, troubling or exhilarating situation. The second-person narrative,
although rare, can, if mastered, make a whole lot of aesthetic composition.
4.6 Alternating Person Narration
The general norm for novels is the adoption of a single approach to point of view throughout.
However, there are exceptions. Nowadays, many stories, alternate between the first and third person
modes of narration. In typical cases, the author moves back and forth between a more omniscient narrator
to a more personal first person narrator.
4.7 Conclusion
Points of view in literature, undoubtedly, expose issues behind the narration of literary texts. With a point
of view, the story is constructed and with it the story is interpreted. Authors or writers give coherence
to their works through the right point of view as they reveal characters way of thinking as shaped
by his or her experience, mindset, and history.
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MODULE IV: NOVEL AND SHORT STORY WRITING
1.0 Introduction
Novels writings are meant to make you skillful in the art of writing. You have to read the writer beyond
his novel so that you can have knowledge of how he creates his characters, sets his plots, uses his
language, weaves his themes around each of his characters, what the writer has done to help his
character develop. When the need for you to write a novel arises, we expect you to be able to
demonstrate what you have learnt of how he creates his characters, sets his plots, uses his
language, weaves his themes around each of his characters, what the writer has done to help his
character develop. When the need for you to write a novel arises, we expect you to be able to
demonstrate what you have learnt.
1.1 Ten Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing
There is no standard format for writing. However, writers can utilize use of the following tips to develop
their works:
i. Getting Started
An effective short story does not simply record or express the author’s feelings, but generates feelings in
the reader. For instance, some works can cause readers to get inspired or become emotional. You can
begin by setting the following:



Identify the genre, e.g. whether you want to write a novel or short story; the genre of the novel;
List of characters including protagonist;
Choose a tentative setting and plot.
ii.
Write a Catchy First Paragraph
The first sentence of your narrative should capture the attention of your reader with the unusual, the
unexpected, action or conflict. Begin with tension and immediacy. Remember that short stories need to
start close to their end. The rest of the paragraph introduces an internal conflict as the protagonist debates
a course of action and introduces an intriguing contrast of past and present setting. A novel can take a
more meandering path, but should begin with an important incident that gets the plot rolling.
Example:
The Concubine - Elechi Amadi
Chapter One
Emenike was sure he heard someone cough ahead of him. The forest track was narrow, overgrown and
winding. He could not see far ahead. He tightened his grip on his razor-sharp machete and swung his wine
calabash over his shoulder with his left hand. He was not afraid but he did not want to be taken unawares.
He knew that surprise can beat even the strongest. He was aware that a venerable old chief had died
somewhere. This was because they wanted to give the head-hunters who were now abroad in the forests a
chance to capture heads for the great burial. One trapper had seen some of these fellows stalking in the
forest and so word had gone round Omokachi that the forests were ‘unhealthy’. But of course every man
would go about his business, head-hunters or no.
Emenike rounded a bend and faced Madume, a fellow villager. His arms were folded across his
chest and his biceps formed two thick knots. He was biting his lips and his eyebrows met in an angry
grimace…Emenike guessed Madume’s intentions immediately. They had quarreled over a piece of land
the previous day and many villagers had spoken in favour of Emenike.
iii. Developing Characters
You should develop your characters by allowing their personalities to come out clearly. In order to
develop a living, breathing, multi-faceted character, it is important to know more about the character than
you will ever use in the story. You can have a partial list of character details to help you get started such
as: name, age, job, ethnicity, appearance, residence, religion, marital status, temperament, drinking patters
and friends. The characters can be developed in terms of their appearance, action, speech, and thought.
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Example:
The use of description and flashback to develop the character of the lead character:
But he had other reasons for not liking Emenike. The old men always cited Emenike as the ideal young
man. He was good looking and well formed, a favourite with the girls. He was just an average wrestler
but had the devil’s luck of throwing people in spectacular ways which onlookers remembered long
afterwards. He had won the old men’s conference and they always let him run errands that required
intelligence and the extensive use of proverbs. Perhaps Madume’s hatred for Emenike might not have
been so great if only the latter had not snatched Ihuoma from him. Madume had hopes of marrying
Ihuoma, then the most desirable girl in Omigwe village.
iv. Choose a Point of View
A point of view is the narration of the story from the perspective of first, second, or third person. As a
writer, you need to determine who is going to tell the story and how much information is available for the
narrator to reveal in the short story. The narrator can be directly involved in the action subjectively, or the
narrator might only report the action objectively.
a) First Person Narrator (The ‘I’ Narrator)
Advantages
 Directness - You can give the reader a first-hand perspective on the story;
 Voice - It your narrator has a colourful or appealing way of talking, this can add flavor to the storytelling;
 Intimacy – Your reader has the chance to get to know the narrator by listening to him.
Disadvantages of the First-person Narrator
 Limited scope - You narrator only knows what she knows. The narrator doesn’t know what other
people around her are thinking. She doesn’t know what’s happening two miles away. That limits the
information she can supply to the reader.
 Difficulty withholding information - the narrator may decide to be evasive, for example, some
sensitive information.
b) Second Person Narrator
 A story written in the second person treats the reader as the story’s character;
 The narrator talks all the time about “You”.
c) Third Person Narrator (The Omniscient Narrator)
 A third-person narrator might be completely outside the action. A third-person narrator tells the story
using the words, “He,” “she,” “it,” etc;
 A third person narrator might even have a supernatural ability to be in more than one place at once;
 Third-person narrators may also have limited or complete access to one or more character’s thoughts.
v.
Write Meaningful Dialogue
Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph, and the paragraph includes whatever you wish to say about
what the character is doing when speaking.
Example: From The Concubine - Elechi Amadi
At last Ihuoma was ready to go to bed. She roused her husband gently and whispered:
‘Shall I lie on the bed by you or do I spread a mat on the floor?’
‘Lie on the floor,’ her husband muttered, ‘you may hurt my side. It palpitates as if it is ripe with
pus.’
‘I think you are right, my lord,’ she said.
The first person to arrive in the morning was Anyika. He had warned Ihuoma not to open the door to
anyone until he came. There was no knowing who would come with what….Wodu Wakiri the wag was
among the early callers.
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vi. Use Setting and Context
Setting moves readers most when it contributes to an organic whole. It includes the time, location,
context, and atmosphere where the plot takes place. Writers should also search for knowledge around
themes that they want to write about. Example:
Selected Theme: Women Empowerment
Women have always been sidelined (dominated) by men in society. Creative writers have always used
diverse strategies to empower women. Some of these strategies include:
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Economic Empowerment
Female Friendship
Education
Exposure
From Private to Public Spheres
Involvement of Men in Women’s Agenda
Women activism
Fight against retrogressive cultural practices
Complementarity Between Men and Women
Calls for Social and Legal Reforms
vii. Set Up the Plot
A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional
significance. Understanding these story elements for developing actions and their end results will help
you plot your next short story. The plot should comprise of the following:
 Explosion or “Hook.” An exciting event or problem that grabs the reader’s attention.
 Conflict. A character versus the internal or an external battle.
 Exposition. Background information required for seeing the characters in context.
 Complication. One or more problems that keep a character from their intended goal.
 Flashback. Remembering something that happened before the short story takes place.
 Climax. When the rising action of the story reaches the peak.
 Falling Action. Releasing the action of the story after the climax.
 Resolution. When the internal or external conflict is resolved.
viii. Create Conflict and Tension
Conflict is the fundamental element of fiction. In literature, only trouble is interesting. It takes trouble to
turn the great themes of life into a story. Conflict produces tension that makes the story begin. Tension is
created by opposition between the character or characters and internal or external forces or conditions. By
balancing the opposing forces of the conflict, you keep readers glued to the pages wondering how the
story will end.
ix. Build to a Crisis or Climax
This is the turning point of the story - the most exciting or dramatic moment. The crisis may be a
recognition, a decision, or a resolution. The character understands what hasn’t been seen before, or
realizes what must be done, or finally decides to do it. Timing is crucial. If the crisis occurs too early,
readers will expect still another turning point. If it occurs too late, readers will get impatient – the
character will seem rather thick
While a good story needs a crisis, a random event such as a car crash or a sudden illness is simply an
emergency - unless it somehow involves a conflict that makes the reader care about the characters.
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x.
Find a Resolution
The solution to the conflict. In short fiction, it is difficult to provide a complete resolution and you often
need to just show that characters are beginning to change in some way or starting to see things differently.
Example:
The Spirit of Death was known to take away people’s souls shortly after midnight. That was when
Ekweume died.
1.2 Types of Novel
You may wish to write your novel in any of the types:
 Epistolary Novel
You may write your novel in the form of a letter or letters. The word ‘Epistola’ is the Latin word for
‘letter’. Examples are Samuel Richardson’s Pamela and Clarissa written in 1740, Mariama Ba’s So Long
a Letter (1980). You may also wish to let your characters communicate in the form of letters if you want
your style to conform to the epistolary.
 Magical Realism
It was some Latin American writers who wrote their prose fiction in this style before other writers from
the third world joined the league. Such works discuss the normal events, mythic, fantasy and fairytales (i.e. (Nigeria) Ben Okri’s The Famished Road (1991), (India) Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses
(1988) and, Gabriel Garcia Marques of Colombia’s One Hundred years of Solitude (1967).
 Sociological Novel
This type of novel discusses the impact of the socio-cultural conditions that surround a character. It
also includes the social changes that occurred in the period. Examples are Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart (1958), Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Weep Not Child (1964), Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist (1838), and
John Steinbeck’s The Grape of Wrath (1939).
 Bildungsroman
This term is taken from the German. It means “a novel of education”. It centres on the developmental
stages in the positive growth of the hero from childhood to maturity. Examples are Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s
Weep Not Child (1964), Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861).
 Historical Novel
This type of novel relies on the past experience of its characters. Its setting, characters, forms are taken
from the past to justify its historical continuity. Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1869) is another good
example.
 Psychological Novel
This novel concerns the inner workings of the minds of the characters and not the physical reality of
the character. The role of the human mind in his life experience in the form of novel of that kind was
popular in the 20th century. The psychology of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung imparted on and
influenced many disciplines, including literature. In the 20th century, a new group of writers emerged,
developed and popularised the “stream of consciousness” technique. This procession of thoughts passing
through the human mind has been applied by modern writers to describe their characters. Examples of
such writers are William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury (1929), James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922),
Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway (1952).
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 Political Novel
This type of novel deals with the tactics and art of governance, using deceit, intrigues, force, hatred and
love to take over or remain in power. It also includes the strategy of business organisation. Examples are
Cyprian Ekwensi’s Beautiful Feathers (1963), Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People (1966) and
Stanley Oriola’s Farewell to Democracy (1994)
 Novel of Ideas
As the name suggests, this type of novel teach ideas, explores certain special teachings about life. Some
time a novel of ideas may take a critical stand on an existing philosophy or make ideological
enquiries into something. Examples are E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India, (1924) Albert Camus’ The
Fall (1948), Ali Mazrui’s The Trial of Christopher Okigbo (1975).
Other types of the novel are Gothic, detective, science fiction, thrillers, romantic, spy novels. These
novels have developed over time and are significant to the overall development of man.
1.3 Writing for Children
It is always important to know your audience before writing. For example, while writing children’s
books, consider the following:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
The target audience
Language and choice of words
Use of illustrations
Themes
Choice of conflicts
Length of the text
Book ending
MODULE V: WRITING FROM FACTUAL EXPERIENCES (PARA-LITERARY FORMS)
1.0 Introduction
Creative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually
accurate narratives.
1.1 Characteristics and Definition
i.
For a text to be considered creative nonfiction, it must be factually accurate, and written with
attention to literary style and technique. The primary goal of the creative nonfiction writer is to
communicate information and shape it in a way that reads like fiction;
ii. Examples in this genre include biography, autobiography, memoir, diary, travel writing, food
writing, literary journalism, chronicle and personal essays;
iii. Creative nonfiction may be structured like traditional fiction narratives;
iv. Creative nonfiction merges the boundaries between literary art (fiction, poetry) and research
nonfiction. It is writing that is based on facts but employs the same literary devices as fiction such
as the setting, character development, etc;
v. Creative nonfiction should (1) include accurate and well-researched information, (2) hold the
interest of the reader, and (3) potentially blur the realms of fact and fiction in a pleasing, literary
style (while remaining grounded in fact). In the end creative nonfiction can be as experimental as
fiction - it just needs to be based in the real.
1.2 Content of Creative Nonfiction

It's important to clarify that the content of creative nonfiction does not necessarily have to come
from the life or the experience of the writer. The writer may choose to write a portrait of the
interviewee through an omniscient perspective, meaning the writer wouldn't be in the piece at all.
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On the other hand, nonfiction writers often choose to write about topics or people close to them
(including themselves);
In creative nonfiction, writers extract meaning through factual details - they combine the fact of
detail with the literary generalization necessary in rendering meaning from an observed scene;
At the same time, successful creative nonfiction attempts to overlay fact with traditional ideas of
dramatic structure. While rendering meaning from an observed scene, a piece should suggest a
beginning, middle and end that clearly conveys the conflict and the characters, and pushes the action
toward some sort of closure.
In effect, creative nonfiction attempts to project a dramatic, literary framework upon everyday
existence, rendering it enjoyable, enlightening and potentially meaningful.
1.3 Types of Creative Non-Fiction
i.
The Personal Essay: A piece of writing, usually in the first person, that focuses on a topic through
the lens of the personal experience of the narrator. Ultimately, it should always be based on true,
personal experience;
ii. The Lyric Essay: The lyric essay is similar to the personal essay in that it also deals with a topic
that affects the reader. However, the lyric essay relies heavily on descriptions and imagery;
iii. The Memoir: A memoir is a longer piece of creative nonfiction that delves deep into a writer's
personal experience. It typically uses multiple scenes as a way of examining a writer's life (or an
important moment in a writer's life);
iv. Autobiography: Autobiographies are the life story or history of a person's life written by that
person.
v. Literary journalism: Literary Journalism uses the techniques of journalism (such as interviews and
reviews) in order to look outside of the straight forward, objective world that journalism creates. It
uses literary practices to capture the setting of the assignment or the persona of the person being
interviewed;
1.4 Autobiography, Biography, and Memoir (Testimonial Writings)
An autobiography is a written account of the life of a person; written by that person. It is a story that a
person wrote about themselves. Biographers rely on a wide variety of documents and viewpoints, whereas
autobiography may be based entirely on the writer's memory. Closely associated with autobiography (and
sometimes hard to distinguish from it) is the memoir form.
The memoirs have the potential to be incredibly interesting, richly developed, that can sometimes be
confused with autobiography. Memoirs may describe one single event in a person’s life, rather than that
life in its entirety. Memoirs can focus on one specific event, place, person, etc. or they can be expanded to
encompass a broader range of events, snapshots, or memories in the author's experience. Memoirs may
have resemblances to fiction in their creativity.
1.4.1 The Elements of Autobiography
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The Autobiography a distinct literary genre that can be studied under creative non-fiction or
testimonial narratives;
There is the presence of a major motive for producing an autobiography, self-justification;
It is a story of doing away with misunderstandings, i.e. it is a story of self – vindication;
An Autobiography is an attempt at recreation. It projects the picture as the writer wants the reader to
see it, serving as a kind of corrective lens to the reader.
The Autobiography as a genre has no defined format and length which makes it different among
other genres. These multiplicities of dimensions contribute to the reaffirmation of the "literariness of
the autobiography."
The autobiography is a kind of writing that is subjective/biased in the sense that writers control what
they inform their readers;
The autobiographers usually utilize storylines available in their cultures to develop their narratives;
While narrating their histories, autobiographers also write about the histories of their immediate
societies (the nation);
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
Autobiography sets a platform for writers to dramatize (fictionalize) themselves. Writers can use
this same opportunity to present themselves as victims of oppressive regimes and thus cause readers
to empathize with them.
1.4.2 The Autobiography as Fiction
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
The author invents, evokes and creates a past to understand and shape his memories. All these
depend on memory which have gaps. The praising of men and women who have achieved status is
fictional and irrational;
The autobiographers make good use of their creativity and imagination in the autobiographical
discourse.
1.4.3 Tips for Writing about Your Life
Here are some basic things you should know about writing an autobiography and memoir:
 Choose a topic that you care about, for this will make your piece more descriptive, emotional, and
creative;
 Seek a fundamental theme within the simple description of an event etc. that the reader can connect
to. Use a lot of description and imagery, to make the reader feel like they know the topic intimately;
 There is no specific form or style that it is necessary for an autobiography or memoir to have;
 A memoir does not have to be a long, all-inclusive cataloguing of your life like a formal
autobiography - choose a specific focus;
 A memoir, though based on and rooted in truth and fact, does not have to be 100% straight laced
non-fiction. Take a new perspective, get creative, find a way to make your piece more interesting,
fresh, thought-provoking etc;
1.5 Feature Stories
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1.5.1
Feature stories are human-interest articles that focus on particular people, places and events;
Feature stories are journalistic, well-researched and descriptive, thorough writing about original
ideas. Features have a clear beginning, middle and end and are a bit longer;
Feature stories cover topics in depth, going further than mere hard news coverage by amplifying and
explaining the most interesting and important elements of a situation or occurrence;
Feature stories are popular content elements of newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, newsletters,
television broadcasts and other mass media;
A feature story is not meant to report the latest breaking news, but rather an in-depth look at a
subject. Feature stories fall under soft news which are not as timely as hard news stories;
Feature articles range from the news feature that provides sidebar background to a current event
hard news story, to a relatively timeless story that has natural human interest;
Features generally are longer than hard-news articles because the feature penetrates deeper into its
subject, expanding on the details rather than trying to concentrate on a few important key points;
In hard news stories, often referred to as inverted pyramid style, the reporter makes the point, sets
the tone, and frames the issue in the first paragraph or two. In feature story, on the other hand, the
writer has the time and space to develop the theme, but sometimes postpones the main point until
the end. The whole story does not have to be encapsulated in the lead;
Feature stories are journalistic reports. They are not opinion essays or editorials writer's opinions
and attitudes are not important to the story. The writer keeps herself or himself out of the story.
Writing in the third person helps maintain the necessary distance;
Feature stories give readers information in a pleasing, entertaining format that highlights an issue by
describing the people, places, events and ideas that shape it. The power of a feature story lies in its
ability to amplify the focus on an issue through first-rate storytelling, irony, humor, human appeal,
atmosphere and colorful details.
Typical Types of Feature Stories:
There are many kinds of feature stories. Here are some popular types:

Human Interest: The best-known kind of feature story is the human-interest story that discusses
issues through the experiences of another;
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1.5.2
Profiles: A very common type of feature is the profile that reveals an individual's character and
lifestyle. The profile exposes different facets of the subject so readers will feel they know the
person;
How-To: These articles help people learn by telling them how to do something. The writer learns
about the topic through education, experience, research or interviews with experts;
Historical Features: These features commemorate important dates in history or turning points in
our social, political and cultural development. They offer a useful juxtaposition of then and now.
Historical features take the reader back to revisit an event and issues surrounding it;
Behind the Scenes: Inside views of unusual occupations, issues, and events give readers a feeling of
penetrating the inner circle or being a mouse in a corner. Readers like feeling privy to unusual
details and well kept secrets about procedures or activities they might not ordinarily be exposed to
or allowed to participate in.
Feature Story Format
 The information in a feature is organized differently from hard news stories. Sometimes a writer uses
several paragraphs of copy at the outset to engage the reader before getting on with the main
elements of the story;
 After the title and opening paragraph grab a reader, narrative hooks are used to persuade the reader
to continue reading. These hooks are attractive story elements such as action, mystery, drama or
appealing characters intended to pull the reader forward through the story;
 In feature stories, the whole story does not have to be encapsulated in an inverted pyramid lead. The
writer can develop the storyline in a variety of ways and choose to postpone the main point until later
in the copy or even the end. A writer can choose to tell the story out of order to engage the reader's
interest;
 A story could begin with a dramatic moment and, once the reader is curious, the story could flash
back to the history needed to understand it. A story-within-a-story could be used with a narrator in
the outer story telling the inner story to satisfy the curiosity of readers. A storyline could alert readers
that the story began in a way that seemed ordinary, but they must follow it to understand what
happened eventually;
 As with any news reporting, feature stories are subject to the journalistic standards of accuracy,
fairness and precision. The quality of a story is judged on its content, organization and mechanics.
1.5.3
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How long are these articles?
Newspaper features often are 500 to 2500 words in length;
Magazine features usually are 500 to 5,000 words;
Features on websites and blogs generally range from 250–2500 words, but hard drive space is
relatively inexpensive so the length could vary dramatically through the use of non-linear
hyperlinking of content;
Any medium might use a shorter or longer story than usual, depending on its perceived value;
Attention spans seem to grow ever shorter so brevity is valued. More than ever, all writing today
needs to be clear and concise.
MODULE V: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
1.1 “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” - T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
S’io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
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Ma perciocche giammai di questo fondo
Non torno vivo alcun, s’i’odo il vero,
Senza tema d’infamia ti rispondo.
LET us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question….
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.
5
10
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.
And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—
(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)
Do I dare
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15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
For I have known them all already, known them all:
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?
And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?
And I have known the arms already, known them all—
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?
.
.
. .
. . . .
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…
I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
.
.
. .
. . . .
And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep … tired … or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,
I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.
And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
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50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—
If one, settling a pillow by her head,
Should say: “That is not what I meant at all;
That is not it, at all.”
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worthwhile,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor And this, and so much more?It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
“That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.”
.
.
. .
. . . .
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.
I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
95
100
105
110
115
120
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
125
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
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1.2 Analysis of the Poem
The Author
Born in 1888, T.S. Eliot is considered one of the 20th century’s major poets and a central figure in English
language modernists’ poetry. During his childhood, he had some physical limitations and thus isolated
from friends. This inspired him to dedicate his life to reading books.
Epigraph
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi
The initial six lines of the poem are in fact an epigraph. The lines, written in Italian, come from Dante
Alighieri’s Inferno. The Inferno is a medieval Italian poem that traces a pilgrim’s journey through Hell
(Inferno), where he meets various sinners who narrate their suffering. These lines are spoken by one of
the people imprisoned in Hell.
The allusion to Dante’s Inferno is also suggestive because it positions the world of “Prufrock” in dialogue
with Dante’s Hell. The effect of including this epigraph is to suggest that the speaker of “Prufrock” is also
trapped in a kind of Hell from which he cannot escape.
Lines 1-12:
 The first line that reads: “Let us go then, you and I,” provides the reader with a hint that the poem
needs to be read as an internalized, dramatic monologue;
 It also gives us an idea that the narrator is speaking to another person, and the lines that come
afterwards reflects the personality of J. Alfred Prufrock. The personality of J. Alfred Prufrock is one
that is pedantic (caring too much about unimportant details), slightly miserable (“like a patient
etherized upon a table”), and focused mainly on the negatives (“restless nights in one-night cheap
hotels”;
 The narrator shows the emptiness of the world: “oyster-shells,” “sawdust restaurants”; everything
is about to dissolve into nothing;
 The world is transitory, half-broken, unpopulated, and about to collapse;
 The setting that Eliot paints, in his economic language, gives readers a world that seems largely
unpopulated. He does not mention anyone else in the poem.
Lines 13-14:
Besides the voice of J. Alfred Prufrock, there is presence of the women talking of Michelangelo. It sets
the scene at a party and simultaneously sets Prufrock on his own. Prufrock is removed from the world of
people, seeming almost a spirit. He is distant from society.
Lines 15-22:
 “The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes” appears clearly to every reader as a cat.
Yet, the cat itself is absent, but represented explicitly in parts - back, muzzle, tongue - and by its
actions - licking, slipping, leaping, curling;
 The metaphor has been hollowed out to be replaced by a series of metonyms. A metonymy is the
sum of parts - in this poem, the ‘cat’ that is made by the yellow fog is fragmented and ghostly. It is
never explicitly stated to be a cat but hinted at;
 The fragmentation of the cat could also symbolize the fragmentation of Prufrock’s psyche (mind),
the very schism (split) that is leading him to have this internal conversation, his terror of risking his
interest in women, and his terror of them;
 Much like the cat, Prufrock is on the outside looking in at a world that has not been prepared for him.
This fragmentation can also be applied to the earlier reference to “the women,” which are not really
described in any way but are instead considered by the sum of their parts in conversation - they only
exist because they are “talking of Michelangelo.” Fragmentation is a modernist technique that had
not appeared in literature before. Modernist poets and writers believed that their artistry should
mirror the chaotic world they lived in.
Lines 23-36:
 The very same fragmentation is depicted. We encounter Prufrock’s indecisiveness. The poet repeats
the concept of time, that there is always going to be enough time;
 Michelangelo is used for meaningless things. The lines serve no meaningful purpose. Prufrock is
external to the conversation, external to the world, and the conversation, therefore, is reduced to
nothing more than a word.
Lines 37-48:
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi
 Prufrock attempts to convince himself that there is no need to rush into action. His indecisiveness to
enter this party where other people (the women) are concerned with conversations that do not apply
to him. (“In the room, the women come and go/talking of Michelangelo”);
 Prufrock himself is fragmented: we do not have a complete image of him, but a half-image of his
morning coat, and the collar button to his chin, a modest necktie, and thin arms and legs;
 The bald patch implies that he is middle-aged, but it is more given a symbolic measure of his
embarrassment.
Lines 49-54:
 Once more, evidence of the passing of time gives us the idea that Prufrock is one of those men who
drink about sixteen coffees a day.
 Lines 51-52 help again to understand that Prufrock is perhaps the most insecure man to ever walk the
planet earth. He convinces himself not to go to the party.
 Line 53 “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” implies solitary, workaholic existence;
implies that there is no other marker in his life with which to measure, that he is not prone to making
decisions outside of his comfort zone.
Lines 62-69:
Prufrock is afraid to speak to the women he sees because he feels he will not articulate his feelings well
enough. He does not think that they will be interested in him. The man is shy and insecure.
Lines 73-74:
Prufrock reduces himself to an animal; sheltered at the bottom of the dark ocean. Prufrock’s awareness of
his own loneliness is what is causing him torment.
Lines 76-98:
 In Lines 76-86, we encounter Prufrock’s skill with language. He knows how to speak but suffer from
the trauma of voicing these thoughts. The trauma stops him;
 Lines 87-98: Here, Prufrock fantasizes that he has had a chance of heart and gone to speak to the
woman at the center of the poem, picturing himself as Lazarus. The idea of proclaiming oneself as a
prophet “come back to tell you all” implies a power of linguistic discourse equal in magnitude to the
physical act of squeezing the universe into a ball.
Lines 99-119:
 Lines 99-110: Prufrock almost seems to have raised his spirits enough to attempt to speak to the
women at the center of the poem;
 Lines 111-119: And then, he loses the urge. Once more, reduces himself to the part of the fool,
shrinking himself down from the heroic stature that he has built up in the previous stanzas - that of
Lazarus and Prince Hamlet - to a fraction of his former self.
Lines 120-131:
 Prufrock shrinks away from the challenge of speaking his mind, of speaking to the woman, and
continues to destroy his own fledgling self-confidence by creating an absurd image in the readers
mind;
 There is presence of unattainable women, symbolized by the mermaids, with the power to ruin
Prufrock’s entire world. There is the imagery of Prufrock viewing himself, now miserable and old,
white-flannel trousers…
Themes:
Anxiety, Indecision and Inaction
 The speaker, J. Alfred Prufrock, is paralyzed by indecision. By depicting the speaker’s instance
struggle with indecision, the poem suggests that excessive preoccupation with doing the right thing can actually stop a person from ever venturing forth into the world or, in fact, doing much of
anything at all;
 From the beginning, the poem sets up a juxtaposition between action and inaction;
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi
 The first line states “let us go,” implying that the poem will move forward in time and space - that it
will go somewhere. But the momentum is quickly stalled. The streets “follow like a tedious
argument of insidious intent,” suggesting that the various paths they offer up feel both boring and
threatening - that there is no clearly good path to take;
 The speaker’s inability to make decision seems to be rooted in social anxiety, he is afraid of making
the wrong choice. He appears to find even basic decision about what to eat or how to dress
overwhelming. In fact, the speaker admits that he finds time for “a hundred visions and revisions,”
all before sitting down his afternoon tea! He imagines “descending the stair” and greeting people, but
in reality he is too timid to do so because he imagines that people will laugh at his bald spot and
shabby clothing (which, in turn, suggest that the speaker is getting older - and that he has been
wasting his time with all this indecision);
 The speaker doesn’t even seem to know how to begin to ask “the overwhelming question,” the
speaker doesn’t actually pose the question. Instead he asks “how should I begin?” and “how should I
presume?” - suggesting that he feels incapable of overcoming the first hurdle to taking action. For
the speaker, trying to make the best choice repeatedly results in no choice at all;
 Overcoming indecision requires agency, but the speaker remains trapped in his repeating patterns
because he feels that he cannot “dare” to do anything. The poet suggests that taking meaningful
action requires taking risks;
 And while the speaker thinks he will have plenty of time to do things, this seems like wishful
thinking. His indecision has stopped him from living a full life.
Desire, Communication and Disappointment
 Although the speaker might appear silent and affectless to others, his interior life is alive with hope
and desire. In particular, he appears to have a deep longing for romantic connection - but he struggles
to communicate that desire, and so it remains mostly unfulfilled;
 Despite being in a “love” song, the poem doesn’t manage to discuss love itself. The poem has false
starts and half-finished thoughts;
 The poem makes it clear that people like the speaker can only really experience lobe by breaking
through these communication barriers;
 There are a few key moments in the poem that suggests that the speaker feels romantic or sexual
desire for women, but is unable to express those feelings, e.g. he asks at one point if it is “perfume
from a dress” that distracts him and he is preoccupied with the image of a woman’s “arms that lie
along a table, or a wrap about a shawl” - a fixation that seems erotic;
 “And should I then presume? And how should I begin?” These repeated questions show that he
doesn’t know how to begin a conversation with a woman and thinks that it would somehow be
disrespectful to do so;
 Although the speaker compares himself to the biblical Lazarus and offers the promise of total
revelation - “to tell all” - he doesn’t actually manage to communicate much of anything. Instead, he
imagines his listener falling asleep and needing “a pillow by her head.” He then protests about his
fantasies: “That is not what I meant at all; That is not it, at all.”
 The speaker’s attempts at communication only grow less effective as he is overcome by hopelessness
and disappointment. The speaker is disillusioned at the end of the poem. He gives up on trying,
instead imagining that his opportunity to share his hopes and dreams has already passed;
 The poet suggests that romantic fulfillment requires clear communication - something the poem
indicates the speaker might not be capable of.
Modernity and Alienation

The poem reflects the social and intellectual conditions of the early 20th century. The poem
emphasizes exciting features of modern-life like electricity and new medical technologies - but it
also suggests that modernity comes with a persistent sense of alienation and isolation from others;
 The poem refers to several technologies that would have been relatively new in the early twentieth
century, like lamplight, industrial factories, and anesthesia in hospitals;
 At the same time, all this new activity and industry seems to have left the speaker behind. He
describes the yellow fog…The smog seems more alive to him than the people themselves;
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 The speaker already seems weary of this new world, in which events follow one another in a
repetitive, cyclical fashion. He claims: “I have known them all already, known them all;/I have
known the evenings, mornings, afternoons/I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” He
suggests that nothing can surprise him anymore or disturb the normal rituals of polite society;
 The poem makes its protagonist an object of mockery rather than a figure of greatness. The speaker
himself seems to feel an inability to measure up against these literary greats, as when he proclaims
that “I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was I meant to be.” The poet suggests that there is something
alienating with the modern way of life.
Structure and Form of the Poem
The poem is primarily written in free verse. This means that most of the lines do not follow a specific
rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.
Literary Devices:
 Personification - the writer has personified trees and other objects in the poem. The phrase “the tree
waved as I walked by” shows the trees as humans. He has also personified “Yellow fog” as lurking
cat or even a dog.
 Enjambment - this is concerned with how a poet may or may not cut off a line before the end of a
sentence. For example, the transition between lines 5 and 6.
 Allusions - mention of Lazarus, Prince Hamlet, and Michelangelo.
 Metaphor - there are various metaphors used in the poem. “Hollywood” stands for the entertainment.
 Simile - “The streets that follow like a tedious argument.”
 Irony - irony is a figure of speech that states the opposite meanings of the situation being discussed.
Prufrock thinks he has a lot of time, but in reality, he is running out of time.
 Epigraph - it refers to a quote statement or poem that is set at the beginning of the document before
the actual poem or a literary piece begins. Eliot has used a stanza from Dante’s Inferno before
starting the actual poem.
 Alliteration - the repetition of the same consonant sounds in the same lines. Examples are found in
the poem.
 Stanza - stanzas of two, seven and twelve verses have been used throughout the poem.
 Refrain - the lines repeated at some distance in the poems are called refrain. The phrases such as,
“the yellow” “window-panes” and “let us go” have been repeated. They have become a type of
refrain.
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JMC 1130: Introduction to Creative Writing (2024) - Zakayo I. Amayi