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JAMB Literature in English Syllabus 2026/2027
Complete official UTME Literature in English syllabus — all topics, sub-topics and JAMB learning objectives. Study what actually comes out, nothing extra.
5
Sections
60
Questions
JAMB Literature in English Syllabus PDF
Official JAMB document • Free download
Section A
A
Drama
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1. Types of Drama
- Tragedy
- Comedy
- Tragicomedy
- Melodrama
- Farce
- Opera etc.
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Identify the various types of drama
- Analyse the contents of the various types of drama
- Compare and contrast the features of different types of drama
2. Dramatic Techniques
- Characterisation
- Dialogue
- Flashback
- Mime
- Costume
- Music and Dance
- Décor and scenery
- Acts and Scenes
- Soliloquy and aside
- Figures of Speech
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Demonstrate adequate knowledge of dramatic techniques and stage directions used in each prescribed text
- Differentiate between styles of selected playwrights
3. Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts
- Theme
- Plot
- Socio-political context
- Setting
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Determine the theme of any prescribed text
- Identify the plot of the play
- Apply the lessons of the play to social reality
- Identify the spatial setting and temporal period of the play
Section B
B
Prose
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1. Types of Prose
- Prose fiction — Novel, Novella/Novelette, Short story
- Non-fiction — Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
- Faction: combination of fact and fiction
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Differentiate between types of novel
- Identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to
- Analyse the components of each type of prose
- Identify the balance of facts and fiction in literary faction
2. Narrative Techniques and Devices
- Point of view — Omniscient, First Person, Second Person, Third Person, Stream of consciousness, Epiphany
- Characterisation — Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero, villain, heroine etc.
- Language — Grammar, diction and clarity of expression
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Identify the narrative techniques used in each of the prescribed texts
- Determine an author's narrative style
- Distinguish between one type of character from another
3. Textual Analysis
- Theme
- Plot
- Setting — Temporal and Spatial
- Socio-political context
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Determine the thematic pre-occupation of the prescribed text
- Indicate the plot of the novel
- Identify the setting and period of the novel
- Relate the prescribed text to social reality
Section C
C
Poetry
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1. Types of Poetry
- Sonnet
- Ode
- Lyrics
- Elegy
- Ballad
- Panegyric
- Epic
- Blank Verse etc.
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Identify different types of poetry
- Identify the distinctive features of the poetic types
2. Poetic Devices
- Imagery
- Sound — Rhyme, Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia etc.
- Diction
- Persona
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Determine the devices used by various poets
- Show how poetic devices are used for aesthetic effect in each poem
- Identify the figure of speech in the texts
- Show how poetic devices convey message and meaning
3. Appreciation
- Thematic preoccupation
- Socio-political relevance
- Style
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Deduce the poet's thematic preoccupation from the poem
- Appraise poetry as an art with moral values
- Apply the lessons from the poem to social reality
Section D
D
General Literary Terms and Principles
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1. Literary Terms
- Foreshadowing
- Suspense
- Theatre
- Monologue
- Dialogue
- Soliloquy
- Symbolism
- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Figures of speech
- Satire
- Stream of consciousness
- Synecdoche
- Metonymy
- Additional terms listed under the individual genres
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Identify literary terms that are specific to drama, prose and poetry
- Identify areas of overlap in all the genres — e.g. verse in drama and poetry, narration in all the genres
Section E
E
Literary Appreciation
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1. Unseen Passages and Extracts
- Unseen passages and extracts from Drama
- Unseen passages and extracts from Prose
- Unseen passages and extracts from Poetry
What JAMB expects you to do:
- Identify literary devices used in a given passage or extract
- Provide an interpretation of the given passage or extract
- Relate the extract to true life experiences
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Now Practice JAMB Literature in English Past Questions
Reading the syllabus is step one. The fastest way to score high is to practice real past questions from every year — with instant answers and explanations.
Practice Literature in English Past Questions →📚 JAMB Recommended Textbooks
These are the official books listed by JAMB for Literature in English preparation:
📖 Obafemi, O. and Agoi (eds) — Of Shadows and Rainbows: Musings in Times of Covid (An Anthology of poems, plays and short stories), PEN Nigeria, Online
📖 Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) — The Penguin Book of English Verse, Penguin, London
📖 Johnson, R., Ker, D., Maduka, C. and Obafemi, O. (eds) (1996) — New Poetry from Africa, University Press Plc, Ibadan
📖 Kermode, F. (1964) — Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, OUP, London
📖 Nduka Ofiono and Odoh Diego Okenyodo (eds) (2021) — Camouflage: Best of Contemporary Writing from Nigeria (new ed.), Mace Books Association
📖 Parker, E. W. (ed.) (1980) — A Pageant of Longer Poems, Longman, London
📖 Senanu, K. E. and Vincent, T. (eds) (1993) — A Selection of African Poetry, Longman, Lagos
📖 Soyinka, W. (ed.) (1987) — Poems of Black Africa, Heinemann, Ibadan
📖 Abrams, M. H. (1981) — A Glossary of Literary Terms (4th ed.), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York
📖 Emeaba, O. E. (1982) — A Dictionary of Literature, Inteks Press, Aba
📖 Murphy, M. J. (1972) — Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
Common Questions 🤔
JAMB Literature in English has five sections: Section A (Drama), Section B (Prose), Section C (Poetry), Section D (General Literary Terms and Principles), and Section E (Literary Appreciation — unseen passages). Questions are drawn from all five sections, including questions on the prescribed African and non-African texts.
JAMB sets 60 questions in Literature in English. The questions cover the three main genres — Drama, Prose and Poetry — through both prescribed text questions and the literary appreciation (unseen passage) component. General literary terms are also tested across the paper.
The current prescribed texts are: Drama — Efua Sutherland's Marriage of Anansewa (African) and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (Non-African); Prose — Pede Hollist's So the Path Does Not Die and Elma Shaw's Redemption Road (African), and Susanne Bellefeuille's Path of Lucas (Non-African); Poetry — six African poems (Okara, Kamara, Soyinka, Osundare, Afriyie-Vidza, Cheney-Coker) and four Non-African poems (Byron, Chaucer, Adcock, Gibson).
The most important literary terms include: foreshadowing, suspense, soliloquy, monologue, dialogue, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, satire, stream of consciousness, synecdoche, metonymy, figures of speech, imagery, persona, rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, characterisation, plot, theme and setting. Terms overlap across Drama, Prose and Poetry, so learn them in context.
Literary appreciation (Section E) tests your ability to read and analyse an unseen passage or extract — one you have never seen before — from any of the three genres. You must identify literary devices, interpret meaning, and relate the passage to real-life experience. This section rewards candidates who have read widely and practised analysing texts beyond the prescribed works.
The five-section structure of the Literature in English syllabus — Drama, Prose, Poetry, General Literary Terms, and Literary Appreciation — has remained stable. However, JAMB updates the list of prescribed texts periodically. Always confirm the current prescribed text list and practise past questions from 2023 onwards to stay current with JAMB's question style.