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Introduction
Oral literature is a broad term which may include ritual texts, curative chants, epic poems, musical genres, folk tales, songs, myths, spells, legends, proverbs, riddles, tongue-twisters, word games, recitations, life histories or historical narratives among others. Therefore, it is well and clear to say and explain oral literature as any form of verbal art which is transmitted orally or delivered by word of mouth. During their presentation, those utterances, whether spoken, recited or sung, their composition and performance exhibit to an appreciable degree the artistic character of accurate observation, vivid imagination and ingenious expression. Oral literature is meaningful and useful to us in many and different ways. It is not only material from the past but also a great deal of new material being composed and performed today. People everywhere including those in towns make up stories, jokes, sayings and songs about their experiences and they share them by performing them in theatres (professionally), among friends and family (casually) and in school (institutionally). Both old materials from the past and new material performed by our oral artists is useful to us in a some ways.
First Oral literature is meant for entertainment, all human beings need to relax, to amuse themselves and get their minds off the dull struggles, worries and sorrows of life. An exciting well-told story, a sweet melodious and rhythmic song, or even a simple exchange of jokes and riddles soothes our minds and refreshes our brains.
Secondly, entertainment is a useful means of educating and informing people. We are attracted to stories, proverbs or songs because they are enjoyable. Moreover, they contain useful information and skills which we learn as we enjoy ourselves.
Oral literature makes us aware of ourselves, other human beings, our environment and our history. Stories, songs, proverbs, riddles and jokes in oral literature use colorful words and vivid images to describe human beings, their feelings and their behavior towards one another. These performances also portray natural phenomena like landscapes, plants and creatures in the same lively language. They also recount events and happenings in our lives and in the history of our societies. Hence these performances stimulate our observation and imagination. We begin to understand the things described better and in a new light. Oral literature gives us insight into people, things and events.
Oral literature comes in as a core in today’s life setting. It is the repository of the critical knowledge, philosophy, and wisdom for non-literate societies. This literature through narrative, poetry, song, dance, myths and fables, and texts for religious rituals provides a portrait of the meaning of life as experienced by the society at its particular time and place with its unique existential challenges. It encapsulates the traditional knowledge, beliefs and values about the environment and the nature of the society itself. It arises in response to the universal aesthetic impulse to provide narratives that explains the nature of life and describes human responses to challenges. This literature portrays how one is to live a moral life and explains the nature of one’s relationships to divinity. It thus retains the society’s knowledge to be passed on to succeeding generation.
It contains the history of the society and its experiences. In various forms oral literature portrays the society’s belief systems that makes sense of life. It provides a guide to human behavior and how to live one’s life. With the arrival of literacy, the core of this literature and its art rapidly disappears.
It is also the repository of artistic expression in a society. Its beauty resonates across cultural frontiers. As such this literature is a response to the universal human instinct to find balance, harmony, and beauty in the world and the need to understand pain, suffering, and evil. It explains the causes of human suffering, justifies them, and suggests ways of mediation and the healing of suffering.
Oral literature also functions to fulfill the need for religious belief and spiritual fulfillment necessary for human existence. This universal human realm, peopled by spiritual beings and their personalities, is revealed through stories, tales, songs, myths, legends, prayers, and ritual texts. Such literature recounts the work of the gods, explains how the world and human existence came about, and reveals the nature of human frailty. Oral literature serves to communicate ideas, emotions, beliefs and appreciation of life. This literature defines, interprets, and elaborates on the society’s vision of reality and the dangers in the world. It deals with the human adventure and achievements against odds. Through the texts of the society’s rituals and ceremonies the ecological elements that are critical to the society’s livelihood are portrayed and their functions sanctified.
Conclusion
Generally, oral literature is still useful to the modern society as from the above, the society depends largely on it.
Musyoxx answered the question on March 17, 2018 at 14:07
- Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
BEGGAR IN THREE PIECE
My jumbo
Shot its way
Across the sky
To distant lands
Across blue seas.
I descended the...(Solved)
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
BEGGAR IN THREE PIECE
My jumbo
Shot its way
Across the sky
To distant lands
Across blue seas.
I descended the ladder
To a waiting ribbon
Of blood-red carpet
A quick glance at my
Three piece suit
And the tie
That beautifully strangled my neck.
On my left hand hang
My beaded knobkerrie
On my right clutched
My rusty inter-Nation begging Bowl
On my face I wore humility and need
And of course dignity.
Sir, the dearth of food
Has rendered by people thin
And hungry
Scoop us a little
You know,
Just a little,
To keep them till next rains’
‘But Sir, beggars
In three piece
Are a rare sight
But your suit is beautiful
- Honestly
Now my suit
Which cost me a fortune
In a Parisian Textile
Has denied me a fortune
And my countrymen, lie.
L.O. Sunkuli
Questions
a) Who is the persona in this poem?
b) What is the subject matter of this poem?
c) Explain the satire in this poem and comment on its effectiveness.
d) Describe the tone of the poem.
e) Explain what the last stanza implies.
f) Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem.
i) My Jumbo
Shots its way
Across the sky
ii) That beautifully strangled my neck.
iii) To keep them till next rains.
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- COMPREHENSION
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
A boy learns from his father without even realizing that he is learning. He...(Solved)
COMPREHENSION
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
A boy learns from his father without even realizing that he is learning. He associates with his father’s masculinity and learns what it entails.
Children are always making decisions. They watch what happens around them and decide what to do to find belonging and connection. They do not automatically mimic the behavior and values of their parents as they are thinking and feeling people who decide for themselves what works.
A father’s role in raising children has changed dramatically with modernization of the society. In past generations, sons were groomed to follow their father’s footsteps, apprenticing at work and adopting their outlook to life.
Nowadays, fathers go out to work wherever their skills take them or where work can be found. Many boys grow up yearning for the closeness with their fathers.
The father is someone who comes to eat, sometimes looks over homework, hears about the son’s infractions of the day and watches television then goes to bed.
Parenting has become a mother’s business while father is out there eking a living. Research shows that fathers are an integral part of their son’s healthy emotional, physical and cognitive growth.
Boys whose fathers love them can demonstrate that love in consistent caring ways, have fewer problems later in life with their peers or in their studies and do not display delinquent behavior.
But teaching a young man how to become a man involves more than just being there. It is a conscious process of mentoring, training and connection that creates a desire for a boy to become the kind of a man we hope he will become.
Many factors come into play, especially in the boy’s formative stage. Recently, I was speaking to a gentleman who in retrospect ascribes his violent behavior to anger brought about by the ill treatment of his mother by his father.
One of the most important influences a father can have on his son is largely through the quality of relationship with the mother. A father who relates well with the mother of his children is more likely to have sons who are psychologically and emotionally healthier. Fathers who treat the mother of their sons with respect and deal with any conflict within the relationship in an appropriate manner are more likely to have boys who understand how women should be treated. They are less likely to be aggressive towards women.
Children with involved, caring fathers have better education outcomes. Fathers often push for achievement, while mothers stress on the boy’s well-being, both of which are important for healthy development.
A study of children of school-going age found that boys with involved fathers have fewer social behaviour problems and are likely to have good emotional health, to be high achievers and avoid drug use, violence and delinquent behavior.
(Adapted from the Standard Sunday Magazine 29th June, 2014)
a) Mention any two things that show that a father’s presence is important in a boy’s life.
b) How does a boy learn from his father?
c) How do children find belonging and connection?
d) Make notes on the ways in which a father can positively influence his son.
e) Many factors come to play (Supply a question tag)
f) Nowadays many fathers go to work wherever their skills take them.
(Rewrite in the present perfect continuous tense)
g) What does teaching a young man involve?
h) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage.
1) Mimic
2) Masculinity
3) Groomed
4) Retrospect
i) Supply a suitable title for the passage.
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the extract below then answer the questions that follow.
“Father! Mother! Come quickly! Tony is dying! He burst into their room throwing his manners...(Solved)
Read the extract below then answer the questions that follow.
“Father! Mother! Come quickly! Tony is dying! He burst into their room throwing his manners completely to the wind. Elizabeth was already on her way across the room. Like all mothers she slept without sleeping and Tony’s screams had brought her to consciousness and to her feet before Aoro started out of the room. Mark struggled to wake up and saw his wife streaking out of the room.
“What the heck is going on?” He asked the empty room. There was of course no answer, but the panicked sounds in the boys’ room were enough to direct him.
Tony was writhing on the floor; clearly the boy was very sick. Mark rushed to the neighbours to ask for transport. Those were the days before people learned to barricade themselves behind their doors for fear of thugs masquerading as people in distress. The neighbour who owned a VW rushed the sick boy who held on his mother’s lap in the front seat with his father in the back, to the general hospital.
Doctors who stare death in the face on daily basis are never in as much a hurry as relatives would like them to be, but eventually the boy was seen and a diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made. He was scheduled for an emergency operation, but since there was one apparently more serious case before him, it wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that they took him to the theatre, where an ugly inflamed appendix was incised and removed.
Back at home, Aoro was climbing walls with fear and worry. His sisters with the death like slumber of the young had managed to sleep throughout the whole commotion. At dawn he decided enough was enough so he went to their room and shook them awake.
“What is it?” She asked alarmed.
“Tony is sick. He was rushed to hospital at night and they haven’t come back.” He could not add the unspeakable – the fear that his brother was dying or dead.
“Why didn’t you wake us up you idiot?” Asked Vera annoyed such a thing could have happened without her knowing it; so she took it out on her brother. Becky continued to lie in her bed. Few things bored her as much as sickness, suffering and death. She simply could not identify with them. At sixteen she was a breathtaking beauty and had a horde of admirers and aspiring boyfriends none of whom she had yet shown interest in. She did not believe in wasting time. Besides, her sister was always with her and she knew her parents would not take kindly to such goings on. She stretched luxuriously in bed, enjoying the feel of her young lithe body. Aoro, tired of being called names retired back to his room. Vera looked questioningly at her sister, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She was beginning to have doubts about the young lady.
Questions
a) What had happened shortly before the excerpt?
b) Father! Mother! Come quickly! Tony is dying. (Rewrite in reported speech)
c) How does Tony’s sickness and treatment affect Aoro’s future life?
d) Contrast the characters of Becky and Vera according to their reaction towards their brother’s sickness.
e) Why had Becky not shown interest in any of her boyfriend?
f) Identify and illustrate any evident theme in the extract.
g) What in the extract shows that Elizabeth is a caring mother?
h) Identify and illustrate any evident style in the extract.
i) Give any two phrasal verbs used in the extract.
j) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the extract.
1) Writhing
2) Masquerading
3) Appendicitis
4) Incised
5) Commotion
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full...(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock
The sod rolled heading, with single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake
Fell sometimes on the polished sod
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up a plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm,
All I did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
Questions
a) Describe what the poem is about.
b) What is the persona’s attitude towards his father?
c) Identify and illustrate any two literary devices used.
d) What is the mood of the poem?
e) Describe two character traits of the father.
f) What is the irony in the last stanza?
g) Which word can replace ‘yapping’?
h) Identify the two different aspects of the title ‘follower’.
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- Jussup represents hypocrisy that bedevils the society. Justify this statement with reference to Caucasian Chalk Circle(Solved)
Jussup represents hypocrisy that bedevils the society. Justify this statement with reference to Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Date posted: March 15, 2018. Answers (1)
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What is the importance of oral literature?
Date posted: March 12, 2018. Answers (1)
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Help can come when least expected. Discuss with illustrations from Blossoms of the Savannah.
Date posted: March 6, 2018. Answers (1)
- Gender inequality is tantamount to violation of human rights. Write an essay in support of the assertion drawing your illustrations from Blossoms of the Savannah....(Solved)
Gender inequality is tantamount to violation of human rights. Write an essay in support of the assertion drawing your illustrations from Blossoms of the Savannah.
Date posted: March 6, 2018. Answers (1)
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Bad decisions can adversely affect our lives. Write an essay in support of the statement with illustrations from the novel Blossoms of Savannah
Date posted: March 6, 2018. Answers (1)
- “The strong bond between Resian and Taiyo contributes significantly to their triumph.” Write an essay in support of the statement.(Solved)
“The strong bond between Resian and Taiyo contributes significantly to their triumph.” Write an essay in support of the statement from Blossoms of Savannah.
Date posted: March 6, 2018. Answers (1)
- “Though Resian goes through the valley of death, her determination leads her to a victorious life.” Write a composition to show the validity of...(Solved)
“Though Resian goes through the valley of death, her determination leads her to a victorious life.” Write a composition to show the validity of this assertion from Blossoms of Savannah.
Date posted: March 6, 2018. Answers (1)
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Explain the themes highlighted in Blossoms of The Savannah by Ole Kulet.
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How did the death of Adika form a foundation of change in Kafira?
Date posted: March 4, 2018. Answers (1)
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them; those who do not, live miserable lives....(Solved)
Culture is dynamic and those who recognize and accept this make meaning of all that happens around
them; those who do not, live miserable lives. Drawing illustrations from the Whale Rider show the truth
of this statement.
Date posted: March 1, 2018. Answers (1)
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Francis Imbuga’s play, Betrayal in the City show the truth of this...(Solved)
“Francis Imbuga effectively uses satire to expose the ills bedeviling society.” Using illustrations from
Francis Imbuga’s play, Betrayal in the City show the truth of this statement.
Date posted: March 1, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
Vera did not want to be held, and the big ?ashing eyes on her...(Solved)
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
Vera did not want to be held, and the big flashing eyes on her skinny face were restless and tempestuous. Even adults were a little afraid of her. She however had one saving grace; her capacity for love. Hers was and would remain a passionate nature. She took nothing for granted. She was completely loyal and from an early age her sister was the object of love and protection. It was her business to see to it that Becky was happy and had everything she needed. She was willing and ready to do battle with anyone who crossed Becky’s path and she was a fearless fighter although tears were ready to fall at the slightest provocation. Once when she was about five, she almost tore a playmate apart before anyone realized what was happening because she was screaming at the top of her lungs while pummeling him. The boy remained mute and shocked and did not or could not utter a sound. He only remembered to snivel a little when they pulled the screaming Vera off him.
When the girls were two, Mark got his long awaited promotion and moved to a slightly bigger house which had an extra bedroom. It was just in the nick of time for Elizabeth was pregnant again and sleeping arrangements were becoming tricky. Their joy was however tempered by the fact that owing to the state of emergency, the country was becoming more and more dangerous even for ordinary people between the White Johnies on one side and the Mau Mau freedom fighters on the other, death could arrive without warning. It was therefore decided that as soon as the baby was born, Elizabeth would move back to her old teaching job at Aluor where it was much safer, being far from the central region which was the enclave of the freedom fighters.
Aoro, a bouncing boy and the apple of his father’s eye was born in the middle of a long dry season-thus his name. When he was two weeks old he was whisked off to Aluor with his sister. When she heard about it, their paternal grandmother was furious.
“How can you allow that woman to take off with my grandchildren? Is this why they refused to take a bride price for her? So that they could treat us like dirt?”
“Mother nobody is trying to treat anyone else like dirt. It is just that there is no suitable school for her to teach in around here. She can bring the children over during the holidays.”
“Huff!” snorted his mother. Mark was almost sorry he had stopped by to see his mother on his way back to Nakuru. Things became very bad and lorries carrying the dead, purportedly Mau Mau were a common sight. There was suspicion everywhere - white against black and black against white. The Kikuyu especially suffered greatly-and could be shot, maimed, killed or translocated at a moment’s notice. They returned atrocity for atrocity and blood flowed- both black and white. Mark was very lonely without his wife and children. He particularly missed little Vera’s constant chatter which he had found so irritating before. She had been tireless and irrepressible, but now he would have given anything to hear her say: “Father why is mother’s stomach so big?”
(a) Place the extract in its immediate context.
(b) Characterize Vera according to the extract.
(c) Identify and illustrate two features of style employed in the extract.
(d) What are some of the themes brought out in the extract?
(e) In a paragraph of not more than 20 words write a summary of the effects of war as seen in the extract.
(f) Mark is said to have been lonely. This loneliness leads to something. Briefly say what happens.
Date posted: March 1, 2018. Answers (1)
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