LITERATURE - IN ENGLISH SS1,WEEK 2

PROSE AND ITS DIVISION

PROSE

• Prose is a long narrative literary work. It applies a natural flow of speech and ordinary grammatical structure rather than rhythmic structure , such as in the case of traditional poetry. Normal everyday speech is spoken in prose and most people think and write in prose form. Prose is divided into two:

• Fiction• Non-fiction

CHARACTERISTICS OF PROSE

• A prose is written in chapters and chapters are made up of paragraphs. The writer of a prose is known as author.

• The outline or summary of a story in a logical order of event is plot. The central idea in a prose work is referred to as theme or thematic pre-occupation.

• DIVISION OF PROSE

Fiction

• It refers to literature created from the imagination . Fiction is a long narrative literary work in which actions that form the basis of the story are either imagined or invented. It is any work of prose that deals in part or in whole , with information or events that are not real but rather imaginary. Example : faceless by Amma Darko , Native Son by Richard Wright

NON-FICTION

• A prose which presents the real life experience of a character . It is an assertion or descriptions that are believed by the author to be factual. Example: biography, autobiography e.t.c

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KINDS OF FICTION

Short story: This is a story which does not have two many characters and often concentrate on a single event. It is less than a thousand words

Novella: it is a fictional prose narrative normally longer than a shorter story but shorter than a novel.

Novel: it is a long prose work that describes fictional characters and events usually in form of a sequential story.

Fable: it is a short unreal story in which animals are made to talk and dialogue as if they were human beings.Allegory : This is a story in which abstract ideas are used as characters. E.g love, pride e..t.c parable : This is a simple and brief story used to demonstrate ‘ a moral truth or lesson’Example ; The parable of the mustard seed. Romance : it refers to a fantastic story which setting , incidents and even characters are totally removed from real life possibilities.Myth : An ancient story that people believed

KINDS OF NON- FICTION

Biography: This is a prose work written on the real life experience of another individual who is not the author himself.

Autobiography : This is a real life story account and experiences of a person as written by himself.

Memoir: this refers to the personal experiences of a writer concerning a particular issue E.g Wole Soyinka’s The Man Died

BASIC CONCEPTS / TECHNIQUES IN PROSE WRITING

Plot: this refers to the arrangement of events in a narrative piece towards the achievements of some particular artistic or emotional effect. There are two types of plot structure :

Linear plot/ chronological plotEpisodic plotCharacterisation and character : A character is

a participant in the story. Characterisation is the way the writer portrays his /her character.

Setting : this is the time and location in which a story takes place

Theme: theme is the central idea in a work of art.

Narrative Techniques/ point of view: this is the way the author allows reader to ‘’see’’ and ‘’ hear ‘’ his view