UNIT 1

DESCRIBING THE TYPES OF LITERARY WORK

For a better understanding of the term literary work it is better to have a say on the term
LITERATURE from which, the term literary work has been manipulated.
LITERATURE
The term literature comes from two Latin words
LITERA – which means writing
TURE – that means origin or nature
Thus from the above words, some people define literature as a phenomena concerned with
written materials, dealing with nature
Others say
is the entire body of writing belonging to a given language of people at a particular time.
The above definitions are criticized by different scholars, because they lay emphasis on
writings as a defining factor of literature, which is obviously wrong.
Thus they come up with the definitions of literature as;-
The work of art which uses human language artistically to portray human realities
OR
Literature is a work of art expressed in words using language creatively to express human
realities
OR
Is a work of art which uses human language as its medium to convey (express) the human
experience (life)
LITERARY WORK
It has also been defined differently by different people as follows
i. Is an imaginative or creative writing expressed in letters of alphabet.
ii. Is any work which is written, spoken or sing
iii. Is an intellectual work expressed in written word, numbers or symbols in any medium
Thus Generary Literary work can be defined as
 Any work, using language that is imaginatively created by an artist with themes, lessons
aesthetic or message for the society
 This is to say that, the work of art can be in a written form, or orally: sing or/ and recited
before the audience.
TYPES OF LITERARY WORKS
There are basically two types of literary works
 i. Fiction – Imaginative writing, not based on real facts,
Here includes Novels, short stories,
Plays (drama) and poetry.
ii. Non fiction – factual writings based on real facts
Here includes manuscripts, games, automated data bases computer
programmers,
conference paper etc.
ELEMENTS OF LITERARY WORK
Any literary work (fiction) is made up of two basic element
a) form
b) content
The two element are import/crucial in analyzing a literary work
a) FORM
Is the general organization of a literary work. Form includes the techniques
employed by the artist to communicate with his/her readers/listeners. It deals with
the techniques used in a literary work
b) CONTENT
Refers to what is being conveyed in a work of art which may either be in spoken
or written form
A: FORM
Form is made up of the following; -
I: CHARACTERS
A character is a person or anything that is given a role to play in a work of art.
A character is used by an artist in his/her work to carry and deliver what the artist wants to
convey to her/his society
In plays, Novels and short stories, characters are identified by their names. In poetry characters
are hardly identified by names
Thus in poetry we have persona and speaker as characters
CHARACTERISATION
This is a process of giving attributes to a character in a work of art.
It is a process of creating a person/ thing so that they exist for the reader as life like.
The character is given the attributes that will make them carry the behaviors of human being
 TYPES OF CHARACTERS
Characters in a literary work, are categorized according to the role played in a literary work,
thus we have the following types of characters
i. Main/central/Protagonistic characters
Is a character with a big role in a literary work, is a character who is talked about from
the beginning to the end of a literary work the events and actions are centered on him/her
this type of character carries the main themes
ii. Minor/Assistant character
A character whose role is considered to be smaller compared to the main character.
iii. Dynamic/ Dramatic character
Is a character who changes time to time in behavior in a work of art. A dynamic/dramatic
character is modified by actions which make them change and grow.
E.g. He was ignorant, then he gets awareness
She was prostitute, then she becomes a god fearing
iv. Static/flat characters
Are the character who do not change or have very little change. They have the
predominant one trait of personalities.
They do not surprise the reader because their attributes/behaviors are the same all over
the work
v. Antagonist character
Is the main character who is always in opposition with the protagonist character
An antagonist character who is always the one who is hate by the readers/ audience
E.g. in a Novel called “A man of the people” Chief Nanga is an antagonist character
vi. Round character
Is a type of character that change personally or a character who has complex personality
and always contradictory
vii. Stock character
A character who has become conventional to the main character and stereo type.
viii. Expositor character
Is a character who has been/is discussed/described by either author or another character
ix. Foil character
Is a character (usually the antagonist) who shows contrast against the protagonist
character
II: SETTING
Refers to the time and place where the events take place in a literary work, with time, it
may be day, year, age etc.
With place it may be city, country, town, inside or outside.
 THINGS WHICH CAN HELP A READER OF A LITERARY WORK TO IDENTIFY
SETTING
i. Actual names of places
There are names which are familiar in certain places. The use of these names help a
reader to know the setting of a particular literary work e.g. mwanjelwa, Mbalizi, Mbeya,
Uyole
- Mombasa, Kisumu, - Kenya
ii. Physical features
These are things which, when mentioned, guide the reader to know the setting E.g. Rough
roads, mountains, Rivers, Valley, Forests – Rural
Tarmac roads, streets, towels- urban/Town
iii. The actual history of the place
These are historical events which, when included in a work of art, help the reader to
know where the setting is
E.g. Historical events like majimaji war of resistance, and kagera war may direct the
reader to know that the setting is in TZ
iv. The Authors name and History
The names of the Author may sometimes help the reader to know the setting as they are
common in a particular place/Area
E.g. Andendekisye mwampalile
Andrew Chacha
Denis Ekweme
v. The stage direction in plays
vi. The accent of the characters
vii. The culture of the place described in a work of art.
viii. The stage directions (in play)
ix. The accent of the characters
x. The culture of the place described in a literary work
III: PLOT
Refers to the arrangement of events in a literary work. The general organization of a literary
work in terms of events according to their cause and effects.
The arrangement being referred here is not only about the arrangement of events, but also the
arrangement that makes the story meaningful and attractive
TYPES OF PLOT
There are three types of plot
i. Chronological plot
This is the type of plot in which the events in a story are arranged in a series or in order.
E.g. Narrating the birth of a character, their upbringing, the marriage, work, their elderly
life, their sickness and death
 ii. Flashback plot
Is the kind of the plot in which the events are not arranged in a chronological order.
Refers to the creation of events whereby the last event starts at the beginning of the
story. Then other events may follow. The first event may come at the end.
E.g. the story starts with the burial of a character, then as you read, you get to know his
birth, growth, life, and the sickness/disease that caused his death.
iii. Foreshadowing
Refers to the prediction of the future event whereby one character may say something
which will really happen later on
E.g. in o play like on TV a rope may be seen in a particular scene, then a certain character
is passing through some difficulties, the audience may predict that, the character will
hang him/herself later, then it happens exactly,
PLOT HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO A NUMBER OF STAGES
A stage is a point at which the literary work is, The level of a story. The level and arrangement
of events which make a reader determine the contrasting events, and the growth of conflicts in a
story (literary work)
a. Exposition (Beginning)
Is the introduction of the story background information that is needed for proper
understanding of the story. This information may include the protagonist,
antagonistic, setting and the such. The author gives the important facts that help
the readers to understand the literary work. Here, it is plays, Novels and short
stories which are referred. Not poem/ poetry
b. Rising action (complication)
This is the part of the story in which the author brings us to the
conflicts/problem’s that the character face. The characters start to come across
problem, it is in this stage where the protagonist and antagonistic characters are
seen in a serious and great conflict, even when they try to solve the conflict, yet
the tension rises.
c. Climax
This is the highest point in which the conflict reaches its peak. Is the point of NO
RETURN of the story, the point at which the conflict is at its worst stage.
d. Falling action
Is the point in a story where the author shows how the conflict is solved step by
step.
It is the point of the story whereby the readers get relaxed emotionally. There are
tensions of conflict loosened.
Falling action deals with events which occur right after the climax. These events
are usually the after – effect of the climax.
e. Resolution (Ending)/the dénouement stage.
This is the last stage of the literary work where the conflicts are solved. It is the
stage where we get to know which side of the conflict wins and which one looses.
 Climax

Exposition Resolution

THE CRISIS
This is the brief time when the conflict rises to the point of the climax and resolution is
necessary.
IV: POINT OF VIEW
Is the angle or vantage point from which the story is narrated
It refers to how the work of art is narrated.
THERE ARE THREE POINT OF VIEW
i. first person point of view
ii. second person point of view
iii. third person point of view

 FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW

Is the type of point of view in which the narrator is one of the character in a literary work,
The pronoun “I” is employed in a narrating a story.
This narrator tells us his/her experience
In a Novel called “a man of the people” There is a character called odili, he is the one
narrating the whole story. Also, pronoun like “we” may be used.
 SECOND PERSON POINT OF VIEW
Is the type of point of view or the method of narration of stories in which the prooun
“you” is emphasized in narrating the story. This is rarely in literary works
 THIRD PERSON POINY OF VIEW
Is the type of point of view in which the narrator is outside the story. This is the most
common point of view in many literary work.
 E.g. “Weep Not child” by ngugi wa thiong’o
In this type, also pronouns like “He, or she and they” may be used, to show that the
narrator is not part of the story
NARRATOR IN LITERARY WORK ARE CATEGORISED ONTO TWO TYPE
a. OMNISCIENT – The kind of narrator who pretends to know everything about others.
i.e. “the all – knowing narrator”
This kind of narrator may even predict the thoughts and feelings of
characters.
b. NAÏVE NARRATOR – The kind of narrator who is regarded to be ignovant.
This narrator does not comprehend the implications of what he/she
says. He/she just narrate the events as they are done by the characters,
V: STYLE.
This is the may an author presents his/her work in a way/ manner that makes them different
from other authors. Basically, the author choice of language, and the way he/she oresebts his/her
work are the ones that make one author different from another.
Normally every author has his/her unique way of writing that differentiates him/her from
others.
E.g. Ngugi wa thiongo uses much biblical quotation while chinua achebe bases much on the use
of lgbo language, proverbs and Africanized English.
These aspects make the authors different from one to another.
VI: SUSPENSE.
Is a technique used by author in arranging the events in a story, whereby an incident is
delayed to happen at the time the reader is eagerly following it.
This is intentionally made to make the reader keep on reading the story to see what will happen
next.