Author: Msomi Bora

Elements of Literature There are two elements of literature these are form and content. These element are sometimes called Aspect of literature, analysis of literature is done through the two element form and content. Note: Form and content are said to be the cup and tea in literature, so we can separate each term to complete a work of literature In other words form and content are two side of the same coin But normally form determines content FORM What is form? Form is simply the super structure of the literary work or Is the upper layer of literature work which determine the content…

CONCEPTS OF LITERATURE Various Definitions of Literature – Literature is the work of art which use language creatively to express human realities (the universe is the source of these realities to be expressed) – Literature is the use of language in a peculiar way (different from normal language use) in order to reflect social realities through artistic use of language (Gibbon) – Literature is defined as books and other written works, especially those considered to have creative or artistic merit or lasting value. – Literature refers to writing considered to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic…

AN ABANDONED BUNDLE By Oswald M. Mtshali About the Author Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali was born in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa in 1940. After completing secondary school in he went to Soweto hoping to study social work. Apartheid legislation prevented his enrolment but he studied via correspondence, obtaining a diploma with Premier School of Journalism and Authorship, affiliated to London University. After his success as a poet, Mtshali became an educator. He was vice principal of Pace College, a commercial school in Soweto. He taught at the New York City College of Technology. Oswald M Mtshali AN ABANDONED BUNDLE By Oswald M. Mtshali The morning mist…

BALLAD OF THE LANDLORD By Langston Hughes About the Author James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. He moved to New York City as a young man, where he made his career. One of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that “the negro was in vogue”, which was later paraphrased as “when Harlem was in vogue.” Langston Hughes BALLAD OF THE LANDLORD By Langston Hughes…

BUILDING THE NATION By Christopher H. M. Barlow About the Author Building the nation is a poem by a Ugandan poet Christopher Henry Muwanga Barlow (1929-2006). was a Ugandan poet notable for his poem Building the Nation. He was one of the recipients of the Uganda Golden Jubilee medals in 2013. Henry Barlow attended King’s College Budo (1936–48), where he excelled in cricket and lawn tennis. It was at Budo that Barlow discovered poetry. He joined Makerere University College (1949–53), graduating with a BA degree (London). He was among the 13 pioneer graduates to be awarded degrees. Before, the university used to award only diplomas. Christopher H.…

SONG OF LAWINO AND OCOL By Okot P’Bitek Song of Lawino is a poem written by Ugandan poet Okot p’Bitek (1931 – 1982). First published in 1966 in Acholi Luo, it was quickly translated into other languages, including English. Song of Lawino has become one of the most widely read literary works originating from Sub-Saharan Africa. It has also become culturally iconic within Africa, because of its scathing display of how African society was being destroyed by the colonization of Africa. Okot p’Bitek Song of Lawino describes how Lawino’s husband, Ocol, the son of the tribal leader of their Acholi tribe, has taken another wife, Clementine, who is educated and acts European. Although Ocol’s polygamy is accepted by society, and by…

EAT MORE By Joe Corrie About the Author Joe Corrie (1894–1968) was a Scottish miner, poet and playwright best known for his radical, working class plays. He was born in Slamannan, Stirlingshire. His family moved to Cardenden in the Fife coalfield when Corrie was still an infant and he started work at the pits in 1908. He died in Edinburgh in 1968. Shortly after the First World War, Corrie started writing. His articles, sketches, short stories and poems were published in prominent socialist newspapers and journals, including Forward and The Miner. Eat More is one of the poems he wrote responding to the commercial slogans that insist on eating balanced diet regardless of their social and economic status.…

KINJEKETILE by Ebrahim Hussein About the Play Kinjeketile is a play written by Ebrahim Hussein, a Tanzanian author. He first wrote the play in Swahili, and it was also first performed in Swahili. You will read an English translation of the play that was done by the author. The play tells the story of the Maji-Maji rebellion in 1904-05 that was led by Kinjeketile Ngwale in what was at the time called Southern Tanganyika. The play, Kinjeketile (1969), written in Swahili is considered “a landmark of Tanzanian theater.” The play soon became one of the standard subjects for Kiswahili exams in…

THE SWAMP DWELLERSBy Wole Soyinka About the Author Wole Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first sub-Saharan African to be honoured in that category.After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. Wole SoyinkaTHE SWAMP DWELLERS We have two analysis for you about this playAnalysis 1 and Analysis 2 ANALYSIS 1 About the Play The Swamp Dwellers is a play that was written by Wole Soyinka and was…

THE TRIAL OF DEDAN KIMATHI By Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o About the Play The play was first published in 1976, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and his collaborator, Micere Githae Mugo, built a powerful and challenging play out of the circumstances surrounding the 1956 trial of Dedan Kimathi, the celebrated Kenyan hero who led the Mau Mau rebellion against the British colonial regime in Kenya and was eventually hanged. A highly controversial character, Kimathi’s life has been subject to intense propaganda by both the British government, who saw him as a vicious terrorist, and Kenyan nationalists, who viewed him as a man of great…