Page 144 - English_Form_3

Mr Mgimba: Thank you very much. So, what are the main forms of
literature?
Ms Tabia: Forms of literature are also called genres. These can be
divided into three main groups: novels and short stories,
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drama or plays, and poetry. They can be fictitious when they
depict an imaginary world or non-fictitious when they deal
with facts and people we all know.
Mr Mgimba: So, you, educated elites, don’t recognise the art of our
ancestors?
Ms Tabia: (laughs) Of course we do. We call that oral literature.
Mr Mgimba: That’s great! Can you please tell the audience more about it?

Ms Tabia: Sure! Oral literature is the literature that is presented in
spoken form.

Mr Mgimba: Is that all?
Ms Tabia: No, oral literature is very rich and diverse. It includes rituals,
songs, epic poems and praise poems, folktales, myths and
legends, as well as histories of people. It also includes
proverbs, riddles, sayings and is rich in various figures of
speech. In oral literature, a storyteller or singer uses voices
and actions to add life to what he/she narrates.
Mr Mgimba: That’s interesting. I am sure my viewers would
love to join literature classes. Can you tell us more,
please?

Ms Tabia: Yeah, why not? Well, oral literature is usually closely
connected to a particular culture. It includes stories adapted
to a particular context of that culture or community.
Mr Mgimba: OK, I am glad to hear how much you value oral literature.
But, back to written literature, namely novels, short stories,
drama or plays and poetry, how are they aspects of literature?
Ms Tabia: Ok, these are referred to as genres of written literature.
Mr Mgimba: So, could you kindly explain what each genre means?
Ms Tabia: A novel is a long story with many characters and themes. The
themes and events in novels come out through characters
and how they interact. Through the story and characters, the
author expresses their point of view about different aspects
of life.

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