There are 4 different types of African Literature: Oral Literature, Precolonial African Literature, Colonial African Literature, and Postcolonial Literature.
What are the examples of African Literature?
African Literature Books
- Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) Chinua Achebe.
- Half of a Yellow Sun (Hardcover) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
- Americanah (Hardcover)
- Purple Hibiscus (Paperback)
- Homegoing (Hardcover)
- The Thing Around Your Neck (Hardcover)
- Disgrace (Paperback)
- So Long a Letter (Paperback)
What makes African Literature different?
Language of the African novel is highly enriched with some aspects of oral literature such as songs, proverbs and narratives. The other aspect which makes African novel unique from other novels is characterization. In the novel, characterization is achieved by reporting the thoughts of the characters.
What defines African Literature?
African literature, the body of traditional oral and written literatures in Afro-Asiatic and African languages together with works written by Africans in European languages.
What are the three phases of African literature?
The African literature thrived in three periods, namely: the pre-colonial era, the colonial-era and the post-colonial era.
What is the difference between oral literature and written literature?
Oral literature is done through words and speaking, whereas written is through the written word. Written literature can be in the form of short stories, novels and prose whereas oral literature can be described as poems and bards.
What are the characteristics of European literature?
Key characteristics of this period include an interest in the common man and childhood, emotions and feelings, the awe of nature, emphasis on the individual, myths, and the importance of the imagination.
What are the characteristics of written literature?
When literary purpose is the primary purpose, the writing should be fictional. As a secondary purpose, literary writing can be found in combination with the expressive or persuasive purpose. Because literary writing is figurative, it is seldom found in combination with referential writing, which is literal.
What is precolonial African literature?
The pre-colonial literature is the literary works done before the coming of the white men to the African continent. Before then, there was the use of oral Page 2 traditions and folktales and these made the literature of this period very interesting to children.
Who is father of African literature?
Chinua Achebe
When Chinua Achebe died in March, he was mourned around the world, proclaimed as the “Father of African Literature,” as the author of contemporary classics such as Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease, and as a perennial Nobel Prize candidate.
What are the main features of African literature?
The prose is often mythological or historical and can include tales of the trickster character. Storytellers in Africa sometimes use call-and-response techniques to tell their stories. Poetry, often sung, includes: narrative epic, occupational verse, ritual verse, praise poems of rulers and other prominent people.
What are some of the best books written in Africa?
Notable novels by African writers. Peter Abrahams (South Africa): Mine Boy, This Island Now, A Wreath for Udomo. Chinua Achebe (Nigeria): Arrow of God, No Longer At Ease, Things Fall Apart, A Man of the People, Anthills of the Savannah. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria): Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun.
Are female writers better represented in African Literature Today?
Female writers are today far better represented in published African literature than they were prior to independence. In 1986, Wole Soyinka became the first post-independence African writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Previously, Algerian -born Albert Camus had been awarded the prize in 1957.
What are some examples of pre-colonial African literature?
Examples of pre-colonial African literature are numerous. In Ethiopia , there is a substantial literature written in Ge’ez going back at least to the fourth century AD; the best-known work in this tradition is the Kebra Negast , or “Book of Kings.”
