Literature in English SS 2 Curriculum Guides – Poetry – Wole Soyinka – “Post Mortem”

THEME – POETRY – WOLE SOYINKA: “POST MORTEM”

TOPIC 1 – BACKGROUND AND SETTING 

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Video clips, news paper clips, pictures etc. which depict the author’s background and setting of poem.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. recall information on poet’s background and literacy achievement.

2. relate poet’s background and literacy achievement.

3. identify with poets’s ideals.

CONTENTS OF THE LESSON

FOCUS LESSONS 

1. Wole Soyinka was born in Abeokuta (Nigeria) in 1934.

He studied in university of Ibadan and Leads (England). He lectured drama and produced plays in University of Lagos, Ibadan and Ife.

2. His international fare has been enhanced by his winning the Nobel peace prize for literature.

3. Several of his plays and poems have been produced worldwide.

LESSON PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

The teacher,

1. presents biographical background of the author.

2. encourages students to do a library/interest search on authors background.

 

 

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

The students,

1. respond to information on the poet’s background; relating it to their experiences.

2. in groups, they prepare a graphic board or news paper, clips/pictures/drawings etc. on author’s background and setting of poem.

LESSON EVALUATION

Students to,

1. present accurately at least biographical points.

2. display the graphic board showing newspaper clips, pictures etc. of the poet’s background.

THEME – POETRY – WOLE SOYINKA: “POST MORTEM”

TOPIC 2 – FORM 

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The poem

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. describe the form of the poem and explain its relationship to theme.

2. use the form to write their own poems.

CONTENTS OF THE LESSON

FOCUS LESSONS 

This is a five stanza poem, unrhymed, with three lines to a stanza. Some of the stanzas run into others. This form is thus a simple one.

LESSON PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

The teacher leads the students to look at the shape of the poem stanza by stanza and line by line.

 

 

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

The students,

1. participate in describing shape of poem.

2. relate stanza by stanza arrangement to theme .

LESSON EVALUATION

Students to write a short poem with similar form.

THEME – POETRY – WOLE SOYINKA: “POST MORTEM”

TOPIC 3 – LANGUAGE, STYLE, POETIC DEVICES AND SYMBOLISM

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The poem

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. identify the main features of the language of the poem;

2. explain the use of these teachers in context;

3. interpret the use of symbols and their overall impact on the poe m.

CONTENTS OF THE LESSON

FOCUS LESSONS 

Although Soyinka is generally known to be difficult, this poem is relatively simple.

1. The language is simple apart from the use of medical term; post-mortem “grey slab” “grey seal pal”.

2. The syntax is not involved. The sentence structure is straight forward virtually through out the poem.

3. There is a pun on bear in the word bier.

The poet is being obviously clever in the use of this pun, because it is obvious that the pun lacks the element of surprise one can expect from a suitable pun.

4. The poet makes use of allusions, euphemisms like “manpike” and “sub oil grab”. Poetry often does not call a spade a spade. This is a good example of what is called poetic diction.

LESSON PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

The teacher,

1. guides students to identify instances of uniques language use, poetic devices and symbolism;

2. considers the form of the sentences, and gets to separate simple structures from difficult ones;

3. draws students attention to puns.

 

 

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

The students,

1. respond to words of varying difficult levels selected from poem.

2. identify specific instances of language use, poetic devices, symbols.

3. work in groups to write out interpretations of symbols.

4. engage in short writing practice using exact words in new sentences.

LESSON EVALUATION

Students to,

1. correctly respond to questions related to language.

2. list at least 3 instances of unique language use.

3. explain in writing, the effectiveness of poetic devices/symbols and identified them.

THEME – POETRY – WOLE SOYINKA: “POST MORTEM”

TOPIC 4 – SUBJECT MATTER

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Radio cassette player/recording, recording of poem.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. describe the subject matter of the poem.

2. relate subject matter to personal experiences .

CONTENTS OF THE LESSON

FOCUS LESSONS 

1. Modern gadgets store not just food but the dead as well.

2. Poet reflects on futility of post mortem as medical practice.

3. Should man bother about the origin and cause of death?

LESSON PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

The teacher leads students explore an organized manner the poem via:

1. controlled listening.

2. focused questioning.

3. model reading of poem or its sections.

 

 

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

The students,

1. carry out some reading as directed.

2. answer questions as directed.

3. give individual explanations of words or expressions in the poem.

LESSON EVALUATION

Students to,

1. answer correctly questions on subject matter.

2. write an essay using similar subject matter.

THEME – POETRY – WOLE SOYINKA: “POST MORTEM”

TOPIC 5 – THEME 

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The poem, relevant words, phrases and expressions drawn from the poem.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. identify the theme(s) of the poem.

2. relate themes to personal experiences.

CONTENTS OF THE LESSON

FOCUS LESSONS 

1. Death as a mystery which is beyond human understanding.

2. The power of death over man and its ability to reduce even the greatest to a “grub”.

LESSON PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

The teacher guides students to systematically identify the themes.

 

 

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

The students engage in presenting points on subject matter on individual group basis.

 

LESSON EVALUATION

Students to,

1. respond appropriately on theme related questions.

2. relate theme to personal experiences.