Facts on Oral Literature; Oral poetry and Oral prose

WHAT IS ORAL LITERATURE

Literature is said to be oral when it is spoken by words of the mouth. Oral is transmitted by words of mouth from generation to generation. The transmission can be vertical or horizontal. In the course of transmission many changes take place, the changes comes as a result of tradition, development, language difference, technology etc. cultural differences also affect oral literature transmission. Oral literature depends on the performer who formulates his performance in words.

FEATURES OF ORAL POETRY

1.      Oral poetry makes use of map reading.

2.      Oral poetry can be in form of songs; a lot of them are song and danced.

3.      Oral poetry has a definite rhythm and a definite sound pattern.

4.      Oral poetry makes use of a lot of proverbs, imagery, simile and metaphor.

5.      Characters in oral poetry are fewer in number

6.      Oral poetry is been presented at the groove of the gods were people do worship.

7.      Oral poetry is unwritten and is been studied.

8.      Oral poetry uses a lot of embellishment of language.

9.      There is facial expression of the artist; movements and vocal expression carry their message to the audience.

10. Use of tone- the artist in question moderates his tone according to the situation at hand. Oral poetry rely much on suspense, grand lowness, especially when the song involves a renoun hero.

11. Use of object- where it comes to performance, the artist use some o the object which are associated with the subject matter of his song.

12. There is voice beautification in oral poetry, the artist speaks directly to the audience (he nourishes and decorates his voice).

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ORAL POETRY AND ORAL PROSE

1.       In oral poetry, many oral poems are songs and this is because they are centered in prose while in oral prose, they are song or danced.

2.       Oral poetry is been presented at the groove of the gods where people normally worship while oral prose is been narrated at the groove of the gods.

3.       In oral poetry, a lot of imagery and stylistic of song are used and seen this imagery comprises of entertainment to the listeners while in oral prose.

4.       Language of oral poetry is more beautiful than that of oral prose.

5.       Oral poetry has a definite sound pattern and rhythms are been emphasized much more on them in oral prose.

6.       Oral poetry, proverbs, imageries, simile and metaphor are been used a lot unlike in oral prose.

7.       Oral prose is unwritten, it moves from one generation to another while the oral poetry can change from any point in time.

8.       Oral poetry has stanzas while oral prose do not have stanza.

9.       The language of oral prose is simple and plain because. It is meant for children alone while oral prose is not particularly meant for children.

10.  Oral poetry is much more beautified than that the oral prose which is just pain because rhythm is emphasized imagery is also emphasized.

11.  Oral prose comprises of folks tale and table, myths and legends. But in oral poems, poems like dirge (which is a poem that mourns a dead person) and lyrics are uses. Some are incantations whereas some others are invocations.

12.  In oral prose, the narrator makes his audience to participate in the narration of his story. Sometimes he makes the audience to join in the choruses of the song which he introduces into the narrative. Unlike in oral poetry.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POETRY AND MODERN POETRY

1.      Oral poetry involves audience participation while in modern poetry; participation of the audience is not needed.

2.      Oral poetry makes use of instruments and tones like drum while modern poetry do not.

3.      In oral poetry, both creation and transmission happens at the same time while modern poetry creation and transmission is absent.

4.      Oral; poetry belongs to the primitive society (a culture or society that don’t know what reading and writing is all about while modern poetry knows all about reading and writing they live civilized and sophisticated life.

5.      Oral poetry has to be recorded and presented because it is unwritten unlike the modern poetry which is written.

6.      Oral poetry is communal in the sense that it belongs to the entire community even to the individual for example poems in Anambra State like Ozoemena Nwa Nsugbe, Emeka Morroco but in modern poetry  it is already published and sold in the market where people purchase them in dread.

7.      oral poetry is unwritten while modern poetry is written.

8.      Oral poetry make use of a lot of embellishment of language while in modern poetry it make use of tedious and different language so that the reader will put more thinking to it, read often before it will be understood.

9.      Oral poet uses gestures; he uses dramatic pause. In the cause of the pause, he observes his audience to know whether his performance is pleasing to them or not. He can also pause in order to remember a forgotten piece, whereas in modern poetry, the poet does not have the time to know the mind of the audience because he has written the work.

10.  Image is also emphasized, oral poetry also differs from modern poetry because it is unwritten and imagery of them are sang and danced.

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