Literary and Rhetorical Techniques

Literary and Rhetorical Techniques: Texts for Analysis and Workbook provides an introduction to university level literary study. The book includes a range of texts chosen to represent the genres of the proverb, fable, poem, short story, play, and essay, and chosen to introduce students to authors from Africa, North America, and Europe. As a workbook, the book enables students to recognize both literary and rhetorical techniques and to develop the skills by which to better understand and enjoy literary studies. Once completed in collaboration with the lecturer, the workbook serves as a source of definitions and examples of the various techniques and as a reference for writing academic literary essays. Literature studies in Tanzania and East Africa generally have in the past paid greater attention to the content than to the literary merit of any given writing, be it a novel, poem, or short story. Literature was judged almost wholly on whether it “served the masses” or the “bourgeoisie”, and the more direct the message, the better it was considered or condemned. In this book, Noudehou gives the student the tools with which to analyse literary works, the better to appreciate the art of writing and to enjoy reading fiction. Students and teachers will find the book invaluable.

About the Author
Dr. Lisa María B. Noudéhou developed this book while teaching literature in English and creative writing at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. She has taught literature and writing at Howard University (USA), Tsinghua University (China), and Rhodes University (South Africa), having earned her doctorate in literature at the University of Pennsylvania. In collaboration with Dr. Lilian Osaki, she recently edited the collection, Tell Me Friends: Contemporary Stories and Plays from Tanzania (Dar es Salaam: Mkuki Na Nyota, 2009).