By Dr Augustine Tirivangana

WE have come far as far as ‘A’ Level Literature Paper One (Comment and Appreciation) is concerned.
We have explored the key elements of all the main genres – prose, poetry and drama.
We have explored how to approach questions in each of these categories.
In particular we have focused on how to interpret questions and how to develop the essay outlines as well as how to weave the essays themselves using paragraphing skills and markers of both coherence and cohesion.
My assumption is that you are now familiar with these and that to close this section I should now share with you those things that differentiate Paper One (Unseens) from the rest of the Papers (Seens).
To begin with ‘unseens’, literally taken, may mean “not seen before”, but this definition does not differentiate this exam from any other exam in that all exams are ideally expected not to have been seen before unless they are given in the form of assignments.
Other papers namely, two, three, four and five are called ‘seens’ even though the exams have not been pre-disposed just as Paper One itself. This shows that the exams themselves are all not leaked (as it were) in advance, thus pushing us to seek to understand other distinguishing dimensions between these sets of exams.
The terms ‘seens’ and ‘unseens’ are to be understood in their technical contexts although we can employ their literal meanings to understand these technical meanings.
What has or has not been seen before are not the exams, but the material required to answer questions in the respective exams.
The material required to answer Paper One is not some set material in the syllabus.
Put simply, the poems, prose and drama passages in the exam are not prescribed texts in the syllabus.
They are selected from any source.
What is prescribed in the syllabus are the requisite skills that you need to answer the questions and because the passages are not prescribed texts we do not expect you to have come across any of these before, hence the tern ‘unseens’.
In reality, however, you may have seen this poem or that extract in your wide and unfettered reading.
This is highly possible although examiners try as much as they can to pick from sources they consider out of the general reach of students of your level.
Still in this age of internet which is reducing the world of books to a single library you may still have come across any one or more of these. The point remains that you are assumed not to have studied these for this particular exam.
To this end ‘unseens’ simply means “not prescribed for the exam”. What then are the implications for your having come across one of the passages or poems that come face to face with you in the Paper One exam?
The first implication is that you have not seen it before, at least metaphorically.
This means you are required to shed off any prejudices you may have formed when you first encountered it.
In other words treat the poem or passage as fresh, removing it completely from the context where you found it initially.
If the passage is part of a novel or play you know, never link it with the rest of the fuller text.
Just treat it as complete unto itself.
If you know the author of the poem or passage from previous connections, consider this knowledge defunct.
It will not add value to your analysis; if anything it may actually subtract. In brief your knowledge of the author, historical source or any other reference coming from the source should not be used to add any value to the analysis.
Prior knowledge of the poem or passage is therefore neither an advantage nor a privilege.
The best tools for the exam are none other than the analytical skills we have discussed so far as well as the immediate questions which direct what has to be done.
On the contrary what we have discredited for the ‘unseens’ is what is juicy for the ‘seens’.
As you may know now, the ‘seens’ examine you on what has been prescribed in the syllabus.
The poems are prescribed.
The passages are extracted from prescribed prose and drama texts.
And quite often the questions require you to relate your analysis of the poems or passages to the wider anthology, novel or play.
Here contextualisation is key.
You are required to demonstrate how context in all its senses inform your reading of the passage within the context of the entire text.
We will examine ‘seens’ in greater detail in upcoming installations when we look at specific texts in papers two, three, four and five.
For now let it suffice to observe that skills to approaching these papers are the same.
Setting or context is what separates the four.
In all of them the passages require you to demonstrate not only recognition, but also application of specific analytical skills in the handling of the passages as well as linking this analysis to your understanding of the wider texts.
We can therefore conclude by saying that Paper One requires you to apply your knowledge of literary tools of analysis on any text.
These skills act like a key to understanding the literary world.
With it no literature can be spared.
It focuses on the essential qualities of literary texts regardless of context.
It hails the timelessness of art.
The ‘seens’, on the other hand, extend this generic understanding of literature by foregrounding context as style, character and theme.
Yes, the additional requirement is the understanding that all literature emerges from a specific context, driven by a specific ideology and that these are key to a fuller understanding of any given text.