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LEARNING MODULE 4
ENGLISH 8
FIRST QUARTER
WEEK 4

LESSONS AND COVERAGE:

Lesson 5 – AFRICAN LITERATURE- Forms of Poetry
Lesson 6 – AFRICAN LITERATURE-

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Answer all the activities of this module; be guided of the rubrics
(a tool for evaluating your works) which could be found on the last
page of this module.
Avoid erasures.
LESSON 6 (DAY 1 and 2)
EXPECTED SKILLS:
To do well in this module, you need to remember and do the
following:

a. Determine the characteristics of poetry.

b. Analyze a literary work.
c. Show appreciation in learning the importance of poetry.

ACTIVITY I
PRE-ASSESSMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
Think of some wrongful acts committed in the name of love.
Give a short explanation on why these acts are committed in
the name of love. Write your answer on the space provided
below.

1|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4

 Wrongful act Explanation
1.
2.
3.

READ ME!
Chinua Achebe is considered the “patriarch of the African
novel” due to his excellent and praiseworthy contribution in changing
the world’s view of Africa as a colonized nation through his
passionate depiction in his most famous novel Things Fall Apart. The
novel, translated in fifty languages, sold more than ten million copies
worldwide. His poem “Vultures” first appeared in the collection
Beware, Soul Brother in 1971 where his war experiences are
reflected.
Read the poem below and try to understand the message it
conveys.
In your reading, consider this question; is it possible for a
human being to be heartless and tender at the same time?

VULTURES
A Poem by Chinua Achebe
(Nigeria)

In greyness Drizzle- In that charnel-house

And drizzle of one despondent Tidy it and coil up there, perhaps
Dawn unstirred by harbingers Even fall asleep-her face
Of sunbreak a vulture Despondent- Turned to the wall!
Perching high on broken sad, almost … Thus the Commandment at
without hope.
Bone of a dead tree Belsen Camp going home for
Nestled close to his Bashed- in- smashed The day with fumes of
Mate his smootg a hole into something. Human roast clinging
Bashed-in- head, a pebble Rebelliously to his hairy
On a steam rooted in a dump of Nostrils will stop
gross At the wayside sweet-shop
Feathers, inclined affectionately And pick up a chocolate
To hers. Yesterday they picked For his tender offspring
the eyes of a swollen Swollen- Waiting at home for Daddy’s
Corpse in a water-logged inflated; Return…
increased in Bounteous-
Trench and ate the size
Praise bounteous
producing
Things in its bowel. Full Providence if you will abundance
Gorged they chose their roost That grants even an ogre
Keeping the hollowed remnant A tiny glow-worm Perpetuity-
In easy range of cold Roost- a support Tenderness encapsulated eternity; without
end.
Telescopic eyes… on which birds In icy caverns of a cruel
Strange nest Heart or else despair
Indeed how love in other For in the very germ
Ways so particular Remnant- Of that kindred love is
Will pick a corner something left over Lodged the perpetuity
2|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4
Of evil.

ACTIVITY I WORD SCRAMBLING

INSTRUCTIONS
Unscramble the letters in the second column to identify
the word being referred to by the definitions given. The words to
unlock are taken from the poem you have read. Write your
answers on the space provided.
DEFINITIONS SCRAMBLE UNSCRAMBLED
WORD WORD REFERRED
TO BY THE
DEFINITION
1. A person or thing that bringhear
announces or signals the
approach of another
2. Any one of several large Trueluv
birds that eats birds that
eats dead animals and
have a small and
featherless head.
3. A giant monster that eats Gore
humans

LITERARY POINT

Poetry expresses the deepest thoughts and feelings of a writer in a

compact or condensed form. “VULTURES” is a piece of writing that
stimulates the imagination and emotions through the beauty of its
language, the passion or intensity of its expression of ideas and feelings,
and the mystery surrounding the real or imagined perspective of the poet.
The beauty and mystery may be reflected in traditional poetry or in free
verse.

Traditional poetry
Traditional poetry refers to poems that follow a fixed verse structures
or feature. These poems employ definite rhyme schemes or organized
patters of rhyme and metrical patterns or the rhythm of accented and
unaccented syllables. The following are the examples;

Rhyme scheme
Tyger, Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Framed thy fearful symmetry

In the foregoing poem the words or syllables have the same and
rhyme. The last syllable of the world symmetry is pronounced as “try” to
rhyme with the word eye.
3|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4
Metrical pattern

u / u / u / u / u /
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
u / u / u / u / u /
Thou art more lovely and more temperate

In the poem given, the symbol (u) shows the unstressed or

unaccented syllables while the slash mark (/) means stressed or accented
syllables. The accented and unaccented syllables determine the heaviness
or lightness (rhythm) of the movement or sound of the poem.

Free Verse

In the poem “VULTURES,” Achebe writes in free verse with lines of

different lengths. Free verse is a type of poetry that does not use a regular
meter, rhyme, or any other musical pattern. The rhythmic pattern is similar
to the rhythm of natural speech.

The poem consists of four parts, instead of stanzas, each part is

marked off by an ellipsis (…) and indented lines to indicate the meaningful
flow of ideas.
To see the difference between a free verse and a regularly metered
poem, study the lines of the poems in the chart.

Poem with a Traditional Pattern Free Verse

Once riding in old Baltimore, In the greyness
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee, And drizzle of one despondent
I saw a Baltimorean Dawn unstirred by harbingers
Keep looking straight at me. Of sunbreak a vulture
Perching high on broken
Now I was eight and very small, Bone of a dead tree
And he was no whit bigger, Nestled close to his mate
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue,
And called me, “Nigger.”

- From “Incident” by Countee

Cullen
Notice that the excerpt of the poem shown in the left column of the
chart has the traditional or regular form, consisting of stanzas, a rhythmical
patter, and a rhyme scheme
whereas the poem on the right
column does not have these
characteristics.
Figurative languages
The poem “Vultures”
employs symbolic languages.
The use of vultures, a
carnivorous or flesh-eating bird
4|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4
that patiently waits for the death of dying people and animals so that it can
feast on them, is a representative of evil or a symbol of death which
prevails all throughout the poem. The use of vultures as a symbol of evil is
quite appropriate and evident for the simple reason that these birds like
“flying devils” are always on the prowl for the dead and the dying,
scavenging for defenseless, wounded, and dead animals to feast and
gorge on, with their razor-sharp beaks and bald head to better slit and
ravage the internal organs of the carcass.
The poem also makes use of figurative language such as alliteration,
metaphor, and personification.
Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sound in verse or a
line of a poem. The alliterative effect of the “d” and “b” sounds in the first
part of the poem creates an unpleasant feeling that is disturbing to the
sense. Word pairs like “despondent dawn” and “broken bones” are
depressively dominant images that convey impressions of death.
Another figure of speech featured in the poem is metaphor, a direct
comparison of two or more unlike objects.
The line “a vulture perching high on broken bones of a dead tree…” is
a metaphor for death, the vulture serving as a messenger of death.
The second part of the poem uses personification, a figure of
speech which treats abstract or nonhuman objects as human beings.
In the lines “Strange indeed how love in other ways so particular will
pick a corner in that charnel-house tidy it and coil up there, perhaps even
fall asleep-her face turned to the wall!” love is seen as a woman who seeks
a place to sleep; and although fussy, she finds herself sleeping with
vultures, with her face against the wall. In this part, love is personified or
given human-like attributes.

Imagery
In poetry, there is an element that is used to spark off or stimulate the
five senses into a heightened level. This element is called imagery. This is
achieved through the writer’s use of vivid descriptions.

Imagery is categorized into the following;

1. Visual- visual imagery awakens the sense of sight. It provides clear
and powerful images of how objects appear.
2. Auditory- this type of imagery refers to the specific sounds that are
“heard” in a literary work. It makes use of onomatopoeia, a figure of
speech that is associated with the sounds that objects make. Words
like screech, wham, and blag are auditory in nature.
3. Olfactory- olfactory images appeal to the sense of smell or scent.
Imagine the smell of fried bacon wafting from your kitchen! And what
about the smell of a dead rat? The smells that invade your sense may
make you react with fondness and delight or with distaste and horror.
4. Gustatory- this imagery heightens and excites the senses of taste.
The stimulation of this mental image can rouse your taste buds into a
myriad of expressions. Biting into your favorite food can give you an
indescribable thrill or pleasure, or eating something unpleasant may
cause you to squirm, wince, or shudder!
5. Tactile- this type of imagery makes use of the sense of touch. The
prick of a needle against your skin, the creeping of a worm up your
5|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4
 neck, and the blowing of the cold wind against your face are all
examples of tactile sensation.

The poem “VULTURES” makes use of horrifying images of

hopelessness, cruelty, and evil.
For instances, the verse that states “In the greyness and
drizzle of one despondent dawn…” there exists an image of a
bleak and grim scenario that seems unconquerable and
impossible to overcome. These powerful images convey a
sense of hopelessness, and “end-of-the-road” or “death.”
Symbolically, the words greyness and despondent mean death
and hopelessness.
Another line of the poem, “Yesterday they picked the eyes
of a swollen corpse in a water-logged trench and ate the things
in its bowel” conveys a cruelty that is utterly unthinkable and
inconceivable. As suggested in this line, even corpses are not
spared from being corrupted and dishonored owing to the
conceit of humankind.
Furthermore, the image of “the commandant at Belsen Camp going
home for the day with fumes of human roast clinging rebelliously to his
hairy nostrils” strongly captures the wickedness of a human being.
Seemingly, the “fumes of human roast clinging rebelliously” appears like a
“template” for evil that will and can never be wiped out no matter what
attempts are exerted. The stench of atrocity will continue to reck for
generations and generations.

ACTIVITY II

INSTRUCTIONS
Check your comprehension of the selection by answering the following
questions. Write your answers on the lines provided below.
1. What is the setting of the poem? Describe it.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
2. How does the poet describe the vulture’s physical appearance that
implies an act of violence?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

ASSESSMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
Indicate what senses are stimulated by the following statements or phrases
taken from the poem. Write your answers on the space found before the
numbers.
______________________1. Ate the things in its bowel.
______________________2. Fumes of human roast clinging rebelliously to
his hairy nostrils.
______________________3. Nestled close to his name.

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______________________4. Swollen corpse in a water-logged trench.
______________________5. The commandant at Belsen Camp going
home for the day.
LESSON 7 (DAY 3 and 4)
EXPECTED SKILLS:
To do well in this module, you need to remember and do the
following:

ACTIVITY I
PRE-ASSESSMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
The following statements are facts about some wild animals. Name
the animal which you think possesses the given description. Write buffalo,
elephant, fox, leopard, lion, or rhinoceros on the space provided before the
number.
______________1. This animal forms deep family bonds and lives in tight
matriarchal family groups of related females called herd.
______________2. This animal lives in large groups called prides.
______________3. This animal is a social animal and lives in groups called herds.
______________4. This animal is a large, grass-eating, solitary animal-which is
identified by its horned snout or protruding nose and mouth.
______________5. This animal is the smallest among the four “big cats.” It is
active at night and it prefers to live alone. It is a very good swimmer.

READ ME!
The African story you are about to read presents the writer’s thoughts
and impressions about the colonization of Africa by the Europeans. The
story uses humor to lighten the seriousness of the writer’s subject.
Written in the fable genre by Jomo Kenyatta, the former prime
minister and president of Kenya who is considered the founding father of
the Kenyan nation, the story directly protests the injustice and inequality
experienced by the African people under the governance of foreign
colonizers.
In your reading, what characteristics of human beings are imitated
and highlighted by the animals featured in the story?
Read the story and answer the guide questions that follow. Write your
answers on the lines provided after the question.

The Man Who Shared His Hut

A Short story by Jomo Kenyatta
(Kenya)

7|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4

 Once upon a time an elephant made a friendship with a man.
One day a heavy thunderstorm broke out, the elephant went to his friend,

who had a little hut at the edge of the forest, and said to him, “My dear
good man, will you please let me put my trunk inside your hut to keep it out
of this torrential rain?”
The man, seeing what situation his friend was in, replied, “My dear
good elephant, my hut is very small, but there is room for your trunk and
myself. Please put your trunk in gently.” The elephant thanked his friend
saying, “You have done me a good deed and one day I shall return your
kindness.”
But what followed? As soon as the elephant put his trunk inside the
hut, slowly he pushed his head inside, and finally flung the man out in the
rain, and then lay down comfortably inside his friend’s hut, saying, “My dear
good friend, your skin is harder than mine, and as there is not enough room
for both of us, you can afford to remain in the rain while I am protecting my
delicate skin from the hailstorm.”

The man, seeing what his friend had done to him, started to grumble, the

animals in the nearby forest heard the noise and came to see what the

8|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4

matter was. All stood around listening to the heated argument between the
man and his friend, the elephant. In this turmoil the lion came along roaring,
and said in loud voice, “Don’t you all know that I am the king of the jungle!
How dare anyone disturb the peace of my kingdom?”
“Don’t you all know that I am the king of the jungle! How dare anyone
disturb the peace of my kingdom?”
On hearing this, the elephant, who was one of the high ministers in
the jungle kingdom, replied in a soothing voice, and said, “My Lord, there is
no disturbance of the peace in your kingdom. I have only been having a
little discussion with my friend here as to the possession of this little hut
which you lordship sees me occupying.”
The lion who wanted to have “peace and tranquility” in his kingdom,
replied in a noble voice, saying, “I command my ministers to appoint a
Commission of Inquiry to go thoroughly into this matter and report
accordingly.” He then turned to the man and said, “You have done well by
establishing friendship with my people, especially with the elephant who is
one of my honorable ministers of state. Do not grumble any more, your hut
is not lost to you. Wait until the sitting of my Imperial Commission, and then
you will be given plenty of opportunity to state your case. I am sure that you
will be pleased with the findings of the Commission.”
The man was very please by the sweet words from the King of the
Jungle, and innocently waited for his opportunity in the belief that, naturally,
the hut would be returned to him.
The elephant, obeying the command of his master, got busy with
other ministers to appoint the Commission of Inquiry. The following elders
of the jungle were appointed to sit on the Commission; (1) Mr. Rhinoceros;
(2) Mr. Buffalo; (3) Mr. Alligator; (4) The Rt. Hon. Mr. Fox to act as
chairman; and (5) Mr. Leopard to act as Secretary to the Commission.
On seeing the personnel, the man protested and asked if it was not
necessary to include in this Commission a member form his side. But he
was told that it was impossible, since no one from his side was well enough
educated to understand the intricacy of jungle law. Further, that there was
nothing to fear, for the members of the Commission were all men of repute
for their impartiality in justice, and as they were gentlemen chosen by God t
look after the interests of races less adequately endowed with teeth and
claws, he might rest assured that they would investigate the matter with the
greatest care and report impartially.
The Commission sat to take the evidence. The Rt. Hon. Mr. Elephant
was first called. He came along with a superior air, brushing his tusks with
a sapling which Mrs. Elephant had provided, and in an authoritative voice
said, “Gentlemen of the Jungle, there is no need for me to waste your
valuable time in relating a story which I am sure you all know. I have
always regarded a story which I am sure you all know. I have always
regarded it as my duty to protect the interests of my friends, and this
appears to have caused the misunderstanding between myself and my
friend here. He invited me to save his hut from being blown away by a
hurricane. As the hurricane had gained access owing to the unoccupied
space in the hut, I considered it necessary, in my friend’s own interests, to
turn the undeveloped space to a more economic use by sitting in it myself;
a duty which any of you would undoubtedly have performed with equal
readiness in similar circumstances.

9|MEDINA COLLEGE IPIL-ENGLISH 8-WEEK 4-MODULE 4

 After hearing the Rt. Hon. Mr. Elephant’s conclusive evidence, the
Commission called Mr. Hyena and other elders of the jungle who all
supported what Mr. Elephant had said. They then called the man, who
began to give his own account of the dispute. But the Commission cut him
short, saying, “My good man, please confine yourself to relevant issues.
We have already heard the circumstances from various unbiased sources;
all we wish you to tell us is whether the undeveloped space in your hut was
occupied by anyone else before Mr. Elephant assumed position.”
The man began to say, “No, but-“ But at this point the Commission
declared that they heard sufficient evidence from both sides and retired to
consider their decision.
After enjoying a delicious meal at the expense of the Rt. Hon. Mr.
Elephant, they reached their verdict, called the man, and declared as
follows, “In our opinion this dispute has arisen through a regrettable
misunderstanding due to the backwardness of your ideas. We consider that
Mr. Elephant has fulfilled his sacred duty of protecting your interests. As it
is clearly for your good that the space should be put to its most economic
use, and as you yourself have not yet reached the stage of expansion
which would enable you to fill it, we consider it necessary to arrange a
compromise to suit both parties. Mr. Elephant shall continue his occupation
of your hut, but we give you permission to look for a site where you can
build another but more suited to your needs, and we will see that you are
well protected.
The man, having no alternative, and fearing that his refusal might
expose him to the teeth and claws of members of the Commission, did as
they suggested. But no sooner had he built another hut than Mr.
Rhinoceros charged in with his horn lowered and ordered the man to quit.
A Royal Commission was again appointed to look into the matter, and the
same finding was given. This procedure was repeated until Mr. Buffalo, Mr.
Leopard, Mr. Hyena and the rest were all accommodated with new huts.
Then the man decided that he must adopt an effective method of
protection, since Commission of Inquiry did not seem to be of any use to
him. He sat down and said, “Neendathindeagagamotegi,” which literally
means “there is nothing that treads on the earth that cannot be trapped,” or
in other words, you can fool people for time, but not forever.
Early one morning, when the huts already occupied by the jungle
lords were all beginning to decay and fall to pieces, he went out and built a
bigger and better hut a little distance away. No sooner had Mr. Rhinoceros
seen it than he came rushing in, only to find that Mr. Elephant was already
inside, sound asleep, Mr. Leopard next came in at the window, Mr. Lion,
Mr. Fox, and Mr. Buffalo entered the doors, while Mr. Hyena howled for a
place in the shade and Mr. Alligator basked on the roof.
Presently they all began disputing about their rights of penetration,
and from disputing they came to fighting, and while they were all embroiled
together the man set the hut of fire and burnt it to the ground, jungle lords
and all. Then he went home saying, “Peace is costly, but it’s worth the
expense,” and lived happily ever after.

10 | M E D I N A C O L L E G E I P I L - E N G L I S H 8 - W E E K 4 - M O D U L E 4
ACTIVITY II
GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. What is the Commission’s verdict? Is it just? Why or why not?
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
2. How does the man react to the verdict?
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
3. What happened to the huts built by the man?
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
4. Does the man succeed with his plan?
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

LITERARY POINT
There are certain literary methods that writers use to effectively
convey their ideas. In Kenyatta’s “The Man Who Shared His Hut,” the writer
makes use of a technique that provides a keen insight into society’s
structure of power. This is called a satire.
A satire is a work or manner of governments, societies, or people in
power, with the intent to embarrass or humiliate in order for such
institutions or individuals to improve.
A satire is generally intended to be humorous and amusing. To make
satire highly amusing, a writer usually uses wit or intelligent humor to keep
the reader entertained and captivated. Yet, behind the humor is a
constructive social criticism.
The word satire originates from the Latin satura which literally
means “a mixture of all sorts of things” or a collection of different things.
Nowadays, satire is used in artistic forms of expression like literature,
media, television shows, drama or plays, and commentaries.
An essential and built-in component of a satire is irony and sarcasm.
Irony is a literary technique in which a situation appears strange or
funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of
what is expected. The following are examples;
A nurse afraid of blood.
A physical therapist tickled by massage.
A doctor refusing treatment.

Sarcasm is a sharp, biting, or cutting remark which is accompanied

by insult. The following is an example;
Principal to Teacher; Alice, I need you to type this report for me.
Teacher to Principal; Oh, finally! I have been waiting for you to ask
me!

ACTIVITY III
11 | M E D I N A C O L L E G E I P I L - E N G L I S H 8 - W E E K 4 - M O D U L E 4
INSTRUCTIONS
Check your comprehension by answering the following questions based on
the story you have read. Write your answers on the space provided.
1. Why did the encounter between the man and the elephant happen?
_______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
2. Why did the elephant approach the man? Why didn’t the man refuse
the elephant’s request?
_______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
3. How did the elephant repay the man’s goodness?
_______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

ASSESSMENT

INSTRUCTIONS
State whether the given statements suggest irony or sarcasm. Write your
answers on the space provided.
______________1. “You have done me a good deed and one day I shall
return you kindness.”
______________2. “My dear good friend, your skin is harder than mine,
and as there is no enough room for both of us, you can afford to remain in
the rain while I am protecting my delicate skin from the hailstorm.”
______________3. “I am sure that you will be pleased with the findings of
the Commission.”
______________4. “We consider that Mr. Elephant has fulfilled his sacred
duty of protecting your interests.”
______________5. Presently they all began disputing about their rights of
penetration and from disputing they came to fighting…
Rubrics for Activity
10-8/ 5-4 (100-85) 7-5/ 3-2(84-80) 4-/1(79-70)
Content It contained more It contained three It contained less
than five facts about facts about the than three facts
the topic. topic. about the topic.
Vocabulary Student used a wide Student used Student used
variety of vocabulary necessary incorrect words.
words. vocabulary.
Correctness Two or fewer Three to six More than six
of grammar mistakes, grammar errors grammar errors;
Language zero to two incorrect between two and more than four
word choices. four incorrect word incorrect word
choices. choices.
PREPARED BY

ALEXIS IMMACULATE DELA PEÑA NARCIZA

09301460009/ 09269474698/ [email protected]

12 | M E D I N A C O L L E G E I P I L - E N G L I S H 8 - W E E K 4 - M O D U L E 4