IB English B Topic Creative Literature Revision Notes…

The Big Four of Literature: What They Are and Why They Matter

Prose fiction

What it is: Made-up stories written in everyday language (not poetry).
Examples: Novels (The Handmaid’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice), short stories (Lamb to the Slaughter).
Key features: Plot, characters, narrator’s voice, imagery, symbolism.
Why it matters: Lets you analyse how writers invent worlds and explore themes like love, power, or identity.

Prose non-fiction

What it is: Real-world writing in ordinary language that isn’t made up.
Examples: Memoirs (Persepolis), essays, speeches, travel writing, biographies.
Key features: Author’s perspective, argument, tone, structure.
Why it matters: Shows how writers use facts, stories, and personal experience to persuade, inform, or reflect.

Poetry

What it is: Writing that uses rhythm, line breaks, and compact language to create meaning.
Examples: Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife, Shakespearean sonnets, free verse poems.
Key features: Imagery, rhyme, rhythm, sound devices (alliteration, assonance), metaphor, symbolism.
Why it matters: Poetry packs powerful ideas into very few words — it’s about spotting patterns and feelings beneath the surface.

Drama

What it is: Plays written to be performed on stage.
Examples: Shakespeare (Othello, Macbeth), Ibsen (A Doll’s House), Miller (A View from the Bridge).
Key features: Dialogue, stage directions, conflict, character interactions, dramatic irony.
Why it matters: Drama brings themes to life through performance — what’s said, what’s unsaid, and how characters clash in front of an audience.

Features to focus on

Themes: What is the central idea? How is it presented? Is it universal or culturally specific?
Style: Which literary devices (metaphor, irony, rhythm, repetition, stagecraft) shape meaning?
Cultural context: How does the text reflect or challenge the world it comes from?
Relevance: Why does this text still matter? How does it connect to students’ or society’s lives now?

Note

Exam link: Individual Oral (IO)
- For English B HL, the IO is based on an extract of about 300 words from one of the literary works you've studied, which is why you need to know creative literature!

Practice task

Write a paragraph analyzing how a theme from your HL text relates to “Sharing the Planet.”

Step 1: Identify a theme (e.g., justice, inequality, freedom, power).
Step 2: Choose an example (quote, moment, stylistic feature).
Step 3: Link it to the theme clearly.
Step 4: Explain relevance in both the text’s context and today’s world.

Example

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the theme of control over women’s bodies links directly to the global issue of “Sharing the Planet,” specifically the unequal distribution of rights. The Republic of Gilead reduces women to reproductive tools, stripping them of autonomy. Atwood’s use of imagery, such as Offred describing her red dress as “a cloud of blood”, symbolises how her identity has been subsumed by the state’s demands. This theme resonates with global struggles over reproductive rights, showing how access to healthcare and bodily autonomy remain uneven across cultures. By drawing attention to this inequity, Atwood highlights that the planet cannot truly be shared if half the population is denied basic freedoms.

Note

Why this is high‑level:
- Theme identified and explained: Oppression and lack of bodily autonomy.
- Literary evidence: Close reference to imagery in the red dress quotation.
- Context awareness: Connects Gilead’s fictional world to real‑world struggles over reproductive rights.
- Global issue link: Explicitly ties to “Sharing the Planet” through fairness and access to resources.
- Analytical depth: Goes beyond summary to explore how language shapes meaning.

The Big Four of Literature: What They Are and Why They Matter

Prose fiction

What it is: Made-up stories written in everyday language (not poetry).
Examples: Novels (The Handmaid’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice), short stories (Lamb to the Slaughter).
Key features: Plot, characters, narrator’s voice, imagery, symbolism.
Why it matters: Lets you analyse how writers invent worlds and explore themes like love, power, or identity.

Prose non-fiction

What it is: Real-world writing in ordinary language that isn’t made up.
Examples: Memoirs (Persepolis), essays, speeches, travel writing, biographies.
Key features: Author’s perspective, argument, tone, structure.
Why it matters: Shows how writers use facts, stories, and personal experience to persuade, inform, or reflect.

Poetry

What it is: Writing that uses rhythm, line breaks, and compact language to create meaning.
Examples: Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife, Shakespearean sonnets, free verse poems.
Key features: Imagery, rhyme, rhythm, sound devices (alliteration, assonance), metaphor, symbolism.
Why it matters: Poetry packs powerful ideas into very few words — it’s about spotting patterns and feelings beneath the surface.

Drama

What it is: Plays written to be performed on stage.
Examples: Shakespeare (Othello, Macbeth), Ibsen (A Doll’s House), Miller (A View from the Bridge).
Key features: Dialogue, stage directions, conflict, character interactions, dramatic irony.
Why it matters: Drama brings themes to life through performance — what’s said, what’s unsaid, and how characters clash in front of an audience.

Features to focus on

Themes: What is the central idea? How is it presented? Is it universal or culturally specific?
Style: Which literary devices (metaphor, irony, rhythm, repetition, stagecraft) shape meaning?
Cultural context: How does the text reflect or challenge the world it comes from?
Relevance: Why does this text still matter? How does it connect to students’ or society’s lives now?

Note

Exam link: Individual Oral (IO)
- For English B HL, the IO is based on an extract of about 300 words from one of the literary works you've studied, which is why you need to know creative literature!

Practice task

Write a paragraph analyzing how a theme from your HL text relates to “Sharing the Planet.”

Step 1: Identify a theme (e.g., justice, inequality, freedom, power).
Step 2: Choose an example (quote, moment, stylistic feature).
Step 3: Link it to the theme clearly.
Step 4: Explain relevance in both the text’s context and today’s world.

Example

In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the theme of control over women’s bodies links directly to the global issue of “Sharing the Planet,” specifically the unequal distribution of rights. The Republic of Gilead reduces women to reproductive tools, stripping them of autonomy. Atwood’s use of imagery, such as Offred describing her red dress as “a cloud of blood”, symbolises how her identity has been subsumed by the state’s demands. This theme resonates with global struggles over reproductive rights, showing how access to healthcare and bodily autonomy remain uneven across cultures. By drawing attention to this inequity, Atwood highlights that the planet cannot truly be shared if half the population is denied basic freedoms.

Note

Why this is high‑level:
- Theme identified and explained: Oppression and lack of bodily autonomy.
- Literary evidence: Close reference to imagery in the red dress quotation.
- Context awareness: Connects Gilead’s fictional world to real‑world struggles over reproductive rights.
- Global issue link: Explicitly ties to “Sharing the Planet” through fairness and access to resources.
- Analytical depth: Goes beyond summary to explore how language shapes meaning.

IB English B Creative Literature Notes

IB English B Creative Literature Notes

The Big Four of Literature: What They Are and Why They Matter

Prose fiction

Prose non-fiction

Poetry

Drama

Features to focus on

Practice task

The Big Four of Literature: What They Are and Why They Matter

Prose fiction

Prose non-fiction

Poetry

Drama

Features to focus on

Practice task

Core Themes

Text Types

Paper 1 (Writing)

Paper 2 (Listening)

Paper 2 (Reading)

Internal Assessment (Individual Oral)

Core Themes

Text Types

Paper 1 (Writing)

Paper 2 (Listening)

Paper 2 (Reading)

Internal Assessment (Individual Oral)

IB English B Creative Literature Notes

IB English B Creative Literature Notes

The Big Four of Literature: What They Are and Why They Matter

Prose fiction

Prose non-fiction

Poetry

Drama

Features to focus on

Practice task

The Big Four of Literature: What They Are and Why They Matter

Prose fiction

Prose non-fiction

Poetry

Drama

Features to focus on

Practice task