Comprehensive English Notes on Riddles in Oral Literature and Oral Skills
The following guide is authored to help in in-depth revision riddles in English.. It is particularly helpful in identifying the main content and skills areas and making distilled notes.
Examples of riddles
Example of riddles sample 1
Challenger: Riddle Riddle
Respondent: Riddle come.
Challenger: It can be cracked. It can be made.
It can be told. It can be said.
Respondent: The answer is a joke.
Challenger: You are right
(FromKcse2017paper)
Example of riddles sample 2
Challenger: I have a riddle!
Respondent: Let it come.
Challenger: What showed Europeans how to make an umbrella?
Respondent: Mushroom.
Challenger: A mushroom, No.
Respondent: I do not know the answer. I give you Nairobi City.
Challenger: I accept. The answer is a bat.
50+ revision questions on riddles with possible answers
a) Riddle questions on identification of
genre
1. Can you identify a written genre as a riddle?
2. Identify the genre of a given item
When answering the question on the genre of riddles, never write the word in plural as'riddles'.
Also remember to always Always give a reason behind your classification.
b) Questions on the features of riddles
3. Can you identify features of riddles in a given riddle?
4. Identify main features of the genre exemplified by a given question.
Possible answers to questions on the features of riddles include:
A riddle has challenger who states it as a puzzle
A riddle has a respondent or respondents who form part of the audience and give the answer to the riddle
A riddle has stages of riddling (these can be four or six stages. To learn more about the riddling stages click this link
A riddle has a hypothetical prize (usually a city)
Riddles Makes use of metaphorical language.
c) Questions on the functions of riddles
Example of questions on the functions include:
5. Can you identify the key functions of a given riddle? (KCSE2005)
6. Explain the functions of to the riddle given
Possible answers to the functions of riddles include:
Riddles teach logical reasoning skills.
Riddles are used for entertainment
Riddles teach environment since answers are within it.
Riddles teach language
Riddles enhance socialization
d) Questions on the likely performer of a riddle
Possible questions on the likely performer of a riddle include:
7. Can you identify the participants of a given riddle?
8. Who is the likely performer of a given riddle?
Possible answers to the questions on the performer of a riddle include children among themselves or children with elders
e) Questions on the stages in riddling process
Questions on the stages involved in the riddling process include:
9. Identify the key stages of the riddling cycle in the given riddle
10 Identify the riddle g stages in the given riddle
Possible answers to questions on the riddling process include:
Step 1:Invitation stage
Step 2: Acceptance stage
Step 3: Posing stage
Step 4: Guessing stage
Step 5: Prize stage
Step 6: Answers rage
f) Questions on the function of each riddling stage
Possible questions on the functions of various riddling stages include:
11. Explain any two functions the given stage or stages in a riddling process.
Possible answers include:
Invitation stage: it Identifies one posing and signals the start of riddle.
Acceptance stage: it paves way for the riddle and is a sign that the audience are ready for the riddle.
Posing stage: It poses the challenge to the audience.
Guessing stage: it teaches the logical reasoning, enhances imagination and also marks the end of guessing
Prize stage: It teaches moral lessons
Answer stage: It marks the end of the riddling cycle
g) Questions on the memorability of a riddle
Possible questions on the memorability of riddles include:
12. Can you identify what
makes a given riddle memorable?
13. What makes the riddling session in the given riddle memorable?
The answers to questions on riddle memorability include repetition,alliteration, onomatopoeia, consonance, Idiophones, assonance, hypothetical prize, invitation call and the use of the local imagery
h) Questions on the types of riddles possible questions on the types of riddles include:
14. Can you identify types of riddles
based on posing?
15. Classify the type of the riddle in a given question
Possible answers on the types of riddles include:
Idiophonic riddle - it is a riddle that makes
use of idiophone
Statement riddle - it is a riddle that is given
as statement.
Question riddle - it is a riddle that is posed
as a question
Simple riddle - It is a riddle with one item
in answer
Complex riddle - it is a riddle with several
answers that are linked.
Epigrammatic riddle
i) Questions on the stylistic
devices in riddles
Possible questions on the stylistic questions on the stylistic devices used in the riddles include:
16. Can you identify the sound devices from a given riddle? (KCSE2017)
17. Identify the sound devices in a given riddle stage.
Possible answers to the questions on sound devices in riddles include alliteration, assonance, consonance, ideophone, onomatopoeia and rhyme (if in verse form)
18. Can you identify figures of speech usedin a given riddle?
Possible answers to questions on figures of speech used in riddles include simile, metaphor, personification etc.
j) Questions on the performance of riddles
Possible questions on the performance of riddles include:
k) Questions on verbal cues:
19. Can you identify verbal cues in the performance of a given riddle?
20. Explain the verbal cues you will use to perform item a given riddle.
Verbal cues include intonation, stress, tempo shift, voice variation, tonal variation and mimicry.
l) Questions on how a riddle is performed.
21. Explain how a riddle is performed.
22. How will you perform a given riddle?
A riddle is performed in turns.
A riddle is game-like.
A riddle involves giving outa
hypothetical prize
m ) Question on the tone used in riddles
23. Can you explain the tone to use in a given riddle?
24. Explain the tone that you will use to say the acceptance in the given riddle
Examples of the tone used in riddles include warning tone, praising tone, satirical tone and authoritative tone.
n) Questions on sessions that follow the riddling process
25. Can you identify sessions that come after performance of riddles?
26. Which sessions can follow the performance of a given riddle?
Sessions that follow riddles include:
Narrating sessions
Singing and chanting
sessions
Speech giving sessions
o) Question on the non-verbal cues used in riddles.
27. Can you identify non-verbal cues used to perform a specific riddle?
28. Explain the non-verbal cue that you will use to perform'a given riddle
Possible answers to questions on non-verbal cues include:
Use of gestures
Use of facial expressions
Use of eye contact
Posture shifts
Stage movements
p) Questions on the intonation used in riddles
Possible questions on the intonation used in riddles include:
29. Can you explain the intonation used in riddles?
30. Explain the intonation used at the end of each stage when you perform a given riddle
The answer to the question on the intonation used in a riddle depends on the part of the riddle under focus. Refer to the notes on intonation
q) questions on Stress on riddles.
Possible questions on the stress of riddles include:
31. Can you identify the words to stress in performing riddles?
32. Which word will you stress when performing posing stage in a given riddle?
33. Which word will you stress when performing the answer stage in a given riddle?
When answering questions on stressing words of a riddle, do the following:
Focus on the content words.
Focus on imagery words.
Focus on answer and
prize.
r) Questions on Rhythm in riddles.
Possible questions on rhythm in riddles include:
34. Can you identify what creates rhythm in a given riddle?
35. What makes the posing stage in the given poem rhythmic?
36. What makes the answer stage in a given riddle rhythmic?
Possible answers to questions on rhythm include assonance, rhyme, alliteration, consonance, ideophone and nomatopoeia
s) Questions on the activities of the communities in riddles.
37. Questions on economic activitiesbof the community in riddles
38. Explain the economic activity of the community as brought out in the given riddle
Possible answers to economic activity question include farming, trading,batter trading, weaving, fishing, blacksmithing,pot making etc.
39. Questions on Social activities of the community in riddles.
40. Explain the social activity of the community as brought out in the given riddle.
Possible answers to the social activities of the community in a given riddle include marrying, paying dowry, beer drinking, dancing, wrestling etc.
41. Questions on the political activities of the community in a given riddle.
42. Explain the political activity of the community as brought out in the given riddle.
Possible answers to the question on political activities include men leading, chiefs, elders and kings in the leadership.
t) Questions on the research on riddles
u) Questions on preparation for research on riddles.
43. What preparations will you make before going to collect more of the given oral literature material?
Possible answers to questions on preparation of research on riddles include:
Reading about riddles
Collecting research work resources
Identifyinv and informing key informants.
Doing a reconnaissance
v. Questions on methods of data collection on riddles
44. Can you identify methods of collecting data on riddles?
45. Identify methods you will use to collect the the given oral literature item.
Possible answers to data collection question on riddles include participation, observation, verbal interviews and questionnaires.
w. Questions on the methods of recording data on riddles.
Questions on data recording methods on riddles include:
46. Can you identify methods of recording collected riddles?
47. How will you store the above material for future reference?
Possible answers to questions on methods of recording data on riddles include memorization, writing, audio recording and video recording.
x) Questions on the fieldwork problems
y) Questions on the problems encountered when collecting riddles from the field.
Questions on the problems encountered when doing fieldwork on riddles include:
48. Can you identify problems in collecting riddles from the field?
49. Identify any three problems you will encounter while in the field collecting the given oral material.
Possible answers include Inadequate resources, hostile informants etc
z) Question on what is lost when a riddle is translated from it's original language
50. Can you identify what gets lost when a given riddle is translated?
51. Imagine you are to translate a given ridele into a different language. Identify and illustrate what will get lost.
Possible answers include alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia and the local flavour