Literature is taught to teenagers through role play, recitations, cartooning, etc

Thanks for replying. But what I meant - I don't know if it was clear - was concerning those who want to graduate and then go to university. What kind of exams do they have to take in literature / mother tongue?

The French school is something special because of the following paradox : plus la bourrique est chargée, plus elle court vite, in other words the more you put things on the donkey's back, the faster it goes. It has been usual to make pupils study a lot of hours in a day, and with many options (not mentioning the fact some have hobbies like music or sport or other languages), and the more options they have, the faster they must work and be efficient. At least it has been so for a long time, even if right now there are less options because of sparing money. So, literature : for what I saw when teaching French literature in a highschool, the typical exercises are commenting a text (from Montaigne/Rabelais to the 20th century), but also for Olevel two other kinds of exercising ie summing up a long text on one side, writing a mini dissertation on the other side. These are the three typical tests between 15 and 18 years old. I would underline the change in the year of Seconde : it is a turning point in the study of literature in France, at least it was when I taught in a highschool. And it was really hard for some pupils at least, if not for many of them. Is the evolution softer in other countries, I don't know, sorry.