A Stylistic Analysis Of Okot P’ Bitek’s Song Of Lawino Song of Ogol and Song of Prisoner
Abstract
This stuay was inspired by the feeling that
crItics of East Afrlcan literature have not given OKot
P'Bltek and his works' sufficien attentIon. This I
felt was unfortunate because p'Bitek is not only our
leadIng poet in East Africa but also one of the foremost
poets in Africa . Even where critics have dlscussed his
work, I still felt there was an anomaly in that so far,
attention has been directed toward the themes rather
than the style.
To correct this bias, this thesis attempts a
stylistic analysis of Okot p'Bitek's Song of Lawino
Song of Ocol ans song of Prisoner. To do this
effectively we have adopted a stylistic theoretlcal
framework. Concurring with such Styllstic critics ana
theoreticians as Emmanuel Ngara and Ernst fischer. I
have argued the case for the inseparability of style and
content. The special appeal of a stylistIc theory in
this study is that it enables us to take cognizance of
the salient themes in the poems as I analyse their
style.
The thesis runs into three chapters. In chapter
one entltied "Okot p'Bitek : A Literary and Intellectual
Biography" we outline some of the biographical,
intellectual. social and hIstorical factors that may
have a bearing on the style of the poem under study.
My view is that style is a product of both historical and social factors.
The Impact on the reader of any lIterary work
ultimately depends on the work's abilityty to communlcate.
Language is the foremost expressive device in literature
and in chapter two of this study, I focus on the poet's
creative use of language. I partIcularly look at the
poet's use of imagery and symbollsm. This is important
partIcularly in the study of poetry whIch more than any
other genre of literature relies on the skillful
exploitation of Linquistic resources tor the realisation
of its meaning.
Chapter three; my last chapter, brIefly looks at
the structure of p'Bltek's poems. I attempt to show
how the structure relates to the narratIve technIque or
digression. I argue that the poet uses the tecnnique of
digression to counter the limitatIons of the extended
monologue structure of his poems. In the last palt at
the chapter', I look at the allegatIon that digresslon is
a distracting and fragmentIng narratIve technique. Our
analysis is premised on the theoretlbal contruct of a
text which holds that a lIterary work must hold togcthel
as a whole. I highlight the technical and Stylistic
features Which the poet deliberately employs to ensure
that his works remain cohesive and therefore creditable
works of art.
In the concluslon I highligt the main flndlngs of
the study . I conclude that although P'Bitek exhibit flexibility at the thematic level. styllstlcally he
continues to draw inspiration from traditional literary
forms and technical modes.
Citation
Masters thesis University of Nairobi 1992Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Arts
Description
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the Degree of Master of Arts in Literature, Universlty of Nalrobl