THE DEPLOYMENT OF IDEOLOGY IN THE POETRY OF NIYI OSUNDARE
THE DEPLOYMENT OF IDEOLOGY IN THE POETRY OF NIYI OSUNDARE
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Date
1995-02
Authors
MU'AZU, MAIWADA
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Abstract
Critical attention is just beginning to focus on
Niyi Osundare.. although he is one of the most prolific
Nigerian poets with seven published Volumes to date.
Like most educated African writers, he is the product
of two cultures, the African and European. Another
significant fact is that Osundare1s poetry puts him in
the fore-front of the champions of the art of social
commitment. This thesis shows how Osundare deploys
ideology in his first five published Volumes. we note
thai his deployment of ideology gives his style and
theme a decidedly revolutionary ring.
For a clearer perspective we looked at the social
contexts that brought about the emergence of modern
Nigerian poetry. The introductory first chapter is
against the background ot how past poetic prac
might have influenced Osundarefs practice.
The second chapter looks at Osundare's first
published collections. A Nib in the Pond and Songs of
the Marketplace. Here, Osundare deploys ideology
largely as oppositional systems that embody the class
interests of the various segments ot the society;
particularly the opposed interests of the privileged
against the unprivileged. We also note an avantgaridst
tendency as the poet tries to break away from
the 'old'.
The third chapter dealing with Village Voices
looks at what is clearly a watershed in Osundare's
practice. In an aesthetics leaning heavily on oral
literary practices, a distinct poetic voice emerges
concerned with the plight of a particular social group.
the peasantry. Apart from the analysis of the
aesthetics and its referent, we can also see the
implication of Osundare's practice, partly echoed in
the second chapter: The alienation of the text and its
intended audience, in the light of the illiteracy of
the audience.
In the fourth chapter we see how Osundare tries to
capture a changing reality. Language here is highly
allusive. Using the metaphor of the 'earth' and the
'moon', the poet deepens our knowledge of ideology by
incorporating existential phenomena alongsides
ideologies as systematised discources. This new
deployment of ideology also incorporates dialectics as
we notice the binary fusion of opposites.
The fifth and concluding chapter restates the
earlier points and looks all the writer's world and the
tools he has fashioned to recreate, represent, remould
and generally, interprete reality
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL,
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA,
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (M.A)
IN LITERATURE
Department of English,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
FEBRUARY, 1993
Keywords
DEPLOYMENT, IDEOLOGY,, POETRY,, NIYI OSUNDARE