CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Literature is the summation of all works
of
imagination, oral or written, which manifest and project the life and culture
of people. Obichukwu (2009) postulates that literature displays man in his
society by trying to explain human experiences and conducts; indicating the
past and the present, while peering into the future. Taking the view of
Obichukwu, Nwachukwu Agbada in Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2009: 23) says:
Unlike the other arts whose raw materials are physical objects, creative
writing is an imaginative act whose expression is dependent on words. The
painter uses his brush, the carver his knife, the sculptor his clay or wood,
but the creative writer, equally an artist makes use of words as his medium of
expression. Through the use of the imagination, he selects, orders and
interprets life experience, employing words as his basic tool.
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In their own opinion, Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2009:23) define literature as:
a branch of art, possessing all the attributes and characteristics of
art… like all other branches of art (film, music, stand-up-comedy, drawing,
sculpture) is a product of the inspired imagination, which main functions are
to entertain, educate, instruct and provide aesthetic satisfaction and unlike
other forms of art, it is mainly written while music, dance and stand-up comedy
are realized through performances which mostly involve body movement and
verbalization.
On the entertaining nature of literature,
Nnolim (2009:3) says that “literature exists to entertain us, and when it
entertains us, it enhances our leisure time and gives us pleasure.” So,
literature is a “humanistic discipline” for its aim is to improve “man’s lot on
earth.” On the aesthetic nature of literature Nnolim (2009:3) adds:
Literature as an art deploys language embellished with pleasurable
accessories and it is around the embellished use of language that the creative
energy of the story deploys itself. And to invest the story with meaning, there
must be some truth about life, something to chew over, some theme, some moral,
some philosophy of life, and some metaphor of life that tugs at the edges of a symbol.
Accepting the views of Obichukwu and Nwachukwu
Agbada, Nwahunanya in Onukaogu and Onyerionwu
(2009:24) notes that “Literature is an imaginative verbal construct that
emerges from the creative consciousness of literary artists.”
Nnolim
(2009:2) gives a most succinct definition of literature as:
that writing which is more emotionally moving than intellectually
instructive; that writing which primarily deals with a make believe world; that
writing whose language is highly connotative rather than denotative, symbolic
rather than literal, figurative rather than plain; that writing we regard as
“verbal works of art”, that writing that is remarked by its fictionality and
imaginative import; that writing in which ideas are wrapped up in symbols,
images, concepts; that writing which normally catapults us into another world
of appearance and reality through the powers of the imagination; that writing
in which the aesthetic function dominates; that writing in which the ultimate
aim of the author is to produce an object of art
This particular definition captures the whole intent
of this exploration because it is all about foregrounding, which takes pleasure
in defamiliarization of speech, the otherness of language, literariness and
aesthetics.
Looking at Language as an indispensable tool in the
hands of a literary artist Wellek and Warren in Nnabuihe (2004 :15) go on to
state that:
language is the material of literature as stone or bronze is of
sculpture, paints of pictures, or sounds of music. But one should Know that the
language is not mere inert matter like stone but is itself a creation of man
and is thus charged with the cultural heritage of a linguistic group.
Agreeing with
the above critics, Williams in Emezue (2012) is of the view that the literary
artist expresses all these views through language. This means that there is an
irrefutable bond between language and literature. In confirming this, Brain
(1993:47) adduces that “Literature is a manifestation of verbal culture and
cannot be filtered out or separated from language.” This belief gets its
highest promotion from Fowler, Leech and Short and Osundare in Emezue (2012:2),
when they argue that:
An ideal critic must be grounded in basic linguistics…
must know how language operates…
Every writer must be a linguist. If as a writer you
don’t know anything about linguistics, you are like
a sculptor who doesn’t understand the language of
the wood he is using.
Looking at the symbiotic relationship between language
and literature, Leech and Short (1981:2) say that “The smallest detail of language
can unlock the soul of a literary work.” Hence, literature is language in use
and “man’s supreme use of language is discovered in literature”. In line with
this, Emezue (2012:VI) holds that “No serious study of literature is complete
without recourse to language.” In discussing language and the fictional world,
Leech and Short (1985:150) argue that: “the language of literature cannot be
understood without a proper appreciation of how language works:” and in the
view of Kehinde in Osunbade (2009:12)
Literature mirrors the events of the past, transmits socio-cultural
values and creates great awareness of the tradition of its enabling society. It
is expected therefore, that literature finds its expression in language, since
the study of language is a complement and aid the study of literature.
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Abugu (2010:1) is of the opinion that:
Language and Literature are inextricably connected, in the sense than
language is the basic raw material or medium, through which literature is
produced, whether they are novels or poems, plays or folktales…
Other authorities like Fowler (1971:7) hold the same
opinion that literature and linguistics are complementary thus:
…studies of rhythm in Hopkins, syntax in Paradise Lost
or in Henry James, metaphoric structure in Wallac Stevens,
ungrammaticalness in E.E. Cummings and Style in Flaubert
would not be possible without a mastery of linguistics.
Abugu (2010:1) explains the relationship between language and literature
comprehensively thus:
While language
is a method of communication, literature is the content being communicated.
Language has been described as a set of gestures and words and phrases with
meaning behind them; literature is the manipulation and use of those gestures
and words and phrases for creative purposes. It is pertinent to say that
language enables literature. In literature, language is meticulously crafted.
Broadly speaking, ‘literature’ is used to describe anything from creative
writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly
used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry,
drama, fiction, and nonfiction. Literature, in all its forms, cannot exist
outside language
Abugu
(2010:2) also explicates amply how language functions in literature thus:
In its expressive function, language
reports feelings or attitudes of the writer, or of the subject, or evokes
feelings in the reader. Poetry is one of the best examples, but most of
literature is the expression of emotions, feelings and attitudes. In poetry we
can see very clear evidence that language and literature are interwoven. Poetry
has to do with language used in a special way. One important way that the
meaning of a word is communicated in a poem is through sounds. Words convey
meaning denotatively or connotatively. Poets are noted for the use of poetic
phrases and images to describe something in literature. Wole Soyinka, in his
poem “Telephone Conversation”, uses language to create such images and provide
pictures of his encounter with racial discrimination.
To further attest to the indisputable relationship
between language and literature, Leech and Short (1981:148) opine that “the
language of literature cannot be understood without a proper appreciation of
how ordinary language works.”
In the
light of the above, literature involves the manipulation of language for
creative purposes. Chukwukere in
Onukaogu and Onyerionwu summarizes all the above views when he says that
“Language undoubtedly is the gateway to success in the literary art.” So, the
creative artist expresses his feelings, insights, themes and so on, primarily
by means of language. (Yankson, 2006)
The discipline which fosters the synergetic
relationship between literature and language is stylistics. Stylistics therefore,
serves as a ‘buffer’ between literary criticism and linguistics,(Lawal, 1997).
Making this assertion more convincingly, Enkivist in Kolawole (1997:1)
reiterates: “…through ages, linguists and literary analysts have met and
clashed on the territory of stylistics.”
Khaled (online) reaffirms this position when he says that stylistics is
an interdisciplinary field because it uses tools and concepts from linguistics
and literature. This entails that stylistics uses the tools from literature and
linguistics for analysis. It is clear therefore that there is a complementary
relationship between linguistics and literary criticism.
Endorsing the above views, Widdowson (1975) describes
stylistics not as a subject in its own right but as a connection between two
disciplines, linguistics and literary criticism. He clarifies the mediatingfunction
of stylistics in the illustration below:
Discipline: Linguistics Literary criticism
In the view of Bloomfield (1976) stylistics is the study or interpretation of the distinctive linguistic elements in writing of a text and it explains the peculiar choices made by an individual or social group in the use of language in both written and oral texts.
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