IDEATIONAL DISCOURSE AS TOOL OF STYLE IN OJAIDE’S “ENDLESS SONG” AND “THE DOGMA OF PATIENCE”

Abstract

This study is an investigation into the genre of poetry, a highly rated genre of literature which has an intricate linguistic composition. Poetry often deploys carefully manipulated and intoned linguistic elements in its expression. Due to its complexity, a systematic approach of interpretation that would enable readers to predict and visualize the poet‟s thoughts is required. It is in the light of this that this paper examines the significant stylistics highlights in selected poems of Tanure Ojaide and how these attributes contribute to an understanding of the various struggles of the people of the Niger Delta . This study adopts the ideational discourse tool of stylistics as its theoretical framework. The data for this study are two poems; “Endless Song” and “The Dogma of Patience” drawn from Ojaide‟s volume of poetry under the title, The Endless Song. In the end, the paper lays bare an intensive comprehension and meaning conveying strategy of the selected poems, taking into consideration the intoned expressions, the linguistic choices made, and the envisaged language function alongside the communication effect, facilitating an easier comprehension of the Niger Delta struggle.