Predominant Stylistic Devices Used By Ngugi Wa Thiong’O In His Latest Novel Wizard Of The Crow And Why He Used Them
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Predominant Stylistic Devices Used By Ngugi Wa Thiong’O In His Latest Novel Wizard Of The Crow And Why He Used Them
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Language is man’s distinguishing characteristic. It is what allows humans to express themselves and communicate with one another, and it comes naturally. Fromkin et al. state that language is the foundation of human existence and power (3).
According to the authors, language is used to communicate information, ask questions, offer commands, and express wishes (173). There are two types of language use: oral (spoken words) and written (graphic representations of words on paper).
Style is expressed through the use of language. Style distinguishes between one piece of writing and another. Adejare describes style as an imprecise term. (1). He goes on to say that different professions use the term “style” differently. A psychologist, for example, defines style as a type of conduct; a critic defines style as personality; and a linguist defines style as the formal structures in function (1).
Stylistics is the study of both spoken and written materials. It describes the linguistic characteristics (i.e., linguistic traits) of all situationally restricted uses of language.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, or of a specific language. Linguistics is scientific because it uses objective observation, data collecting, classification, and application to investigate language.
Stylistics focusses on texts, emphasising techniques, parts of speech, and figures of speech. It goes on to investigate the effects of the devices on the reader.
Onwukwe Ekwutosi defined four separate sorts of stylistics, which are:
1. General stylistics.
2. Literary styles.
3. Stilo-stylistics
4. Phonostylistics
General stylistics is concerned with the non-dialectical variants found within a language. In other words, it is concerned with the situational or contextual usage of language, or modification based on use. It also contains language variance based on discourse field, mode, and style.
Literary stylistics is concerned with the use of language in writing, specifically the variances and features of particular writers who have left their mark on literature. People frequently discuss Shakespeare, Milton, Achebe, and Soyinka’s writing styles.
Also, stylo-stylistics is concerned with the qualification of stylistic patterns. It analyses the statistical structure of literary works, frequently utilising computers. Finally, phono-stylistics is the study of how to express the aesthetic function of sound.
Stylistic features can be defined as those that create style. Linguistic aspects include diction (the writer’s choice of words, such as clichés, archaism, polysyllabic, and monosyllabic), sentence structure (loose and period sentences), parallelism, parenthetical expressions, and passive phrases.
Other characteristics include continuity, coherence, the use of punctuation marks and figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, metonymy, and personification, slang, colloquialism, and connotation.
Diction: The reader examines the simplicity or difficulty of the words used by the writer to convey himself.
A sentence is a collection of words that expresses a whole notion. It is the foundational unit of idea in all communication. Sentences are the foundation of both oral and written language. There are two types of sentences: loose and periodic sentences.
A loose sentence is one that begins with the main idea. Even when the statement is grammatically complete, one or more explanatory clauses or phrases follow it.
Periodic sentence: This type of sentence preserves the main topic till the finish. The statement is not properly complete till it ends.
Parallelism is the use of pattern repetition in a literary piece to achieve a certain stylistic impact.
Parenthetical expression: It is used to provide more information and as an afterthought in a statement.
Passive expression is the use of words in the past tense to indicate the period of action.
Cohesion: It is a linguistic phenomena that describes how discourse is ordered or organised in relation to message. It is a binding force that connects long segments of utterances.
Coherence is the organisation of sentences in logical sequence.
Punctuation marks are indications used in writing to separate sentences and phrases and clarify meanings.
A figure of speech is a figurative expression that is not employed in a literary context. It provides a deeper meaning to the word. Here are several examples:
Metaphor: A comparison of two dissimilar entities that share something in common.
Simile: A clear contrast of two dissimilar objects. These two seemingly disparate products, however, have something in common. The use of “like” and “as” emphasises this shared quality.
Hyperbole is an overstatement in which the speaker exaggerates what he is saying beyond all proportion.
Metonymy is the use of one word to refer to another that is closely related with it.
Personification is the process of imbuing an inanimate object with human qualities.
Slang refers to very casual terms and idioms that are more widespread in spoken language, particularly among a specific group of individuals.
Colloquialism: A word or phrase used in casual conversation but not in official writing.
Connotation is the additional meaning that a word receives as a result of its previous use in a different context.
Archaism is the use of old and Middle English words that are no longer commonly used nowadays.Some instances include “thereto” and “thou”.
Clichés are statements or ideas that have been used so many times that they have lost their meaning and are uninteresting.
Stylistic analysis involves analysing a text at multiple levels of language organisation, including phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic levels. It is the recognition of usage patterns in speech and text. It is typically used to provide feedback on the quality and significance of a text.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Though many studies have been conducted on Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s prior novels, nothing has been done on his style in Wizard of the Crow, his most recent novel, which was published in 2007. As a result, the researcher aims to investigate Ngugi’s writing technique in his most recent novel.
Second, the majority of the works did not conduct quantitative stylistic analysis to identify the most common or often appearing devices. They often simply listed all of the gadgets used.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The goal of this research is to identify the primary devices utilised by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his novel Wizard of the Crow, as well as what he accomplished by employing those mechanisms.
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