GRAPHOLOGICAL AND PHONO-STYLISTIC HERMENEUTICS OF SELECTED POEMS IN J.P. CLARK’S ‘FULL TIDE’

Abstract

This paper undertakes an examination of the nature and import of the graphological and rhyming features deployed in a selection of J.P. Clark’s poetry. All the poems examined are selected from the poet’s full collection, Full Tide. Although the poet has added a few more titles to his collection afterwards, Full Tide can be said to duly represent the content and context of Clark’s career as a distinguished Nigerian poet.  The article employs Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics as theoretical guide. Seventeen poems from the anthology are purposively selected and examined for evident graphological and phonological elements which are indicative of the poet’s stylistic and aesthetic inclinations. It is observed that Clark deliberately deploys linguistic patterns suggestive of foregrounded forms which yield to interpretations that are easily connected to the thematic concern of his poems. Such patterns include, but are not limited to, rhyme schemes and graphological stylistic applications such as spacing, lineation and structural deviation that carry artistic concerns that range from civil-military relations, to environmental dilapidation, and cultural identity as well as celebration. These findings validate the assertion that graphological and phono-stylistic features are meaning-inducing concepts that often go beyond aesthetics to engender a reinforcement of thematic interest of poets. It concludes that Clark’s exploitation of these stylistic features provide valuable insight into his poetic craft and the broader linguistic creativity characteristic of modern African poetry.