AN ANALYSIS OF THE METAPHOR IN MAMMAN VATSA’S POEM, “HOMECOMING”

Abstract

This paper analyses metaphorical expressions in Mamman Vatsa’s  poem, “Homecoming,” by using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). Six metaphorical expressions that employ ontological metaphors, specifically BUILDING IS A PERSON and OBJECT IS A PERSON, were identified and analysed in the study. By specifically adopting Lakoff and Johnson's Metaphors we live by (1980, 2003) as theoretical framework, the research demonstrates how the poet uses sustained metaphors to show the desertion experienced during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). The findings reveal that Vatsa's use of metaphors besides serving as ornamental devices, it also serves as cognitive mechanisms that make readers to conceptualize abstract experiences of war, loss, and loneliness through concretisation of the domains. This study contributes to the exploration of metaphors in poetry and gives an insight into how soldier-poets employ figurative language to tell traumatic historical experiences in Africa.

Keywords: Conceptual Metaphor Theory, ontological metaphor,  Mamman Vatsa, civil war literature, African poetry