AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY JOUNAL OF ARTS

Scholars have continued to explore how language and style in poetry function not only as aesthetic tools but also as instruments of social commentary. However, few studies have comparatively examined the stylistic and semantic techniques in Songs of Our Time by Eyoh Etim and Broken Bodies, Damaged Souls and Other Poems by Akachi Ezeigbo. This study attempts to fill this gap by engaging in a stylistico-semantic analysis of selected poems from both collections. The analysis is grounded in Pragmastylistics as a theoretical model, alongside insights from semantic theory, to uncover how language is deployed to capture political disillusionment, social malaise, existential anxieties, and human resilience in the face of crises. Four poems from each collection were purposively selected for analysis. The study demonstrates that both poets combine some linguistic devices and literary aesthetics to critique governance, expose the vulnerability of human existence, and affirm the role of poetry as a mirror of the society. It further attests that style is not ornamental but central to meaning-making, as some authors often deviate from conventional patterns of language to highlight hidden or subtle messages to achieve set goals.

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