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A literary stylistic analysis of a poem by the Somali poet Axmed Ismaciil Diiriye ‘Qaasim’1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Martin Orwin
Martin Orwin
Affiliation:
School of Oriental and African Studies
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Extract

This article presents a stylistic analysis of a poem which we shall call Macaan iyo Qadhaadh, ‘Sweet and bitter’ by the Somali poet Axmed Ismaciil Diiriye ‘Qaasim’. It will show ways in which the language has been crafted syntactically, metrically, alliteratively and in other ways so as to contribute to the power and meaning of the poem as a whole. A stylistics-based approach has been followed looking at the actual language structures and stylistic devices used in the poem and ideas are proposed on their contribution to the meaning and power of the poem. Cureton (1992) has been influential in the way grouping of lines has been dealt with and in how prolongation in the poem has been presented and discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 63 , Issue 2 , January 2000 , pp. 194 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2000

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