A LINGUISTIC STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF NIYI OSUNDARE'S MY LORD, TELL ME WHERE TO KEEP YOUR BRIBE

Abstract

This paper considers Osundare’s exposition of corruption as the bane
of the judiciary through his poem, My Lord, Tell Me Where to keep your
Bribe, from the perspective of linguistic stylistics. The study draws its
data from the contents of the poem while integrative method is used as
the theoretical framework. The study discovers, among others, that the
diction of the work is marked by simple vocabulary characterized by the
registers of various disciplines used to build the thematic concerns of
the piece, figurative expressions used to adorn and elevate the language
of the poem as well as to deepen the understanding of same, and two
borrowed expressions from the mother tongue of the bard. At the level
of graphology, findings indicate that the question mark, the comma and
the full stop are preponderantly omitted where necessary for a flow of
thought of the poet. More so, capitalization and the inverted comma
are used to draw the attention of the reader to some lexical units. The
paper establishes that these linguistic devices are apt as they are
succinctly used to lampoon, decry and satirize corruption perpetrated
by the helmsmen of the judiciary – judges and lawyers. The article
concludes that Osundare dexterously deploys the identified linguistic
features to expose the ills in the judicial system.