SEMANTIC READING AND DECONSTRUCTION OF LANGUAGE IN CLARK BEKEDEREMO'S THE RAFT

Abstract

In African Literature, words and language play major roles in the understanding of the texts. The reason for this is not far-fetched, given the rich and diverse language resources that exist in the African societies. In Nigeria, older writers like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and J. P. Clark-Bekederemo have artistically expressed their individual ingenuity, mastery, and dexterity in this wise. Therefore, this study aims at deconstructing meaning in The Raft by Clark-Bekederemo for easier understanding of the play. This has become necessary in view of the connotative expressions which the play is replete with. The paper is intended to demystify the use of language by Clark-Bekederemo in The Raft, in order to deconstruct the veiled meaning of the play, occasioned by the use of literary, rather than literal language. Literary Stylistics was adopted as the theory for this article. This theory explores the manner in which readers of literary works understand the use oflanguage by creative writers in their texts. The theory was propounded by Leo Spitzer in his Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1950. The focus of this paper is to interpret the play under review by according attention to the issue of meaning. The study notes that Clark-Bekederemo deploys African wise sayings which he sourced from the vast unwritten lexicon of his Ijaw community to foreground his story. The study also shows how successfully the author is able to reminisce on, and document his childhood experiences while growing up in a riverine environment.