Abstract
This essay examines the aesthetics of metaphor and imagery in Sophia Obi- Akpoko’s Tears in a Basket and Floating Snags. In this regard, the study adopts eco-critical theory to analyze how the author employed imagery and metaphors in her collection of poetry Tears in a Basket and Floating Snag. In conclusion, the paper demonstrates that metaphor and imagery form an inseparable component of a writer’s imagination, even if one is a poet, a novelist or a dramatist.
Keywords: Metaphor, Imagery, Niger Delta, The poet, and Sophi Obi
Introduction:
Metaphor is a literary term under figures of speech. However, figures of speech are a conspicuous departure from standard usage, not primarily in the meaning of words, but in the order of syntactical pattern of the words. The distinction is to distinguish figures of speech from ordinary speech. Hence, figures of speech make the language flowery and flamboyant, thereby extending the frontiers of its interpretation. Interestingly, the figurative use of language makes interpretation depart from the literal to the literary. For this reason, a creative writer through the resources of language is disposed to explore figures of speech such as metaphors, imagery etc to bring to the fore the social, political and economic issues in our society.
It is imperative to note that metaphor is an essential element of literature. Metaphor exists in the comparison of two things. M.H Abrams has defined metaphor as “a figure of speech in which a name or descriptive term is applied to an object which in the usual sense it is not applicable” (118). Having explained metaphor as one of the figures of speech that creates imagery through comparison, it is, therefore, pertinent to point out that the term “imagery” is one of the most common in literary criticism and as well, one of the most variables in meaning. It should be noted that its applications range from the “mental pictures” which are sometimes claimed to be experienced by the reader of a literary work be it poetry, drama, or prose.
Furthermore, M.H Abrams cites Lewis in his book: A Glossary of Literary Terms to note that an image “is a picture made out of words’’, and that “a poem may itself be an image composed from a multiplicity of images” (150).
It, therefore, becomes instructive to note that imagery is common to poetry because the imagery is said to make poetry concrete. For instance, imagery in a literary sense is used to signify all the objects and qualities of creative perception referred to in a poem or other work of literature, whether by literal description, by allusion, or in the vehicles of similes and metaphors. In this regard, imagery can be conveyed in literature through metaphor. This is why imagery signifies figurative language through a vivid picture of its description. There is a relationship between imagery and metaphor in literature. This is because they are powerful tools in the hands of a writer. It is a known fact that poetry as a literary genre makes extensive use of imagery and metaphor to address social and political issues in our society. The poet creates actions, and by extension, he recreates his environment through the manipulation of figurative language which is coded in metaphors, imageries and others. Some of the Nigerian poets who explored the aesthetics of metaphors and imagery so much in their poetry are Christopher Okigbo, John Pepper Clark, Esiaba Irobi, Remi Raji, Isidore Diala, Joe Ushie, Ogaga Ifowodo, Ikeogu Oke, Sophi Obi-Apoko among others.
In this paper, an eco-critical theory will be used to analyze Sophi Obi’s poetry collection “Tears in a Basket and Floating Snag.”
Theoretical framework.
The paper, being a theoretical position, centred on foregoing an eco-critical nexus between the environment and the wellbeing of man. According to Lawrence Buell, “Ecocriticism is an ecological outgrowth of post-structural criticism that studies human representations of nature“(160). Furthermore, he sees ecocriticism as the study of the relationship between literature and environmentalist praxis ‘’ (430).
However, eco-criticism as a theory first appeared in the works of William Rueckert, who in a 1978 essay titled Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism espouses “the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature (7). It is, therefore instructive to note that ecocriticism grows out of the traditional approach to literature in which the critic explores the local or global, the material or physical or the historical in the context of a work of art. Ecocriticism is by nature interdisciplinary invoking knowledge of environmental studies.
Eco-criticism hinges on the view, that all literature is viewed in terms of place, setting or environment, all of which have taken on richer meaning. Thus, M.H Abrams writes that “Eco-criticism designates the critical writings which explore the relationship between literature and the biological and physical environment… being wrought on that environment by human activities’’ (89). This submission upheld the fact that eco-criticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the environment. Cajethan Iheka has observed that “Eco-criticism deals with and examines the interaction between literature and sustenance of the human environment” (26). It is, therefore, instructive to note that Ecocriticism is a fairly new trend in literary criticism because of its peculiar nature in interdisciplinary studies. Loretta Johnson has examined that “over the last three decades, ecocriticism has emerged as a field of literary studies that address how humans relate to non-human nature or the environment in literature’’ (7). In the light of the above views, it is pertinent to say that ecocriticism as a literary theory x-rays works of literature with themes closely related to issues affecting the environment and the ecosystem. Adam Dickson contends that “ecocriticism is concerned with matters of environmental neglect, especially those with readily identifiable activist dimensions” (34). It is worthy of note that ecocriticism is gaining much recognition in African studies. For this reason, critics and scholars of African literature have written extensively on this theory. Ogaga Okuyade in his book: Eco-Critical Literature opines that “Ecocriticism is more of an attempt to counter an unconscious violence orchestrated by humans on the environment” (XI). He stresses the fact that “exigent remedies’’ are necessary through literature.
Sophia Obi in her collection of poetry Tears in a Basket bemoans the deplorable condition of the Niger Delta. Her poetry is ideologically rooted in ecocriticism. Hence, the social relevance of eco-criticism in our study.
The aesthetics of Metaphor in Sophia Obi-Apoko’s Tears in a Basket.
Sophia Obi-Apoko is a Nigerian writer from Bayelsa. She has gone beyond the level of a budding writer to become one of the established poets in the Niger Delta. Sophia Obi has two collections of poetry to her credit. Tears in a Basket (2005) and Floating Snags (2009). She has also published some short stories online and in journals. Obi is a conscious writer, who understands the poetry of her art. Sophia Obi’s Tears in a Basket is aesthetically structured to resonate with the many unheard voices of the downtrodden people of the Niger Delta who have been suffering from political and economic deprivation over the decades, as well as environmental degradation resulting from all exploration and exploitation. The metaphor used in the poetry effectively portrayed the lifestyle of the people. Thus, showing how deprived and marginalized the people have suffered.
Christabel Onyema cites Gabriel Okara to note that Obi’s Tears in a Basket “sprung from the wastelands of the South-South left bereft of all life by the exploration of oil by the international oil companies” (56). It is important to note that Obi’s Tears in a Basket is a tearful call for an eye-witness of the life-threatening predicament of the people of the Niger Delta who were once living a happy and fulfilled life despite their penury. However, those things that gave them life have been destroyed and their sources of livelihood have also been destroyed through oil exploration and exploitation by the oil companies. Some of the poems in this collection that convey the poet’s eco-sensibilities include “Tomorrow’s Debris”, “Oloibiri” “Swamps of our Time” and “Tears in a Basket”.
In the poem “Tomorrow’s debris” (12), the poetic persona laments the problem of youth restiveness, deprivation and neglect of Delta lands through imagistic terms of death, destruction, pain and torture. Obi sees youth restiveness as reactionary, that is, as a product of the deprivation, destruction and neglect of the Delta environment. Thus, the poetic persona explored metaphoric terms to describe the deprivation suffered by the indigene who lives among “wolves” and ‘thieves’ who exploit their natural resources. For instance, the metaphor used in the poem brings to the purview the image of the oppressor and the oppressed. The oppressor is referred to as “wolves who wine and dine on the toil of the weak and wasted”. The “weak and wasted” here represent the oppressed.
In another poem of the collection, titled Oloibiri” Obi describes Niger Delta which Oloibiri represents as “desolate like gloomy attire”. It is evident to know that Obi uses metaphor as imagery to draw attention to the pitiable picture of the Niger Delta region. Thus, Oloibiri, which is the centre of oil wealth in Nigeria is nothing but “a wealthy aged whore”. More than fifty years after oil was first struck in Oloibiri, there is nothing to show that it laid the “golden egg”; unfortunately, the Niger Delta region which is the oil-producing region in Nigeria has suffered utmost neglect and cruel exploitation by the international oil companies. This is why the poet uses metaphors such as “battered thatches’’ “hungry for love” “thirsty soul” etc to represent the picture of exploitation, subjugation, marginalization and ecological degradation.
Tambari Dick has observed in his article titled Sorrow, Blood and Tears as the leitmotif in contemporary Niger Delta; that Sophia Obi’s poem ‘Tears from Oloibiri” is a clarion call to the “world of all. It has gone through as the consequence of oil exploration “(38). Thus, the poet persona says:
I am Oloibiri
I have lost my essence
I breathe a morbid hybrid air
Sores and death slyly stare
Legions had thronged to drink
My milk
Now I am ravished, forlorn
Weak and sick. (35)
The poem explains what happens to every mother who after several childbirth and breastfeeding is neglected by the children. While they wine and dine, the giver of such life is left in “squalor and filth”, decay and putridity”. However, in all this neglect, oppression, and marginalization, the poet does not call for violence or anarchy amongst the people, but rather a word of consolation for the soul and the mind. Therefore, in the poem “Weep Not” the poet states;
Weep not my soul! Weep not!
Bleed not my heart! Bleed not!
Flow not my eyes! Flow not!
Burst not my mind! Burst not!
And for this evil done my land,
Weep not my soul… (22)
It should be noted that “Ode to Oloibiri” another poem in Sophi Obi’s Tears in a Basket portrays the pitiable condition and the total neglect visited on the historical home of the nation’s wealth. The poet persona laments the pitiable condition and the total neglect visited on the historical home of the nation’s wealth. The persona points out those injuries and injustices it has suffered over the years despite the “goose eggs” that are food for the nation and beyond, yet it is still “malnourished and pale” after being milked dry. Through metaphoric images, the persona vows to tell one of the world’s richest producers of oil, Qatar what one of them is going through in Africa, that rather than enjoying a paradise on earth like Qatar, Oloibiri is a paradox:
I will tell Qatar your tale
I will tell her your paradox
I will tell your story
I will always remember you:
Qatar must be surprised.
She could weep for you too
As I have wept daily. (40)
Dick remarks that “Qatar in the poem is a symbol of wealth and health, of fulfilment and proper utilization of natural resources. Qatar would be surprised that a region, which shares similar nature’s gift is a curse to its inhabitants rather than a blessing.” (39)
From the foregoing, therefore, it can be said that poems in Sophi Obi’s poetry are metaphoric and contain images of pain, injustice, suffering and death. For instance in the poem “Testaments” we see an unfolding scenario of injustice as witnessed in the process of our everyday legal system. A testament to injustice and deprivation of human rights reflects in the thematic focus of the poem:
Boro;
Hear my cause
Then lay your curse
A town with a unique trauma
Kaiama, like Oloibiri neglected
Lands and humid creeks dejected…
State prosecutor:
Objection! Pittance! Pittance!!!
Please do him riddance
Advocate:
Objection, my revered lord!
The accused spoke no foul words.
The poem is a dialogue. It reflects the reality of the plights of the people in the Niger Delta who are subjected to a process of judicial illegality in a bid to muffle their agitations for greater attention towards the colossal damage done to the environment. However, despite the defence put up by the accused, the flawed legal system failed to dispense justice to please their pay-master.
The Aesthetics of Imagery in Sophi Obi’s Floating Snags.
Floating Snags (2009) is a 58-page collection of poetry by Sophi Obi-Apoko. Her second collection of poetry also decries the economic exploitation of the Niger Delta region through various literary imagery. Significantly, Obi-Apoko’s Floating snags depict the picture of the degeneration of the Niger Delta as a result of the oil exploration efforts of government and multi-national companies which have had adverse effects on the quality of life in the region. Thus, the persona in “Seared Conscience” indicts the Nigerian government as being callous and ruthless.
Virus of corruption in the veins
Of Nigerian polity
Contaminates its reasoning
Sears conscience of the tiers
Of government
Shuts hearts to the plight of the less privileged
A nation built on corrosive ideas
Creating monstrous rumbling in the bowels of the common man (p.16-17; L 1-7)
The poem here bemoans the nature of Nigerian politics, the corruption, tribalism, nepotism and ethnicity that has besieged the Nigerian politics which makes it difficult for good reasoning and better welfare for the people. In another poem titled “Our Story” in Floating snags, the poet portrays desolate imagery of the Niger Delta:
The land cracks from loneliness
The farm swallowed by bitter spills
The rivers stagnated by oil
Curses
Hearts shut against this
Monstrous reality
Manning every home… (p.22; L20-24)
Evident in this poem is rich imagery of pain, agony, suffering, economic exploitation and environmental degradation. In this vein, Gabriel Okara notes that Obi-Apoko’s “primary concern in his poetry is the despoliation of the eco-system, the flora and the fauna by the exploration and extraction of crude oil…”(7), in the region, a concern echoed in Tears in a Basket her first collection of poetry. It should be noted that emotive terms of agony, pain, helplessness, baffled hearts, torment, screams, wail etc are creatively depicted in Tears in a Basket and Floating Snags. The poet explores figures of speech to a very large extent to drive home the message of economic exploitation. Noticeable in her poetry is the use of hate speech and protest tenor in the implicit and explicit analogies the poet makes. For instance, she refers to the perpetrators of “delta terror” as “cultists”, ‘hoodlums’ and “terrorists” and thus, engenders a literary discourse of the poetry. Words are used by the poet who is on the side of the oppressed, to foreground imagery of economic exploitation and suffering.
The poems in Tears in a Basket highlightimagery of the sordid state of Oloibiri and the despicable state of other Niger Delta towns. For instance, expressions like faded glory, ’gloomy attire’, desolate, tears, stench, and quake among others are used to show the neglect, deplorable and despicable state of oil exploration which has reduced the towns in Niger Delta. Obi Apoko also uses emotive techniques with such words as “only tears”, “bondage”, “painful survival”, and “heartless bullet” to convey the pitiable condition of the Niger Deltans. Nutsukpo, Margret Fafa, aptly observes that “in Tears in a Basket,
Obi-Apoko highlights the patriarchal nature of African society and its influence on gender relations. Through themes such as the subordination and marginalization of women, gender-intimidation, the impact of polygamy on women and families, among others” (7).
The poet who hails from Oloibiri, a Niger delta community in Bayelsa state has seen the harrowing suffering of the people, and the exploitation and exploration of oil companies which leaves their land barren, this is the reason why she employed the sensory, auditory and verbal images to illustrate the state of abandonment and suffering in Niger Delta. Thus, she evokes these imageries in Tears in a Basket to illustrate that Niger Delta inhabitants are treated as “sacrificial leeches/waiting to be squashed” (19). Tears in Obi’s title evoke feelings of pity, agony and pain. Hence, imagery and metaphor become a vehicle through which the poet tells the world about their suffering, marginalization and exploitation.
Conclusion:
Analysis of imagery and metaphorical implication in obi-Apoko’s Tears in a Basket and Floating Snags shows the beauty of language and literature in bringing to the fore the Niger Delta ecological experiences. Significantly, Sophi Obi Apoko’s poetry provides the reader with a clear view of the Niger Delta as a deprived region whose oil has become a curse instead of a blessing. She carefully articulates these poems in such a way that will provoke the feelings and emotions of the readers. To this end, the writer seems to be calling the attention of the government for adequate development and compensation for the Niger Deltans whose lands produce the wealth that is being transported to other regions.
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