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AESTHETICS IN MODERN NIGERIAN POETRY: THE 

USE OF PROVERBS IN AKACHI ADIMORA-

EZEIGBO’SHEART SONGS 

 

Lotachukwu Loveth Amalukwue 
Department of English Language and Literature 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 

Email: ll.amalukwue@unizik.edu.ng / loobimartins2013@gmail.com 

 

Abstract 

 The place of oral tradition or orature in modern Nigerian poetry 

cannot be over emphasized. The prominence and acceptance 

which the third generation of Nigerian poets enjoys are   

attributed totheir ‘appropriation of oral and traditional linguistic 

elements grounded in their social cultural milieu (Akingbe: 

237)’. This paper studied how the poet (Akachi Adimora-

Ezeigbo) adapted the oral form (proverbs) in some of the poems 

in her collection of poetry- Heart Songs to create poetry that is 

perceptibly and aesthetically African. The study showed how 

she stylistically deployed proverbs as a means through which the 

ills in her society were criticized. She decried these ills in 

proverbs. This study is predicated on the Formalist critical 

theory (New Criticism) because of its stance on the literary work 

(poetry) as the sole source of evidence for interpreting it. Thus 

the researcher based the analyses of the collection of poetry 

studied on the evidence provided by the poems analyzed. The 

paper analysed only one of the genres of orature (proverbs) 

incorporated in the work. The research is qualitative as it 

showed the ingenuity of the poet studied in creatively adapting 

the oral elements ( proverbs) in the written environment in such 

a way that it added to the aesthetic quality of the work. This 

study concluded on the note that the oral forms are varied and 

could be adapted into the written environment. Poets are 

mailto:ll.amalukwue@unizik.edu.ng%20/


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encouraged through this research to employ them (oral 

forms)more as they device novel ways in which they could be 

harnessed in their poetry. 

Keywords: Aesthetics, Nigerian poetry, proverbs, Orality. 

Introduction 

Poetry is one of the genres of literature through which comments 

and criticisms are made in the society. In Nigeria, it exists in two 

modes: the oral and the written mode. Oral poetry in Nigeria 

predates Western colonization and it is used to perform different 

functions in the society (pre- literate Nigerian society). One 

major characteristics of this poetry is that is performance based. 

Finnegan maintains that it ‘… depends on a performer who 

formulates it in words on a specific occasion … there is no other 

way in which it can be realized as a literary product (2)’.Thus, 

there is a correlation between the very existence of oral poetry 

and its transmission because without oral realization of this 

poetry, and its direct rendition before an audience, an unwritten 

literary piece (poetry) cannot be said to have any continued or 

independence existence at all. Oral poetry or orature is very 

important in Nigerian literary canon. Chinwizu, et al posit that: 

… it is the incontestable reservoir of the values , 

sensibilities, aesthetics and achievements of 

traditional African thought and imagination 

outside the plastic arts. Thus, it must serve as the 

ultimate foundation, guide post and point of 

departure for a must draw sustenance. (2) 

Orature in modern Nigerian poetry has helped in creating poetry 

that is both accessible and acceptable to greater percentage of 

the people. The inclusion of its genres into written poetry and its 

manipulation in analysing issues that pertain to the poet’s 

society is an instance of imaginativeness and experimentation to 



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which oral poetry has been put to use in Nigerian poetry. 

Prominent poets who explored this in their poetry include Niyi 

Osundare, Femi Fatoba, Tanure Ojaide, Odia Ofeimun, Ezenwa 

Ohaeto, Tess Onwueme, Akachi Adimora- Ezeigbo, Nnimmo 

Bassey, Harry Garuba, Obiora Udechukwu and a host of others. 

They actually bring poetry closer to the people by removing the 

garb of obscurity associated with the previous poets. This could 

be seen in Osundare’s definitional statement in his poem ‘Songs 

of the Marketplace’. He sees poetry not as ‘the esoteric whisper / 

of an excluding tongue/but as ‘man/ meaning /to man/’ (3-4). 

According to Ushie, their thematic preoccupation remains ‘the 

desperate situation of Africa, the stylistic hallmarks are clarity 

and directness of expression, formal experimentation and a 

deliberate incorporation of African literary modes’(19). 

Also, orature helps poets in making abundant use of local 

settings and imagery which help create poetry that could be 

accomplished with drums and other musical instrument. As a 

result, their poetry resonates according to Asika ‘with chants and 

ululations of masquerades and griots alike. We pluck in the lines 

of poetry ripe fruits of proverbs, riddles, folktales, incantations 

and praise names of deities and heroes alike which once prided 

the coastal fringes of Africa prior to the coming of the 

Europeans (101)’.  

This paper studies how the poet (Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo) 

adapted the oral form especially the proverb in her poems which 

makes them distinct and aesthetically African. 

African Aesthetics 

African critics have made attempts at defining aesthetics from 

the African point of view (as regards to literature) yet an 

acceptable definition eludes them. Some of them have despaired 

and concluded that it is not possible to have African aesthetics 



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and have resorted to Western aesthetics as the only and universal 

aesthetics. Nwankwo citing Nwoga agrees with him on the 

limitations of universal critical criteria because the African mode 

of aesthetic perception is different from the European mode. In 

addition Chinwizu et al maintain that universal critical criteria 

tilt towards eurocentrism ‘…with little or no relevance or 

validity for African people’ (4). African aesthetics (in African 

literature) brings to mind those ideas that are constant and 

peculiar to Africa that make it unique, beautiful and distinct. 

One of such ideas is orature.  The importance of orature to the 

development of African aesthetics in Africa’s literary canon 

cannot be overemphasized. In his definition of African 

aesthetics, Nnolim says that it is ‘the way modern African 

creative writers view and express their universe and the result of 

what they have viewed and so expressed’ (86). He identifies 

seven categories in which finished African literary works of 

African literary writers usually fall. From these categories 

emerge three issues on which African aesthetics is hinged and 

one of them is oral tradition/orature.  Nnolim goes further to say 

that  orature/oral tradition ‘ utilizes its many conventions like 

songs, song-tales, riddles, beast fables, parables, jokes, proverbs, 

anecdotes, legends fables, epics, myths, folktales and short 

stories to instruct, to amuse and to warn each generation on how 

to handle human situation’(90). These find their way into the 

literary canon of African writers and feature permanently as 

African aesthetic in literature. Chinwizu et al retaliate their 

stance over the need for African writers to decolonize African 

literature through a detailed study of the Africa’s orature and an 

effective implementation of same in literary works.  

Formalism 

Formalism has the distinction of having more names than any 

other recently developed School of Criticism. The two major 



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Schools that metamorphoses from it are New Criticism (the 

model defined by American and English critics) and the Russian 

Formalism (which lays great emphasis on form and techniques 

and also shares some fundamental characteristics with its 

Western cousin). This paper concerns itself with New Criticism, 

which may be referred to as Formalism as the case may be. New 

Criticism is a critical theory that is concerned with how readers 

understand and value a work for its own inherent worth and not 

for its metaliterary matters. It insists on close reading of a 

literary text, particularly poetry, in order to discover how a work 

of literature functions as a self-contained and self- referential 

aesthetic object.  

‘The text itself’ is one of the basic principles of New Criticism. 

This is because the New Critics focus our attention on the 

literary work as the sole source of evidence for interpreting it. 

Also, the formal features of a literary text are products of its 

literary language. Literary language depends on connotation: on 

the implication, association, suggestion and evocation of shades 

of meaning. Literary language also communicates tone, attitude 

and feeling. It organises linguistic resources into a special 

arrangement, a complex unity, to create an aesthetic experience. 

Therefore, the literary language of a given text is inseparable 

from the content and the meaning of that text. This is because 

the form and meaning of a literary work develop together, like a 

complex living organism whose parts cannot be separated from 

the whole. Thus the work’s organic unity -the working together 

of all the parts to make an inseparable whole-is the criterion by 

which New Critics judged the value of a critical work.T his 

makes it apt for this paper as the researcher analyses the poet -

Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s use of proverb in her collection of 

poetry (Heart Songs) and how it contributes to the aesthetic 

quality of the poems. 



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Use of Proverbs in Heart Songs 

Proverb has been and has remained the most powerful and 

effective instrument for the transmission of culture, social 

morality, manners and ideas of a people from one generation to 

another. The reason behind the efficacy of the proverb is that it 

is an aphorism, a wise saying based upon people’s experience as 

well as a reflection of the social values and sensibility of a 

people.  Proverbs at the level of individual units of aphorism (a 

short phrase that says something true or wise) fits into the syntax 

of speech as a figurative expression, and a stylistic device with 

the desired semantic force. When considered collectively, or in a 

more general sense, proverb can be said to represent a people’s 

philosophy. They function as literary forms which offer the 

traditional artist, speaker, and philosopher/priest a veritable 

medium for the projection and fulfillment of a variety of socially 

desired goals. According to Finnegan, ‘in proverbs, the whole 

range of human experience can be commented on and analysed, 

generalizations and principles expressed in a graphic and concise 

form, and the wider implications of specific situations brought to 

mind (416)’. Whenever there is doubt about an accepted pattern 

of behaviour, about a stipulated line of action or whenever 

traditional norms are threatened, there is always proverb to 

vouch, illuminate and buttress the wisdom of the traditional code 

of conduct. Also, proverbs sum up a situation, pass judgment, 

recommend a course of action or serve as secular past precedents 

for present actions. 

In view of the above, we see the poet (Akachi Adimora-

Ezeigbo) in Heart Songs tapping the rich resources contained in 

African proverbs. Being the first poetry collection of the poet 

who has worked extensively and excelled as a novelist, 

according to the Punch reviews, the work projects the writer as a 

poet who has a deep mastery of the art of traditional African 



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poetry making. Her use of proverbs as a literary technique is 

quite prominent in the poem, ‘Ram Syndrome’. Through it, the 

poet sums up the abuse of democracy in Nigeria and the world at 

large. She uses the proverb to explore the implications of falling 

out of favour with the political leaders. The proverb: 

He who consumes the testicles of a ram 

owes ibia debt.… (Heart Songs14) 

The above proverb brings out the imagery of the victimized. 

Elephantitis of the scrotum or ibi in the poet’s local parlance is 

an incurable and abominable disease. Anyone diagnosed of it is 

often ostracized. The analogy in the proverb totally sums up this 

precarious situation faced daily in the poet’s political 

environment. The same analogy continues throughout the poem 

as the poet makes allusion to some political victims in the world 

(represented by Russia and Nigeria) like Alexander Litvinenko, 

Anna Politkovakaya, Dele Giwa, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Bola Ige, 

Moshood Abiola and his wife, Kudirat Abiola and Chudi 

Okadigbo. These proverbs do not only create analogy of these 

victims’ fate but digs deeper into the different situation 

/environment that led to their demise. For instance the proverb: 

Who does not knowthat jackal does 

notforgive an affront? (HS 15/16) 

The proverb above shows that the names of the politicians 

(Moshood Abiola, Kudirat Abiola and Chuba Okadigbo) 

mentioned as instances must have died as a result of daring the 

powers that be. It is a well-known fact that Moshood Abiola, the 

undeclared winner of June 12th, 1993 presidential election in 

Nigeria under the platform of SDP (Social Democratic Party) 

died in detention in 1998, fighting for his mandate. His wife 

Kudirat Abiola was equally assassinated for declaring her 

support for her husband’s struggle while Chuba Okadigbo was 

rumored to have been assassinated due to the nature of his death 



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(he died of breathing problems caused as a result of tear gas he 

inhaled and died of before he could get medical attention).  

Also, the case of race victim, Amadou Diallo in the United 

States of America (USA) shows the evil of racism. Thus the 

proverb employed by the poet to buttress that is very apt: 

grasshopper keepssome distancewhen it 

hearsthe raucous musicof the Okpoko 

bird: (HS 15) 

Through these proverbs, the poet beams her searchlight into the 

kind of government that prevails in Nigeria and the world at 

large. The much touted democracy breeds insecurity, 

suppression of freedom of speech and individual liberty. Thus, 

the poet describes it as: 

…demon-crazyspearheadingrelentless 

attackson individual liberty on genuine 

freedom (HS 16) 

Again, the poet in the poem ‘The ‘ism’ of Race’ uses proverbs to 

show the manifestation of racism and xenophobia; the two major 

challenges faced by immigrants. People usually migrate for 

different reasons but central to all these is the desire for a good 

and comfortable standard of living. Unknown to migrants, this 

desire is more or less a utopia for no matter how enticing and 

promising a host country appears, the tendency to be unaccepted 

or to feel unaccepted is usually there. For instance, Aljazeera 

news reported cases in 2015 of xenophobic attacks on foreign 

nationals in South Africa. Also, the United State of America 

(USA) and some European countries according to BBC news 

have institutionalized racial practices that make it difficult for 

immigrants, especially migrants from Africa and other Third 

World countries to be treated fairly and equally with the Whites. 

Therefore, the poet’s use of the Igbo proverb,“a hen that stands 



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on one feet in a strange land (HS 20) ” captures the predicament 

of Nigerians who go ‘abroad’ in search of greener pastures in the 

poem. The incidence of racism and xenophobia is too concrete 

to be neglected. These appear in the countenance and body 

language of the host communities. These immigrants are 

frowned at and despised for being strangers and as such, fear, 

uncertainties and rejection assailed them daily. They find it 

difficult to look at the faces of those who should understand 

their plight and make them feel welcome. Towards the end of 

the poem, we see that eventually they were able to blend and 

achieve the purpose of coming to these foreign lands. They 

actually survived the hardships and rejection to earn the name, 

‘…Atakata agbuo… (HS 21).’ 

The poet equally incorporates proverb in the poem ‘Fallen 

Tyrant’, to vividly show that tyranny has its own consequences 

which is often fatal and tragic. It is important to state that most 

African states and some other countries across the globe has had 

their share of tyrannical leaders who rule with iron fist without 

regard to the fundamental  human rights of the people. Thus, we 

see the expression of mockery and happiness over the demise of 

the tyrant by the court guard.  

A court guard chewed gum and 

laughedBlew bubble and flicked his 

tongue like a lizardMocking the fallen 

tyrant with shaky legs…. (HS 22) 

The tyrant did not just fall (died a normal death) but was toppled 

in an insurrection against his rule by the people. Allusions to this 

effect were made of dictatorial leaders like Adolf Hitler, Idi 

Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko and Pinochet whose tyranny were 

challenged and their government brought to an end. This goes to 

show that there cannot be /…a sting without an antidote/ and 

that /… no tree can populate a forest? / 



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In view of the foregoing, the poet deployed the proverb: 

Those who thrive by sword will not 

escape its sharp-edged justice. (HS 22) 

The above proverb paints a clear picture of what awaits tyrants 

at the end. The truth embedded in this proverb extends to the last 

stanza of the poem where its justification is elucidated. The poet 

could not help but pray that: 

Would all tyrants be damnedBefore their 

flood drowns everything in sight? (HS 23) 

Conclusion 
African proverbs as can be seen from the poems analyzed using 

Formalistic theory has a rich source of imagery from the African 

environment and they give poets room to express their views on 

burning issues in their environment. As one of the genres of 

orature, proverb has survived from its existence in the oral mode 

into the written mode.  Its beauty lies in the universality of its 

meaning in that everyone can relate to it. As a result, the poet 

couched her criticism of the ills in her society in these proverbs 

as they can be easily interpreted no matter the ethniclinings of 

the person reading the poems. In employing them in these 

poems, the poet has succeeded in creating a work whose 

aesthetics is truly African. 

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Kingdom: Thomson, 2005.Print. 

Adimora-Ezeigbo, Akachi. Heart Songs. Ibadan: Krafts Books 

Ltd, 2009. Print.  

Akingbe, N, ‘Mapping Cavities of Despondency: Waiting as 

Resistance in Niyi Osundare’s Waiting Laughters’. 

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of Practice, Theory, Research and Education, vol 29, 

issue 4, August 2016, pp 237-246. Web. 

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Azad E. and P. Khadija. https://www.aljazeera .com>news. web 

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Okoh, Nkem. Preface to Oral Literature. Onitsha: Africana First 

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Osundare, Niyi. Songs of the Market Place. Ibadan: New Horn 

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