Abstract

This essay has examined the role of poetry in social criticism with illustrations from Nol Alembong’s Forest Echoes”. It is based on the hypothesis that Nol Alembong’s Forest Echoes has messages that are aimed are sanitizing society and bring to the public.

The work was done by reading and analyzing some of the poems in this collection of poems by Nol Alembong, I equally read other works that discuss social issues.

During the course of the study, it was discovered that Nol Alembong’s poems have a lot of messages embedded in them.

A recommendation was made for future researchers who would be interested in this area of knowledge to examine other aspects of Nol Alembong’s poems.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Poetry expresses or releases inner feelings (both joyful and sad). Poetry is the most effective instrument of social criticism.

A poet points out faults, shape the world, and stops it from going to sleep. The universe we live in today believes so much in moral order and this moral order requires that people accept their places within the familial and social hierarchy and behave in a respectful and courteous manner towards each other.

Writing is like a vehicle for the public and must be able to promote correct social behavior and criticize abuse and corruption amongst scholar-officials who serve in the government. It should also reflect their feelings and describe the plight of the common people so that those in power could adjust their policies for the people’s benefit.

The first motive of the poet should be to inspire through natural or motivational means. However, in times of political upheaval or social injustice, the poet must take his or her work to a higher level by asking questions and creating awareness. Thus poetry of social criticism can rightly be called inspirational poetry.

Most writers of poetry are well aware of the social functions of writing and that is why their poetry always reflects these ideas in a very direct manner. After going through the poetry of Nol Alembong, it is very important to note that his main aim of choosing to write poetry is because he wants to give his views on social issues in his society. This study is therefore restricted to poems that discuss social issues in the contemporary Cameroonian society.

Scope of the work

This study is restricted to the poetry of a particular Cameroonian poet, Nol Alembong, he is just one among many Cameroonian poets, only some of his poems from one of his famous books entitled Forest Echoes will be considered and they are the poems that deal with social criticism.

Although this study is entitled Poetry as Social Criticism in Forest Echoes, focus will be on the following poems “Tug_ Of_ War”,  “Revelation”,  “Hawks”,  “Who Knows”, “The Sin To Glory”,  “Living East Of The Mungo”,  “ Tell Me”,  and  “ The Crossing”.

Statement of Problem

By contrast to the Greek tradition which believed that literature serves to investigate the meanings of human experience, Plato instead questioned the moral and educative effect of poetry, Plato maintained that poetry appealed to the inferior nature of man rather than to inspire nature, therefore according to him poetry offered inferior truths and consequently inferior meanings, he said poetry should be banished from the ideal society(to him the poet was a very dangerous person to the society).

As far as Nol Alembong is concerned, it is seen that little or nothing has been done about his poems, the message he is passing across to the public has not been analyzed.

Also the moral values and social issues in his poetry have been analyzed not only to bring out the beauty in his poems but also in the society in which he finds himself. The question one can therefore ask is how far has Nol Alembong disagreed with the views of Plato and what importance can his poems be in the contemporary society.

Hypothesis

This study is based on the assumption that Nol Alembong’s poems can inspire both human beings and nature.

Also, it is based on the assumption that Nol Alembong’s poems have led to the promotion of a good social order and moral behavior thereby shaping our society of today.

Most importantly his poems are a platform of social and moral balance

Aim and objectives

This research study aims at examining the extent to which poetry can be useful in society and how it can eradicate evil in the Cameroonian society, and the objectives of this study is to educate the masses about the importance of poetry in the society and how poetry can be used as an instrument of change.

Structure of the work

This work will be limited to four chapters, chapter one deals with the literature review and the theoretical framework, chapter two will comprise of the thematic preoccupation in Forest Echoes, chapter three is entitled satire and conscientization in Forest Echoes, and lastly conclusion and recommendation.

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