Stylistic Analysis of Gambian Poetry: An Exposition of Ecological Injustices

Abstract

This paper examines the use of poetry to engage the problems of environmental abuse in postcolonial Gambian society as depicted in the poem ‘Bending’ from Baaba Sillah’s anthology Péñcum Taakusaan. Regarded as part of the intellectual struggle against silent but destructive forces, the paper draws attention to the threats and consequences of environmental degradation and social injustice to the wellbeing of Gambian society. With reference to Nixon’s (2011) conception of slow violence and environmentalism of the poor, the study aims to explore the use of both linguistic and literary devices to highlight the gradual destruction of environmental resources in Gambian society as a result of colonial, post/neocolonial and local forces. The stylistic analysis of the poem selected on the basis of its thematic focus also draws insights from Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics to highlight the role of contextual factors in the use of language. The analysis indicates that the poet has exploited the use of a number of linguistic and literary devices to convey the socioeconomic significance of environmental degradation.