Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli

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dc.contributor.advisorSole, Kelwynen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKozain, Rustumen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-27T07:44:11Z
dc.date.available2016-06-27T07:44:11Z
dc.date.issued1994en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: pages 242-266.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe general aims of this dissertation are: to study a form of literature traditionally disregarded by a text-bound academy; to argue that form is an important element in ideological analyses of the poetry under discussion; and, on the basis of this second aim, to argue for a comparative, rigorously critical approach to the poetry of Mzwakhe Mbuli. Previous evaluations of Mbuli's poetry are characterised by acclaim which, the author contends, is only possible because of under-researched criticism, representing a general trend in South African literary culture. Compared to Linton Kwesi Johnson's work, for instance, Mbuli's poetry does not emerge as the innovative and progressive art - in both content and form - it is claimed to be. Mbuli and his critics are thus read as a case study of a general trend. Johnson and Mbuli mainly perform their poetry with musical accompaniment and distribute it as sound-recording. This study's approach then differs from the approaches of general oral literature studies because influential writers on oral literature - specifically Walter J. Ong, Ruth Finnegan and Paul Zumthor - do not address the genre under investigation here. Nevertheless, their writings are explored in order to show why particularly Ong and Finnegan's approaches are inadequate. The author argues that using the orality of the poetry as an organising, theoretical principle is insufficient for the task at hand. On cue from Zumthor, this study suggests an approach through Cultural Studies and conceives of the subject matter as popular culture.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationKozain, R. (1994). <i>Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20139en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKozain, Rustum. <i>"Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20139en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKozain, R. 1994. Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Kozain, Rustum AB - The general aims of this dissertation are: to study a form of literature traditionally disregarded by a text-bound academy; to argue that form is an important element in ideological analyses of the poetry under discussion; and, on the basis of this second aim, to argue for a comparative, rigorously critical approach to the poetry of Mzwakhe Mbuli. Previous evaluations of Mbuli's poetry are characterised by acclaim which, the author contends, is only possible because of under-researched criticism, representing a general trend in South African literary culture. Compared to Linton Kwesi Johnson's work, for instance, Mbuli's poetry does not emerge as the innovative and progressive art - in both content and form - it is claimed to be. Mbuli and his critics are thus read as a case study of a general trend. Johnson and Mbuli mainly perform their poetry with musical accompaniment and distribute it as sound-recording. This study's approach then differs from the approaches of general oral literature studies because influential writers on oral literature - specifically Walter J. Ong, Ruth Finnegan and Paul Zumthor - do not address the genre under investigation here. Nevertheless, their writings are explored in order to show why particularly Ong and Finnegan's approaches are inadequate. The author argues that using the orality of the poetry as an organising, theoretical principle is insufficient for the task at hand. On cue from Zumthor, this study suggests an approach through Cultural Studies and conceives of the subject matter as popular culture. DA - 1994 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1994 T1 - Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli TI - Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20139 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20139
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKozain R. Contemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbuli. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature, 1994 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20139en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of English Language and Literatureen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPoets, Black - South Africaen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPoets, Black - Great Britainen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAestheticsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherFolk poetry - Political aspects - South Africaen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPopular cultureen_ZA
dc.subject.otherOral literature - South Africaen_ZA
dc.titleContemporary english oral poetry by black poets in Great Britain and South Africa : a comparison between Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mzwakhe Mbulien_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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