Abstract
Sounds play crucial roles in a poem’s meaning (re)construction. Grasping the content of a literary work such as poetry often requires a profound interpretation of the underlying linguistic cum phonetic codes of its discourse. Extant studies on Nigerian children’s poetry have paid little attention to this aspect of meaning conception, thereby concentrating mainly on the surface lexical constructs. Hence, this study aims to examine imagic iconicity in children’s poems in order to demonstrate how a poem’s thematic realization is inferred through the interpretation of the phonic and acoustic nature of the sounds employed. The study involves five poems: three from Ossie Enekwe’s Gentle Birds Come to me and two from Ikeogu Oke’s Song of Success and Other Poems for Children. The analysis is anchored to insights from Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of the iconic sign, and exploits the action of acoustic and phonetic articulation of sounds to determine their functions and effects in the poems. The study reveals how specialized lexemic choices and onomatopoeia (kinaesthemes, phonaestheme or sound symbolism) in children’s poems make each poem functional and purposeful. Thus, children’s poetry contains language structures and configurations that transmit sense and embody what the poem is asserting in a way that interestingly engages the reader.
1 Introduction
The interconnectedness of sound and sense in literature cannot be underestimated. The reader’s ability to understand messages in all genres of literature, especially in poetry, is specifically hinged on the cognitive and perceptual capability to recognize the complex system of representations in communication, the interconnectivity of linguistic mechanisms and the real world, and the capacity to reflect, preserve, and transmit knowledge. Poetry provides a perfect example of representation of realities in human existence but does so in a most subtle manner that requires the reader’s absolute identification and interpretation of the various modes of its transmission. Consequently, the understanding of the intricacies of a poem’s inherent meanings acquaints readers with the realities in the world.
Children’s literature is conceptualized as the delineation of reality in society in ways that distinctively appeal to children’s imagination, age, and critical thought processes. Mode (2015: 199) is of the opinion that “examining the roles children’s literature plays in shaping the life of a learner and by extension the advancement of the society cannot be over emphasized since it covers a wide range of topics/subject matter … ” Through this genre of literature, children are exposed to overarching issues of economic, sociocultural, and moral values. Children’s poetry, which is poetry written specifically for children, though it can be enjoyed by adults, is significant in the development of a child’s early reading and learning as well as the enhancement of the child’s perceptual and cognitive capability. On stressing the importance of poetry in the development of a child’s psyche, Stange and Wyant assert that “although poetry is a less frequently utilized literature genre for educating young children and may even be neglected by some, poetry can be very influential” (2008: 203). Hence, identifying the subject matter in children’s literature needs to be emphasized, as it is through its recognition by the reader that the intended aim of the poet is achieved. Concurrently, Tompkins cited in Stange and Wyant reveals that “poetry not only supports reading, but enhances enjoyment of language and learning” (2008: 203). And Danesi (2004: 17) opines that “interpretation is a crucial aspect of the human condition. The instant children start to interpret the world with signs, they make a vital psychosocial connection between their developing bodies and conscious thoughts to that world.” As such, literary interpretation is significant and plays crucial role in child’s mental and language development.
Language provides poets with rational system of depicting thoughts and ideas. Thus, “just as literary texts may serve as legitimate data for understanding the principles of language structure and use, linguistic analysis offers new perspectives on literary production, interpretation, reception, and evaluation” (Freeman 2007: 1175). To this end, poets consciously or unconsciously select and arrange sounds with extra dexterity to achieve a particular effect or function. The choice of sounds/words just like other linguistic mechanisms play crucial role in information representation and construction. Thus, Danesi (2004: 93) posits that “when words are used for representational and/or communicative purposes they allow people to make messages in truly powerful ways.” Therefore, literature is proved to be a means of unraveling human existence through language. Danesi argues that “language is truly a remarkable phenomenon; without it, human life as we know it would be inconceivable” (2004: 94). Language structure in literature aids writers in conveying their innate perceptions. Therefore, this study, using Ossie Enekwe’s Gentle Birds Come to me and Ikeogu Oke’s Songs of Success and Other Poems for Children and Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of iconicity in the theory of sign, analyses the linguistic mechanisms of imagic iconicity: onomatopoeia – kinaesthemes, phonaesthemes or sound symbolism in the poems for better comprehension.
Instances of the application of the concept of iconicity in the study of literary works abound. Freeman (2009) explicates Wallace Stevens’ poem, “Of Mere Being,” as an icon of reality in its semblance of felt life. Using Charles Sanders Peirce’s concept of iconicity within the semiotic theory of sign, Stevens tries to make language work to encapsulate the sense that is beyond language and human conceptualization. This, he achieves by metaphorically invoking the experience of the precategorial unseen through barely perceived structures and perceptions. The study reveals that the poem accomplishes its purpose through a metaphorical mapping of all the forms of feeling that occur through the poem’s textures of sound, structure, and image. Thus, three main images exemplified in the poems are “the palm,” “the mind,” and “the bird.” According to the study, “their sound patterns resonate through the poem in forming the feeling of mere being that together they constitute” (2009: 437). The aptly described sounds of this meaning are the unvoiced, voiced, and nasalized bilabials, /p/, /b/, and /m/, respectively, and voiced dental /d/. Thus,
the birds that sing in Stevens’ palm is an icon for the immersion of the self in the world, in the present moment, beyond human meaning, beyond human feeling, both the palm and the bird being the phoenix dying and arising in its unceasing metamorphosis in space and time, just as the wind and spirit, as idea, moves in the branches of the palm. (Freeman 2009: 436–437)
The study concludes that poetry as a whole is an exemplification of Stevens’ understanding of the relation between imagination and reality. Thus, the very title reveals its subject “mere” being. Therefore, to be iconic of reality, a poem must capture the sense of our being part of the seen and unseen world. Kies (1990) examines phonetic and syntactic iconicity in both children’s and general literature to ascertain the direct relationship between the linguistic/semiotic codes in language and the readers’ responses. The paper identifies three principles of iconicity governing onomatopoeia in both kinds of poetry; they are kinaesthesia, phonaesthesia, and synaesthesia. The author concludes that literature intended for children evokes literary responses in the same manner as it does for literature in general since the semiotics of iconicity depends, after all, on the linguistic codes common to all literature in English.
In another study, Ljungberg (2001) explores iconic dimensions to meaning in Atwood’s poetry and prose. The study exploits the diagrammatic aspect of iconicity to demonstrate how writers play with the conventions of language in order to exploit the possibilities of linguistic signs and systems creativity; that is, using form to add to meaning. The study reveals that in her poetry Pastoral Elegy, which according to Ljungberg is an ironic parody of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, the ordering of lines into a particular pattern is the poet’s use of the form not only to reflect the content of the poem, but also to subvert Eliot’s negative view of contemporary mores. The study also reveals that the shaping of the poem into an icon of a butterfly is the poet’s evocation of the metamorphosis or rebirth; thus, replacing the negative views of sexuality presented by Eliot by the abundantly fertile land that asserts itself against Eliot’s barren civilization. It states that the icon of a butterfly in the poem is also an emblem of the psyche, and that in all of her prose work, the design of the narrative mirrors its contents in various forms. This is manifested and exemplified mainly in the poet’s The Robber Bride. The study, therefore, concludes that Atwood’s works make use of the relationship between form and content to help readers participate in the creation of meaning.
In an examination of children’s poetry, Nyoni and Nyoni (2013) venture into a critical analysis of children’s poetry and games in order to ascertain what is embedded in their form and content. The study reveals that the content is loaded with morals and values that influence children’s future, while the form allows children to simulate real life situation and learn adult roles, thus, preparing them for the challenges of life. The study, therefore, concludes that children’s poetry and games “still touch on both material and non-material culture of the people” (2013: 243). Samuelsson et al. (2009) explicate the developmental pedagogy as a tool in studying and developing children’s knowing within arts. The study focuses on the art of poetry, music, and dance to illustrate how these arts contribute to children’s learning of arts. The research reveals that “those arts are fundamental constituents of early schooling that deserve to be taken seriously as forms of knowledge in themselves that children should be given opportunities for developing their knowledge of” (2009: 132). Other scholars, Ankra et al. (2017), study the importance of poetry and its value in the life of a child. The findings show that poetry helps pupils learn moral lessons, encourages class participation and increases pupils’ confidence. The study concludes that poetry, in addition to conveying moral lessons, also aids in teaching scientific ideas and practical knowledge to children. Although, these studies have shown insights into the meaning potentiality of the iconic aspect of Peirce’s sign theory as well as the moral and intellectual import of children’s poetry, none has discussed thematic representation via imagic iconicity in children’s poetry. This study, therefore, applying imagic iconicity as thematic representation, sets out to demonstrate how the configuration of sound systems in the five selected poems boosts one’s understanding of the poems, enhancing overall appreciation and intellectual development in the long run.
2 Iconicity in semiotic theory
Iconicity is a concept in semiotics that emanated from Charles Sanders Peirce’s (CP) theory of signs, specifically, from his iconic signs, and further developed by Morris in 1946. Nanny and Fischer claim that “the term ‘iconicity’ goes back to Morris who introduced it in his Signs, Language, and Behavior in 1946” (2006: 463). They further purport that semiotic iconicity can be defined as sign miming meaning. Thus,
in a language context, a “sign” (which may be a word or an assemblage of words) is said to mime the object or thought that the sign refers to when something in the sign (be it oral/aural or visual) reflects something in the object that is signified by it (its “referent”). More generally, it can then be said that the sign mimes its meaning. (Nanny and Fischer 2006: 463)
According to Fischer “iconicity is derived from the word ‘icon’. An icon is an image that more or less reflects a situation, concept or object in the real world” (1997: 67). And Danesi concurs that “icons are simply signs that have been constructed to resemble their referent in some way” (2007: 41). He further asserts that “iconicity (or the making of iconic signs) is simulative semiosis.” Thus, “onomatopoeic words such as drip, plop, bang, screech are vocal icons simulating the sounds that certain things, actions, or movements are perceived to make” (Danesi 2004: 28). Langendonck proposes that “there is iconicity if something in the form of a sign reflects something in the world (normally through a mental operation). For example, this means that something in the form of a linguistic sign reflects (through its meaning) something in its referent” (2007: 394).
An icon is one element in Peirce’s model of sign structure: icon, index, and symbol. According to Merrell,
the basic classes of signs in Peirce’s menagerie are icons, indices and symbols. An icon is a sign that interrelates with its semiotic object by virtue of some resemblance of similarity with it … An index is a sign that interrelates with its semiotic object through some actual or physical or imagined causal connection. A symbol is a linguistic sign whose interrelation with its semiotic object is conventional. This is to say that there is no necessary natural link or a link due to some resemblance or similarity between the representamen and the semiotic object. (Merrell 2005: 31)
According to Nanny and Fischer, “the iconic sign has been divided into three hypo-icons, namely image, diagram, and metaphor. Although all three hypo-icons play a significant role in natural as well as literary language, metaphor has been much more extensively discussed especially outside the context of iconicity.” (2006: 463). They purport that this may be a result of metaphor possessing no direct iconic relation between the signifier and the signified, thus, proposing that:
metaphor is also different from the other two hypo-icons in that there is no ‘direct’ iconic relation between the sign and its referent. Instead, it is based on a proportional analogy, whereby an existing sign x is extended to include a new, metaphorical referent because of a semantic analogy between the original referent α and the new one β. In other words, there is no direct relation between the level of form and referent, neither an “imagic” one nor a “diagrammatic” one. (Nanny and Fischer 2006: 463)
On the other hand,
images (imagic iconicity) are individual, specific representations of meaning in form, based on similarity or resemblance (similarity between a sign and its denotatum), while diagrams, by contrast, are not motivated by such individual meaning – form relationships, but by paradigmatic or syntagmatic relations between forms, all expressing a particular meaning (similarity not between sign and the relation of denotata). (Fischer 1999: 131)
However, of these three forms of iconic signs, only “image,” which is also known as “imagic iconicity” is of our interest in this study.
Imagic iconicity, in the view of Langendonck (2007), is simply “a sign that resembles its referent by virtue of sensory characteristics. These may be visual, as in a photograph, a statue, or a painting, but they may also be auditory, as in program music, that is, music that renders feelings or perceptions. In natural language, the obvious example of ‘imagic iconicity’ is onomatopoeia” (2007: 398). In the view of Nanny and Fischer, “‘images’ or ‘imagic icons’, that is, signs whose form is related to the referent by means of a ‘natural’ similarity, are often said to be exceptional in (spoken) language and restricted to a category of acoustically imitative words labeled ‘onomatopoeic’” (2006: 473). Nevertheless, Fischer refers to this as phonological iconicity. He supports his claim quoting that “most discussions on iconicity in language contain substantial sections on phonological iconicity (also called, variously, onomatopoeia, phonetic motivation or – most frequently – phonetic or sound symbolism)” (1999: 123). He further opines that the “seemingly most straightforward case of phonological iconicity is constituted by a speech sound or speech sounds representing non-speech sounds or noises … such sounds basically imitate (more or less closely) what speakers hear, hence auditory iconicity” (1999: 123). He classified phonological iconicity into auditory, articulatory, and associative forms, and asserts that “both auditory and articulatory forms of phonological iconicity belong to Peircean’s imagic iconicity, while associative belongs to his diagrammatic iconicity” (1999: 131). He posits that articulatory iconicity is constituted by the position of various speech organs’ relation to each other when certain sounds are uttered and by the spatial or dimensional meaning of these speech sounds. Hence, “the basis of comparison is the articulation of sounds rather than the sounds themselves, while phonaesthesia as an auditory iconicity is a kind of onomatopoeia that is constituted by the sound combinations occurring as parts of words that seem to evoke certain meanings or meaning elements” (1999: 126). In the view of Kroeger, “onomatopoeic words are words whose forms are intended to be imitations of the sounds which they refer to” (2019: 6). Conclusively, Fischer’s (1999) explication of phonological iconicity is the same as Peircean’s imagic iconicity (as it has to do with auditory and articulatory characteristics) but differs only in associative forms, which can be also seen as Peirce’s diagrammatic iconicity.
3 Imagic iconicity in Enekwe and Oke’s poems
This section investigates and analyzes the iconic signs configured in the selected poems, stating their functions and effects. For effectual description and understanding of these devices, a phonemic transcription of each poem is done.
3.1 Poems from Gentle birds come to me by Enekwe
In all of Enekwe’s children’s poetry, and especially the three poems in this study (“Wake up and go,” “Happy baby,” and “Rain”), the poet artfully configures words to embody both auditory and articulatory phonological imagic iconicity that lead to explication of sense and theme in each poem, thereby, illuminating the reader’s perception and cognition as well.
3.1.1 “Wake up and go”
| The sun smiles in the sky. It is time to rise and go. No reason to sigh. No cause to say no. |
\ðә sʌn smailz in ðә skai it iz taim tә raiz әn gәυ nәυ ri:zn tә sai nәυ kͻ:z tә sei nәυ |
| Bells beckon us to school. A thousand feet pound the road Wake, brother, don’t be a fool, dawdling like a toad. |
belz bekәn әz tә sku:l ә θaυzn fi:t paυn ðә rәυd weik brʌðә dәn bi ә fu:l dͻ:dliŋ laik ә tәυd\ |
| (Enekwe 2007: 3) |
The repetition of fricatives \s\ and \z\ in the poem is explicative of the harshness of the sun on the body. The sounds are phonaesthemes specifically – sound constituents that suggest meaning through sounds alone. Thus, the sounds are suggestive of the sensory effects of the sun on the body. The sounds also belong to the class that iconically suggest “hissing” and “sighing” as complaints about the discomfort of the sun’s heat on the body. Also worthy of note is the clustering of \ai\ sound almost in every line of the stanza, which conveys the scene of the sluggishness that comes with waking up early in the morning.
The poem also contains kinaesthemes, that is, sounds that enact sense through their phonetic articulation. In this case, the articulation of the sounds suggests the meaning of the referents. Ullmann cited in Kies contends that in kinaestheme, “the referent itself is an acoustic experience which is more or less closely imitated by the phonetic structure of the word” (1990: 4). Hence, the words, “beckon” and “bells,” are direct evocation of the sound of a bell by providing a phonetic correlate with it. Thus, starting sharply and abruptly with two explosives, voiced bilabial plosive /b/, and ending with vibrating and resonating voiced alveolar sounds /z, n/. Moreover, the frontal repetition of explosives /b/ and ending with vibrating and resonating sounds in these two words, “beckon” and “bells,” does not only give the acoustic and phonetic correlate with the sound of a bell, but also, is a skillful poetic arrangement that reinforces the rhythmic flow of the lines in a way that enhances easy recitation for children and heightens the poetic density of the piece. Phonetically, the consonant sound \b\ is produced by first creating a complete closure in the mouth, allowing air from the lungs to build up pressure which is released through the closure, thereby causing an explosive rush of air. Udofot and Eshiett (1993: 3) concur that “these sounds are produced when there is a complete obstruction of the air stream at a certain point in the mouth followed by a sudden release with some explosion. The obstruction can be caused by the lips as in \p\, \b\.” On the other hand, in the production of the fricative /z/, the vocal cords vibrate, producing a sound like buzzing bees. And \n\ is produced when the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge while air moves out through the nose. Howard and Stockwell assert that “nasals are continuant sounds, like fricatives; they can be sustained or continued” (2011: 22). And Lesley opines that “nasal sounds last as long as the air continues to vibrate around the nasal cavity” (1998: 41). Therefore, the words, “bells” and “beckon,” are iconic by mimicking the sound of a bell. Just as the words start abruptly with plosive sounds and end with vibrating and resonating sounds, the ringing of a bell also starts abruptly and ends resonating in the air or around the auditory cavity. The same is applicable to the word “pound” which is also mimetic of its signified. The word is an accurate representation of the hustle and bustle in the morning. Phonetically, the word starts and ends with plosive sounds, thereby depicting the sound of pupils’ feet as they hurry and scurry to their various school classes. Concurrently, in the morning, anybody that is seen on the road is in haste, either to get to school, office or businesses. The sound of their feet is a kind of sharp movement, a scene the poet creates by using a word that contains plosive sounds /p/ at the beginning and /d/ at the end. Worth mentioning also is the signification of the elision realized in the consonantal sounds /d/ in “thousand” and “pound” and /t/ in “don’t” in the second line of the second stanza, which is also iconic in the context. Howard and Stockwell espouse that:
elision happens when words are connected in speech. It is the term used when a sound that is present in the pronunciation of a word is omitted. Elision occurs, perhaps less perceptibly but more commonly in fluent speech, at word boundaries. A word-final alveolar stop \t, d\ may be elided in a fluent speech when it is preceded by a consonant and the following word begins with a consonant. For example, in the phrase “last bus,” the \t\ of “last” is elided \lais bʌs\ … (Howard and Stockwell 2011: 25)
Hence, in “a thousand feet” and “pound the road,” the voiced alveolar plosive \d\ in “thousand” and “pound” are elided to \ә θaυzn fi:t\ and \paυn ðә rәυd\. So also in “don’t be a fool,” the voiceless alveolar plosive \t\ is realized as \dәn bi ә fu:l\. The elisions are used semiotically to show off the poet’s mastery of the capacity of imagic iconicity to clarify the understanding of the poem and for the free movement of the rhythm and euphony of the line. Moreover, the poet conveys the theme of sluggishness and languidness that characterize waking up early by using sounds that take long in their articulation. Almost all the content words in the poem contain either long or impure vowels (diphthongs): “sky, rise, go, reason, sigh, cause, say, school, thousand, feet, wake, pound, dawdling, like, toad” etc. Lesley (1998) concurs that vowels have effects on the meaning of a text if they reinforce the words and structure, for instance, long vowels and diphthongs slow a text down.
On the whole, the skillful configuration of plosives, diphthongs, elisions and long vowels in this poem not only makes it readable and enjoyable but also contributes immensely to the theme of the poem.
3.1.2 “Happy baby”
| Her lips suckle the nipples. Milk bubbles, foams, and ripples Little hands in the air catch on to mother’s hair. Sweet sensation rises in pressure Tiny legs kick with pleasure. Sleep comes gently and strong. Sleep whispers softly and long. |
\hә lips sʌkl ðә niplz milk bʌblz fәυmz әn riplz litl hӕnz in ðә eә kӕʧ ɔn tә mʌðәz heә swi:t senseiʃn raiziz in preʃә taini legz kik wiθ pleʒә sli:p kʌmz gentli әn strɔŋ sli:p wispәz sɔftli әn lɔŋ\ |
| (Enekwe 2007: 9) |
In this poem, the poet creates the scene of a mother nursing her baby by mainly using sounds that are iconic. The sounds \s, z\ are purely and acoustically mimetic of the sound of milk gushing out through the nipples and the joy of the baby as it suckles. These sounds are called phonaesthemes, also functioning as kinaesthemes in the poem. That is, the sounds do not only represent the signified, but also provide the phonetic correlate of the activity – flowing of the milk, pleasure as the mother nurses, and the baby’s slow drifting to sleep. These sounds are both alveolar fricatives but only differ in the former being voiceless and the latter voiced. In their phonetic description, one finds out that in their production, air escapes through a narrow opening along the center of the tongue. Roach asserts that “fricatives are consonants with the characteristic that, when they are produced, air escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound” (2002: 48). Suckling babies usually make hissing sounds resembling fricatives, as the baby sucks the mother’s nipple. The articulators coming together allow a small passage through which milk flows to the baby’s mouth, thus, making a sound that can be felt by the senses. Ngonebu, in describing the poet’s meticulous use of linguistic elements, comments that in this particular poem “Enekwe uses elements that are realistic enough to stimulate the senses” (2016: 127).
The use of mainly short vowels and the clustering of sibilants in almost all the words in the last four lines of the poem is also iconic. Lesley defines sibilants as “a sub group of fricatives which share a well-defined whistling sound, and in English include \s, z, ʃ, ʒ\” (1998: 262). And Palmer contends that “there remains to be mentioned a group of fricatives known as sibilants. Their conditions of production are complicated, and they are consequently more difficult to describe and designate” (1972: 52). Sibilants are said to be complicated by the fact that their place and manner of articulation are not easily identifiable. The impression these sibilants convey in the poem is the intricacy and subtlety which transpire between the mother and her suckling baby in the breast feeding process.
The predominance of liquid sounds \l, r\ in the poem is symbolic too. Liquids are smoother and softer entities, and are apt articulatory phonological icons suggestive of liquid in motion. That is, the liquids replicate the smooth and free flow of the mother’s milk and the restful and contented state of both mother and the baby, who, consequently, dozes off as soon as sucking begins. The clustering of these sounds is imagic signs of tranquility and affection in breast feeding while at the same time reinforcing the rhythmic flow of the lines in ways that make the poem enjoyable.
3.1.3 “Rain”
| Crash, lash dripping rain falling splash on window panes. |
\krӕʃ lӕʃ dripiŋ rein fɔ:liŋ splӕʃ ɔn windәυ peinz |
| Drip, drip falling rain on roofs down the drain. |
drip drip fɔ:liŋ rein ɔn ru:fs daυn ðә drein |
| Lash, lash splash and shower. Crash, lash flash and thunder. |
lӕʃ lӕʃ splӕʃ әn ʃaυә krӕʃ lӕʃ flӕʃ әn θʌndә |
| Drop, drop morning rain, tapping on crops to wake them up. |
drʌp drʌp mɔ:niŋ rein tӕpiŋ ɔn krɔps tә weik ðәm ʌp\ |
| (Enekwe 2007: 21) |
The poem is, conspicuously, highly onomatopoeic – sound symbolic, and aesthetically and rhythmically built by its lexical and phonological repetitions. The sounds are direct enactment of the signified – rainfall. The lexical repetition brings in the phonological, which on the other hand ushers in the rhythmic effect, the lyricism, and the euphony of the poem. The repetition of the sounds \ʃ, ӕ:ʃ, dr, kr, l, r\ and the vowels \ ӕ, aυ, ei, i, ɔ, ɔ: \ give the poem its particular flavor, thus, its peculiar and enjoyable rhythm. Nevertheless, it is not the rhythmic effects of this poem that matter alone to the study but its sensibility import, which is the meaning the poet is trying to communicate by the sounds. Hence, the sounds are a direct imitation of the rainfall. Ngonebu states that “the poet’s success here lies in the combination of subject matter, sound and expression towards the same end. The poet uses words and phrases that are both descriptive (of rain), rhythmic and onomatopoeic” (2016: 128).
Iconically, the combination of \ ʃ \ and \a:ʃ \ in words: “crash, lash, splash, flash” signifies the sound of rainfall just as the intermittent repetition of the liquids \l \ and \ r \ connotes flowing liquid. The poet deliberately uses a conglomeration of short and long vowels to convey the two types of rain described here: falling heavy rain and dripping/dropping of light rain. The short vowel sounds are suggestive of the sound of heavy rain while the long vowels signify the slow dripping of showers. Ngonebu’s assertion on this particular poem captures succinctly the implicature of these sound codes. She opines:
It is interesting to note … that Enekwe’s poem “Rain” catches most pleasantly and successfully the nature and sound of rainfall. The poet employs hard plosives \d\ and \p\ as in ‘drip,’ ‘drop,’ ‘tapping,’ ‘panes,’ ‘down’ and consonantal clusters \sp\, \kr\ to enact the insistent patterning of rain. The verbs are all descriptive and their sound and monosyllabic nature form a complete union with the concept of rainfall. (Ngonebu 2016: 135)
3.2 Song of success and other poems for children by Oke
Oke’s selected poems, “The watchman” and “I saw a snail,” illuminate the reader’s perception of various themes and enhance their feelings through the artful repertoire of iconically symbolic sounds.
3.2.1 “The watchman”
| Gong in hand, The watchman walks the night. Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Goes his sound alert. His eyes, the color of desert sand, Shines amid the dark. Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Goes his sound alert. Staying awake through night hours, Losing his sleep so we can have ours. Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Goes his sound alert. The dogs bark at his long shadow. The moon smiles on his labors. Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Gome! Goes his sound alert |
\gɔŋ in hӕnd ðә wɔtʃmәn wɔ:kz ðә nait gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυz hiz saυnd әlʒ:t hiz aiz ðә kʌlә әv dezәt sӕnd ʃainz әmid ðә da:k gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυz hiz saυnd әlʒ:t steiŋ әweik θru: nait aυәz lәυzŋ hiz sli:p sәυ wi kәn hәv aυәz gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυz hiz saυnd әlʒ:t ðә dɔgz ba:k әt hiz lɔŋ ʃӕdәυ ðә mu:n smaiz ɔn hiz leibәz gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυm gәυz hiz saυnd әlʒ:t\ |
| (Oke 2011: 14) |
The words “gong” and “gome” have symbolic sound relationship. First, “gome” is onomatopoeic (kinaestheme) in the sense that through the phonetic description of the word, \g\, \әυ\, \m\, the sound of a gong is delimited. The voiced velar plosive \g\is produced when there is an explosive release of air through the mouth; the voiced bilabial nasal \m\, just like the plosives, is produced when the airflow escapes through the nose, thus, causing the resonating of air waves. The diphthong \әυ\ involves a glide from \ә\ to \υ\ sound, thus, taking a longer duration in the production. These are suggestive of the resonating sound of a gong. Also, the repetition of “gome” five times in four lines reinforces the re-echoing sound of the gong as the watchman hits it; underlines the watchman’s persistency, and above all heightens the poetic density of each line of the poem. Thus, the poet configures imagic iconicity to clarify and deepen the theme of the poem.
Moreover, the effect of the assonance in the fifth stanza signifies the long duration of the night. All the vowels in this stanza except \ӕ\ in ‘can’ are long or impure (diphthongs) vowels. These are “staying, awake, through, night, losing, sleep, we, ours, hours.” The clustering of these sounds communicates the poet’s effort to convey the protracted length of the night as the watchman longingly waits for dawn. When one, longingly, waits for daybreak, the night seems longer than usual, as in the watchman’s case.
3.2.2 “I saw a snail”
| I saw a snail crossing a bush path. And I called its name and said to it “Why so slow, oh so slow?” |
ai sɔ: ә sneil krɔsŋ ә buʃ pӕθ әn ai kɔ:ld its neim әn sed tә it wai sәυ slәυ әυ sәυ slәυ |
| And it turned its head and said to me: “I take my shelter wherever I go. Will you be faster if you do the same?” |
әn it tʒ:nd its hed әn sed tә mi: ai teik mai ʃeltә weәr evә ai gәυ wil ju: bi fa:stә if ju: du ðә seim |
| A shell on its back as it crossed the bush path, A shell like a house which it called its “shelter” It went slowly slowly steadly. |
ә ʃel ɔn its ba:k әz it krɔsd ðә buʃ pӕθ ә ʃel laik ә haυs witʃ it kɔ:ld its ʃeltә it went slәυli slәυli stedili\ |
| (Oke 2011: 28) |
In this poem too, imagic iconicity gradually leads the reader to come to terms with the major theme of the poem: the slow and sluggish movement of a snail. The preponderance of long vowels in this poem creates the sense of sluggishness that characterizes a snail’s movement. For instance, in the last line of stanza one, the poet deliberately uses words that predominantly contain diphthongs. This slows the rhythm of the poem, deepening the poet’s portrayal of the slowness of a snail. Similarly, in the last line of stanza three, the word “slowly” is repeated to foreground the sluggishness of a crawling snail just as the alliterative \s\ in “slowly slowly steadily” does.
4 Conclusions
This study examines imagic iconicity in children’s poetry as a means of unraveling those constituents that distinctively characterize them as such. It demonstrates the poems’ thematic realizations through the action of phonetic and acoustic nature of the sounds. The analysis shows that the poets deliberately construe iconic signs in particular patterns to achieve particular effects and communicate particular messages. It reveals that the preponderance of particular sounds/ sound sequences in the poems is the poets’ deliberate efforts to communicate meaning and reinforce the rhythmic sequence of the poems. Practically, the poets match sense with sound.
Undoubtedly, the properties of imagic iconicity identified in the poems are paramount in the construction of meaning in the poems. Therefore, interpretations of the phonetic and acoustic nature of sounds of a language that constitute the linguistic constituents of poetry are necessary for effective comprehension in children’s poetry. Thus, the reader’s active acoustic participation in making appropriate connections between the “signifier” and the “signified” lead to great immersion into the world of the poetry.
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