Assessing Poetic Verses in Igbo Literature: Necessary Classifications and Evaluations
Conference: ISA 22nd Annual International Conference (2025)
Presenter(s): Chukwuebuka Uchenna Oraegbunam
Tags: 2025 Nigeria University of Ibadan Chukwuebuka Uchenna Oraegbunam
Abstract
Igbo poetry, a form of poetry written by the Igbo – one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa – in the Igbo language, represents the history, cultural heritage, and linguistic diversity of the Igbo. Despite its value, Igbo poetry is largely understudied. Four decades have passed since the Igbo literary scholar, Ugonna (1982) sought to know about the existence of Igbo poetry and its characteristics; but his enquiries are yet to receive adequate attention in Igbo literary scholarship. Existing studies on written Igbo literature focused mainly on the prose and the drama genres, with scant attention paid to the study of written Igbo poetry (WIP) in terms of describing its rhythm, types of poetic titles and verses that predominate it. The present study, therefore, assesses poetic verses in WIP, making evaluations necessary for its title and verse classifications. The study shows that while rhythm in WIP is not metrical, it enhances the quality of Igbo poems. Poetic titles in WIP are found to either be literary or non-literary, while verses in WIP are classified into pseudo-Igbo poetry - that is, an alienated form of poetry, and standard-Igbo poetry. The study thus provides empirical answers to Ugonna’s questions, hence promises to serve as a useful pedagogical resource for the study of written African poetry of African language expression, not just WIP. It also provides a structured framework for analyzing modern Igbo poetic works.
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