ANGER AND REJECTION- THE RHETORIC AND DIALECTICS OF VIOLENCE IN ANGLOPHONE CAMEROONIAN POETRY

Abstract

Change and development are embodied in the principle of dialectics and the aesthetics of violence. Gahlia Gwangwa’a, Mathew Takwi and Bate Besong in their poetry write with the conviction, orientation and consciousness that if something is not done, society will slowly but surely drift to the precincts of insanity. The radicalism and the rhetoric of violence reflected in their poetry attest to this. From this standpoint, this paper sets out to demonstrate that Gwangwa’a, Takwi and Besong in their respective collections, Cry of the Destitute (1995) People Be Not Fooled (2004) and Disgrace: autobiographical narcissus, (2007) express anger and frustration with regard to the dismal and abysmal state of socio-political affairs in Cameroon which culminate in the rejection of the neocolonial political systems. The argument of this paper is predicated on the premise that third generation Anglophone Cameroonian poets like Gwangwa’a, Takwi and Besong are radical and revolutionary in their poetic works because they use their poetic works to protest against victimization, oppression and lack of social justice in the Cameroonian society. They are as angry as they are impatient. Their poetic works are artistic missiles and arsenals that embody the rhetoric of violence. Drawing largely from the socialist realism of Lukacsian-Marxist artistic paradigms, this study underscores the fact that Gwangwa’a, Takwi and Besong’s poetic vision aspires to explore and capture the reality in the Cameroonian society. Thus, this study reveals that this poetry has made conscientisation, revolts and violence its campaign themes to overcome the impedimenta that have made life a real drudgery and nightmare.