A Critical Linguistic Interpretation of Intertextuality and Ideology in Ben Okri‟s Poetry

Abstract

This study explores the use of ideology and language in Ben Okri‘s books of poetry: An African Elegy and Mental Fight. Previous studies  on Okri have concentrated on the theme and style of his fiction. Consequently, little critical attention has been given to his poetry. This  study is aimed at drawing critical attention to the ideological and rhetorical orientations that underlie his poetry and how intertextuality  has enhanced the communication between the poems and precursor texts. A careful study of Okri‘s poetry style reveals that he  incorporates textual and ideological insights from several sources and from his own works in the process of creating knowledge and  meaning. This study enables us to understand how Okri enriches his creative force and universe by drawing profusely from a large  corpus of precursor texts. Therefore, working within the tenets of critical discourse analysis (CDA) this study examines Okri‘s exploration  of the resources of intertextuality and reveals how it has enabled him to construct new ideological and semantic frames.