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Title Major Themes In Ethiopian Poetry In English From 1944 - 1967 E.C
Full text http://etd.aau.edu.et/dspace/handle/123456789/621
Date 2002
Author(s) Bogale, Tewodros
Contributor(s) Dr. Berhanu Matthews
Abstract A Thesis Presented to the School of Graduate Studies in PartiaA Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Literature in English - The aim of this paper is to study major themes in the early works of Ethiopian poetry in English. The term early period is used in this paper to refer to the period 1944 to 1967 E.C. During this period, Ethiopian poetry in English appeared in different publications. Among the publications that featured many Ethiopian poems in English the prominent ones were the university students' newsletter, News and Views, and the university students' literary magazine, something. The other major publications were Ethiopia Observer and The Ethiopian Herald. The reason for choosing this period is that it is during this period that Ethiopian poetry in English flourished. And the reason for discussing this topic is that this subject has not been given enough attention in research. So, this study has focused on the study of the thematic concerns of the poems. Moreover, this was the period when the pioneer Ethiopian poems in English emerged and this period is the time when established poets of later time appeared. Different methods have been used to study the major themes of the English poems of the period. First, poems were collected. Then the poems have been read and classified under the major subject areas. Then the most recurrent themes were identified. After that through the analysis the most recurrent themes were identified and discussed. The study has revealed that Ethiopian poems in English during the period in focus deal with two major themes. The two major themes are the theme of certain aspects of human life and the theme of praise (appreciation) and criticism. Poems that deal with aspects of human life reflect issues like death, laments for the dead, love, hope, and hopelessness. There are several poems that depict this theme and they are studied under this section. The other major theme, the theme of praise and criticism, reflects issues like praise of Ethiopia and criticism of the educated African. Poems that deal with Ethiopia often praise the country as a whole or deal with the unique features of the country. The poems that concentrate on the theme of criticism, criticize the educated African and focus on the issue of Pan Africanism. On the whole, Ethiopian poetry in English written during the period 1944 to 1967 E.C was concerned with certain aspects of life and issues related to the criticism of the educated Africa and Pan African concerns.
Language en_US
Publisher Addis Ababa University
Type of publication Thesis
Repository Addis Ababa - University of Addis Ababa
Added to C-A: 2010-03-15;15:03:32