A critical evaluation of the poetry of E.P. Ndhambi and W.Z. Nkondo

Abstract

This is a comparison of Ndhambi's and Nkondo's poetry. Ndhambi who appeared in the literary scene much earlier than Nkondo, wrote poetry of a traditional style, whilst Nkondo adopted the style of modern poets. Ndhambi and Nkondo make use of the general poetic devices such as rhythm, rhyme, repetition, parallelism, refrain, stanza, tone, imagery, symbolism and personification. Both Ndhambi and Nkondo write poetry that abounds in both direct and indirect satire. Ndhambi's and Nkondo's styles differ. Ndhambi's poetry uses the praise poem style whereby natural objects are praised. He also uses personification, which is prevalent in traditional poetry. Nkondo, on the other hand, is subjective and philosophical in style. This is characteristic of most modern poets in Tsonga. Various themes emerge in the poetry of these two poets. Ndhambi shuns themes dealing with death, whereas Nkondo has written three poems on death. Both poets have many poems on nature.