The poetry of C.L.S. Thobega

Abstract

This study looks at intertextuality and influence in C . L . S . Thobega's poetry. The two concepts viz. intertextuality and influence are subsumed under the theory, DECONSTRUCTION, a theory which tells us that there is a relationship between texts and writers themselves. In the first instance, we observed that Thobega as a bicultural person, has been influenced by both his cultural background, hence his reference to oral traditional literature and his religious background. In discussing the oral traditional influence, we looked at his use of proverbs. The study also looked at aspects like imagery and themes to show the effect of influence in his poetry. An aspect of intertextuality comes into the picture, when we looked at the relationship between the poet's texts with others (previous texts) and also between the poet himself and other poets/ writers (precursors).