UNRAVELING ARTISTRY: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF 'ONCE UPON A TIME' BY GABRIEL OKARA THROUGH THE LENS OF SHORT'S (1996) MODEL OF LINGUISTIC DEVIATIONS

Abstract

In this research study, Gabriel Okara’s poem "Once Upon a Time" is subjected to a stylistic analysis that is based on Mick Short's (1996) model of such an examination. The poem is riddled with semantic and morphological contradictions, all of which are in keeping with the poem's overarching topic of hypocrisy. The research indicates, through an analysis of these deviations as stated by Short (1996), that the speaker of the poem is angry about the hypocritical character of people and expresses this anger through the poem. This anger is communicated through the speaker's dissatisfaction with the nature of individuals, and those features are analysed by applying the parameters described by Short (1996). The speaker has a dream of a world in which people are sincere, open, and untainted in their displays of love and friendship towards one another. This is the world that the speaker wants to see. Quite contrary to Okara’s view of the world and the people living in it, it is a bed of thrones for almost everyone; the only good they can think of is one’s own self and own interests.