A Comparative Analysis of the Use Irony in Hero Depictions in Kiswahili Epics of Mikidadi and Mayasa and Fumo Liyongo

This was a comparative study of the use of irony in hero character depictions in the Kiswahili epics of Mikidadi and Mayasa and Fumo Liyongo. The objective of the research was: - to do a comparative assessment of the use of irony as a stylistic device of depicting heroism in the Kiswahili Epics of Mikidadi and Mayasa and Fumo Liyongo. The choice of the research topic was informed by the existing academic gap. Even though many research works have been done on heroism, the researcher is yet to encounter a work on the comparative analysis of the use of irony in depicting heroism in the selected Kiswahili epics of Fumo Liyongo and Mikidadi and Mayasa. This paper was guided by the theory of Formalism by Victor Shykslovsky (1904) and expounded by Vile Bies and Roman Jacobson 1919. This theory points out clearly that literary works should have distinctive features like form and literary strategies in depictions. This research was library-based. Different libraries including e-library were used. The target population was Kiswahili epics, and, purposefully, two Kiswahili epics were sampled: The Epic of Fumo Liyongo (Kijumwa, 1913) and The Epic of Mikidadi and Mayasa (Bashir, 1972). Data was collected by use of content analysis. The selected Kiswahili epics were read indepthly. Specific data connected with the objective were documented as guided by the theory of Formalism and The Readers’ Response Theory, and then cross-checked in a comparative way. Data was then analyzed descriptively and the results were presented in a written document. The research assessed comparatively the contexts of irony in various contexts in the selected epics. The research concluded that even though the contexts contradicted the expectations of the readers about a true hero in a community, irony was purposefully used to show heroism. The result in this research paper is expected to be an important source of reference to scholars of this topic of heroism in Kiswahili epics. This research is a bridge to future research and it is an important addition to works already done on heroism in Kiswahili epics.