THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC STUDYOFTIVDIRGES

This paper studies the thematic and stylistic features of selected Tiv dirges using theoretical insights from Structuralism and Functonalist stylistics. Both fieldwork and documented literary knowledge are used to collect, transcribe, translate and structure the selected dirges which are analysed in this paper. The paper finds that Tiv dirges contain instances of creative use of language which reflect the topic of discourse and the intentionality of the song performers. Some of the commonest themes in the dirges studied in this paper include the mortality man, the inevitability of death, the high death toll in the society, partying and carousing at funerals nowadays, loss and deprivation caused by death, connivance by evil individuals to kill innocent members of the community, among others, and the need to change the status quo. A study of the choice of language in the dirges selected for this study, therefore, affords a better appreciation of the dirges in terms of their thematic concerns and Tiv eschatological worldview.