By
Adebiyi Segun Joseph
Department of English
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko,
Ondo State, Nigeria
adebiyisegun00@gmail.com
Abstract
Language
is one of the vital means of communication, and poets employ it not only to
convey meaning but also to express emotion, social criticism and ideas of
change. This study examines language and style in selected poems by Wumi Raji.
Ten poems are purposively selected from his anthology, Rolling Dreams: Poems,
which contains thirty-one poems. The study adopts stylistics as its theoretical
approach and uses a qualitative, descriptive analysis of the selected poems.
Attention is given to graphological, literary, phonological, syntactic and
lexico-semantic features, with particular emphasis on punctuation, figures of
speech, sound patterns, repetition, sentence types, connotation, direct
translation and loan words. The analysis shows that Raji’s stylistic choices
are closely connected with the meanings and social concerns of his poems. His
poems are generally direct and accessible, yet he uses punctuation, repetition,
figurative language, sound patterning and lexical choices to foreground
particular ideas. The study finds that these choices help to communicate
experiences of suffering, exploitation and oppression while also encouraging
reflection and resistance. The study concludes that language and style are
central to the communicative and revolutionary force of Raji’s poetry.
Keywords: Wumi Raji; stylistics; poetry; language; Rolling Dreams; Nigerian poetry; style
DOI: www.doi.org/10.57233/tjllc.2026.v05i03.006
author/Adebiyi Segun Joseph
journal/Tasambo JLLC 5(3) | February 2026 |
