ISSN 1923-1555[Print] ISSN 1923-1563[Online] www.cscanada.net www.cscanada.org Studies in Literature and Language Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, pp. 87-93 DOI:10.3968/j.sll.1923156320130601.2986 87 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture The Poetry of Igue Festival’s Song-Text Mark Ighile [a],* [a] Department of English, Redeemer’s University, Mowe, Nigeria. * Corresponding author. Address: Department of English, College of Humanities, Redeemer’s University, Redemption Camp. Km. 46 Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State. P. O. Box 7914, Ikeja, Lagos State, NIGERIA. E-mail: mighile@gmail.com Received 3 May 2012; accepted 15 February 2013 Abstract This study attempts a poetic analysis of the Igue festival song text. Igue festival is one of the major cultural markers among the Edos, a strategic ethnic group in Nigeria. It is an annual event that ushers in a new year for every Edo- speaking person. It is characteristic of the famous “head washing” and the significant display of ‘Ewere leaves”. These are two important cultural practices are central to the royalty and overall development of the Edo kingdom. The study indicates that beyond the historical and cultural implications of the songs is an intricate and predominant interplay of poetry and other aesthetic resources. The songs were analysed based on the critical approach of literary stylistics. This approach was used to examine the literary forms and functions of the selected text within the framework of oral literature. Finally, it is discovered that the songs have creative potentials and artistic qualities which justify their appreciation as essentially literary masterpiece. Key words: Poetry; Igue; Edo; Orality,; Festival; Songs Mark Ighile (2013). The Poetry of Igue Festival’s Song-Text. Studies in Literature and Language , 6 (1), 87-93. Available from: http://www. cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/view/j.sll.1923156320130601.2986 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.sll.1923156320130601.2986 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Poetry, in this study, would be examined within the context of folklore- that is, as songs or recitations having no regular rhyme scheme and dealing with the verbal aspect of the Igue festival. This kind of poetry which some scholars refer to as “traditional oral poetry” (Emovon, 1981, p. 265) is transmitted primarily by word of mouth and learnt by imitation or example. Merriam (1964) expands the thematic and linguistic focus of this kind of poetry by saying that “not only do music and language of text tend to take special forms, one would expect that the language of text have a special significance” (p. 190). Okpewho (1985) in his own case advises that we must abandon the false impression that poetry necessarily has to do with words or the order in which they are arranged. According to him: a group of measured lines which describes a situation is simply verses and may have very little that is poetic in it. On the other hand, it is possible for a combination of music and movement (dance) in a performance that has no word at all to be described as very poetic, due to the sheer force we feel while observing it (p. 7). The essence of true poetry lies in its power to appeal strikingly to our appreciation, and to some degree, lift us up. There are two fundamental ways in which a poem can appeal to us. One is by touching us emotionally so that we feel either pain or pleasure; the other is by stirring our mind deeply so that we reflect on some aspects of life or some significant ideas. It is important to note that the Igue songs perform these two basic roles. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The study is based on literary stylistics from the perspective of oral literature. Literary stylistics is the critical approach which focuses on the “literariness” of texts. It examines the features that make the text a work of literature as opposed to history, journalism, travelogue,