An Anthroposemiotic Reading of John Pepper Clark’s ‘Abiku’

Abstract

In semiotics exists signs for suggestive identification and decoding of multi-modal meanings and ideologies. Language is viewed by the linguist as a signaling system. That is, it communicates meanings through linguistic signs (words) that have arbitrary affinity with some cultural objects and ideas (supra-linguistic reference). Critics have barely subjected many culturally – revealing poems to semiotic investigation. For this, a critical attempt is made to interrogate J.P. Clark’s ‘Abiku’ seen in this work as microcosmic of culturally - held belief about the intractable spirit child myth of African weltanschauung. This recalcitrant spirit being dies and is given birth to repeatedly. The anthropomorphic phenomenon is what J.P. Clark deploys in his poem. A semiotic reading of the poem becomes the favoured theoretical perspective through which a detailed examination of various iconic, indexical and symbolical signs can reveal the signature of the society that projects this concept.  We deploy in our attempt at analysis, index and icons as introduced by Charles Sanders Pierce and Ferdinand de Saussure semiotic theories as well as Nelson Fashina’s modified structural semiotic reading model. Consequent upon our analytical foray, it is revealed that signs, point to culturally identifiable Abiku, the spirit child phenomenon in the African context. It as well, relates its semiotic system of meaning to socio-political instability from Military coup and counter coups that form parts of dictatorial military regimes in Nigeria.

Keywords: Anthroposemiotics, African poetry, J.P Clark, Abiku, Military Coup