Conceptualizing Love: A Reading of Selected African Love Poetry

Abstract

Love is a human emotion. No community can claim a monopoly over it. It has been sustaining human existence since the beginning. African literature in general and African poetry, in particular, has not only been presenting it but has also been exploring its nuances in the African context. The paper aims to contextualize the idea of Love at both physical and metaphysical levels, as presented in African poetry. It is to argue that when entire Europe was in comparative darkness, Africans were enjoying and singing about their immediate lived experiences. It is also to argue that African literature is not just about protest and cultural clash. It also deals with as many ubiquitous ideas as other literature of other cultures. For this, the poems have been selected from both oral and written traditions. The approach adopted to understand the entire concept is that of analysis and comparison. It all leads to the following conclusions: African poetry is rich in terms of presenting various shades of love; it deploys both universal and African symbols to conceptualize love however at times it brings forward the notion of race concerning black women to counter the hegemonic stereotypes of the West, but most of the times it presents love as an essential human emotion.