Elegy as Self-Eulogy: A Deconstructive Analysis of Nana Asma’u’s “Elegy for Bello”

Harun, Isa Bin 

Department of European Languages, Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies, P.M.B. 3145, Airport Road, Sabon Gari, Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper offers a deconstructive reading of Nana Asma’u’s “Elegy for Bello” as the reflection of her own personal life. The virtues she extols for the deceased on the surface meaning of the text turn to be interpreted as self-admiration of her own personal characters and qualities. Derrida’s Deconstructive theory, then, provides other perspectives upon which to interpret the poem. An Elegy in this sense then turns to be read as a Semi-Autobiography; the persona does celebrate her personal values and establish her identity to the reader. People interpret themselves simply through mirroring themselves by eulogizing other people. Whatever one says about others returns to claim their position in them.    

Keywords: Elegy, Eulogy, Dirge.

Impact Statement 

The impact of this research is to vindicate the literary practice in Northern Nigeria which exists since before the colonials introduce Western Education in the region. The research also establishes the dexterity of Islamicaly educated women, like Nana Asma’u who had her education not from the conventional university, but from her parents and siblings. This research encourages African women to actively participate in literary creative critical endeavour.

The article, Elegy as Self-Eulogy: A Deconstructive Analysis of Nana Asma’u’s “Elegy for Bello” offers an interpretation of the poem as a reflection of the poet’s virtues. The poem is primary a dirge for the death of her brother, Sultan Bello, but this paper provides a different perspective of the work using Derrida’s deconstructive model as the theoretical framework.    

Author’s Profile

Name: Isa Bin Harun

Qualification: MA English Literature

Institution: Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies (KASCEPS), P.M.B. 3145, Airport Road, Kano State, Nigeria

Department: department of English and European Languages

Rank: Lecturer II

Conferences and Seminars: “Analysis of Errors in the Use of Simple Past in the Essays of NCE 1 one Students in Some Selected Colleges of Education in Kano”, presented on June 20, 2022at a seminar at Aminuddeed College of Education, Kano State Nigeria; “The Influence of Social Media on the Academic Performance of Literature-in-English Students in Kano State: A Case Study of Federal College of Education, Kano; Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies, Kano, and Aminuddeen College of Education, Kano”, a College Seminar presented on  February 9, 2024 at Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies (KASCEPS), Kano State, Nigeria; “Political Egomaniac: A Deconstructive Reading of J. P. Clark’s A Reed in the Tide” a One Day Multidisciplinary International Conference on Contemporary Global Challenges and Opportunities in Education, Languages, Sciences and Humanities held on January 15, 2023 by the Department of English, I.N.M. PG College Meerut and ICERT; “Elegy as Self-Eulogy: A Deconstructive Analysis of Nana Asma’u’s ‘Elegy for Bello’” at the One Day International Multidisciplinary Conference on “Recent Advances in Science & Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences towards Sustainability” on UN International Day of Women and Girls in Sciences, February 11, 2024, at MM.D.S.D. College, Ambala City Haryana India, jointly organized with ICERT. 

Publication: “The Influence of Social Media on the Academic Performance of Literature-in-English Students in Kano State: A Case Study of Federal College of Education, Kano; Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies, Kano, and Aminuddeen College of Education, Kano” Published on November 14, 2023, in Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature, DOI: 10.36348/sijil.2023.v06i11.001. 

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