The Literary Aspects in Christopher Monyoncho's Songs and Their Socio-cultural Influences on the Kisii Community

Abstract

This is a critical work that focused on the songs produced by Christopher Monyoncho. Christopher Monyoncho is a Kisii popular musician who has produced songs in Ekegusii language from early 1970s to the time of his demise in September 2013. The study begins by raising the theoretical issues that I employed in my critical assessment of the songs. Such issues include the place of music in literature and the theoretical approaches available in the study of such texts. I also carried out a study of works by scholars who addressed the same and related issues in order to establish the gaps in the area. This helped in the formation of the arguments that I advanced in the entire work. More information was collected through interviews and observation during live performances. The study examines the aesthetics used by the artist in rendering his music. The literary aspects in the songs are singled out in different songs and the effectiveness in influencing the society discussed. The paper further argues that due to the aesthetics employed by the artist, his music was able to addresses the socio-cultural and political aspects of the Kisii people for the decades he was actively involved in music. The work was guided by the sociological literary theory, stylistics theory, and performance theory. The theories helped in defining the angle of analysis that I used in ascertaining meaning to the performances and lyrics of the artist. I also used an analytical table in aligning my arguments. The research found out that literary aspects used in music help the artist to effectively convey the message. It also established that artists create ans sustain fundamental ideals in the society. Furthermore, the study found out that art has power to transform the society.