FROM INTERTEXTUALITY TO EKPHRASIS: SEGUN ADEKOYA’S GUINEA BITES AND SAHEL BLUES, WOLE SOYINKA’S “IDANRE” AND THE QUESTIONS OF INFLUENCE

Abstract

In ekphrasis, scholarly attention has predominantly focused on the influence of visual artworks on literary texts, as exemplified by the relationships between John Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and the ancient urn that inspired the poem. Although Margaret Landwehr has expanded the scope of ekphrastic studies by examining intertextual connections between literary texts, her emphasis remains largely on the impact of visual representations on literary production. Comparatively little attention has been paid to intertextual relationships between literary texts themselves and the ways such relationships generate enargeia, or vividness, through allusion and textual resonance. This study argues that a significant intertextual relationship exists between Wole Soyinka’s “Idanre” and selected poems from Segun Adekoya’s Guinea Bites and Sahel Blues. Focusing on “Rain,” “After Rain,” “Deserted Village,” and “Regeneration,” the study examines points of convergence and divergence between Adekoya’s poems and Soyinka’s “Idanre.” Particular attention is paid to the recurring motifs of rain, fertility, sexuality, and regeneration. Through close textual analysis, the study demonstrates how Adekoya appropriates, reworks, and reimagines thematic and symbolic elements found in Soyinka’s poem. It contends that intertextuality enables one literary text to give voice to another through allusion and influence, thereby creating layers of meaning and enhancing textual vividness. Ultimately, the study posits that Guinea Bites and Sahel Blues foregrounds the enduring influence of “Idanre,” reinforcing the bonds of literary inheritance and demonstrating the productive possibilities of intertextual engagement within African poetry.