Abstract:
The study is based on the assumption that literary style is paramount to
literary communication and the meaning we derive out of a work of
literature. Literary meaning cannot therefore be divorced from literary
style. The purpose of the study is to examine how the style of calypso
communicates meaning in V.S. Naipaul’s collection of sketches, Miguel
Street. The technique of calypso is analyzed to show its aesthetic function
in the text. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the text and show
how the technique is used by the writer to communicate meaning and
artistic vision. The rationale of the study is based on the recognition of
Naipaul as one of the best world writers and more important that though
his works have received extensive literary attention, little has been done on
the aesthetic function of the calypso in the text under study. The study
therefore gives a new direction of reading Naipaul’s works and thus
contributes not only to the understanding of Naipaul’s idiosyncratic
manner of artistic communication but also to the richness of his literature.
The sampled text was purposively chosen based on the aim of the study.
The study is grounded in the New Historicism literary theory and more
specifically the theory’s tenets that emphasize the study of literary works
from a historical context.
