O'Grady, Betty2019-07-302019-07-301992https://hdl.handle.net/10539/27845A Dissertation Presented to the Department of African Literature University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg In Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis two part study of Tchicaya U Tam'Si's novels reflects the twin objectives of the research project. By showing in the first part the need for critical criteria founded in the socio-historical and linguistic realities of Africa, the hegemony of the Western aesthetic canon with respect to African writing is challenged. In the second part, by applying a contextualised, syncretic critical approach to U Tam'Si's prose works, important features not only of his narrative but also of his poetic discourse are illuminated. This movement from broad questions of theory to focus on a specific body of writing makes it possible to identify elements that may be considered characteristic of African writing in general while at the same time contributing to a better understanding of a particular writer's creative expression. (Abbreviation abstract)enTchicaya U Tam'Si, 1931 -- Criticism and interpretation.African literature (French)Congolese (Brazzaville) literature (French)Thesis