INTERMINABLE VIRGINS IN A RUSTING COUNTRY? THE PORTRAYAL OF THE COVID-19 PERIOD IN THE SONGS WE WILL DANCE AGAIN BY MATTHEW  TEMBO AND DZUWA BY SLAP DEE

Gankhanani Moffat Moyo; Bether Mwale Moyo

Gankhanani Moffat Moyo University of Zambia
Bether Mwale Moyo University of Zambia

Keywords: Conceptual Metaphor, Poetry, COVID-19, Quarantine, Song, Music

Abstract

This article examined two songs: We Will Dance Again by Matthew Tembo and Dzuwa by Slap Dee to explain the experience of Zambians to COVID-19. Through the theory of the conceptual metaphor, the study examined the metaphorical nature of the songs and identified a reliance on the symbolic role of the sun and how the sun is both a subject of God and a god itself. The study shows that while both songs rely on the metaphor to share hope and despair during COVID-19, We Will Dance Again has a positive futuristic outlook, while Dzuwa is more resigned to the situation.

Author Biographies

Gankhanani Moffat Moyo, University of Zambia

Gankhanani Moffat Moyo is Zambia’s UNESCO-recognised international expert on Intangible Cultural Heritage. A PhD candidate reading novelness in the Zimbabwean novel, he teaches literature and culture at the University of Zambia in the Department of Arts, Languages and Literary Studies. He has published widely on literature and culture and has mentored many in his area of specialisation. His research interests include literary theory, theory of the novel and cultural studies, specifically Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Bether Mwale Moyo, University of Zambia

Bether Mwale Moyo is a lecturer at the University of Zambia in the Department of Arts, Languages and Literary Studies. She holds a Master of Art in Literature and is currently a PhD student in Literature at the University of Zambia. Her areas of interest are in African literature, literary theory, African arts and culture, indigenous knowledge systems and children’s literature.