Shahila Zafar

Adaptation of Oral- Literary Forms in Toni Morrison's Novels: a Study of Song of Solomon and Paradise Shahila Zafar

Adaptation of Oral- literary Forms in Toni Morrison's Novels Behind the achievements of individual African American writers during the anti-slavery era lies the communal consciousness of millions of slaves, whose oral tradition in song and story has given form and substance to much subsequent literature by black Americans. The American writer Toni Morrison has successfully brought the values of ancient oral traditions to modern fiction. Morrison's novels are especially rich in participatory oral forms such as, songs, poetic language, formulaic features, the language of ritual and oral epic, which appeal for audience involvement. This book studies Morrison's adaptations of these form in her novels, specifically in Song of Solomon and Paradise.