Imitation is a consciously intertextual practice. A case of Thomas Mofolo's Moeti wa Botjhabela

Abstract

The paper seeks to demonstrate that Mofolo borrowed from previous texts written before Moeti wa Botjhabela so as to provide layers of meaning in his novel. Mofolo was a reader of different texts before he became the creator of Moeti wa Botjhabela, and therefore, his work of art is unavoidably shot through with references, quotations, and influences of every kind of text he read, and this finds expression in the manner in which history, folktales and Bible have been distributed consistently in his work of art.