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Using a desktop qualitative approach and the sociology of literature, it argues poetry reflects society through social commentary and collective consciousness. Findings show drugs are personified as an “individual” with harmful intent and as a product of actors undermining societal values. 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This has resulted in the development of diverse intervention techniques at multiple levels across the country. In response to the drug endemic, literary writers like Makara use their art to raise awareness of this pervasive issue. This study argues that poetry serves as a valuable medium for exploring social phenomena because literature often reflects societal experiences. This study is underpinned by the theory of the sociology of literature, which views poetry as a reflection of society, social commentary, and the expression of a collective’s consciousness. This research adopts a desktop qualitative research approach to analyse how drugs are represented in Makara’s poem. The findings reveal that Makara personifies drugs for two reasons: (a) to portray drugs as an“individual” with harmful intentions infiltrating society; and (b) to depict drugs asa product of those who undermine societal values, whose intention is to obstruct societal development and sustainability. The study demonstrates that literary texts are valuable sources that engage with societal issues. Furthermore, the study signals that the contemporary Sesotho literature critically examines societal challenges that warrant political and policy interventions.  \nKeywords: Drugs, Literature, Sociology, African Literature  \nCorrespondence  \nSoyiso Khetoa Email:  \n[soyiso.khetoa@wits.ac.za](soyiso.khetoa@wits.ac.za)  \nPublication History  \nReceived:  \n8th January, 2025  \nAccepted:  \n30th April, 2025  \nPublished:  \n23rd May, 2025  \nINTRODUCTION  \nThis study was conceived after realising that South African youth have been ravaged by excessive drug intake. The ramifications of excessive intake of drugs (licensed or unlicensed) have had undesired effects on society and have undermined family structures. To mitigate this undesired reality, literary projects such as poems are devised as a strategy to facilitate consciousness among locals about the undesired repercussions of unsupervised or excessive drug intake. Poems, like any other literary text, play an important role in reporting social experiences that affect communities. In this study, the researcher proposes that analysing the sociological representation of drugs and drug use in literary texts might be effective in bringing about societal awareness of the phenomena. Literature encompasses the author’s explanations about social objects and explains how these objects promote the collapse of social order. For this reason, the researcher believes that literature has a role in shaping society. Mitravinda alludes that “at the point when we read literature, we find normal human methods of getting a life”.1 Mitravinda  \n1 Kakarla Sai Mitravinda,“Literature and Its Role in Shaping the Society,” 2020.  \n© 2025 The Author(s) . Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals.  \nThis is an open access article under the CCBY license (  [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)) .  \nKhetoa, S. / E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Vol. 6 No.6 (2025) pp.923-932  \nfurther explicates that in reading literary works we figure out how unique others are in condition and ways ","cbCaim7RzLstDsiU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaim7RzLstDsiU","pdf",781909,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# Literature Review\n## Literature and Society","[{\"question\":\"What is the main focus of the study?\",\"answer\":\"The study focuses on how drug abuse and drug mishandling are represented in Brian Makara’s poem “Sethethefatsi.” It analyzes how literature reflects social experiences and societal challenges.\"},{\"question\":\"Which research theory and approach does the study use?\",\"answer\":\"The study is underpinned by the theory of the sociology of literature and adopts a desktop qualitative research approach to analyze the representation of drugs in the poem.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study explain Makara’s personification of drugs?\",\"answer\":\"Makara personifies drugs for two reasons: to portray them as an “individual” with harmful intentions infiltrating society, and to depict them as a product of those who undermine societal values and obstruct development.\"}]","E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (EHASS) - Volume 6 Issue 6 2025 - A Sociological Perspective on Drug Mishandling in Contemporary Sesotho Literature, an Analysis of Brian Makara’s Poem ‘Sethethefatsi’ | PDF",25]