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EAL Nexus resource
Not my business
Language of the poem
Subject:
English
Age group:
12 - 14
Topic:
Poems from other cultures
Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes. ©British Council 2014
Source | This resource was originally developed by Zdravka Davies and has been adapted by EAL Nexus.
Verbs in the poem
In your groups, have 3 different coloured
highlighters, pens or coloured pencils ready
Go through and mark all the verbs in one colour.
The first stanza has been done for you:
1.They picked Akanni up one morning
2. Beat him soft like clay
3. And stuffed him down the belly
4. Of a waiting jeep.
5. What business of mine is it
6. So long they don’t take the yam
7. From my savouring mouth?
Use of speech in the poem
Now go through poem again with a different colour
and mark all the speech. The first stanza has been
done for you:
1.They picked Akanni up one morning
2. Beat him soft like clay
3. And stuffed him down the belly
4. Of a waiting jeep.
5. What business of mine is it
6. So long they don’t take the yam
7. From my savouring mouth?
Language in the poem
Now underline any examples of similes, metaphors,
emotive language, powerful imagery, rule of three,
rhetorical questions, personification, alliteration or
repetition with your third colour. The first stanza has
been done for you.
1.They picked Akanni up one morning
2. Beat him soft like clay
3. And stuffed him down the belly
4. Of a waiting jeep.
5. What business of mine is it
6. So long they don’t take the yam
7. From my savouring mouth?
Poetic techniques
Match the technique with the correct definition:
metaphor
words or phrases are repeated
repetition
two or more words starting with
the same sound
alliteration
personification
an object is given human
characteristics
when something is said to be
something else
Poetic techniques
Match the technique with the correct definition:
rule of three
simile
rhetorical
question
compare two things using the
words ‘like’ or ‘as’
A question that does not need
an answer
a group of three words or ideas
to increase tension and hold
readers’ attention
Violence
Many words in the poem convey violence and
brutality. Find examples and add them to the
spider diagram.
stuffed him
beat him
a lengthy
absence
froze my hungry
hand
dragged
booted the whole
house awake
Complete the table
Quotation
‘beat him soft
like clay’
Poetic
devices
simile
How does this relate
to life in Nigeria
during the
dictatorship
People were physically
beaten by the army and
police
Possible answers 1
Quotation
Poetic
devices
Life in Nigeria
during dictatorship
stuffed him
down the
belly of a
waiting jeep’
personification Arrested people were
taken away to prison
in jeeps
‘What
business of
mine is it…?’
rhetorical
question
People did not want
to get involved,
because they were
scared
Possible answers 2
Quotation
Poetic
devices
‘So long they metaphor
don’t take the
yam from my
savouring
mouth’
‘hungry hand’ alliteration
‘no query, no The rule
warning, no of three/
probe’
repetition
Life in Nigeria during
the dictatorship
They didn’t get involved
because they were not
directly affected
Nigerians didn’t have
much food
People didn’t get any
warning about what
might happen to them
Imagery
Look at the imagery used in the poem. Why does
the poet use these images?
Images
Beat him soft like clay
Stuffed him down the
belly of a waiting jeep
My savouring mouth
Notes on the images
Violent image suggesting
the man was beaten very
badly.
Imagery: suggested answers 1
Images
Beat him soft like clay
Stuffed him down the
belly of a waiting jeep
Notes on the images
Violent image suggesting
the man was beaten very
badly.
This suggests that the
person was pushed
violently into the jeep
My savouring mouth
The narrator eats with
pleasure
Booted the whole
house awake
The whole family was
distressed by the violent
entry
Imagery: suggested answers 2
Images
A knock on the door
froze my hungry hand
Notes on the images
The narrator was shocked
My bewildered lawn
Everyone and everything
was confused and scared
Waiting in its usual
silence
Nobody gets involved if it
is not their business, as
people were scared of
punishment