Vultures
Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
• Famous Nigerian author
– best known for
‘Things Fall Apart’
(1958)
• This was a reaction to
Conrad’s ‘Heart of
Darkness’. (The
inspiration for
Apocalypse Now)
Vultures
• This is the name of the next poem you are
going to study.
• What do you think of when you think of
vultures?
• What images are brought to mind?
N. A large bird of prey which feeds mostly on
carrion. Reputed to gather with others in
anticipation of the death of a sick or injured animal
or person.
Vultures
N. a contemptible person who preys on or
exploits others.
Vocab
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Despondent
Harbingers
Gorged
Remnant
Charnel-house
Belsen Camp
Bounteous
Providence
Perpetuity
‘Vultures’ - Vocabulary
• Despondent - in low spirits from loss of hope
or courage.
• Harbingers - One that indicates or
foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner.
• Remnant – a scrap; what’s leftover
• Gorged – gluttonous eating
• Charnel-house – A vault where dead bodies or
bones are piled up
‘Vultures’ - Vocabulary
• Belsen Camp – A notorious concentration camp
of the Second World War. It became a camp for
those who were too weak or sick to work and
many people died because of the horrible
conditions.
• Bounteous - Generously and copiously given
• Providence - The care, guardianship, and control
exercised by a deity (god) ; divine direction
• Perpetuity - Time without end; eternity
Here is a puppy before we start...
Word choice/ Setting –
‘greyness’ & ‘drizzle’ =
connotations of bleakness,
unhappiness, miserable.
Suggests one of many –
routine.
Regular pattern of
death/love.
In the greyness
and drizzle of one despondent
dawn unstirred by harbingers
of sunbreak a vulture
perching high on broken
Word choice – suggests
bone of a dead tree
delicateness/ fragility –
nestled close to his
unlikely for such a
dangerous bird
mate his smooth
bashed-in head, a pebble
Appearance/ Word choiceconnotations of violence.
on a stem rooted in
Seems unnatural.
a dump of gross
feathers, inclined affectionately
to hers.
Imagery/Word choice/setting.
Personification of ‘dawn’ –
suggests the actual day is sad
because of a lack of hope
Surprising ending to the sentence – delays
revelation of what vultures are actually
doing. Links with ‘nestled’ which suggests
cosiness, intimacy and gentleness. Contrast
to what we expect from vultures’ behaviour.
Word choice – suggests
that light will come, but
is unable to break
through this bleak
setting. Connotations of
death and destruction.
Fitting for vultures.
Metaphor – reinforces idea
of death – suggests that
nothing can survive here.
Suggests bleached
appearance of trees – has
been dead for a long time
Metaphor - Reinforces
idea of abnormality. Idea
of feathers being ‘gross’ fat, bloated – perhaps
poking out at different
angles? Almost comical
effect.
This is horrifying because of the casual
language used . ‘Picked’ sounds like they
were carefully selecting something, but we
then find out what gruesome activity they
were actually involved with.
Structure – placed at the end of
the line – enhances shocking
effect because the poet delays
the revelation of what they
were actually doing. Especially
surprising given ‘nestled’ and
‘inclined affectionately’ before.
Yesterday they picked
‘Eyes’ seems
intimate – makes
the eyes of a swollen
whole thing more
corpse in a water-logged
sinister.
trench and ate the things in its bowel.
Horrifying detail –corpse –
does not specify what it’s a
corpse of. Jarring when
placed after idea of vultures
as almost a ‘loving couple.’
Creates a sense of terror for the reader – this is an
abhorrent act, yet for the vulture it is everyday, routine.
This lives up to our idea of the nature of vultures and
what they do to survive.
‘Things’ is also disturbingly vague – leaves grotesque
image to readers’ imaginations.
Word choice – suggestive of
how much the vultures have
eaten. Suggests pleasure/
vivaciousness manner in
which they ate
Full
gorged they chose their roost
keeping the hollowed remnant
in easy range of cold
Word choice/appearance/
telescopic eyes …
imagery. This makes the
vultures seem unfeeling and
uncaring. They are almost
robotic and mechanical.
They do not care about the
abhorrent things they have
done.
Word choice –suggests
the vultures have eaten so
much that there is very
little left. It reinforces the
lack of life that there is in
this scene.
‘Hollowed’ – makes us
think of a shell, something
without substance –
which is what this
creature has become.
‘remnant’ is a word
usually reserved for scraps
of material – makes the
creature seem worthless,
devoid of life.
Punctuation – ellipsis gives reader moment to pause and
reflect on what they have just read. Gives time for the reader
to absorb the nightmarish scene – both the appearance and
behaviour of the vultures. Also allows them a moment to
consider the gentle image Achebe included. Causes them to
think about nature of good/evil – love/hate, etc.
Structure – individual word in line of poetry. Perhaps
to reflect reader’s own feelings of strangeness. Forces
us to consider the word before moving on.
Emphasis
Imagery – Achebe
personifies love and
makes it into a
woman selecting
somewhere to live
and rest.
We often consider love
something that we spend a
lot of time thinking about –
something that we are
careful with – invest a lot
in.
Strange
Word choice/imagery –
indeed how love in other
connotations of death and
decay. ‘Charnel-house’ is
ways so particular
metaphorical
representation of evil.
will pick a corner
Dark and dim – linked with
death.
in that charnel-house
tidy it and coil up there, perhaps
‘coil up’ – has
even fall asleep - her face
connotations of a
turned to the wall!
snake – subtle Biblical
Perhaps suggesting that love is willing to
look away from the evil acts committed by
some. Perhaps makes it easy to
rationalise/explain.
reference & link to
evil.
Ellipsis suggests passing of
time/change of location.
Again it gives reader a
moment to reflect on what
they have just read.
Almost Biblical language – links later
on to the ‘providence’. Could
suggest that Achebe believes that
good/evil is something innate?
Reader would be aware of
concentration camp – would
know of awful things that
happened there
… Thus the Commandant at Belsen
Word choice –
Camp going home for
Word choice – shocking
connotations of
phrase – reader is left to
the
day
with
fumes
of
something unpleasant
figure out details.
Juxtaposition of words.
human roast clinging
rebelliously to his hairy
Link to appearance of
Imagery/word choice –
personification. This is a constant
vultures.
nostrils will stop
reminder to him of his evil
actions. Suggests that he wants
at the wayside sweet-shop
them to be gone, but they always
Word choice – shows
linger.
and pick up a chocolate
that someone loves this
for his tender offspring
man. He has a family.
waiting at home for Daddy’s return …
Word choice – tender address is
jarring. Would be used by a small
child. Difficult to imagine such a
man as able to love anything.
Domestic/homely image.
Again, ellipsis is used to let reader
reflect. We realise that he has
feelings and a family. Contrasting
images in our understanding.
Biblical language – idea
of all the good things
God gives to mankind
Contrast – consider the
size difference between
ogre and glow worm.
Suggestive that evil is
bigger than love?
Imagery – ‘glow-worm’ (love)
becomes trapped inside
inhospitable environment of
ogre’s heart. (Hate)
Praise bounteous
providence if you will
that grants even an ogre
a tiny glow-worm
tenderness encapsulated
in icy caverns of a cruel
heart or else despair
for in every germ
of that kindred love is
lodged the perpetuity
of evil.
Word choice/imagery.
WC – a monster, something
grotesque and nightmarish.
Here it metaphorically
represents evil.
Word choice/imagery.
‘Tiny’ emphasises size.
‘Glow – worm’
represents love
These images are slightly
clichéd – the idea of a
monster with a spark of
love in his heart – why?
Achebe leaves us with a choice of responses and a question about the nature of
good/evil/love/hate. Should we hope because love can exist in the most evil of
creatures or should we despair because despite this love existing it cannot stop
evil? Achebe wants us to consider whether love can exist regardless of
circumstances or whether it is this love that allows the evil to be committed in the
first place.
How to write about the poem
• Remember:
– You need to include reference to techniques
(which I’m hoping you did last week)
– You need to discuss the theme(s) of the poem which we will discuss in a minute
– You need to make sure your expression is suitable
for a critical essay (nobody does the dirty)
Essay questions
• Questions about atmosphere – sinister, dark, gloomy,
where atmosphere is important, etc.
• Questions about mood – dark, sad, where mood is
important, etc.
• Questions about contrast (contrast between hate and love
– what we expect from the vultures and the surprise about
their nature)
• Questions about the final lines clarifying the meaning
• Questions about the poem seeming to be about one thing
(vultures/Nazis) but is actually about something else
(nature of love/hate or good/evil)
• Questions about an element of ambiguity – remember
Achebe doesn’t offer us a solution – merely a choice.
Theme
• Achebe is exploring the fine line between
good and evil – or indeed love and hate.
• Quick task
• In your groups, discuss how he explores this
message – remember to include the names of
techniques!
Writing about the poem
• As I’ve said – if you can get your head
around writing about the poem effectively
then you’re onto a winner.
• This does not mean that you should try to
write about it all the time, or indeed if you
do write about it you’ll get amazing marks.
• The key word is effectively.
Introductions
T- title
A – author
T – task
T – techniques
S – Brief relevant summary
Please remember that they do not have
to be in this order - they just need to be
there.
‘Vultures’ introductions
Things to include
Chinua Achebe – Nigerian writer who explores how
European cultures affected African societies. His
experiences of war are often reflected in his work.
‘Vultures’ explores the fine line between good and evil
and leaves the audience thinking about human nature.
Remember: we are offered a choice but it is
uncomfortable.
Although it focuses on specific incidents (the vultures,
WWII), it ultimately says more about all human conflict.
Essay Question
• We’re going to consider the question:
• Choose a poem in which there is a
sinister atmosphere, person or place.
Show how the poet evokes the
sinister quality and discuss how it
adds to your appreciation of the
poem.
“greyness/ and drizzle of one
despondent/dawn”
“unstirred by harbingers/of sunbreak”
Achebe evokes a sinister atmosphere
immediately through his description of the
setting of the poem
Achebe evokes a sinister atmosphere immediately through
his description of the setting of the poem. “Greyness/ and
drizzle” make us think of somewhere dull and depressing; it
suggests that there is no colour or life. Achebe develops this
atmosphere further through using alliteration and imagery.
The repeated ‘d’ sound is dull and plodding, again suggesting
no spark of life and this is emphasised by the personified
‘dawn’ which has been made ‘despondent’, showing that
even the day itself has no hope. This day is ‘unstirred by
harbingers/ of sunbreak.’ With its connotations of death and
danger, this suggests to us that although some light may
come, at the moment it is unable to break through this dim
and dark day. Ultimately, this creates a sinister atmosphere
as there is no sense of life or hope. We soon realise that this
is an example of pathetic fallacy and Achebe is preparing us
for the following content of the poem, thus helping develop
my appreciation for the text.
Achebe evokes a sinister atmosphere immediately through
his description of the setting of the poem. “Greyness/ and
drizzle” make us think of somewhere dull and depressing; it
suggests that there is no colour or life. Achebe develops this
atmosphere further through using alliteration and imagery.
The repeated ‘d’ sound is dull and plodding, again suggesting
no spark of life and this is emphasised by the personified
‘dawn’ which has been made ‘despondent’, showing that
even the day itself has no hope. This day is ‘unstirred by
harbingers/ of sunbreak.’ With its connotations of death and
danger, this suggests to us that although some light may
come, at the moment it is unable to break through this dim
and dark day. Ultimately, this creates a sinister atmosphere
as there is no sense of life or hope. We soon realise that this
is an example of pathetic fallacy and Achebe is preparing us
for the following content of the poem, thus helping develop
my appreciation for the text.
“vulture
perching high on broken
bone of a dead tree
nestled close to his
mate his smooth
bashed-in head, a pebble
on a stem rooted in
a dump of gross
feathers, inclined affectionately
to hers.”
I’m not telling you which bits to pick. Go.
“Yesterday they picked
the eyes of a swollen
corpse in a water-logged
trench and ate the things in its bowel.”