UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI
Maiduguri, Nigeria
CENTRE FOR DISTANCE
LEARNING
ARTS
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
ENG 225:
2
MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
UNIT:
ii
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
Published
UNIT: 2
2008©
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in
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permission in writing from the University of Maiduguri.
This text forms part of the learning package for the academic
programme of the Centre for Distance Learning, University of
Maiduguri.
Further enquiries should be directed to the:
Coordinator
Centre for Distance Learning
University of Maiduguri
P. M. B. 1069
Maiduguri, Nigeria.
This text is being published by the authority of the Senate,
University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri – Nigeria.
ISBN:
978-8133-
iii
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
P R E F A C E
This study unit has been prepared for learners so that they can
do most of the study on their own. The structure of the study unit
is different from that of conventional textbook. The course writers
have made efforts to make the study material rich enough but
learners need to do some extra reading for further enrichment of
the knowledge required.
The learners are expected to make best use of library facilities
and where feasible, use the Internet. References are provided to
guide the selection of reading materials required.
The University expresses its profound gratitude to our course
writers and editors for making this possible. Their efforts will no
doubt help in improving access to University education.
iv
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
Professor J. D. Amin
Vice-Chancellor
v
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
HOW TO STUDY THE UNIT
You are welcome to this study Unit. The unit is arranged to
simplify
your
study.
In
each
topic
of
the
unit,
we
have
introduction, objectives, in-text, summary and self-assessment
exercise.
The study unit should be 6-8 hours to complete. Tutors will
be available at designated contact centers for tutorial. The center
expects you to plan your work well. Should you wish to read
further you could supplement the study with more information
from the list of references and suggested readings available in the
study unit.
PRACTICE EXERCISES/TESTS
1. Self-Assessment Exercises (SAES)
This is provided at the end of each topic. The exercise can
help you to assess whether or not you have actually studied and
understood the topic. Solutions to the exercises are provided at the
end of the study unit for you to assess yourself.
2. Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMA)
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CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
This is provided at the end of the study Unit. It is a form of
examination type questions for you to answer and send to the
center. You are expected to work on your own in responding to the
assignments. The TMA forms part of your continuous assessment
(C.A.) scores, which will be marked and returned to you. In
addition, you will also write an end of Semester Examination,
which will be added to your TMA scores.
Finally, the center wishes you success as you go through the
different units of your study.
vii
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
English 225 is a study of Themes and Techniques as is found in Modern
African Poetry. Through a close study of selected poets and poems, the students will
be introduced to the form and content in Modern African Poetry. A brief
introduction into the critical analysis of the selected poems will also be considered.
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
ENG. 225:
UNIT: 2
MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNITS: 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
PREFACE
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HOW TO STUDY THE UNIT
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INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
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TOPIC 1:
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO MODERN
AFRICAN POETRY
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TOPIC 2: THEMES AND TECHNIQUES IN MODERN
AFRICAN POETRY
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TOPIC 3: THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSES OF
SELECTED
POEMS OF LEOPOLD S. SENGHOR
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TOPIC 4: POETIC ANALYSES OF POEMS OF GABRIEL I.
OKARA
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TOPIC 5: THEMES AND STYLES OF SELECTED POEMS OF
DENNIS BRUTUS
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
TOPIC 6: CONTENT AND FORM IN SELECTED POEMS OF
DAVID DIOP
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TOPIC 7: THEMES AND STYLES IN SELECTED POEMS OF
KWESI BREW
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TOPIC 8: THEMES AND TECHNIQUES IN SELECTED POEMS
OF
DAVID RUBADIRI
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TOPIC 9: THEMES AND STYLES OF SELECTED POEMS OF
CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO
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TOPIC 10:
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSES OF
SELECTED
POEMS OF WOLE SOYINKA
TOPIC 11:
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FORM AND CONTENT IN SELECTED POEMS
OF
J. P. CLARK
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TOPIC 12:
THEMES AND STYLES IN SELECTED POEMS
OF
AGOSTHINO NETO
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TOPIC13: THEME AND TECNIQUES IN SELECTED POEMS OF
OSWALD M. MTSHALI
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SOLUTION TO EXERCISES
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
TOPIC 1:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
1.0.
TOPIC:
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO MODERN
AFRICAN POETRY
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1.1.
INTRODUCTION -
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1.2.
OBJECTIVES
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1.3.
IN-TEXT
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SUMMARY -
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1.5.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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1.6.
REFERENCE
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1.7.
SUGGESTED READINGS
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
1.0. TOPIC:
A
BRIEF
INTRODUCTION
UNIT: 2
TO
MODERN
AFRICAN POETRY
1.1.
INTRODUCTION
Modern African poetry is the poetry written by educated Africans, often in
European languages, as opposed to African oral poetry which are expressed in
the indigenous languages. This lecture will consider the growth and
development of Modern African poetry.
1.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the topic you should be able to :
i.
Trace briefly the development of modern African poetry.
ii.
Enumerate some salient features of modern African
poetry.
iii.
Identify some modern African poets.
1.3
IN-TEXT
1.3.1 AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
Like all other literatures in general, African literature as a whole and African
poetry in particular has its own distinctiveness and authenticity. African poetry
expresses African predicaments and world view within the context of the evolution
of African societies. It also addresses the problems of human existence which the
Africans share with the rest of humanity
Modern African poetry is very different from most forms of poetry which
focuses on the individual. It is communal in nature and it is this communal spirit
which informs most of the poets in their creative works. The focus on society with
its attendant social criticisms is in the African tradition. African writers in affirming
their faith in their native culture defend it against alien encroachments and prejudices.
The Negritude writers asserted their ‘Africanity’ to fight against colonial prejudices.
Although they tended to romanticize the past, their exaggerated portrayal functioned
against cultural annihilation. Every African writer is a Negritudist in one way or
another. A number of modern poets express their defiance of their indigenous culture
against the invading Western one in many of their poems.
African poets that gained prominence from the late 50s can be said to be the
second generation poets and can be considered as Modern African poets. These
poets started to write just before and after independence in their respective nations.
Modern Anglophone poets include , Gabriel Okara , Dennis Brutus, Kwesi Brew,
David Rubadiri, Wole Soyinka, J.P. Clark, Lenrie Peters, O’kot p’Bitek, Kofi
Awoonor and Oswald Mtshali. From the Francophone Africa we have Leopold
Senghor, Birago Diop and Bernard Dadie. And From the Lusophone region we have
Jose Craverirha, Agostinho Neto and Noemia de Sousa to name but a few.
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
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The second generation or Modern African poets can be differentiated from
earlier poets both in form and content. While the Pioneer poets were preoccupied
with freedom movements, restoring human dignity and trying to abolish racism, the
Modern / second generation poets had set themselves a different agenda. The second
generation poets had an opportunity to receive higher degrees both at home and
abroad.
The term “Neo- colonialism”gained currency in the late 60s and early 70s.
The second generation African poets were still concerned with the social ills of their
societies especially corruption and nepotism. They used their poems to express their
disappointment over the new set of leaders. They addressed the excessive use of
power and the get rich quick syndrome which became a pandemic scourge which the
modern African poets wished to express through their poems. Culture conflict also
took the epicenter of may of their poems. This generation can be said to have
established the canon or what can be considered as parameters in which subsequent
poems or poets could be judged.
Thematically this generation of African poets took it upon themselves to
challenge the deliberate misconceptions of Africans by Europeans. They deliberately
took the opposite stance in their poetry and this manifested in poems such Gabriel
Okara’s Piano and drums and Wole Soyinka’s Telephone Conversation . The contrast
between African and Western cultures are also expressed in Okigbo’s Heavensgate,
wherein all negative images are used to describe alien culture and positive ones to
describe the African way of life. In a similar manner Okot p’Bitek of Uganda in his
Song of Lawino portrays Lawino as a symbol of African culture, with dignity, humility,
respect and authenticity. She is painted as a contrast to Clementine and Ocol who
indiscriminately copy alien Western ways of life and so look absurd. Lawino assumes
the royalty and courage of a lioness and the beauty and gracefulness of a giraffe.
Repulsive creatures such as the hyena, monkey, ostrich and the python represent the
copied alien ways. Soyinka too exploits to a great extent the Yoruba pantheon in his
plays, novels and poems. Idanre the title poem from his collection of poems titled
Idanre and Other Poems, is centered on Ogun the God of iron, war and hunting. In the
same poem there are references to Sango, God of Thunder and Lightening and Esu,
the God of Chance.
J. P. Clark and Soyinka treat the theme of re –incarnation of the wanderer
child in their poem with a similar title Abiku. In his poem Soyinka treats the theme
according to the Yoruba tradition , while Clark treats it as Ogbanje according to the
Igbo belief. But both poets express the traditional African belief in the cyclic nature
of life and the things that affect the space and time of African tradition.
Modern African poets placed great emphasis on form than content and most
of their techniques they used were Western. Alliteration, assonance, rhyme, rhythm,
including paradoxes and ironies. The language was rather cumbersome in terms of
diction, vocabulary and idioms. The use of symbolism was dense and clustered, which
often resulted in misunderstanding than understanding the poetry. Most words were
used to render associated meanings or ideas rather than the dictionary meaning.
These poets were greatly influenced by European writers such as William
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
Shakespeare, T.S.Eliot, Ezra Pound, Gerald Manley Hopkins, W.B Yeats and the
French Symbolists. What was ironical was that these poets while focusing on African
themes and preoccupations were using Western poetic techniques to express them.
This often times rendered their poetry obscure and difficult to understand. Poets like
Okigbo, Soyinka and Clark were musical in their poetry. Repetition was used to
enhance musicality. While Clark attempted to create ‘sprung rhythm’ with his
repetitions, Soyinka’s expressive use of alliterations often caused great impediments
to comprehensions. The poetry of this generation was very academic and privatist in
nature. In consequence the language of these poets become more recondite and
difficult to decode.
In the Portuguese speaking parts Africa, especially in South Africa the struggle
for emancipation from colonial rule had the most direct impact on the literature in
general and poetry in particular. The majority of writers had a profound commitment
to the social and political changes that were taking place in their region. Writers in
Angola and Mozambique have concentrated greatly in writing of verse; but very little
is known of their work for reasons of language. But critic of African writing
acknowledge the high standards achieved by poets like Agostinho Neto, Noemia de
Sousa Jose Craveirirho and others . While remaining firmly committed to the struggle
against Portuguese colonialism, the best of these poets kept close to those emotions
that could open up the warmest affections of lyricism in the Latin language. African
poets of Portuguese expression like their French counterparts inherited the whole
poetic tradition and used verse to express public themes. Such a tradition combined
indigenous African traditions with Latin forms to create a powerful form of poetry
that did not flinch from its public function. Thus politics and the passionate desire
for change became the dominant theme of this poetry. Marcelino dos Santos,
JorgeRebalo, Costa Andrado and others like them gave to Lusophone poetry verse its
political character. Agustino Neto’s poetry is a good example of this kind of poetry.
The above brief explication of the content and form of Modern African poetry is
indicative of the social, political and cultural forces that were and are still at work on
African poetry as a whole. It also gives us a glimpse into the vast panorama of themes
and styles of the significant body of work in its long years of literary effort. It is also
indicative that in Africa as is elsewhere the development of poetry is close knit with
the social, political and economic development of society. An in depth analysis of
selected poems will reveal that what lies behind the tortured obscurities of style and
the recurrence of themes are as a result of the social, economic and political forces
often thought to be non –literary.
Modern African poetry thus seems to have risen from the aptness of poetry as
a succinct verbal art form in expressing feelings and attitudes in economically
desperate times as Africans have been going through. Commitment in African writing
has always been present in one way or the other. This seems to have been out by the
thematic and technical preoccupations in much recent African poetry. Modern
African poetry expresses a strong and steadfast commitment towards socio –
economic change for the benefit of the generality of the people. It was only by the
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
second half of the 1960s that most modern African poets matured and established
themselves as power voices across the African continent and beyond.
We will now embark on a careful analysis if selected poems of modern African
poets to ascertain to what extent the socio – economic and socio- political situations
in most African nations have influenced the theme and content of modern African
poetry. Selected poems from the following poets will be analysed:
1.
Leopold S. Senghor
2.
Gabriel I. Okara
3.
David Diop
4.
Kwsei Brew
5.
David Rubadiri
6.
Wole Syoinka
7.
Christopher Okigbo
8.
John Pepper Clark
9.
Agostinho Neto
10.
Oswald M. Mtshali
1.4
SUMMARY:
The early 60s and 70s saw the flowering of modern African poetry.
Thematically this generation of African poets took it upon themselves to challenge
the deliberate misconceptions of Africans by Europeans. The Negritude writers
asserted their ‘Africanity’ to fight against colonial prejudices. Modern African poets
placed great emphasis on form than on content. The second generation African poets
were still concerned with the social ills of their societies especially corruption and
nepotism. They used their poems to express their disappointment over the new set of
leaders. Culture conflict also took the epicenter of may of their poems. This
generation can be said to have established the canon or what can be considered as
parameters in which subsequent poems or poets could be judged.
1.5
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE:
1.
State a few characteristic features of Modern African
poetry.
2.
Differentiate the thematic differences between
Anglophone and
Francophone
and
Lusophone poetry.
1.6
REFFRERENCES:
Nwoga, I. Donatus (1979) Modern African Poetry: The Domestication of a Tradition.
African Literature Today, Retrospect and Prospect, No.10, New
York: Africana Publishing Company. pp.32-56.
_______________ (1986) West-African Verse: An Anthology, Lagos Academy
Press Ltd.
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
Adeko, Adeleke (1999) “Theory and Practice of African Orature.” Research in
African Literature, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 222-227.
Ajayi Ademola, S. (2005) African Culture & Civilization. Ibadan; Atlantic
Books
Aiyejina Funso (1988) “Recent Nigerian Poetry in English: An Alter-Native
Tradition” in Perspectives on Nigerian Literature 1700 to the
Present. Vol. One Lagos: Guardian Books Nigeria (Ltd).
Amuta, C. (1989) The Theory of African Literature: Implications for practical Criticism
London: Zed Books
Jones, O. Eldred & Narjorie Jones (ed) (1996) New Trends and Generations in
African
Literature , No. 20, London: James Curry Ltd.
pp. 1-8
Ogede, S. Ode (1996) “New Trends and Generations.” African Literature Today,
No.20, London: James Currey Ltd. pp.62-72.
1.7
SUGGESTED READING
Ogunbiyi, Yemi (1988) Perspectives on Nigerian Literature 1700 to the Present, Vol. I
& 2 Lagos: Guardian Books (Nig) Ltd.
Ohaeto-Ezenwa (1991) “Dimensions of Language in New Nigerian Poetry”,
African Literature Today, No. 17.
Bondunde, Charles (2001) Oral Traditions and Aesthetic Transfer: Creativity and
Social Vision in Contemporary Black Poetry, Bayreuth African
Studies Series, 58. Bayreuth; Bayreuth University.
Chukwukere, B.I. (1992) African Literature Today, 12 New Writing, New
Approaches. Books, London, Heinemann Educational, pp.
16-24.
Gogura, S. M.& Agukwe, E. L. (ed) (2000) Issues and Trends in Language and
Literature Teaching For Nigerian Colleges Yola, Paaraclete
Publishers
Heywood, Christopher, ed. (!989) Perspectives On African Literature. London ;
Heinemann Educational Books
Nwoga, I. Donatus (1986) West-African Verse: An Anthology, Lagos Academy
Press Ltd.
Senanu, K.E. & Vincent T. (1999) A Selection of African Poetry (New Edition),
Longman Group Ltd.
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UNIT: 2
TOPIC 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
2.0.
TOPIC:
CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES OF MODERN
AFRICAN POETRY-
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2.1.
INTRODUCTION -
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2.2.
OBJECTIVES
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2.3.
IN-TEXT
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2.3.1. CONTENT OF MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
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2.3.2. TECHNIQUES OF MODERN AFRICAN POETRY -
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2.4.
SUMMARY -
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2.5.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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2.6.
REFERENCE
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2.7.
SUGGESTED READINGS
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
2.0
TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES OF MODERN
AFRICAN
POETRY
2.1
INTRODUCTION:
Modern African literature as whole and modern African poetry in particular
which is informed by African culture is utilitarian in nature. It is community
oriented rather than based on individual psychology, and is didactic for ethical
and moral instruction. African poetry draws on beliefs, world- view and
folkloric heritage of the African people. This lecture will discuss how Modern
African poetry is conceived to be functional and how the poets have strived to
make their poetry relevant to their respective societies.
2.2
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the topic you should be able to:
i.
Differentiate the difference between African and
Western literature.
ii.
Describe the main content in most modern African
poetry.
iii.
Elucidate the techniques deployed by modern African
poets.
2.3
IN-TEXT
2.3.1 CONTENT OF MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
Viewed from the critical perspective of content, African poetry deals primarily
with collective destinies of the African within his own human and physical
environment. Although a particular human living condition which the poet expresses
is inserted in a time and space frame work, his creative imagination has a temporal
and spatial forward and backward movement, which unfolds the evolution of the
society and the life - ways lived in it.
Since African literature takes “matter” from the realities of African living
conditions and value systems in the past and present, one easily recognizes it in
socio – historical events, names and environments. In the African society the writer,
be it a novelist, dramatist or poet is a sensitive “questioner” and reformer; as all
literature in a way is criticism of the human condition obtainable in the society it
mirrors. The writer often cannot help exposing the bad and the ugly in man and
society. Thus Much of African literature is a deploration of the harsh and inhuman
condition in which the majority of Africans live in i.e. poverty, misery, political
oppression, economic exploitation, excesses of the affluent, liquidation of humane
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African traditional values, and all forms of injustices which seem to be the lot of a
large majority in most African societies.
In drama, novel, poetry or short – story, the writer’s dialogue with his
physical and human environment comes out as a mirror in which his people and
society can see what they look like. Every image painted by a skilful; artist is
expressed or put into writing / print, becomes public property and leaves itself open
for evaluation by those who read and understand the language and expression.
In most African literature social issues and the way people relate are some of
the major subjects, be it in drama, fiction or poetry. How individuals interact in love,
friendship, and their relationships with the larger society are the sine qua non of
literature .People’s interaction in society develop the ethics and morality of a society.
Politics is usually integrated into a people’s culture and everybody is in one
way or the other affected by politics. Political practices are part of a people’s culture.
Thus politics forms an important thematic preoccupation for modern African writers.
In literature it is important who is writing and in what context the writer is
writing. Time and space, history and place set the context of a literary creation. The
history of a society is also essential, as many themes stem from a society’s historical
background. Modern African poets are greatly influenced by their rich oral literature
which is essentially didactic. Most poets make use of the functional didacticism of
oral literature, to reflect the culture, history, politics and society as a whole in their
writings. Social issues and the way people relate are also some of the major subjects
of literature, be it in drama, fiction or poetry.
2.3.2 TECHNIQUES IN MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
The language issue, consequently became another problem in the writings and
evolution of Modern African literature. African literature today is a product of the
cross – cultural fertilization between the pre –colonial and colonial past and post colonial present of Africa and Europe. The Modern African writer is a man of two
worlds - African and Europe. Thus his creative writings even when it is in an
indigenous African language expressing authentic African life experiences are often
tinged with acquired Western techniques. Almost all African writings in general and
African poetry in particular display the combination of African oral techniques along
with certain artistic procedures common to both African and Western literatures.
Modern African poetry has not only deep and solid roots but also has a
concrete and relevant background and setting. The culture provides the poetry with
allusions, images, symbols, and a moral ethical imperative. The ethically rich culture
has enhanced the works of the creative writers who see themselves as having the
social role of cleansing the society. New novels, plays, and poems are modeled on
folklore forms and techniques. These works demonstrate the affirmation of faith by
different generations of African writers in their cultural heritage. African literature is
suffused with various traditional traits.
Modern drama is characterized by rituals, the supernatural and a language
enriched by proverbs. Fiction has many folkloric anecdotes and concentrates on the
direction of the entire society. While poetry absorbs qualities of traditional, oratory,
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
ritual, incantory rhythms and symbolic plant and animal imagery originating from
folklore. African oral traditions of literature has greatly influenced the three genres drama, fiction and poetry.
2.4
SUMMARY:
Modern African poetry has deep and solid roots in culture and tradition of the
African people. The culture provides the poetry with allusions, images, symbols, and
a moral ethical imperative. The ethically rich culture has enhanced the works of the
creative writers who see themselves as having the social role of cleansing the society.
New novels, plays, and poems are modeled on folklore forms and techniques. . Most
poets make use of the functional didacticism of oral literature, to reflect the culture,
history, politics and society as a whole in their writings. These works demonstrate the
affirmation of faith by different generations of African writers in their cultural
heritage. . African oral traditions of literature has greatly influenced the three genres drama, fiction and poetry.
2.5
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE:
1.
What were the thematic preoccupations of modern African poets ?
2.
What form of poetic techniques do they deploy in their poetry ?
2.6
REFERENCES:
Nwackukwu Agbada, J. O. J. (1991) “The Question of Language.” African
Literature Today, No.17, London: James Curry Ltd., pp.
165-175.
Nwachukwu Agbada, J. O. J (1991) “The Language of Post-War Nigerian
Poetry.” African Literature Today, 17.
King, Bruce. (1975 ) A Celebration of Black and African Writing: Oxford
University Press.
Nwankwo, Chika (1990) “The Oral Foundations of Nigerian Written Poetry”.
Literature and Black Aesthetic, Ibadan: Heinemann
Educational Books (Nig) Ltd. vol. 5, pp. 315-327.
2.7
SUGGESTED READING :
Nwankwo, Chika (1990) “The Oral Foundations of Nigerian Written Poetry”.
Literature and Black Aesthetic, Ibadan: Heinemann
Educational Books (Nig) Ltd. vol. 5, pp. 315-327.
Nwoga, I.Donatus (1979) Modern African Poetry: The Domestication of a Tradition.
African Literature Today, Retrospect and Prospect, No.10, New
York: Africana Publishing Company. pp.32-56.
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UNIT: 2
Ogungbesan, K. ed. (1981) “New West African Literature”, World Literature
Written in English WLWE), Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 71-74.
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UNIT: 2
TOPIC: 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
3.0.
TOPIC:
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF
LEOPARD SEDAR SENGHOR’S POEM
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3.1.
INTRODUCTION -
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OBJECTIVES
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3.3.1. LEOPARD SEDAR SENGHOR -
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3.3.2. I WILL PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME -
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3.3.3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE POEM-
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3.4.
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3.0
TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF
LEOPOLD SEDAR
SENGHOR’S POEM
3.1
INTRODUCTION
This lecture will embark on a thematic and stylistic analyses of a poem
by a Francophone poet Leopold Senghor.
3.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the topic, you should be able to:
i.
Decipher the theme of the poem.
ii.
Discuss one main poetic device employed by the poet.
IN-TEXT
3.3
3.3.1 Leopold Sedar Senghor
Senghor born in Senegal is one of the oldest and most prominent of African
poets. A poet philosopher, scholar and statesman Senghor is also the greatest
exponent of the philosophy of Negritude. Negritude as an ideology was merely
developed as a reaction to cultural deprivation that African poets experienced in
Europe. This led the educated elite to revive through literature, the cultural
values, and identify the beauty of Africa by extolling their ancestral glories. This
led to the use of traditional imagery, symbols and rhythm, Negritude has passed
through a number of phases and was at times accused of over sentimentalism.
Nevertheless Senghor’s poetry gained great importance and won many
international prizes for his contribution to African literature as a whole and
African poetry in particular.
Let us analyse Senghor’s poem titled
3.3.2 I will pronounce your name
I will pronounce your name, Naett, I will declaim you , Naett!
Naett, your name is mild like the cinnamon, it is the fragrance in which
the lemon grove sleeps,
Naett, your name is the sugared clarity of blooming coffee trees
And it resembles the savannah, that blooms forth under the
the masculine odour of the midday sun.
Name of dew, fresher shadows of tamarind,
Fresher even than short dusk, when the heat of the dusk is
silenced.
Naett, that is the dry tornado, the hard clap of lightning
Naett, coin of gold, shinning coal, you my night , my sun!--I am your hero, and now I have become your sorcerer, in order to
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pronounce your names.
Princess of Elisa, banished from *Futa1 on the fateful day.
3.3.3 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ABOVE POEM: I will pronounce
your name
Though this is a written poem, the word “pronounce” in line 1 and the
repetitious declamation of “Naett” suggest an orality which links the poem to the
traditional form of poetry found in oral literature. The repetition evokes the
passion of fondness the poet for the subject “Naett”. This passion is reinforced
by the poet’s exuberant comparison of “Naett” with various states in nature:
“mild like cinnamon”, “the fragrance in which, The lemon grove sleeps”, “ the
sugared clarity of blooming coffee trees” and the freshness of “dew”, of the
“tamarind”. He compares Naett even to a “dry tornado” and “the hard clap of
lightning”. Up to this point we get no clear indication of who Naett is. But when
he likens Naett to “coin of gold”, “Shinning coal, you my night, my sun! ---” , we
get the impression that this person who is so precious to the poet could be a
black woman. This impression is reinforced when he refers to her as “Princess of
Elisa” in the last line.
The above poem is symbolic in nature. In the poem Senghor expresses his
love and reverence to all that is Black. Naett seems to symbolize everything
African. In an evocative manner, the poet celebrates his love concern for all
Africans, especially the black women. Through the use of similes and metaphors
Senghor’s praises everything black. The name “Naett” sounds like “night” which
suggests darkness or blackness.
3.4
1
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE:
(1)
Pick two instances of smiles and metaphor and state their importance
in the poem.
(2)
What does Naett symbolize in the poem?
Futa: a kingdom in the 18th century. The capital is Futa Djallong.
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TOPIC: 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
4.0
TOPIC:
POETIC ANALYSIS OF GABRIEL IMOMOTIME
OKARA’S POEM
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OBJECTIVES
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IN-TEXT
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4.3.1. GABRIEL IMOMOTIME OKARA
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4.3.2. MOON IN THE BUCKET -
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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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4.4.
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4.0
TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
POETIC ANALYSIS OF GABRIEL
IMOMOTIME OKARA’S POEM
4.1
INTRODUCTION:
The theme and style as is found in Grabiel Okara’s poem will be discussed.
4.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
i.
The effect of societal occurrences on the poet.
ii.
The poetic devices used to express his theme.
4.3
IN-TEXT
4.3.1
Gabriel Imomotime Okara
Grabriel Inomotime Okara was born in the Rivers State of Nigeria.
Unlike poets of his time who attended famous universities at home and abroad,
Okara is a self tutored poet. He is one of the older modern Nigerian poets who
started writing in the fifties and is still writing. Okara, like Okigbo experienced the
wrath of the Nigerian Civil War and many of his war poems are considered among
the best among war poems in Nigerian poetry.
Okara imbibed deeply his rich tradition and culture and this is reflected in his
poems. The influence of traditional folk literature, along with motifs of childhood
innocence and concerns about the identity of his people as a minority group in
Nigeria run through his poems. Okara held several important government positions,
and these brought him closer to a cross-section of the society. This enabled him to
have a greater insight into human nature, which later provided him material for his
later poems. His first collection of poems is entitled The Fisherman’s Invocation and
his second is entitled Fantasy. There is a subdued tone and rhythm, irony with lyrical
grace as well as imagery. These characteristic features are very evident in the poem
below.
4.3.2 Moon in the bucket
Look!
Look out there
in the bucket
the rusty bucket
with water unclean
Look!
A luminous plate is floating
The moon, dancing to the gentle night wind
Look! all you who shout across the wall
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With a million hates. Look at the dancing moon
It is peace unsoiled by the murk
and dirt of this bucket war.
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4.3.3 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ABOVE POEM
The above is an excellent example of the brevity of a poem surpassed by the
weighty nature of its content. This twelve-line piece establishes Okara as one of
Nigeria’s finest poets. The poem is symbolic in many ways. The poet was greatly
affected by the ravages of the Nigerian Civil War, and many of his poems, often echo
the poet’s desire for harmony and peace among mankind. The poet makes the moon
a symbol of love and peace. A symbol that is steadfast and resolute, in whatever
condition it is seen by man. Even when the reflection of the moon is seen in a rusty
bucket with murky water, its beauty and light is not distorted in any way. No matter
what hatred or discord surrounds the moon, it does not affect its beauty or its
luminous nature. The poet appeals to the human heart to be resolute and resilient like
the steadfast moon in our love for each other. The poet pleads not to let external
forces influences or dampen his inner good self and let it shine untainted like the
reflection of the moon in murky water.
4.4
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE:
1.
What does the poet compare the light of the moon with ?
2.
What does the poet feel is the most important element for peace in the
country?
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UNIT: 2
TOPIC: 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
5.0 .
TOPIC:
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5.1.
INTRODUCTION -
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5.3.1. DAVID BRUTUS
5.3.2. THE SUN ON THIS RUBBLE
5.4.
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5.0
TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
THEME AND STYLE IN DENNIS BRUTUS’
POEM
5.1
INTRODUCTION:
Dennis Brutus South Africa’s foremost poet’s poem will be thematically and
stylistically analysed.
5.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
i.
Discern how Brutus gives expression to the apartheid
system in South Africa through his poem.
ii.
Differentiate the use of harsh poetic techniques
employed in his poems.
5.3
IN-TEXT
Dennis Brutus’ The sun on this rubble
Born in Rhodesia , Brutus migrated to South Africa, where after
graduation he taught English and Afrikaans. But he soon participated actively against
the apartheid system in south Africa and was harassed and exiled many times from
many countries until he settled in the United States America. Most of Brutus’ poems
can be categorised as protest poems which was the hallmark of many poets who
were subjugated by the inhuman apartheid system.
Having mastered the English poets, his style does bear the stamp of traditional
English poetry. Traces of Tennyson, Wordsworth and Hopkins are easily discernable
in many of his poems. But he does posses a reliant, sensitive, probing yet controlled
tone, that enables the tenderness towards his home and people come through even
from his virulent protest poems. Reading his poems, one feels both the pain and the
passion that the poet expresses in his poems. The poem below is indicative of both
the hurt and the hope the poet feels.
5.3.1
5.3.2 The sun on this rubble
The sun on this rubble after rain.
Bruised though we must be
some easement we require
unarguably, though we argue against desire.
under jackboots our bones and spirit crunch
forced into sweat-tear- sodden slush
- now glow- lipped by this sudden touch:
- sun- stripped perhaps, our bones may later sing
or spell out some malignant nemesis
Sharpsvilled to spear points for revenging
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but now our pride- dumbed mouths are wide
in wordless supplication
- are grateful for the least relief from pain
- like this sun on this debris after rain.
5.3.3 THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE POEM
Just as man often turns to mother nature for solace and respite, Brutus too
appeals to nature to mediate and bring about the long overdue peace and happiness
to a people that have been unjustifiably tormented, tortured and opposed. He uses
the sun as a symbol of life, and nature’s blessing to man trying to survive in defiant
and hostile society. The poet’s control and the colloquial tone is noticed when the
poet writes of his people’s sufferings. There is no venom or hatred expressed. But
most of the themes are conveyed through distilled lyrical verse and ironic humour.
Simplicity, irony and cynicism are the main characteristic features of his poetry as can
be seen in the poem above.
5.4
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE :
1. What picture of the society does the poet paint in the poem
The sun on this rubble?
2. How does the poet express his optimism of better times
for man ?
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UNIT: 2
TOPIC: 6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
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TOPIC:
6.1.
INTRODUCTION -
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OBJECTIVES
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IN-TEXT
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6.3.1. DAVID DIOP
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6.3.2. CERTITUDE
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6.3.3. POETIC ANALYSIS OF THE POEM
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6.4.
CONTENT AND FORM IN DAVID DIOP’S POEM- 22
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6.0
TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
CONTENT AND FORM IN DAVID DIOP’S
POEM
6.1
INTRODUCTION:
The content and form of David Diop’s poem will be examined.
6.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the topic, you should be able to :
i.
Explain how the poet expresses the humiliation of colonization
in his poem.
ii.
Identify the poetic devices used.
6.3
IN-TEXT
6.3.1 David Diop
David Drop belongs to the period of protest poetry writing in Africa.
Though he died young in a plane crash, his few surviving poems have placed him as
a credible modern African poet. Like poets of his time, who had undergone and
experienced the humiliation of colonization, most of his poems are full of nostalgia
for Africa’s glorious past. The hypocritical and destructive influences of colonial rule
and his dreams and vision for a free and independent Africa are all embedded in his
poem titled Certitude. The poet expresses his sincere faith that Africa will one day
break the shackles of slavery and return to its former glory.
6.3.2 Certitude
To those fatten themselves with murder
And measures their the stages of their reign by corpses I say that days and
men
That the sun and the stars
Are shaping out the rhythmic brotherhood of all peoples
I say that the heart and the head
Are joined together in the battle line
And that there is not a single day
When somewhere summer does not spring up
I say that manly tempests
Will crush those who barter other’s patience
And the seasons allied with men’s bodies
Will see the enactment of triumphant exploits.
6.3.3 POETIC ANALYIS OF THE POEM
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In the poem the poet recounts all the harm and degradation Africa and its
peoples have been subjected to in the hands of the colonial powers. He expresses his
firm belief that nature itself will find a solution to the obnoxious situation African
nations find themselves in. Drawing parallels with the changing nature of the
seasons, Diop assures the world that after the storm comes the calm. The poet
reminds us that indestructible link between man and nature will surely bring hope and
peace for the downtrodden.
6.4
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE :
1.
What line in the poem indicates that nature can sooth
mankind’s woes?
2.
Pick one or two poetic decrees used in the poem.
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TOPIC: 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
7.0.
TOPIC:
7.1.
INTRODUCTION -
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OBJECTIVES
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7.3.
IN-TEXT
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7.3.1. KWESI BREW
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7.3.2. THE MESH -
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7.3.3. A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE POEM
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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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7.4.
THEME AND STYLE IN KWESI BREW’S POEM-
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7.0
TOPIC:
THEME AND STYLE IN KWESI BREW’S POEM
7.1
INTRODUCTION :
The style and the theme expressed in the Ghanaian poet Kwesi Brew’s poem,
The mesh will be critically analysed.
7.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the topic, you should b e able to
i.
Interpret both the theme and subject matter of the poem.
ii.
Identify the figures of speech in the poem.
7.3
IN-TEXT
7.3.1 Kwesi Brew
Kwesi Brew was born and educated in Ghana. He served as a diplomat
and thus traveled far and wide . Most of his poems are recollections of past
experiences , which he expresses in great detail with controlled tone and
rhythm. His collection of poems include poems on love, nature and a number
of elegiac poems.
7.3.2 The mesh
We have come to the cross- roads
And I must either leave or come with you.
I lingered over the choice
But in the darkness of my doubts
You lifted the lamp of love
And saw in your face
The road that I should take.
7.3.3 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE THEME AND STYLE IN
KWESI BREW’S
POEM
The above is a brief and subtle poem included in his collection of poems titled
The Shadows of Laughter. The poem displays some under tones of the English
Metaphysical poet John Donne. At the first reading the poem seems to be a little
misleading., but a closer study of the poem reveals the title’s appropriateness. The
poet speaks of the often spoken subject of love. The poet who it seems has fallen in
love is not sure of his feelings. He seems to have reached the crossroads in his
relationship with the one he is in love with, as he is not certain whether his love
would be returned. But he soon discovers that his love is reciprocated. Though
uncertain at the start, unreserved reciprocation entangles him in a mesh of naturally
given and accepted love. The dawning of love between two people is given a unique
expression.
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7.4
UNIT: 2
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE :
1.
What is the content and theme of the poem?
2.
What figures of speech can you identify in the poem.
TOPIC: 8
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
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TOPIC:
THEME AND TECHNIQUES IN DAVID RUBADIRI’S
POEM
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INTRODUCTION -
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OBJECTIVES
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IN-TEXT
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8.3.1. DAVID RUBADIRI -
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8.3.2. AN AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM
8.4.
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8.0
UNIT: 2
TOPIC: THEME AND TECHNIQUES IN DAVID
RUBADIRI’S
POEM
8.1
INTRODUCTION:
The theme and techniques of a poem from the Malawian poet David Rubadiri
will be critically scrutinized.
8.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lecture you should b e able to:
i.
Write briefly on the subject matter of the poem.
ii.
Discuss the various poetic devices used in the poem.
8.3
IN-TEXT
8.3.1
David Rubadiri
David Rubadiri, the Malawian poet was educated in Makere and
Cambridge . Besides being an educationist, he was an ambassador to the United
States of America. He is also considered the father of modern African poetry from
East Africa. David Rubadiri is keenly interested in the promotion of arts especially
literature. Besides writing poetry he has also written a novel titled No Bride Price. He
has been teaching and is still teaching in many African universities.
8.3.2
An African thunderstorm
From the west
Clouds come hurrying with wind
Turning
Sharply
Here and there
Like a plague of locusts
Whirling
Tossing up things on its tail
Like a madman chasing nothing
Pregnant clouds
Ride stately on its back
Gathering to perch on hills
Like dark sinister wings;
The wind whistles by
And trees bend to let it pass.
In the village
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Screams of the delighted children
Toss and turn
In the din of whirling wind,
Women –
Babies clinging on their backs –
Dart about
In and out
Madly
The wind whistles by
Whilst trees bend to let us pass.
Clothes were like tattered flags
Flying off
To expose dangling breast
As jagged blinding flashes
Rumble, tremble, and crack
Amidst the smell of fired smoke
And the pelting march of the storm.
8.3.3.
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THEME AND
TECHNIQUES IN DAVID RUBADIRI’S POEM
The havoc and destruction caused by an African thunderstorm is vividly
captured in the above poem. The sound and fury of the thunderstorm is portrayed
through apt images and onomatopoeic sounds. There is a strong local flavour both in
theme and style of the poem . The poet also uses various images and rhythmic
patterns like alliteration and onomatopoeia to convey a picturesque movement of the
thunderstorm from when it sets in until it bursts into a heavy down pour. Though
the poem seems to be a straight forward description of a natural phenomenon, there
is an underlying meaning. The poet it seems wishes to remind his readers that nature
can be both benevolent and benign and is in complete control of man. One cannot
go against nature.
8.4
SELF –ASSEMENT EXERCISE :
1. Briefly describe the description of the thunderstorm.
2. Identify the various poetic devices used in the poem.
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TOPIC: 9
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
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TOPIC:
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OBJECTIVES
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IN-TEXT
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9.3.1. CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO
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9.0
UNIT: 2
TOPIC: THEME AND TECHNIQUES IN CHRISTOPHER
OKIGBO’S
POEM
9.1
INTRODUCTION:
Christopher Okigbo is another erudite Nigerian poet. The theme and poetic
techniques used in his poem will be critically analysed.
9.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lecture you should b e able to :
i.
Discuss the theme as expressed in the poem.
ii.
Enumerate and discuss briefly the use of traditional poetic
devices employed.
9.3
IN-TEXT
9.3.1 Christopher Okigbo
Christopher Okigbo can be considered as one of the most enigmatic of
modern African Poets. Borno in the Eastern part of Nigeria, Okigbo was greatly
involved in the development of literary culture in Nigeria. His form and style
influenced many younger African poets. His long sequence entitled Labyrinths has
many fine pieces especially in the sequence Heavensgate and Path of Thunder. He
participated fully in the Nigerian Civil War and was one of the causalities of war.
There is a great deal of musicality in his poems, for Okigbo strongly believed that
music is a essential ingredient of the art of poetry. The poem titled Come Thunder is
contained in the sequence “Path of Thunder”
9.3.2.
Come thunder (1967)
Now that the triumphant march has entered the last street corners,
Remember, O dancers, the thunder among the clouds…
Now that the laughter, broken in two, hangs tremulous between the
teeth,
Remember, O dancers, the lightning beyond the earth….
The smell of blood already floats in the lavender – mist of the
afternoon.
The death sentence lies in ambush along the corridors of power;
And a great fearful thing already tugs at the cables of the open air,
A nebula immense and immeasurable, at night of deep watersAn iron dream unnamed and unprintable, a path of stone.
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The drowsy heads of the pods in barren farmlands witness it,
The homesteads abandoned in this century’s brush fire witness it:
The myriad eyes of deserted corn cobs in burning barns witness it:
Magic birds with the miracle of lightning flash on their feathers….
The arrows of god tremble at the gates of light,
The drums of curfew pander to a dance of death;
And the secrets thing in its heaving
Threatens with iron mask
The last lighted torch of the century…..
9.3.3
THEME AND TECHNIQUE IN THE POEM COME
THUNDER
This poem was written during the Nigerian civil war. It was also the
period of the First Military Coup d’etat and its aftermath. In the poem the
poet warns his opponents that their victory and celebration is premature as
there are strong major terrible destructions which seem to be eminent. This
poem was written during the Nigerian civil war. It was also the period of the
First Military coup d’etat and its aftermath. In the poem the poet warns his
opponents that their victory and celebration is premature as some strong,
terrible major destruction seems to be eminent. He foresees a lurking sinister
force threatening to destroy the country totally. He seems to sound a warning
when he writes “Now that the laughter, broken in two, hangs tremulous
between the--- teeth, and cautions the jubilating victors to “Remember, O
dancers, the lightning beyond the earth….” that might strike them when they
are least prepared.
The poet-employs a number of images and metaphors such as
“thunder”, “lightening”, “blood”, “iron”, “stone”, “night”, “waters” and
“death” to warn the impending doom and destruction that Nigeria might face.
The rhyme and rhythm gives the poem an original and fresh form.
9.4
SELF- ASSEMENT EXERCISE:
1.
What is the poet speaking about in the poem?
2.
Pick any three images and metaphors and describe their relevance in
the poem.
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TOPIC 10:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
10.
TOPIC:
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF WOLE
SOYINKA’S POEM
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10.2. OBJECTIVES
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10.3. IN-TEXT
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10.3.2. ABIKU
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10.4. SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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10.0 TOPIC:
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF
WOLE
10.1
UNIT: 2
SOYINKA’S POEM
INTRODUCTION:
The thematic and stylistic forms deployed in a poem by Nigeria’s foremost
poet Wole Soyinka will considered.
10.2 OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lecture you should be able to :
i.
Discuss the use of tradition in the poem .
ii.
Identify the traditional techniques used in the poem.
10.3
IN-TEXT
10.3.1
Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka is one of Black Africa’s most distinguished writers. A foremost
dramatist, actor, producer, poet and author of a number of satirical reviews, is also
bitter critic of the Nigerian society. A prolific writer he has published fifteen plays
and a number of skits. He has also published three volumes of poetry, Idanre and
Other Poems, A Shuttle in the Crypt and Ogun Abibima and an anthology Poems of Black
Africa. Like Okigbo he too was educated at University College, Ibadan before he left
for Leeds.
Soyinka often explores, human themes in his poems through his cultural
milieu. He has won many international prizes including the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1986. Abiku is both interesting and intriguing. The poet among other
thing expresses hi culture consciousness in the poem.
10.3.2
Abiku
In vain your bangles cast
Charmed circles at my feet;
I am Abiku, calling for the first
And the repeated time.
Must I weep for goats and cowries
For palm oil and the sprinkled ash?
Yams do not sprout in amulets
To earth Abiku’s limb’s
So when the snail is burnt in his shell
Whet the heated fragment, brand me
Deeply on the breast. You must know him
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When Abiku calls again.
I am the squirrel teeth, cracked
The riddle of the palm. Remember
This, and dig me deeper still into
The god’s swollen foot.
Once and the repeated time ageless
Though I puke. And when you pour
Libations, each finger points me near
The way I came, where
The ground is wet with mourning
White dew suckles flesh – birds
Evening befriends the spider, trapping
Flies in wind- froth;
Night, and Abiku sucks the oil
From lamps. Mothers! I’ill be the
Suppliant snake coiled on the doorstep
Yours the killing cry.
The ripest fruit was saddest;
Where I crept, the warmth was cloying.
In the silence of webs, Abiku moans, shaping
Mounds from the yolk.
10.3.3 THEME AND STYLE IN SOYINKA’S POEM
Soyinka’s Abiku seems to enjoy the anguish of the parents who are desperate
to make him live. In their desperation they engage the services of various medicine
men and diviners who put “bangles” round his ankles, a kind of amulet “In vain”,
useless, of no consequence. He enjoys his status as Abiku “I am Abiku, calling for the
first / And the repeated time”. In stanza 2 he makes the various rituals they perform
to hold him down : the goats they slaughter, the cowries they throw at crossroads, the
palm oil they pour and the ashes they sprinkle as part of the ritual. He wonders if
they are supposed to evoke his pity, or make him weep. In stanza 3 he taunts the
practice of cutting up the bodies of suspected Abiku. He urges them to sharpen their
knives “And the repeated time , brand me / Deeply on the breast. When he is reborn
they will know him by the marks their knives have left on his body from the cuts they
gave him from his early life. He stresses the futility of their efforts “And when you
pour Libations, each finger points me near / The way I came,” and reinforces it in
the next stanza where he casts himself in the image of a “Suppliant snake coiled on
the doorstep” In that context the only option a mother has is “the killing cry.” This
means that the desperate efforts of the mother to save her child will ironically
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amount to killing him. In the last stanza, he states that the older he gets the more
devastating is his departure. “The ripest fruit was saddest.” He finds the love the
parents show him to be “cloying” – sickeningly annoying. He complains silently while
all the time devising how to convert life to death or a grave”… shaping / Mounds
from the yolk”. The “Mounds” are the graves or death and “the yolk” is the life
giving part of the egg. Abiku here is implacable; no effort of the parents can alter his
tragic destiny.
Abiku is the Yoruba word for a child that dies young to be reborn by the same
woman over and over again. Soyinka explores the myth and essence of the
capricious, elusive and tyrannical qualities of Abiku. . The poem speaks of the
uncontrollable cycle of birth end early death, until the two ideas of birth and death
unite in the paradox of destruction of life only to beget life. The images are all drawn
from Yoruba beliefs and practices about Abiku. The real meaning of the poem
cannot be fully understood if one is not conversant with the beliefs and practices of
the Yoruba’s. Soyinka’s great quality as a poet is his ability to distance an immediate
experience through the selection and deployment of expressive images.
10.4 SELF –ASSEMENT EXERCISE :
1. What seems to be the message abiku has for the unfortunate mothers?
2. Name and explain four images that indicate death in the poem.
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TOPIC: 11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
11.0
TOPIC:
FORM AND CONTENT IN J. P. CLARK’S POEM- 37
11.1. INTRODUCTION -
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11.2. OBJECTIVES
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11.3.2. ABIKU
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11.3.3. FORM AND CONTENT IN THE POEM
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11.4. SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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11.0 TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
FORM AND CONTENT IN J. P. CLARK’S
POEM
11.1 INTRODUCTION.
The form and content expressed by J.P. Clark’ poem will be analysed. Clark is
another Nigerian poet who has also contributed immensely to the growth of
modern African poetry.
11.2 OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
i.
Discuss the subject matter of the poem.
ii.
Differentiate the difference in explication of a similar subject by
Clark and Soyinka
11.3 IN-TEXT
11.3.1
Abiku
John Pepper Clark
John Pepper Clark was born in the Ijaw land of Rivers state. He like
Okigbo and Soyinka went to the University of Ibadan. A poet, playwright and essayist
Clark has published a number of plays and translated the Ijaw classic titled the Ozidi
Saga. His volumes of poetry include, A Reed in the Tide, Causalities and A Decade of
Tongues.
His poem titled Abiku will be analysed to differentiate how the two poets
Soyinka and Clark treat a very similar aspect of African tradition in different ways.
11.3.2 Abiku
Coming and going these several seasons,
Do stay out on the baobab tree,
Follow where you please your kindred spirits
If indoors is not enough for you.
True, it leaks through the thatch
When floods brim the banks, and the bats and the owls
Often tear in at night through the eaves,
And at harmattan, the bamboo walls
Are ready tinder for fire
That dries the fresh fish up on the rack.
Still, it’s been the healthy stock
To several fingers, to many more will be
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Who reach to the sun.
No longer then bestride the threshold
But step in and stay
For good. We know the knife scars
Serration down your back and front
Like beak of the sword- fish
And both your ears, notched
As a bondsman to this house,
Are all relics of your first coming.
Then step in, step in and stay
For her body is tired,
Tired, her milk going sour
Where many more mouths gladden the heart.
11.3.3.
FORM AND CONTENT IN THE POEM ABIKU
Abiku is the Yoruba word for a spirit child that is born , dies and is reborn
from the same mother several times . The Igbo equivalent of the spirit child is
Ogbanje. Belief in Abiku or other forms of Abiku are very prevalent not just in
Nigeria, but in many parts of Africa as well. While Soyinka’s use of lexical items and
syntax give the poem a harsh tone and is difficult to unravel content and form ,
Clark’s treatment on the other hand is very different. Clark in his poem accepts the
unpredictable and inconsistent nature of the spirit child. Throughout the poem he
presents abiku as one who could be plead with, appealed to and probably persuaded
to live longer. While Soyinka portrays abiku as a heartless spirit that revels in death as
a weapon for human torture, Clark appeals to the poet persona to intercede on behalf
of the tortured mother, to bring her some comfort, but Soyinka’s abiku seems to be
completely in charge, looming like a death heralding cloud that no human power can
disperse. Clarke’s expression of simplicity, tenderness and humane treatment of the
theme , along with the rhythmic devices makes the poem one of his most memorable
poems.
11.4 SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE :
1.
With suitable examples differentiate the treatment of the theme of
Soyinka’s and Clark’s Abiku.
2.
Pick out and describe the relevance of some of the figures of speech
and sound employed in the poem.
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TOPIC: 12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
12.0
TOPIC:
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF
AGOSTINHO NETO’S POEM
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12.1. INTRODUCTION -
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12.2. OBJECTIVES
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12.3. IN-TEXT
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12.3.2. NIGHT
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12.4. SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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12.0 TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF
AGOSTINHO
NETO’S POEM
12.1 INTRODUCTION:
A poem by Agostinho Neto one of the most prominent
Lusophone poets will be critically analysed.
12.2
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lecture you should be able to :
i. Discuss the theme of the poem.
ii. The oral techniques deployed by the poet.
12.3 IN-TEXT
12.3.1
Night
Agostinho Neto
Agostinho Neto an eminent Lusophone poet was born in Luanda in Angola.
After his secondary school in Angola he went to Portugal to pursue his medical
studies. He was a keen political activist and played a very active part in protesting
against the Portuguese colonial administration. He was often times arrested and
imprisoned for his anti administration activities. His collection of poems titled Sacred
Hope (Sagrada Esperanca) has a number of excellent pieces or poetry.
12.3.2
Night
I live
In the dark quarters of the world
without light, without life.
They are slave quarters
worlds of misery. Dark quarters
where the will is watered down
and men have been confused
with things.
Anxious to live,
I walk in the streets
feeling my way
leaning into my shapeless dreams
stumbling into servitude.
I walk lurching
through the unlit
unknown streets crowded
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with mystery and terror,
I, am in arm with ghosts,
And the night too is dark.
12.3.3
THEME AND STYLE IN THE POEM
Just like the early Anglophone and Francophone African poets Agustinho
Neto was also a committed cultural nationalist and freedom fighter and therefore
many of his poems express themes of protest against colonialism. In the above poem
Night the poet paints vivid pictures of the deplorable ghetto life of poverty,
deprivation and exploitation that colonialism had imposed on the people of Angola.
The poets pain along with love and anxiety for his land and people are passionately
expressed when he writes “Anxious to live” , “I walk lurching”/ “through the unlit
/unknown streets crowded / with mystery and terror”. Though the poet draws a
gloomy picture, it is not without hope as Neto is optimistic that his people will soon
see the day after long dark and dreadful nights of the worst form of European
colonialism. By using oral techniques of repetition and rhymes the poet instills faith
and hope into a desperate and demoralised group of people.
13.4. SELF- ASSESSEMENT EXERCISE:
1.
What is the theme of the poem Night ?
2.
Pick out a few words or phrases that express anxiety and terror
in the poem.
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TOPIC: 13
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
13.0
TOPIC:
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF
OSWALD M. MTSHALI’S POEM
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13.2. OBJECTIVES
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13.3.2. JUST A PASSERBY
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13.4. SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE -
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13.0 TOPIC:
UNIT: 2
THEMATIC AND STYLISTIC ANALYSES OF
OSWALD M.
MTSHALI’S POEM
13.1 INTRODUCTION:
The East African poet Oswald Mstshali’s poem will be analysed thematically
and stylistically.
13.2 OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lecture you should b e able to :
i.
Discuss the theme of the poem.
ii.
Identify the poetic techniques employed.
13.3 IN-TEXT
13.3.1
Just a passer by
Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali
Oswald M. Mitshali is one of black South Africa’s most talented poet. He was
born in Natal and was a victim of the apartheid system which denied him admission
into the University of Witwatersrand. But this did not dampen his desire for literary
progress as he published his first volume of poems titled Sounds of the Cowhide Drum,
which established him as a significant poet.
Mitshali’s poems are about the people and their life in a hostile society which
he is part of. The theme of survival in a defiant and hostile society runs through a
number of his poems. The quiet control and the colloquial tone is noticed when the
poet writes of his peoples’ sufferings. There is no venom of hatred expressed but
most of the themes are conveyed through distilled lyrical verses and ironic humour.
Similarly, irony and cynicism are the main characteristic features of his poetry as can
be seen in the poem below.
13.3.2.
Just a passer by
I saw them clobber him with kieries
I heard him scream with pain
like a victim of slaughter;
I smelt fresh blood gush
from his nostrils,
and flow in the street.
I walked into the church
and knelt in the pew
“ Lord I love you.
I also love my neighbour. Amen.”
I came out
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my heart as light as an angle’s kiss
on the cheek of a saintly soul.
Back home I strutted
past a crowd of onlookers.
Then she came in –
My woman neighbour :
“ Have you heard ? “They’ve killed your brother.”
“ O! No! I heard nothing. I’ve been to church.”
13.3.3
THEME AND STYLE IN THE POEM
This is a very ironic and sarcastic piece of poetry through which the poet
expresses the helpless condition of many blacks in apartheid South Africa. The poem
incorporates a number of themes besides describing the gruesome incident of a
brother beings ‘clobbered’ while he (the poet) passes on by without rendering any
help. The poet draws an ironic parallel with parable of the Good Samaritan. The
religion of the whites (Christianity) that preachers to be your brother’s keeper is in
itself, the root cause of violence. But the irony of what the poet considers an
escapist religion is that the poet instead of helping his brother from ticklers goes
instead to the church to pray for the brothers’ soul. The poem is indicative of the
height of violence and the helplessness of the people in the society the poet lives in.
13.4 SELF- ASSESSEMENT EXERCISE:
1.
What picture of the society does the poet paint in the
poem?
2.
How does the religious imagery in the poem help to
express the situation in apartheid South Africa?
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REFERENCES / SUGGESSTED READING
Adeko, Adeleke (1999) “Theory and Practice of African Orature.” Research in African
Literature, Vol.30, No.2, pp.222-227.
Ajayi Ademola, S. (2005) African Culture & Civilization. Ibadan; Atlantic Books
Aiyejina Funso (1988) “Resent Nigerian Poetry in English: An Alter-Native
Tradition” in Perspectives on Nigerian Literature 1700 to the Present.
Vol. One Lagos: Guardian Books Nigeria (Ltd).
Amuta, C. (1989) The Theory of African Literature: Implications for Practical Criticism
London: Zed Books
Bondunde, Charles (2001) Oral Traditions and Aesthetic Transfer: Creativity and Social
Vision in Contemporary Black Poetry, Bayreuth African Studies
Series, 58. Bayreuth; Bayreuth University.
Chukwukere, B.I. (1992) African Literature Today, 12 New Writing, New Approaches.
Books, London, Heinemann Educational, pp.16-24.
Gogura,S.M.& Agukwe,E.L. (ed) (2000) Issues and Trends in Language and Literature
Teaching For Nigerian Colleges Yola, Paaraclete Publishing
Publishers.
Heywood, Christopher, ed. (!989) Perspectives On African Literature. London ;
Heinemann Educational Books
Jones, O. Eldred & Narjorie Jones (ed) (1996)New Trends and Generations in African
Literature , No.20, London: James Curry Ltd. pp.1-8
King, Bruce. (1975 ) A Celebration of Black and African Writing: Oxford University
Press.
Nwankwo, Chika (1990) “The Oral Foundations of Nigerian Written Poetry”.
Literature and Black Aesthetic, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational
Books (Nig) Ltd. vol.5, pp.315-327.
Nwoga, I.Donatus (1979) Modern African Poetry: The Domestication of a Tradition. African
Literature Today, Retrospect and Prospect, No.10, New York: Africana
Publishing Company. pp.32-56.
_______________ (1986) West-African Verse: An Anthology, Lagos Academy Press
Ltd.
Obasi, Usha (1998) Teaching of Poetry in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions, Ganga,
Journal of Language & Literature, Unimaid,Vol.4, pp.37-48.
(2007)Aspects of the Study of English Poetry: A Case for Poetry
Teaching in Schools (2006) – Educational Forum: A Journal of
Educational Studies, Vol.9,No.1 Maiduguri, Faculty of Education.
Ogede, S. Ode (1996) “New Trends and Generations.” African Literature Today, No.20,
London: James Currey Ltd. pp.62-72.
Ogunbiyi, Yemi (1988) Perspectives on Nigerian Literature 1700 to the Present, Vol.I&2
Lagos: Guardian Books (Nig) Ltd.
Ogungbesan, K. ed. (1981) “New West African Literature”, World Literature Written in
English WLWE), Vol.20, No.1, pp.71-74.
Ohaeto-Ezenwa (1991) “Dimensions of Language in New Nigerian Poetry”, African
Literature Today, No. 17.
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(1996) “Survival Strategies and the New Life of Orality in Nigerian
and Ghanaian Poetry” Research in African Literature, Vol.27, No.2,
pp.52-70.
Ojaide, Tanure & Joseph Obi (2002) Culture, Society and Politics in Modern African
Literature: Texts and Contexts. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic
Press.
Okafor A. Clement (1989)“Oral Literature and National Consciousness: Lessons for
Modern Nigeria.” EE Vol.4, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational
Books (Nig) Ltd. pp.97-105.
Okpewho, Isidore1988) “African Poetry. The Modern Writer and the Oral Tradition.”
African Literature Today, No.16, pp.3-25.
_______________ (1988)“Oral and Written Poetry.” African Literature Today, No.16,
pp.3-25.
Senanu, K.E. & Vincent T. (1999) A Selection of African Poetry (New Edition),
Longman Group Ltd.
Umeh, Patrick Okechukwu (19991) Poetry and Social Reality: The Nigerian Experience.
Onitsa, Bemax publishers Limited.
Wright, Edgar (1981) The Critical Evaluation of African Literature. London: Heinemann
Educational Books Ltd.
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UNIT: 2
SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISES
TOPIC : 3
LEOPOLD S. SENGHOR
(1) Examples of similes and metaphors
(a) Your name is mild like cinnamon (simile)
(b) … Your name is the sugared clarity (metaphor)
The simile and metaphors used express the poet’s deep love for Naett.
(2) Naett in the poem is used to symbolize not just the beauty of the
African woman, but to also symbolize the whole of African as a
beautiful black continent.
TOPIC : 4
GABRIEL I. OKARA
(1)
He compares the beauty of the sunlight to love and peace.
(2)
Man should not let negative external influences distort and destabilize
the inner purity of man’s heart.
TOPIC: 5 DENNIS BRUTUS
1)
a)
The poet communicates the inhuman and excruciating
treatment the blacks suffer under the obnoxious apartheid
regime.
b)
using the sun as symbolic of hope and rejuvenation, the poet is
optimistic that nature will have a solution to man’s in humanity
to man.
2.
The English sonnet usually has 14 lines with the rhyme scheme of ab,
ab, cd, cd, ef, ef, and gg. While Brutus’ poem is also made up of 14
linen but is broken up into verses and has the rhyme scheme a, b, c, d,
e, f, e, g, h, i,i.
TOPIC: 6 DAVID DIOP
(1) The lines…. The sun and the stars are shaping out rhythmic
brother hood of all peoples.
These lines clearly indicate the poets’ faith in nature’s soothing
powers
(2) (a) There is the use of personification in the following expressions:
i) Manly tempest
ii) Seasons… Will see the enactment of triumphant exploits.
The use of ‘manly’ gives human attributes to ‘tempest’ an
inanimate phenomenon.
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‘Seasons’ a natural phenomenon is attributed with
human traits of triumph and exploits.
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TOPIC :
7
UNIT: 2
KWESI BREW
1) The poet seams to be implying that despite all the
numerous activities one engages in , one cannot live
forever. We are born we grow and then die, just like
the seasons that keep changing, life changes too. It is
this changing and transient nature of man’s life on
earth is what the poet expresses in the poem.
2) Examples of onomatopoeia are:
i)
The wind blows down the leaves .
when one reads the above line. One not only
can imagine dry leaves being below, we can also
hear the sound of the dry leaves.
ii)
The hawk will flutter…
the flapping and cluttering sounds of the hawks
feathers can be imagined
iii)
The year is withering
The year is given a animate attribute of aging or
growing old:
iv)
Over hear the secret of the cold dry
wind.
The cold dry wind, a natural phenomenon, is given human
attributes of whispering secrets.
TOPIC : 8
DAVID
1)
2)
i.
ii.
i.
ii.
RUBADIRI
You need to give your own description
Examples of personification:
Pregnant cloud
Examples of similes:
like a plague of locust
Like a mad man chasing nothing
Example of onomatopoeia
The wind whistles
Rumble, tremble and crack.
TOPIC : 9 CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO
1)
the poet expresses his fear and apprehension of what destruction
and havoc would be caused to human lives and property at the
event of a civil war. It seem that the poet is warning warring
parties that there seams to be an impending doom hanging over
the country that threatens to destroy the country.
2)
The drowsy heads of the pods in barren farmlands.
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
i)
UNIT: 2
Drowsy heads of pods.
The pods are made to nod their heads like human beings
do.
ii)
iii)
The myriad eyes of deserted corncobs
The corn seeds on the cob are described as seeming to
be like human eyes.
The above two are examples of personification
Images of hectic activities are contrasted with images of
death and destruction.
TOPIC: 10 WOLE SOYINKA
(1) Abiku in Soyinka’s poem is both defiant and heartless. It seams to be telling
the distraught mothers that all then rituals will not be effective annoyed to
break the but death cyclic chain and its reign of terror.
(2) I) I am the squirrel teeth- metaphor
(3) ii) god’s swollen foot is a symbol of a grave mound
TOPIC: 11
JOHN PEPPER CLARK
1) While Clark pleads with the myth child to spare the torture of repeated
births and deaths, Soyinka presents Abiku as a stubborn, restless and
capricious spirit who is defiant and least sympathetic towards the suffering
mother.
2) A number of alliterations such as :
several seasons ; through the thatch, fresh fish.
TOPIC: 12 AGUTINHO NETO
1)
The despairing and desperate urban ghetto life full of anxiety and fear
imposed by colonialism is portrayed in the poem.
2)
dark quarters ,worlds of misery , unknown streets crowded /with
mystery and terror etc.
TOPIC: 13 OSWALD M. MTSHALI
1) A grim, oppressed and greatly tortured black community, suffering physical
emotional and psychological trauma under the oppressive apartheid
government.
2) The imposed religion of Christianity is painted as false and irrelevant, as it
preaches of love and peace but propagates hatred ,violence and discrimination
in inhuman magnitudes.
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
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ENG 225– MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
UNIT: 2
TUTOR MARKED EXERCISE
1.
What characteristic features differentiate Modern poets from the Pioneer
poets?
2.
Name and write briefly on any thee Modern Africans poets.
3.
What are the thematic preoccupations of Modern Africans poets?
4.
What kind of poetic techniques do Modern African poets employ in their
poetry?
5.
Selecting any one poem studied, explain the influence of the socio –
political situation has had on the poems of the poet concerned.
CDL, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri
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