An Abandoned Bundle
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
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Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
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Background of poet
• Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali is a South African
poet. He has written in both Zulu and English.
He wanted to study at WITS University but
was not allowed to. He studied at Columbia
University instead. He now lives in Soweto.
• Born: January 17, 1940 (age 73)
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An Abandoned Bundle
The morning mist
and chimney smoke
of White City Jabavu
flowed thick yellow
as pus oozing
from a gigantic sore.
It smothered our little houses
like fish caught in a net.
Scavenging dogs
draped in red bandanas of blood
fought fiercely
for a squirming bundle.
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I threw a brick
they bared fangs
flicked velvet tongues of scarlet
and scurried away,
leaving a mutilated corpsean infant dumped on a rubbish heap'Oh! Baby in the Manger
sleep well
on human dung.'
Its mother
had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
her face glittering with innocence
her heart as pure as untrampled dew.
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Vocabulary
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1. Pus
2. Oozing
3. Gigantic
4. Smothered
5. Scavenging
6. Squirm
7. Scarlet
8. scurried
9. Mutilated
10. Dung
11. untrampled
• 1. Yellowish liquid produced by
infection
• 2. Flowing or leaking slowly
• 3. Very big
• 4. Suffocated
• 5. searching for something to
feed on
• 6. wriggle
• 7. Bright red colour
• 8 A hurried, agitated
movement
• 9. Seriously injured body
• 10. Human excrement
• 11. Not stepped upon
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The morning mist
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and chimney smoke of white City Jabavu flowed thick
yellow as pus oozing from a gigantic sore
The mist and smoke covered the area, like an
infected wound.
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It smothered our little houses
The houses were engulfed by smoke/ pollution.
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like fish caught in a net.
Difficulty of escaping life in a township.
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Scavenging dogs
draped in red bandanas of blood
fought fiercely
for a squirming bundle.
Dogs searching for food fight for the wriggling
baby. The dogs are stray dogs and have been in
fights / diseased – they have bloodied necks.
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I threw a brick
they bared fangs
flicked velvet tongues of scarlet
and scurried away,
leaving a mutilated corpsean infant dumped on a rubbish heapThe speaker has thrown a brick at the dogs to chase them
away.
The dogs showed their teeth and ran away. The baby’s body
has been pulled apart.
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'Oh! Baby in the Manger
sleep well
on human dung.'
The baby is compared to the baby Jesus, showing
that the baby is innocent.
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Its mother
had melted into the rays of the rising sun,
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her face glittering with innocence
her heart as pure as untrampled dew.
This image of the mother suggests that she is pure and innocent.
The Poet can be implying that the mother is innocent of the crime
that she has committed OR she lives in an unjust system of
Apartheid that she is relatively innocent , because Apartheid has
caused this to happen and
not just
the mother.
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Nair
INTENTION
Another word for intention is purpose.
The intention of the poet in writing this poem
would be to highlight the plight of people
living in poverty and to describe daily life in
townships under Apartheid.
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Figures of Speech
• Simile
The morning mist
and chimney smoke
of White City Jabavu
flowed thick yellow
as pus oozing
from a gigantic sore.
• The smog slowly moved like yellow liquid from an infected wound.
• Simile
• It smothered our little houses
like fish caught in a net.
• The smog covering the area is compared to fish caught in a net.
• There is no escaping the mist and smoke/pollution or a life of suffering in a
township, just as there is no escaping for fish caught in a net.
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• Metaphor
• Scavenging dogs
draped in red bandanas of blood
• The dogs necks were covered in blood.
• Alliteration
• fought fiercely
The repetition of the ‘f’ sound emphasises the
roughness of the dogs and the manner in which
they fought over the baby.
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How to write a Poetry Essay
QUESTION
This poem conveys the speaker’s attitude and
feelings about the mother’s actions.
By close reference to the diction and imagery
used in this poem, discuss the above
statement in an essay of 250-300 words.
[10]
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Vocabulary
• Diction – choice of words
• Attitude – an opinion or general feeling about
something
• Imagery – the figurative language used in the
poem
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Write down all relevant points that
come to mind.
• The focus of the question should begin with the
attitude and feelings of the speaker.
• Diction
• 1.‘dumped’; 2.‘dung’; ‘melted’
• Imagery
• 3.‘Baby in the Manger’; ‘rays of the rising sun’;
‘mutilated corpse’; 4.‘velvet tongues of scarlet’;
• 5. ‘glittering with innocence’
• 6. Simile: ‘like fish caught in a net’
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• This essay is short, so you need to decide which points you want to include
in your essay. Number the points so that you know how you would like to
structure your essay.
• In your introduction re-word your question and state how the question
will be answered.
• Remember not to use sub-headings in your essay.
• Numbering the points in your draft, will make it easier to write your essay:
1 – paragraph after introduction; 2 – paragraph 3 etc. OR you can include
TWO consecutive numbers in one paragraph.
• Write your conclusion by referring to your introduction – remember no
new information will be included in the conclusion.
• Remember to read through your final copy to make sure that there are no
grammatical errors.
• Include a word count at the end of the essay.
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Sample Essay
In the poem ‘An Abandoned bundle’,
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali, uses words and
imagery to portray the speaker’s attitude and
feelings towards the abandoned baby’s
mother. This essay will focus on some of the
diction and imagery that reveals the speaker’s
attitude and feelings.
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Paragraph 2
The word ‘dumped’ in stanza 3 suggests the
mother’s action was deliberate. Her lack of
feelings are emphasised by this callous act.
The mother regarded her baby as rubbish that
she had to get rid of.
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Paragraph 3
The word ‘dung’ means excrement. This word
portrays the mother’s lack of concern for her
baby, as she does not leave her child in a
hygienic nor safe place. The baby is cast away
like filth is.
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Paragraph 4
The baby’s innocence and sacred quality is made
apparent by the reference to baby Jesus in,
‘Baby in the Manger’ (stanza 3). The baby is
helpless and pure.
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Paragraph 5
• ‘Velvet tongues of scarlet’ (stanza 4) evokes an
understanding of the horror endured by the
speaker at the sight of the baby’s blood on the
tongues of the dogs’.
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Paragraph 6
‘Glittering with innocence’, shows that the
speaker is appalled by the mother’s ability to
pretend that she has done nothing wrong. The
tone is sarcastic as the mother can not be
‘innocent’ of dumping a helpless baby.
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Paragraph 7
The simile ‘like fish caught in a net’ suggests
the difficulty of the people living in townships
that are polluted, overcrowded and povertystricken. The speaker understands that it is
difficult for the people to escape their
suffering and is sympathetic towards them. He
may even understand why the mother had
abandoned the baby.
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Conclusion
The selected diction and imagery shows the
speaker’s feelings and attitude towards the
baby’s mother.
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