Themes of the Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare

THEMES:

There are many themes in the poem, such as (a) the theme of leadership (b) the theme of

nature (c) the theme of imperfection (d) the theme of balance.

In the theme of leadership, the title and the context of the poem are fully about

leadership. The title of the poem “the Leader and the Led” creates juxtaposition between

two subjects (leading and following). The whole poem is about who wants to lead and who

doesn’t want to be a follower of a certain leader.

The characters and the setting in the poem, reveal the theme of nature. Such characters

and environment send a feeling of freshness and greenness to the readers of the poem.

Memory of the zoo or that of the jungle book is revived. The forest where every event

happens, the giraffe, the zebra, the lion, the impala, the antelope, are words portraying

living natures.

Another theme in the poem is the theme of imperfection. The poem sends the message

that perfection is not the recipe for leadership. The animals that felt they are worthy

because of their strengths and powerful qualities are disqualified like those who possess

weaknesses.

In line 11 – 12 (The elephant trudges into the power tussle/ But his colleagues dread his

trampling feet), the elephant strength disqualified him while the weakness of warthog was

his certificate of disqualification, as seen in line 13 (the warthog is too ugly).

The theme of balance shows that half strength and half weakness is the guaranteed trait to

leadership. Professor Osundare revealed the solution via the forest sage because it takes

wisdom to arrive at any solution to a problem.

Line 17 – 20:

“’Our need calls for a hybrid of habits”,

Proclaims the Forest Sage,

“A little bit of a lion

A little bit of a lamb

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake’”

Poetic Devices in the Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare

POETIC DEVICES:

The obvious and simple to remember among the poetic devices embedded in the poem

are (a) simile (b) antithesis (c) symbolism (d) imagery (e) alliteration (f) repetition (g)

metaphor

Simile; creating comparison with the use of like or as. In the poem, there's "like a snake

without a head" in line 10, " Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe" in line 19,

“Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake" in line 20.

Metaphor; is an indirect comparison in a work of art. The poem The Leader and the Led

was built on a metaphorical ground. It is a metaphor of things that happen in a human

democratic setting whenever it comes to the issue of electing a new leader.

Repetition; is a poetic device where certain words, phrases, lines, or verses are repeated

twice or more to create a sing-song rhythm or emphasis in a poem. Just for mentioning

sake, few words repeated in the poem are “pack” in line 2, 10, 15. “lead” in line 9 and 24.

Repetition of phrase such as “A little bit of a” in stanza 12.

Imagery; using words or expressions to created mental picture in a poem so the readers

can see, smell, feel the event clearer. Few in the poem are "But the impalas shudder at his

lethal appetite" in line 6, "And the pack trashes around" in line 16, "The pack points to the

duplicity of his stripes" in line 10.

Symbolism; using word or expression to represent a status, event, or idea. In the poem

The Leader and the Led, the term “Forest Sage” symbolised a wise person which in a

normal human democratic setting represents the poet.

Alliteration; successive use of consonant sounds within a line or two in a poem. "hybrid

of habits” in line 17, “far from the ground” in line 8, “pounce of his paws” in line 4, “The

pack points to” in line 10.

Antithesis; creating an opposing or contrasting opinion or character in a work of art.

This is the dominating poetic device because most line of the couplets share opposite

characters. Hyena versus impalas in stanza 3 “The hyena says the crown is made for him/

But the impalas shudder at his lethal appetite” and the elephant versus the colleagues in

stanza 6. Another instance of antithesis is in stanza 11.

The Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare

THE POEM

The Lion stakes his claim

To the leadership of the p ack

But the Antelopes remember

The ferocious pounce of his p aws

The hyena says the crown is made for him

But the Impalas shudder at his lethal appe tite

The Giraffe craves a place in the front

But his eyes are too far from the groun d

When the Zebra says it’s his right to lead

The pack points to the duplicity of his str ipes

The Elephant trudges into the power tussle

But its colleagues dread his trampling feet

The warthog is too ugly

The rhino too riotous

And the pack thrashes around

Like a snake without a head

“Our need calls for a hybrid of habits”,

Proclaims the Forest Sage,

“A little bit of a Lion

A little bit of a Lamb

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake

A leader who knows how to follow

Followers mindful of their right to lead

(c) Niyi Osundare

SIMILAR POEM:

Ambush by Gbemisola Adeoti is a poem similar to “The Leader and the Led”. Both poets

are Nigerians belonging to the Yoruba ethnic.

In a metaphorical manner, Ambush by Gbemisola Adeoti buttressed the prevailing

hardship and insecurity in a given community as a result of bad governance; dwellers

were left with nothing but helplessness and hopelessness.

The characters in the poem “Ambush” are animals such as giant whale, sabre tooth tiger,

etc.

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Analysis of the Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare

TITLE: The Leader and the Led

POET: Niyi Osundare

OTHER POEMS: They Too Are the Earth

GENRE: Poetry

CATEGORY: Fable

DENOTATION: Quest for leadership in the animal kingdom.

POINT OF VIEW: Third person

FLOW: Climactic

THEMES: Leadership, Nature, Imperfection, Balance, etc

STRUCTURE: Twelve (12) Stanzas

POETIC DEVICES: Antithesis, Simile, Alliteration,

FLOW: Climactic

DICTION: Simple

TONE AND MOOD: Rivalry, unrest and disagreement

SIMILAR POEM: Ambush by Gbemisola Adeoti

INTRODUCTION:

The Leader and the Led is a poem crafted by Niyi Osundare in form of a fable. It tells a

story of an animal kingdom lacking leadership based on rivalry and imperfection.

Most powerful animal in the kingdom saw the reason and right to become the ruler yet

their power seemed to be their flaws (the reasons for them not to be voted). The trouble

prolonged until the “Forest Sage” (in line18 stanza 9) proffered solution.

According to the forest sage, strength alone isn’t the yardstick for becoming a ruler. The

balance of strength and weakness is the needed quality for any animal that will rule the

pack well.

Line 17 – 20:

“’Our need calls for a hybrid of habits”,

Proclaims the Forest Sage,

“A little bit of a lion

A little bit of a lamb

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake’”

THE POET:

The poet Niyi Osundare was born 1947 in Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti state, Nigeria. Professor Niyi

Osundare is a teacher of language, a mild activist and a member of the Association of

Nigerian Authors (ANA).

Other poems written by the poet are They Too Are The Earth, Not My Business, Earth's

Eye View, Ours To Plough Not To Plunder, and many more.

Summary of the Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare

SUMMARY OF THE POEM:

Let’s write the context of the poem in prose form.

The antelopes aren’t in support of the lion becoming the leader of the jungle because of

the ferocious pounce of his paws on them. Likewise the impalas are scared of the hyena’s

lethal appetite.

The whole forest stood on the fact that giraffe eyes is too far from the ground; therefore,

he’s not fit for the crown. They saw the fact that zebra possesses too many stripes;

therefore he’s not fit for the crown. They saw the fact that strides of the elephant is too

deadly; therefore, he’s not fit for the crown.

The forest doesn’t want an ugly king, which is why warthog is not an option and they do

not want a riotous king, which is why rhino is not an option as well.

The pack continued to live without a king until the Forest Sage proffered a solution.

The throne should go to any animal with a hybrid of habit. An animal with little quality of

a lion; and little quality of a lamb. Such animal must be tough, compassionate,

transparent and mysterious.

The pack will remain peaceful, once there is a leader who knows how to be a follower and

followers who are mindful of their leadership rights.

Structure of the Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare

STRUCTURE:

The Leader and the Led by Niyi Osundare is a fable.

A fable is a style in literature where animals are the characters and mostly crafted for the

purpose of teaching a moral lesson. Instances are Animal Farm by George Orwell, Fable

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The poem (The Leader and the Led) is a 12 stanza couplet void of planned end-rhymes

and rhythms. The first part of the poem juxtaposed varying animals’ choice to lead and

those of followers against their leadership. The final four stanzas of the poem are solution

to the hovering choice of leadership problem.

The diction employed by Professor Osundare was as straight as arrow; no employment of

grammar too hard for an English language beginner.

The poem was narrated through a third person view and the flow of event was climactic;

starting with problem of who-fits-the-throne to the solution proffered by the forest sage.

The tone and the mood can be described as of unrest, rivalry and disagreement.

READ: Plot And Themes Of Night Rain By John Pepper Clark

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Use of Imagery in Salute to the Elephant by Babalola Adeboye

About the Poem

Salute to the Elephant is an oral poem which in form can be classified as ode intended to unearth the overwhelming qualities of an elephant. The poem was translated from its original Yoruba form to English language by Babalola Adeboye

Use of Imagery in the Poem

Babalola Adeboye employed the use of imagery in "Salute to the Elephant" to deliver his message. Each of the images used in the poem describes one quality of the elephant or the other.

The poet enriched the elephant by referring to it as a possessor of a saving basket full of money and further went to paint the picture of its size as something massive "mountainous animal" in line 7.

 "Demon who snaps tree branches into many pieces and moves on to the forest farm" as seen in line 4 revealed that the elephant is unstoppable and not only that, the elephant is an animal none can dare_ according to line 18-19: "The hunter's boast at home is not repeated when he really meets the elephant/ The hunter's boast at home is not repeated before the elephant".
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Enunwa Chukwudinma S. aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo wings flying)

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Analysis Of I Think It Rains By Wole Soyinka

About The Poem

I Think It Rains by Wole Soyinka is a poem of difference; it differs in every form both structure, diction and message. The poem looks into the practice of smoking though one cannot predict the author's stand (whether of likeness or dislike).

About The Poet

The poet was born 13th of July in the 1934 with the name Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka. To spare you of the known, a comprehensive profile of Wole Soyinka can be found everywhere on the internet.

The Use Of Imagery

The poem is built on metaphor since the puffing, smoking is liken to a rainfall and every other imageries are in support of the raining, the dryness before the rain, the descriptive picture of the smoke being a Rain-Reeds and circling spirit, etc.

Soyinka, in the last stanza of the poem claimed that the act of smoking had no reasonable effect but done for the fun of its routine outcome:

"Rain-reeds, practised in
The grace of yielding, yet unbending
From afar"

"this, your conjugation with my earth
Bares crounching rocks"
There is ambiguity in the line above with the poet's use of "this, your" which created an address either to the smoker or the puffed smoke. If to the puffed smoke, then it should be considered an apostrophe. "your conjugation with my earth/ Bare crounching rocks" means your mingling with the early space, causes the smoker's teeth to be exposed in tightened as if in grinding.

Another ambiguity is in "circling spirit" which might mean the smoke coming out in a circular motion or the odour of smoking always circulating.

Metaphor in "a ring of grey" "The circling spirit" "Rain-Reeds" Asyndeton in "Uncleave roof-tops of the mouth, hang heavy with knowledge” Alliteration "Rain-Reeds" Symbolism "crounching rocks"

One of the themes to derive from this poem is the futility in the act of smoking which requires more action than its derived wasteful result.

Probably people's addiction to smoking must have motivated the poet into crafting this poem. Even the structure looked imbalance, unable to hold, and wavery like a puffed smoke.

MUST NOT MISS:-
>>>Analysis of Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka

>>>Analysis of Abiku by Wole Soyinka

>>>Deep Analysis of Post Mortem by Wole Soyinka

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of Agbor Dancer By John Pepper Clark

Let's together look at this great poem of John Pepper Clark titled: AGBOR DANCER.

Summary

The poem holds a description of Agbor girl doing a traditional dance, moving in response to rhythm of the drums in a very dazzling and magestic way.

The poem speaker made known his own interest in the values represented by this dance by expressing his desire to join the dance that involves earth, sky and flesh or entire life of the people.

Structure

Agbor Dancer is a poem written in 4 stanzas with 5 lines each. 

The first stanza described the dancing girl and the drum that produced the music she dances to, stressing the way her whole person was absorbed in the dance while the second and third stanza looked at the body movement of the dancer while dancing and then move on to the unity between the two (dancer, drummer and song).

The last stanza of thr poem showed how the poem speaker viewed his distance from his early life.

Theme

The theme of the poem could be considered to be the values for culture and the regret for cultural separation. 

The poem speaker took the Agbor dancer as an element to prove how beautiful and valuable culture is; the exception found in such dance could not be compared with any other cultural dance. 

The fact culture places a great role in the life and living of human was felt in the poem and whenever any part of culture is found missing in a human, it brings regret.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the winged Leo of the west wind)

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3 Themes In The Blood Of A Stranger By Dele Charley

Introduction

Common components in a tragic drama are greed, deceit, betrayal, crime, etc. and another universally known drama to support this claim is “Othello” written by William Shakespeare. In the drama "Othello" we see the greedy Iago with all sorts of betrayal attempts on Othello, Cassio, Montano, etc.

“The Blood of a Stranger” by Dele Charley is sure a tragedy in the sense that all the evildoers in Mandoland reaped the reward of their evil accordingly; where Kindo killed Parker as a way of avenging Soko’s death; the same Kindo also beheaded Whithead (the corrupt and greedy white man who came to Mando with the aim of exploiting their diamond).

3 Among the Themes in The Blood of a Stranger are:

1. Corruption and the aftermath of corruption: Virtually all the trusted leaders in Mandoland are corrupt. 

Their corrupt spirits are ignited by greed and the need to amass the wealth even at the expense of the villagers. Whitehead, whom the villagers_ at first, rebuked his arrival_ became a glorified figure in Mandoland, after falsely informing the people he came to create a tobacco farm in Mandoland. 

Maligu also capitalized on Santigi's reliance of his wisdom, as a sure tool to mastermind the corruption in the village. Soko, the trusted priest of the people, was also lured with ambition of becoming rich; Maligu convinced him against his well-known tradition of the land.

He who was the true voice of he people became the lying tongue of Whitehead and his advocates.

2. Clash of Culture: The issue of two conflicting cultural ideologies have been so reoccurring in African literature. 

Here in "The Blood of a Stranger" by Dele Charley, African culture is seen to compete with the western culture. Though the western culture was seen to be supreme at first but the people of Mando at the end of the drama came to their senses and threw away the embraced foreign culture like eggshells. 

With the use of symbolism, Whitehead symbolized Western culture and colonialists while Mandoland symbolized Africans and African culture

3. Greed: This fortified The Blood of a Stranger by Dele Charley. As a tragic drama, all perpetrated crimes in the book are as a result of greed; all the guilty characters want to get rich quick. Whitehead, Maligu, and Soko; they lied to the villagers in their own different ways.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Plot And Themes Of Night Rain By John Pepper Clark

Plot:-

The poem talks about rain falling in the night and the effects of it on a small boy, the other brothers, the mother and the small improverished abode.

The boy wakes up not knowing the time as "no cock crow"

The rain starts falling hard. He takes into consideration the effects of this on his brothers who are advised to sleep on; on his mother who continuously shifts "her bins, bags and vats" so that the rain does not fall on them; on their roomlet which has a roofing leak. 

The boy, in his sleep befudged mind, is also able to imagine the world outside in terms of the owl, the iroko and the bats. Feeling safe, he turns back to sleep.

Themes:-

The following are the themes of Night Rain by John Pepper Clark that naijapoets.com.ng was able to fetch through research and findings:

(1) Man and Nature: He discusses the forces of nature through a natural phenomenon and that man is not to run away from the latter but face it and become unified with it.

(2) Solidarity of Humanity: Under the unrelenting forces of nature man should stick together as the family did.

(3) Poverty: The family becomes an epitome of the general level of poverty prevalent among humans even in the face of something so powerful as a natural phenomenon.

The poet examines man in interdependence with rain_ a natural phenomenon. Man is seen as depending on the environment, suppressed by it but also fighting and getting united in the face of its onslaught.

The poet sees all the actions in the poem through the eyes of a small boy whose innocence can be contrasted to the stark, naked and vicious force of nature. 

We see the attack of the rain in the night on the small household which is poverty-ridden. Notwithstanding this, the family is able to overcome and stay united against the vicious night attack as they are able to go back to sleep, so innocent and free.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Poetic Figures And Forms In Piano And Drums By Gabriel Okara

As we've already known that Piano And Drums by Gabriel Okara is a culturally oriented poem comparing the poet's past and present experiences. In looking at the figures and form of the poem, will it be perfect to refer to the poem as a non metered free verse? Yes.

Judging from the definition of free verse ("vers libre" in French language), any poem with no particular rhythm or metre and without a rhyme scheme can be referred to as a free verse. 

It is vivid how Gabriel Okara with this poem imitated Walt Whitman in creating impossible effects far beyond the boundaries that even blank verses can cross.

Gabriel Okara employed beautiful imageries an
d symbolisms in collaboration with some state-of-the-art poetic devices to balance his 4 stanzas poem of unequal lines.

[naijapoets.com suggest you read: How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning]

Assonance, alliteration, imagery, personification, simile, symbolism are few of the poetic devices dwelling within the poem: Piano And Drums. Alliterations in the poem are "the panther ready to pounce" in line 6, "leopard snarling about to leap" in line 7, "turn torrent" in line 9, "solo speaking" in line 18.

Assonances are located in line 3 (jungle drums), in line 4 (mystic rhythm), in line 5 (bleeding flesh, speaking), in line 8 (hunters crouch). 

Imageries in virtually all the lines of the poem; examples are "naked/ warmth of hurrying feet and groping hearts/ in green leaves..." "wailing piano/ solo speaking of complex ways/ in tear-furrowed concerto/ of far away lands"

There are personifications in line 15 (groping heart/ in green leaves) and in line 18 (piano/ solo speaking of complex ways). 

Simile in line 4 "like bleeding flesh" and symbolisms like piano symbolizing future, drums symbolizing past.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the poetic Leo in the sky flying)

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Analysis of Ibadan by John Pepper Clark

Photo is from tukool.com

The Poet and Summary

The poet, John Pepper Clark wrote the poem title "Ibadan". He was born in Delta, Nigeria on the 6th of April, 1935.

This' a descriptive poem. Clark painted an image of Ibadan, the largest city in Nigeria as of the time of this post. He saw rustiness and muddiness deposited haphazardly amidst the hill-city but the simplicity of the poem, made it hard to determine whether he was disgusted or marveled at the sight he described.

The Message and Paraphrase

Actually, the message of the poem is that Ibadan is an ancient city where the huge effort of modernization seemed hard to erode its ancestral landmark.

To paraphrase the poem, it will flow thus: As I drove by the city of Ibadan, I saw mud buildings with rusty roofing so much like a water splash. They seemed scattered around the seven hills like broken China.

The Use of Imagery

The five line poem (Quintain) is dominated with imagery yet there are enjambment, simile, assonance, etc. According to thepoetsgarret, "there are many great poems that use a five line stanza, often called a Quintain. It can be any five line stanza poem of any meter or line length and is often misused because of it's alleged simplicity." 

Let's further shed light on the imageries: 

• "Running" in line 2 indicates movement and because a city can't be mobile led to the conclusion that the poem speaker described what he saw while in a moving vehicle.
• "splash of rust" refers to the large numbers of rust roofing that are always obvious to those traveling through the city.
• "Gold-flung" describes the yellowish mud which most ancient Ibadan buildings are made of.
• "Among seven hills" in line 4 enlightens that there are seven hills in the city of Ibadan.
• "broken/ China in the sun" is another image of sight which John Pepper Clark employed in the poem to indicate the uniformity of architectural age in the city.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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3 Major Poetic Devices In Vanity By Birago Diop

3 MAJOR POETIC DEVICES IN VANITY BY BIRAGO DIOP

[feel free to read Breath By Birago Diop]

In the poem Vanity by Birago Diop, there are three major poetic devices that gave the poem her grandeur. These are (1) Imagery (2) Repetition (3) Rhetorical Question.

Other Poetic Devices

Before we examine the great impact these three poetic devices have on the poem, naijapoets.com.ng takes a look at the several poetic devices in the poem.



(1) Alliteration: The repetition of consonants at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding, or at a short interval. In line 1 "gently gently"in line 8 "what eyes will watch" in line 15 "Dead came with their Dead" in line 25 "Did not understand our dead".


(2) Imagery: This is the use of word in giving vivid picture of an occasion or object or person. In line four "sad complaining voices of beggars" it describes how the voices of the people in the poem look like. 

"Just as our fears were deaf" is a simile and imagery telling the readers how oblivion the people in the poem were. In line 14 "the black depths of our plaintive throats?" is also an imagery among many that exist in the poem.

[The poem, Ambush By Gbemisola Adeoti also has huge imageries]

(3) Metaphor: This' an indirect comparison which opposes simile that uses "like" and "as" to create its own comparison. In line 4 of the poem "voices of beggars" in line 14 "plaintive throats" in line 9 "the laughter of big children".


(4) Repetition: In the poem, there are repetin tioof words, phrases and lines. "Gengly" "what" "our" "laughter" "mouth" are few words repeated in the poem. 

There are partial repetition of lines, for instance: line 3 and 5 repeat "who... will hear... without laughter" in line 8 and 10 "what eyes will watch our ... mouths" in line 17 and 19 "just as our ears were deaf" in line 21 and 24 "in the air, in the water, where they have traced their signs".


(5) Rhetorical Question: This' a question posed by a character in a poem which will have no response at all. "Who indeed will hear them without laughter?" line 5, "What eyes will watch our bad mouths?" Other rhetorical questions are in line 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 29.

The 3 Major Poetic Devices

As said earlier, imagery, repetition and rhetorical questions are the three major poetic devices that aided the sweetness of the poem, the rest devices pillared the three. 

A vivid look at the simile, metaphor, and personification within the poem, one will see that they all assisted the use of imageries and the cases of alliterations and assonances that existed in the poem; they helped in making the words and lines repetition more accommodating to the readers hearing. 

The imageries and the repetition also helped in the usage of rhetorical questions.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings soaring)

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How Suitable Is The Title Vanity By Birago Diop?

The Poet

The poem Vanity was written by Birago Diop, the author of a poetry book titled: Lures And Glimmers (1960). Birago Diop wasn't just a poet, he was a veterinarian and was once an ambassador of Senegal to Tunisia. He was born 11/11/1906 but died 10/11/1989.

The Title Justification

I prefer the poem Breaths by Birago Diop  to the poem Vanity by Birago Diop but considering the title of the poem Vanity, how suitable is it to the context of the poem?

There was no direct display of vanity in the poem because the twenty nine lines of the poem were written without a single word called vanity, but the poem speaker painted the picture of vanity from start to finish.

Through one of the theme of negligence, the poem speaker revealed vanity in virtually all the four stanzas ("Who indeed will hear them without laughter?" in line 5, "What eyes will watch our loud mouths?" in line 8, even line 11-14 portrayed vanity)

The poem went "in black depths" to show how negligence on part of the poem speaker and of those who will hear what the poem speaker had to say, made the message of the poem to be in vain.

In conclusion, I'm of the notion or support that the title of the poem is well suitable. Kudos to Birago Diop.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the candid winged Leo soaring)

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Analysis of Listen Comrades by David Diop

The Overview

Since the birth of civilization, inequality and the struggle for freedom have lasted beyond the expectations of humans.

So many literature have penned the varying happenings of people's fight for freedom which in most cases are never without lose of lives and belongings.

In the poem "Listen Comrades" by David Diop, the voice of the poem expressed his freedom-fighter spirit by calling attention of other comrades to the death of their mentor-fighter "Mamba".

The poem revealed that the victim (Mamba) was imprisoned yet not aggressive nor holding grudges against none. The victim, in his state of confinement, was aged yet hopeful in his course for freedom.

The Line-by-Line Summary

Between line 13-20, the voice of the poem poured out his pains and sorrows for the death of the aged dead comrade who went by the name Mamba and other imprisoned comrades who might likely share the same fate:

"For there rings out higher than my sorrows
Purer than the morning where the wild beast wakes
The cry of a hundred people smashing their cells".

Though the voice of the poem had escaped imprisonment by going on exile, he still followed up on the events noting in line 23-24 that those who killed Mamba wanted the murder to be kept secret but unfortunately such figure could go unnoticed: "The blood they hoped to snare in a circle of words/ Rediscovers the fervour that scatters the mists".

The last two lines of the poem, after refrain, urged the comrades the time has come to rise to the challenge at hand.

The Poetic And The Themes

I did state that the poem is about comrades waking other comrade to the fight for freedom ahead. Common themes in a poem of this nature are death, mourning, struggle, imprisonment, freedom, unity, hope, aging, etc. 

The 27 line free verse poem is translated from its original French version. Nonetheless, it has refrain of  line 1-2 in line 24-25 (Listen comrades of the struggling centuries/ To the keen clamour of the Negro from Africa to the Americas). The poem also made so allusions in line 4-5 (As they killed the seven of Martinsville/ Or the Madagascan down there in the pale light of the prisons). 

Many imageries in the poem for instance in line 14 "And the peaceful tremor of his breast". "Like a plant torn from the maternal bosom" has a simile while "The blood they hoped to snare in a circle of words" contained metaphor.

Other Salient Points

Other things to be noted in the poem are: "to snare" which means to catch in a trap. "the bright colours of a bouquet of hope" which is a metaphor comparing the bright colours of bunch of flowers with the vivid inspiration of hope. "poured forth for us milk and light" which means it sustained and encouraged with his speeches. "the Madagascan" in the poem refers to the revolt of 1947 which was cruelly suppressed. "the seven of Martinsville" There was no prove of any event in the African struggle for freedom to which the reference might allude. 

"Mamba" can not be traced to any human right activist in particular. David Diop was born in France in 1927. His father as a Senegalese and his mother a Cameroonian. He died in a plane crash near Dakar in 1960.

Samuel C Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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10 Analyzed Poems About Wind

The Introduction

In this article I will like to remind you of wind (one of the most common found theme in poetry of nature). 

Many classic and contemporary poets have written about it_ William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Kwesi Brew, Subramania Bharati, Glynn Burridge, Emily Bronte, etc.

What Is Wind

No matter the type of wind in discussion, it is a mass of gases propelled by force. Wikipedia noted that in outer space, soar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space.

Analyzed Poems

The word "wind" does not only appear as themes of poem but as well as titles of poems and few of such poems are analyzed below:

• Analysis of Ode to the West Wind by Percy Shelley
• Analysis of Tempest by Glynn Burridge
• Analysis of wind by subramania bharati  
• Analysis of Dry Season by Kwesi Brew
• Analysis of Weather Ear by Norman Nicolson
• Analysis of The Wind by Vikram Seth
• Brief Analysis of Afterwards by Thomas Hardy
• Analysis of the Thawing Wind by Robert Frost 
• The Night Wind by Emily Bronte
• Analysis of Wind by Ted Hughes

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Q and A: End of War by Okinba Launko

                              End of War by Okinba Launko

Question

The casualties in Launko's End of War are ____

Answer

Men (Option C)

Explanation

The poem is similar to the poem title The Dining Table by Gbanabom Hallowell. In the poem "End of War" by Okinba Launko, line 4 and 5 of the poem are prove that men are truly the casualties; the lines stated "the silence of the battlefield/ heralds the widow's anguish".

The men that went to war die leaving their wives to suffer the pain and aftermath of war which happens to be a lasting widowhood. [click here to listen to the audio]

Judging by the title of the poem, its subject matter is war and and its effects.

"Okinba Launko is a pen name of the playwright and poet, Femi Osofisan (Winner of the Folon-Nichols Award) He has been honoured with awards and appointments for his lifetime achievements", says description at todara online bookstore.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Watch Video Analysis of Faceless by Amma Darko

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Theme of Supernatural in The Concubine by Elechi Amadi

The Novelist

Born on the 12^thof May 1934, Elechi Amadi was a Nigerian author raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He had many novels to his credit and like many classic novelists such as Chinua Achebe, his novels exposed readers to the traditional way of life in Nigeria. Elechi Amadi died on the 29^th of June, 2016.

Overview of the Novel

The Concubine by Elechi Amadi is a novel that revolves around the subject of marriage and effects of immortal forces in the activities and fate of human beings. 

Using Ihuoma as a tool for demonstrating such subject, the author revealed Ihuoma (the main character) as a lady who possessed all the necessary qualities to enjoy marital life but to the readers’ chagrin, a force beyond human control hampered her supposed sweet marital life; Ihumo had a spiritual husband.

The Theme of Supernatural

In the novel, The Concubine, Elechi Amadi boost the beauty of the novel with the theme of supernatural events. Notable is Ihuoma and the sea-king (believed to rule the sea) who never wanted her get married to any man in the physical realm because she was his wife in the spiritual realm. 

The novel went further to narrate the consequences of her attempt to get married_ the sea-king was responsible for the death of characters such as Emenike, Madume, and Ekwueme. 

The sea-king was so powerful that all sacrifices offered to divorce Ihuoma from him was so futile leading to the death of Ekwueme.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.

aka samuedpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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Q and A: Give Me The Minstrel's Seat

Question

Give Me The Minstrel's Seat ends on a clarion call for ______

Answer

Rectitude (Option C)

Explanation

The final line of the poem "Give Me The Minstrel's Seat" goes thus:
"Better a loin-cloth without disgrace than d fine-flowered shawl of shame".

Above line referred to moral choice of judgement or action in any arising situation. 

On the other hand, rectitude can be defined as the righteousness of principle or practice; exact conformity to truth or to the rules prescribed for moral conduct either by divine or human laws. 

Therefore the word "Rectitude" best represented the line.

Give Me The Minstrel's Seat is not associated to any particular poet because it is a traditional poem. 

Traditional poems are oral form of poetry passed from generations to generations. Give Me The Minstrel's Seat addressed the subjects of companionship, unity, friendship, morality; are parts of elements that enhances peaceful coexistence within any given society.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Overview Of We Shall Not Sleep By Chirikure Chirikure

The Poet

Chirikure Chirikure is a Zimbabwean poet, songwriter, and writer born in the year 1962. The poet's name is relevant in African poetry circle and in 1990, Chirikure's book "Rukuvhute" received Honorable Mention in the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa.

The Style and Structure

The style adopted in crafting the poem is similar to that of Birago Diop's fondly used of refrain. The thematic message in the poem is based on oppression and opposition.

The voice in the poem sounds protesting the evil deeds of unnamed oppressor. It is shown that the victims have been pushed to the wall.

And the stanza 1 goes thus:
" No-one is going to sleep a wink this year
                till we fix this whole mess
No-one is going to close an eyelid
                till we get to the bottom of this"

In stanza 2, the speaker in the poem believes enough is enough from the oppressor's destructive actions

"That day you assaulted granny, we said nothing
The other day you sold the family milk cow, we said nothing
Only yesterday you set fire to the family granary, again we said nothing"

All the mentioned above had been condoned by the victims but they won't tolerate their water-well been defiled.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Ozone Layer

What kind of car is this? 
I do no know. 

Except the locomotive ability of this rickety thing

Hardly moving when moved

Driving the driver driving it, 
I can see the driver sweating within it

Our nares and heads are filled with carbon monoxide 
this rickety thing is emitting from its nostrils

And like smoke from the swinging thurible used in a catholic cathedral

The emission is spreading everywhere

And melting the ozone layer like fire melting a sheabutter

Ah! Every rich and poor African wants to ride a car; maybe rickety or rickety not they do not care

I blame you not my Africans. 

Why didnt GOD build the ozone layer with iron rock and crystal 
than making it fragile like a silky material?

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry 
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Boy On A Swing By Oswald Mtshali: Mood Of The Boy

Motive

Boy On A Swing by Oswald Mtshali is a poem that reminds the readers of the common Yoruba proverbs that says: "When a boy is given a sword, he would ask his mother about the kind of death that killed his father."

Overview

According to the poem, a boy was placed on a swing enjoying its to and fro, with the assistance of his mother. The act of swinging heightened the boy's delight, it placed the boy in a pure pleasant picture of the world.

The boy began to wonder why they lacked things including the presence of his father, he wondered about the source of his own origin, he also wondered h
ow long it would take him to measure up with those wearing trousers.

According the last stanza of the poem, the boy posed three thoughtful questions:
"Mother!
Where did I come from?
When will I wear long trousers?
Why was my father jailed?"

Structure

Boy On A Swing by Oswald Mtshali is a four stanza poem void of end rhyme scheme, it has a very simple word usage. All the beauties of the poem is compressed into one with the aid of rhetorical questions and by so doing, the theme of childhood innocence and bewilderment, the theme of complexity in human lives and living, the theme of effects of delight, etc; became evident in the poem. 

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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