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)