Analysis Of Not My Business By Niyi Osundare

Introduction:

This article aims to give detailed analysis of Not My Business by Niyi Osundare_ by examining the theme, structure, poetic devices, tone, the poet, etc. 

About the Poem: 

The very first time I saw Not My Business By Niyi Osundare, I so much liked it. 

Not My Business is far beyond a poem, a poem sculptured by a professional poetic artist which recalled a past experience. Niyi narrated the poem through the third and the first person point of view. 

As a Nigerian or anyone who has witnessed military oppression, the poem is an easy recap of unjust governance; where fundamental human rights are trampled upon_ no free movement, no free association, no freedom of speech, etc. Like a folk tale, the poem shows the implication of neighbors not standing up to assist their neighbour in need of help. 

The poem has a Nigerian setting as regards the the names of victims mentioned by the poem-speaker; Akanni (a Yoruba name) Danladi (a Hausa name) Chinwe (an Igbo name).

The Poetic Devices 

Few of the figures of speech in the poem are:
1) Simile is figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another, in the case of English generally using like or as. Example from the poem is "Beat him soft like clay" in line 2.

2) Refrain is a figure of speech that repeats a certain line or stanza in a literary work of art in order to create musical effect. Example from the poem is;
"What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?"

3) Symbolism is a figure of speech that uses the representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities to represent such object. Example from the poem is Akanni, Danladi, and Chinwe which symbolized the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. "a lengthy absence" in line 11 is a symbolic imagery which means a long imprisonment.

4) Metaphor is a figure of speech that uses a word or phrase to refer to something that it isn’t, invoking a direct similarity between the word or phrase used and the thing described, but in the case of English without the words like or as, which would imply a simile. Example from the poem is in line 3; "And stuffed him down the belly" because the simile version of it could be "And stuffed him like meal down the belly".

5) Alliteration is the repetition of consonants at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals. Example from the poem is "hungry hand" "went to work" "sack for a stainless record".

6) Personification is a figure of speech, prosopopeia, in which an inanimate object or an abstraction is given human qualities. Example from the poem is "Only to find her job was gone" in line 16, "And stuffed him down the belly/ Of a waiting jeep" in lines 3-4.

The theme in the poem are:
1) Victimization; many lines of the poem shows how different poetic characters suffer different forms of injustices. Akanni beaten for no reason, Danladi jailed without due process, Chinwe suffered job insecurity.

2) Tyranny and dictatorship; all the acts of brutality in the poem are clear traits of a tyrant dictator. And following the context of the poem, the poet reminded the readers of the Nigerian military brutality (which has now become a once-upon-a-time story)

3) What goes around comes around; is also another theme of the poem which teaches the lesson of oneness and unity. Many victims in the poem suffered abuses because there is no unity among people of such country; everyone is living for himself/herself alone. When every others are brutalised, the poem-speaker felt unconcerned until he was brutalised as well.

Structure and Tone:

The poem is a narrative free verse with eight stanza arrangement. It's no brainer that the setting is a Nigerian neighborhood under military oppression. The poem combined the first and third point of view narrative style. 

The tone is reflective and giving a mood of re-think and change of attitude. The poet via the narrator, reflected on the experience for the readers to build and embrace the determination to change their attitudes from nonchalance to being their brothers keeper. 

The Poet:

Born on the 12th of March, 1947 in Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State. Professor Niyi Osundare has contributed heavily to literature and the literary community in Nigeria and all over the world. 

His literary words encompass theme such as politics, leadership, nature, and so much more. He wrote the poem titled "The Leader and the Led" which we have also taken time to write review about in this platform_ you might be able to find it, if you make use of the search box in this website. 

Do comment below and share to all social media platforms. 

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis Of Freetown By Sly Cheney Coker

This article is the analysis of freetown by Sly Cheney Coker as understood by naija poets.

Cheney-Coker picked his pen and paper to write about how Africans are trying, in every form, to change their African color and race to something else. 

As a wise African poet, he began his poetry by showering praises on Africa while accepting the fact that he had been far away from home like the biblical prodigal son by comparing himself to a wandering Fulani cow:
"Africa I have long away from you
wandering like a Fulani cow
but every night
amidst the horrors of highway deaths
and the menace of neon-eyed gods
I feel the warmth of your arms
centrifugal mother reaching out to
your sons
but all calling you mother womb of
the earth" (from line 1-8).

From line 9, Sly Cheney-Coker generalized that Africans were living with differences_ not excluding himself. Though he didn't condemn civilisation but he felt it was part of the sins, Africans had committed. 

Part of the things he complained about were that he had been fond of travelling out of Africa, African ladies and women were bleaching their black skins to white, black African men were not living the African way; he put it like this "and I think of my brothers with ”black skin and white masks” ( I myself am one heh heh heh)". The poet's heart was so heavy because he could not describe Africa, the African way:
" my heart becomes a citadel of disgust
and I am unable to write the poem of your life
my creation haunts me behind the mythical dream
my river dammed by the poisonous weeds in its bed".

If you do not understand the structure of this poem "Freetown" by Sly Cheney-Coker, then let me try and table it based on my own understanding. The poem is not broken into stanzas, it has simple dictions with more of enjambments, the setting is Freetown, as suggested by the title of the poem and the context.

 

Figuratively in the poem; the phrase "Black Englishman" is a sarcastic oxymoron, African is personification and metaphor in the poem: "I feel the warmth of your arms/ centrifugal mother reaching out to your sons/ but all calling you mother womb of the earth", "this third anniversary of my flight" symbolized travelling in airplane, "citadel of disgust" is a metaphor used by the poet to compare the feeling in his heart, "shadow of Freetown" is a metaphor as well, ( I myself am one heh heh heh) "heh heh heh" is an onomatopoeia which means laughter.

Looking at the poem, the following themes are evident:
(1) Africans and civilisation
(2) Devaluation of the African black skin

In many African poetry, the issue of Africanism and Civilisation is very common and it is no surprise that such exist in this poem. Sly Coker was so concerned with the way Africans are embracing civilisation far more than their own culture. He also stated in the poem that they were not satisfied with having a black skin.

Syl Cheney-Coker is a poet, novelist, and journalist from Freetown, Sierra Leone; he was born on 28 June 1945. He spent much of his life in exile from his native country, and wrote extensively (in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction) about the condition of exile and the view of Africa from an African abroad.

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

#civilisation #poetry #africa #poet

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Song Of Sorrow 1 And 2 By Kofi Awoonor (Imagery)

Born on March 13, 1935, Kofi Awoonor was a Ghanaian poet and author well-known for combining the poetic traditions of his native Ewe with contemporary and religious symbolism to create a unique form of writing. He died after sustaining injuries during the attack by Somali militant group, al-Shabaab at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya on September 21, 2013.

"Song of Sorrow 1 and 2 is a pessimistic poem. It is a dirge in which the living blame the ancestors for the hardship and difficulties that their departure has left behind. Much of this meaning is conveyed through several important images used in the poem.

The desolation and helplessness that has occurred is presented right at the beginning of the Song of Sorrow 1 in the form of “chameleon faeces”. The image is appropriate as it conjures up the picture of something that cannot be wiped away or made clean. It is this catastrophe that is emphasized by the use of this image.

A series of other images closely associated with desolation, destruction and even death, is used in successive parts
of the poem: References can be made to the images like the “Sun and rain” that “burn” and beat respectively; the sun that can no longer be fired because there are no sons; other plants and animal image such as “the sharp stumps, the falling “tree” which also symbolizes the death of Agosu, an important family elder, the “broken fence; the “snake” the “cow” and the “vultures” which are all destructive creatures. The “wilderness” is not spared in reference to its desolation.

The overwhelming feeling in the poem is that nothing has gone right since the departure of the ancestors and only suffering remains for survivors including the persona. Even those who travel and return have to confront a miserable life. An entire civilization or way of life represented by “Kpeti’s great household” is no more. What are left are the broken fences now taken over by entire strangers."

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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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
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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
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Analysis Of The World Is Too Much With Us By William Wordsworth

The Overview

In William Wordsworth poem "The World Is Too Much With Us", he tells of his dislike towards humans' ingratitude and lack of reverence for nature and its elements.

With the sonnet nature of the poem, Wordsworth professionally arranged his views in two parts; the first part being his complaint, the second part being his resolution. The poet says that human beings have had much of the world this era that their daily life activities blindfolded them from seeing and cherishing the beauties entombed in nature. He decides to derail into "paganism" because he sees more of nature and natural beauties in them than in anything else; deities like Proteus and Triton are his motivators.

The Structure

The poem is a sonnet with the octave (1st 8 lines) about his complains while the sestet (the remaining 6 lines) about his resolution. The first eight lines have the end rhyme pattern of ABBAABBA while the rest six lines have the end rhyme pattern of CDCDCD. 

How much I love to see similes in a poem, this poem has it in line 7 "now like sleeping flowers". There is a classical allusion in the poem making reference to two Greek gods (Proteus and Triton) and with the poet's mention of "pagan" in line 10, the poem snatched few religion. Personification in line 5-6 where the sea has blossom and the wind howling. Alliterations like "bares her bossom" "Great God", imageries also added beauty to the poem.

The Theme

The poem possesses the theme of abundant beauty in nature; which human beings refuse to recognize, ingratitude or lack of appreciation for the available things or readymade thing instead humans chase around the artificials, another the theme in the poem speaks of religion and the beautiful reflection of nature in the so-called "paganism".

William Wordsworth 7-4-1770 – 23-4-1850 was an English Romantic poet.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Prove That The Proud King By William Morris Is A Narrative Poem

Narrative poetry is such that tells tale with the use of dramatic elements. Paradise Lost by John Milton, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
The Proud King by William Morris also falls under the category of narrative poetry; and we shall support this claim with just three points below:

(1) Lengthiness:- One of the common characteristics of a narrative poem is the three digit length of lines it mostly possesses. The Proud King by William
Morris has a total of 849 line which is way more longer than Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner which is merely 625 lines in total. William Morris' attempt to give a detailed account of Jovinian's err and repentance led to such mammoth number of lines.

(2) Storytelling:- As mentioned before, tell-tale is paramount in the craft of a narrative poetry. In the poem "The Proud King" by William Morris, a certain wealthy and highly respected king who goes by the name Jovinian, suddenly became proud and arrogant by likening himself to God. When the morning arrived, he decided to go hunting and stopped by a river to swim but an angel sharing his resemblance took his kingly robe and horse. Jovinian became a nuisance none could recognize him despite his multiple try to claim his rightful status. When he finally became sober and repented, the angel put him back to his throne.

(3) Poetic devices: It has been noted that most narrative poetry embrace the use of dramatic monologue which is not lacking in the poem "The Proud King" by William Morris. Another poetic device common in narrative poetry is apostrophe; in the poem we see "Ah God!" occurred many times in the words of Jovinian.

(4) Rhyme and rhythm:- "The Proud King" by William Morris was carefully composed to follow a stick rhythm and its end rhyme pattern looks ABABBCC.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis Of Prayer Before Birth By Louis MacNeice

“Prayer Before Birth” by Louis MacNeice is such a fictive poem where the voice of the poem (an unborn child) speaks to the readers by introducing himself and his varying demands in form of refrain in lines 1 and 25 “I am not yet born; O hear me” in line 8 “I am not yet born; provide me” in line 12 “I am not yet born; forgive me” in line 18 “I am not yet born; rehearse me” in line 28 “I am not yet born; O fill me” . All through the 8 stanzas of the poem, the readers can relate with the unborn child’s pleases and displeases _ the child detests danger and irritation (Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the club-footed ghoul come near me), confinements (I fear that human race may with tall walls wall me), he detests being deceived (with wise lies lure me), hardship or sufferings (on black racks rack me, in blood-baths roll me).

Even before birth, the readers have known the things the poem speaker will love to enjoy on earth; according the passionate crafting of MacNeice, the unborn child loves nature:
“I am not yet born; provide me
With water to dandle me, grass to grow for me, trees to tall
to me, sky to sing to me, birds and a white light
in the back of my mind to guide me.”

The unborn child loves to be forgiven of his wrongs. Considering that alone shows the level of imperfection in humans. The child admitted that his innocence won’t last forever (for the sins in me the world shall commit, my words when they speak me, my thoughts when they think me, my treason engendered by traitors beyond me…). Guidance is another thing requested by the unborn child (in the parts I must play and the cues I must take when old men lecture me, bureaucrats hector me, mountains frown at me, lovers laugh at me, the white waves call me to folly and the desert call me to doom and the beggar refuses my gift and my children curse me)

Stanza 7 of the poem shows the unborn child is not just willing to be pampered on earth, he's ready to fight for a great course which made the child demanded being strengthened against his or her enemies. He backed his reasons for fighting for survival in the last stanza of the poem (Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me. Otherwise kill me)

"I am not yet born; O fill me
With strength against those who would freeze my
humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton,
would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with
one face, a thing, and against all those
who would dissipate my entirety, would
blow me like thistledown hither and
thither or hither and thither
like water held in the
hands would spill me."(according to stanza 7)

Three of the themes are (1) Imperfection; this prompted Louis MacNeice to craft the poem knowing that earth is an imperfect place where living beings battle the anomalies
of life. He placed such in the mouth of the unborn; the walling, the hectoring, the luring, the mocking, and so on. (2) Fear and anxiety; the tone of the unborn child is full of fear. Mainly the fear of rampant dangers, exploitations and sufferings on earth (on black rack me, in blood-baths roll me.) In the first stanza the poem speaker put out his fear thus:
"I am not yet born; O hear me.
Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the
club-footed ghoul come near me." (3) Attention; this is also among the themes in the poem hearing the unborn child calling at the reader repeatedly. He demanded that the listeners or perhaps an abstract entity come to his aid as to make his living on earth a perfect one.

It is mentioned that refrain and repetition are device used by the poet to beautify his poetic craft. It must be said that other poetic devices surfaced which are alliteration for instance "bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the club-footed ghouls", personification seen in the poem are "sky to sing to me, birds and a white light in the back of my mind to guide me" and synecdoche where "mind" in the expression (the back of my mind) is used to represent the whole of the unborn child.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis Of London By A S J Tessimond

According to information gathered from wikipedia, the poet behind the poem titled "London" began to publish in the 1920s in literary magazines; during which he published "Walls of Glass" in 1934, "Voices in a Giant City" in 1947 and "Selections" in 1958. The poem London by A. S. J. Tessimond describes London from the poet's personal perspective of the city. He personified the title with the use of "I am" as seen in 1, 6, 12. You can read the complete three stanza poem when you click here

The settings of the poem is sure citylike "…the city of two divided cities" "the city of people sitting and talking quietly" "the city whose fog will fall like a finger gently". In terms of structure, the three unequal stanzas of the poem are void of rhymes and rhythm; the 1st stanza of the poem holds 5lines, the second stanza is in 6lines while the third stanza is seven. The 1st stanza shows the social state in London as a city with two class division of the poor and the rich; the servants and the masters. The 2nd stanza pictured the living system of the
people in the city as regards the relationship and association with each other:

"I am the reticent, the private city,
The city of lovers hiding wrapped in shadows,
The city of people sitting and talking quietly
Beyond shut doors and walls as thick as a century,
People who laugh too little and too loudly,
Whose tears fall inward, flowing back to the heart."
The third stanza reflected the city's environmental and climatic manoeuvres by mentioning the gentleness of the fog, the always tactful approach of the dusk, the reflections of the city lamps at nighttimes.

A poem can be sweet, a poem with anaphora is sweeter. London by A.S.J. Tessimond has some anaphora the same as found in his poem titled "Advertising". In line 2 and 3 "Where the" commenced both lines while "The city of" commenced line 7 and 8 of the poem. It must be noted that the following line can be considered refrain (though not perfect refrain) "I am the city of two divided cities" in line 1, "I am the reticent, the private city" in line 6, "I am the city whose fog will fall like a finger gently" in line 12. There is an obvious hyperbole at the end of second stanza which goes thus "Whose tears fall inward, flowing back to the heart".

"People who laugh too little and too loudly" as seen in line 10 also caught attention. It described the social behavior of the people in London. Not only that, the line holds alliteration via the repetition of letter "L" in "laugh", "little" and "loudly". "Too little" and "too loudly" can be viewed as antithesis since the two phrases are contrasting.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Joy And Pleasure By William Henry Davies

"Joy and Pleasure" by William Henry Davies is a poem of class. The title of the poem is in form of a symbolism where "joy" symbolizes poverty while "pleasure" symbolizes riches; this can be further proven in line 1 and 2 respectively where joy and pleasure are personified: "Now, joy is born of parents poor/ And pleasure of our richer kind".
With simple diction, alternate end rhyme scheme pattern, symbolism and personification; the readers are able to see the contrasting opinion embedded in the poem.

There are lots of simile in the poem for the purpose of juxtaposition. In line 9 "Joy’s like a Bee" in line 11 "pleasure’s like a greedy
Wasp" in line 13 "Joy’s like a Lark" in line 15 "Pleasure like a Cuckoo". "Pleasure’s a Moth" is an instance of metaphor while "sings and laughs with strangers near" seen in line 20 is a good example of alliteration.

"Now, joy is born of parents poor,
And pleasure of our richer kind;
Though pleasure’s free, she cannot sing
As sweet a song as joy confined."
According to the stanza one above, joy is capable and lively in its condition of poverty while pleasure is free but not lively and free in its condition of riches.

"Pleasure’s a Moth, that sleeps by day
And dances by false glare at night;
But Joy’s a Butterfly, that loves
To spread its wings in Nature’s light."
According to the stanza two, the freedom in poverty can be expressed even in daylight while that of riches is confined to arenas such as nightclubs.

"Joy’s like a Bee that gently sucks
Away on blossoms its sweet hour;
But pleasure’s like a greedy Wasp,
That plums and cherries would devour."
According to stanza three, "joy" which symbolizes poverty is seen to  maintains moderation, prudence, and decency in dealing with freedom while "pleasure" is voracious and greedy in dealing with any slight chance of freedom acquired.

"Joy’s like a Lark that lives alone,
Whose ties are very strong, though few;
But Pleasure like a Cuckoo roams,
Makes much acquaintance, no friends true."
According to the fourth stanza, "joy" chooses friends wisely with deep and lasting emotional connection while "pleasure" acquire to many friends who are not true.

"Joy from her heart doth sing at home,
With little care if others hear;
But pleasure then is cold and dumb,
And sings and laughs with strangers near."
According to the fifth stanza, another character trait surfaced between both contrasting symbols. "Joy" is portrayed to be very reserve while "Pleasure" is full of showoffs.

There are varying themes in the poem, such as poverty, riches, prudence, friendship, avarice, moderateness, etc.

"Pleasure’s a Moth, that sleeps by day/ And dances by false glare at night" since moths are fond of the shining lights at night, "false glare" could probably be the colourful bulbs seen in nightclubs.

William Henry Davies also called W. H. Davies is an English poet born 3rd of July 1871. He died on the 26th of September, 1940 due to ailments from his lost leg. According to the article on Wikipedia, "Davies' health continued to deteriorate and he died, in September 1940, at the age of 69. Never a church-goer in his adult life, Davies was cremated at Cheltenham and his remains interred there."

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis Of When This Carnival Finally Closes By Jack Mapanje

Not all 14-line poem is a sonnet; and this one by Jack Mapanje is a good example. It is a free verse that centred on politics and leadership. The diction is quite simple and rurual-like in nature with a beach setting in terms of words like "bamboo" "dancers" "bonfire" and more.

The voice of the poem foresaw what will become of the actions of a certain leader referred to as "brother". The voice of the poem also saw how the leader's colleagues will betray and mock his reign_ line 2-4:
"...these very officers
Will burn the scripts of the praises we sang to you
And shatter the calabashes you drank from".
The voice of the poem believed the activities of the leader was unnecessary; in line 1 it was referred to as a "frothful carnival" because his officers were not faithful; they will go to the extent of burning his bamboo hut under the guise of giving him a "true traditional burial".

According to line 6 "Become the accomplices to your lie-achieved world!" proves the voice of the poem is certain that the leader's ways are not straight; he's a corrupt leader. This tells the readers that the voice of the poem is an unbiased one who sincerely hits the  nail in the head.

There are other noted poetic devices in the poem titled "When This Carnival Finally Closes" by Jack Mapanje; and they are as follows:
(1) "scripts of the praise" in line 3 is a metaphor
(2) "drumming veins" in line 2 is a symbolism
(3) "...a God? The devil!" in line 14 is an oxymoron
(4) "bamboo hut on the beach" in line 7 is an alliteration
(5) "And at the wake new mask dancers will quickly leap" in line 11 is an imagery
(6) "What did he think he would become, a God? The devil!" in line 14 is a rhetorical question
(7) "And shatter the calabashes you drank from . Your/ Charms, these drums, and the effigies blazing will" in line 4-5 is an enjambment

The themes are betrayal, change, governance, politics, death, achievement, waste, corruption, etc. In terms of betrayal, the voice of the poem foresaw the leader's betrayal. Change in the poem is seen from line 11-13:
"And at the wake new mask dancers will quickly leap
Into the arena dancing to tighter skins, boasting
Other clans of calabashes..."
Governance and politics can be considered the motivation for crafting this poem "When This Carnival Finally Closes" by Jack Mapanje. Death was not directly mentioned in the poem but was suggested with phrases such as "drumming veins dry" "giving their hero a true traditional burial". The achievement of the leader is linked to corruption when the voice of the poem referred to it as "your lie-achieved world!"

As of this moment, whenever Malawian poets come to mind the first name to remember is David Rubadiri followed by Jack Mapanje. He was born 25 March 1944 in Mangochi District of Malawi. Jack Mapanje has made the list of African poets whose poetry landed them in prison; other African poets of the same predicament are Chris Abani, Wole Soyinka, etc. Jack Mapanje was put in prison by a ruling tyrant without charge.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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At Fifteen I Went With The Army by Arthur Waley

THE ANALYSIS
A boy went with the army to a war at the age of fifteen but met a desolate or rather deserted home at the age of eighty .When he got to the village, he couldn’t recognize his home until a man he met in the village showed him what used to be his house (now outgrown by weeds, trees, and pheasants). According to line 9-10
“In the courtyard was growing some wild grain;
And by the well, wild mallows.”

The house was so taken by weeds to the extent that he made porridge and soup off the grains; sadly “no one to eat them with”. The unhappiness of the boy even extended till the end of the poem where he said
“I went out and looked towards the east,
While tears fell and wetted my clothes”

Probably, one may be forced to wonder why the boy looked towards the east. It might be that the only possible place his life could restart is in the east, it may also be that east is the cause of his sorrow.

“At Fifteen I Went With The Army” is a poem written by an unknown Chinese poet but translated by Arthur Waley. This’ another example of poem written about war or communal attack; (naijapoets has analyzed similar
poems such as “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” by W. B Yeats, “The Dining Table” by Gbannabom Hallowell, “O Captain My Captain” by Walt Witman, etc) The total line of the poem is 16 which was not chopped into multiple stanzas, no end rhyme scheme and no specific rhythm. The poet expressed the negative effect of war on the returning soldier, which was shown from the boy’s point of view.

From line 1-4, is based on the departure and arrival of the boy. Line 5-13, tells condition of the boy’s home when he arrived. Line 14-16, shows the boy’s unhappiness towards his condition of loneliness. The poem has poetic devices such as imageries (rabbits had run in at the dog-hole), alliteration (by the well some wild mallows), and repetition (porridge, home, wild, mallows, soup). The themes in the poem are (1) Loneliness; which was seen in line 14-16. (2) Teenage participation in war; the opening lines of the poem tell that the boy was a teen when he joined the soldier. (3) Negative effects of war; the boy’s homecoming resulted in tears and sorrow. (4) Hopelessness; the family which the boy hoped to return were no more. (5) Time; the difference between the boy's departure and arrival is a very wide one in between which many changes have taken place.

THE POEM
At fifteen I went with the army,
At fourscore I came home.
On the way I met a man from the village,
I asked him who there was at home.
“That over there is your house,
All covered over with trees and bushes.”
Rabbits had run in at the dog-hole,
Pheasants flew down from the beams of the roof.
In the courtyard was growing some wild grain;
And by the well, some wild mallows.
I’ll boil the grain and make porridge,
I’ll pluck the mallows and make soup.
Soup and porridge are both cooked,
But there is no one to eat them with.
I went out and looked towards the east,
While tears fell and wetted my clothes.

THE POET
Arthur Waley whose birth name is Arthur David Schloss, well known for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. He was born 19th of August, 1889. According to wikipedia, "Waley avoided academic posts and most often wrote for a general audience. He chose not to be a specialist but to translate a wide and personal range of classical literature." Arthur Waley died on 27th of June, 1966.
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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis Of The Anvil And The Hammer By Kofi Awoonor

This is another African poem that focuses its subject on the conflict of culture_ sharing the same theme with the poem titled "Piano and Drums" by Gabriel Okara.

One can hear the poem speaker's willingness to balance both culture or lifestyle by saying in line 11-12 "Sew the old days for us, our fathers/ That we can wear them under our new garment". The issue of colonialism is not out the picture in this poem "The Anvil and The Hammer" by Kofi Awoonor. The alien culture came into Africa via colonialism to mix with the ways of the Africans. The speaker in the poem found himself between the two opposite lifestyles which made him liken himself to an iron to be reshaped by the anvil and the hammer.

The poem is said to be cultural inclined with a colonial setting. Structurally, The Anvil and The Hammer by Kofi Awoonor is a free verse; a free verse is a poem that does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme,
or any other musical pattern. "Vanity" by Birago Diop loudly spoke of African cultural degeneration and the poem is structurally a free verse and the poem titled "Piano and Drums" by Gabriel Okara loudly spoke of cultural dilemma and it's in a free verse form. The Anvil and The Hammer by Kofi Awoonor has a total of 21 lines divided into 5 unequal stanzas.

Stanza 1 shows the poem speaker standing between African and European culture. Stanza 2 explains how the past has suddenly been redesigned in the present with "paved streets" "jargon of a new dialectic". Stanza 3 calls for balance between African and European culture by sustaining the African culture while living the European way of life. Stanza 4, the poem speaker considered the believed inferiority of African culture as a mere rumour instead he lifted the African norms and believes in presence of civilization. Stanza 5 say and I quote:
"And listen to the reverberation of our songs
In the splash and moan of the sea"

Also Read: What Are The Themes In The Anvil And The Hammer By Kofi Awoonor

Few among the figures of speech in the poem are:-

(1) Repetition; we see words like "new" "songs" "washed" (2) Personification; seen in line 21 "the splash and moan of the sea" (3) Symbolism; where the title of the poem symbolizes African and European. "The Anvil" represent the African culture while "The Hammer" represent the European culture. (4) Imagery; both sight and sound instances are "listen to the reverberation of our songs" which is in line 20, "The trapping of the past, tender and tenuous" in line 5, "we lift high the banner of the land" in line 19. (5) Metaphor;

• 8 Metaphors in the Anvil and the Hammer by Kofi Awoonor

• Compare And Contrast Piano And Drums With The Anvil And The Hammer

Kofi Awoonor Williams will never be forgotten among the passionate voices for African literature. His collection of poems are widely read not only among Africans but all lovers of literature in the whole wide world. He was born in Wheta, Ghana. Attended Achimota School, the University of Ghana and the University College in London. Few of his works are The House By The Sea (1978), Rediscovery And Other Poems (1964), etc.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Simple Summary Of Native Son By Richard Wright

Native Son by Richard Wright is a prose whose setting is considered to be in Chicago among other settings such as the one-room abode of Mrs. Thomas, The Dalton's rich abode, The Theatre, ....

In the novel "Native Son", Richard Wright embraced verbosity in his attempt to detail the events in the poem; well though he made use of ironies, allusion, and foreshadowing among other recipes that spiced the novel.

The themes in the prose are interrelated; where one theme leads to another. The first and the motivating theme of the novel is the theme of ideological variance. The Thomas family and the Dalton are the symbols of different ideologies; where the Thomas belonged to the poor African-American side of the story while the Dalton belonged to the wealthy high class of
the story. Another theme is that of racial prejudices which was as result of class differences among the characters in the novel. Bigger Thomas' fear and cruelty are product of his inferiority as a black and low class guy.

Besides Bigger Thomas, other characters in the prose are Mrs Thomas (Bigger's mother) Buddy (Bigger's brother) Vera (Bigger's sister) Jack, Gus, Doc, Mr & Mrs Dalton, Mary Dalton, Jan (Mary's boyfriend) Max (Bigger's defender) David Buckley, etc.

Who is Bigger?
He is the protagonist in Native Son by Richard Wright. As a young guy of twenty years old, his intents to question circumstances surrounding him, his family and his country put him in regrettable troubles. Bigger is considered arrogant; engaging in disagreement with his mother, mingling with wayward groups, etc.
He came in contact with Mary Dalton (a fun-loving lady) as a chauffeur; the job he remorsefully accepted. This job and his relationship with Mary set the foundation of his atrocious activities and tragedy. He mistakenly murdered Mary and became fugitive.

Who is Max?
He is one of the people left on Bigger's side. He volunteered to defend him in the course of his trials. He's tenacious and convinced that racial oppression, poverty and social inferiority pushed Bigger into many of his atrocities.
Max proved competence in his chosen field by motivating and counseling Bigger Thomas as to revive the human in him. He also supported and emphasized on the communist aspects of the novel.

MUST NOT MISS:-

1. Character And Significance Of Mary Dalton In Native Son By Richard Wright
2. Max Attitude Towards Racial Oppression
3. Write Short Note On The Following Mary Dalton, Gus, Max
4. 3 Major Themes Of Native Son By Richard Wright
5. 20 Common Questions On Native Son By Richard Wright

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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The Seafarer By Ezra Pound; Analyzed

Ezra Pound was a poet born on the October 30, 1885, in Hailey, Idaho, United States of America. He's generally considered the poet most responsible for defining and promoting a modernist aesthetic in poetry.

This lenghty line poem was originally written by an unknown Anglo-Saxon written but translated by Ezra Pound. It is in a free verse which maybe as a result of translation. The poem can be categorized under ship and sea; which makes it possess a sea setting.

Line 1-5: May I confess of this journey's hardship which I endured.

Line 6-8: While the sea tossed, I endured the "dire sea-surge" and spent "Narrow night watch nigh the ship's head".

Line 9-14: I was afflicted by cold; cold numbed my feet, the chains are cold, "chafing sighs hew my heart round" and in my tired mood I suffered hunger. How I wish people knew that living on land is better than the sea; most especially the ice-cold sea.

Line 15-20: I tried withstand the winter, looked so wretched like an outcast witho
ut kinsmen. My only company are hard ice-flakes, flying hail-scur , ice-cold waves.

Line 21-25:
"Sea-fowls' loudness was for me laughter,
The mews' singing all my mead-drink.
Storms, on the stone-cliffs beaten, fell on the stern
In icy feathers; full oft the eagle screamed
With spray on his pinion."

Let's look at the poetic stunts in the poem. Three figurative are common in the words of the poet and they are alliteration, imagery, and repetition. Words such as "off" "sea" "ice" "care" "cliff" are found repeated in the poem. Alliterations are "Journey's jargon" in line 2, "close to cliffs. Coldly afflicted" in line 8, "winter, wretched outcast" in line 15.

"Bitter breast-cares have I abided" in line 4 means "I remained sad for a very long time".

"Lest man know not/ That he on dry land loveliest liveth" in line 12-13 means "people don't know that land is more fun than sea".

The themes in the poem are (a) Experience of winter sailing; which the poem described to be very dangerous. The victim of winter sailing suffered sea-surge, extreme cold, icy storms, etc. (b) Comparison between land and sea; at point in the poem, unpleasantness of the winter sailing forced the voice in the poem to confess that waiting on land is better than waiting on sea. (c) Loneliness; part of the poet's complain is none to talk to. He "weathered  the winter" and was like a "wretched outcast/ Deprived of my kinsmen".

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Castle Of Otranto By Horace Walpole (Brief Overview)

To remind you that Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is the first Gothic fiction will seem like a needless repetition because virtually everybody knows that. The Castle of Otranto was published in 1764 during the period called "Age of Reason".

The Castle of Otranto is built around Manfred's desperation to uphold his beloved status. The book begins on the wedding-day of his sickly son Conrad and princess Isabella. 

Shortly before the wedding, however, Conrad is crushed to death by a gigantic helmet that falls on him from above. This inexplicable event is particularly ominous in light of an ancient prophecy "That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it". 

Manfred, terrified that Conrad's death signals the beginning of the end for his line, resolves to avert destruction by marrying Isabella himself while divorcing his current wife Hippolita, who he feels has failed to bear him a proper heir.


[THEME 1] The Castle:- The castle can be tagged one of the themes of the novel The Castle of Otranto. The title and the context of the story in totality give the castle another dimension. It can also be added that the castle is almost a hyperbole in itself. The disproportionate size of the castle has such a central and important role. The castle does not really continue reading>>>

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A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry (Difference Between Mama AndWalter)

It is the story of a poor black American family that suddenly got the opportunity to transform its state of living with a $10,000 insurance cheque issued the family as their deceased father's life insurance policy. Different ideas surfaced towards the use of the money which almost led to huge disagreement in the family.

In a tabular form, let's examine the difference between Mama and Walter.

Mama	Walter
(1) Mama is Walter's mother	(1) Walter is a son to Mama
(2) Mama is moral and ambitious	(2) Walter is desperate and ambitious
(3) Mama's strong belief in Christianity belief is revealed in the play	(3) Walter's religious belief is not noted
(4) Mama is a very compassionate woman even when Walter lost part of the insurance money to his doomed investment, Mama treated him like a prodigal son	(4) Walter is a character so adamant and sticks to his own believe alone
(5) Mama's passion is to give her family a better life by providing them a conducive place to live	(5) Walter's passion is to give his family a better life by investing the insurance money

Mama and Walter
are so passionate about differed dreams of making their family better because of the eagerness to escape the racial inequality and poverty haunting them. Walter's intended liquor investment became unsuccessful but Mama's dream of new home became a success.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Detail Analysis Of My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough ByStephen Spender

"My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough" is a poem written by Stephen Spender; an English poet born 28-02-1909 in Kensington but died at the age of 86 year old on 16-07-1995.

Stephen Spender was a huge fan of literature and art. He was very friendly and his friendship aligned with the proverb that says "Birds of the same feathers fly together".

Wikipedia says and I quote: "Spender was acquainted with fellow Auden Group members Louis MacNeice, Edward Upward and Cecil Day-Lewis. He was friendly with David Jones and later came to know W. B. Yeats, Allen Ginsberg, Ted Hughes, Joseph Brodsky, Isaiah Berlin, Mary McCarthy, Roy Campbell, Raymond Chandler, Dylan Thomas, Jean-Paul Sartre, F. T. Prince and T. S. Eliot, as well as members of the Bloomsbury Group, in particular Virginia Woolf."

"My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough" talks about the poet's childhood experience with bullies. The twelve line poem which is divided into three stanzas of equal lines per stanza, explained how the poet was bullies by a group of superior but inferior. It further explained that bitter words and muscular strength are their bullying tools. It concluded the poem with one of the everlasting effects on a bully victim; which is lack of forgiveness.

According to stanza one, his parents kept him from those bully boys because the harshly mismanaged the spoken words, they were poor wearing "rags", and "They ran the street" "And climbed cliffs and stripped by country streams".

Second stanza, the poet feared the bullies because of their strength and many times they'd beaten him.

In stanza three, they really tormented him; haunted him like by appearing when he least expected. They even threw mud at him.

The poem is categorized under youthful recollection and it has a well planned structure, simple dictions, and physical human setting with the use of "street" "climbed cliffs" "country streams" "on the road" "behind hedges" "mud" etc.

The central theme in the poem is bullying but other themes of note are lack of forgiveness, fear, superiority, inferiority and poverty.
The poet was
afraid of those boys because they were bullies meanwhile inferiority and poverty led the boys to bully the poet because they saw him as superior in status.

Let's speak of the figurative in the poem. Simile surfaced in the poem more than twice as a result of Spender's love for comparison. In line 2, he compared the word usage of the boys to thrown stones "Who threw words like stones". In line 5, he compared the boys strength to tigers and their muscles to iron "I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron". In line 10, he compared their aggressive behavior to that of a barking dog "Like dogs to bark at my world".

"Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms" as seen in line 6 is an indirect description of how the bullies beat him.

"Like dogs to bark at my world" as seen in line 10 contains more than simile. The line is an offspring of enjambment from the preceding line. And "my world" is a metonymy for "my presence".

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Deep Analysis Of Lullaby By W H Auden

Lullaby is a soothing song intended to lull a child to sleep. In the poem "Lullaby" by W. H. Auden, two crucial subjects were placed side-by-side; love and lullaby.

With the notion of the poem, lullaby is the best way to love which surpassed outward appreciation, nighttime sensual moments and cohabitational responsibilities. Auden saw no certainty in other things than lullaby.

He believed that time and sickness destroy youthfulness and its accompanied hopefulness through aging and dying; that's why the night his lover lie on his arms was worth everything to him.

Auden accepted the strong emotionality within romantic ecstasy but failed to attach importance to such ecstasy because it was gravy. Such ecstasy leads to other things like parenting:

"Soul and body have no bounds:
To lovers as they lie upon
Her tolerant enchanted slope
In their ordinary swoon,
Grave the vision Venus sends
Of supernatural sympathy,
Universal love and hope;
While abstract insight wakes
Among the glaciers and the rocks
The hermit's sensual ecstasy."

In stanza 3, Auden explained that although lovemaking as a means of quenching the cry of boredom, only last a very short period of time "like vibrations
of a bell" but nothing will deny him such moment with his lover; not even the scary future.

In the last stanza of the poem, Auden re-ascertained that "Beauty, midnight, vision dies" but that night spent together with his lover will serve as substitution for other things:

"Let the winds of dawn that blow
Softly round your dreaming head
Such a day of sweetness show
Eye and knocking heart may bless,
Find your mortal world enough;
Noons of dryness see you fed
By the involuntary powers,
Nights of insult let you pass
Watched by every human love."

"Lullaby" is a 40 line poem divided into 10 lines per stanza. The setting of poem is nighttime and the poem can be categorized under love and life. Love is the central theme of the poem but other themes such as death, growth, beauty, surfaced.

There are no planned end rhyme scheme though the title suggested  a song. The tone is sweet and wooing with the multiple use of images of sight. Other poetic devices in the poem are alliteration in line 15 and 16 respectively "vision Venus sends" and "supernatural sympathy" then simile in line 23 "Like vibrations of a bell" then metonymy in line "fevers" which was used to replace sicknesses then litotes in line "swoon" which was used by Auden to undermine love.

"All the dreaded cards foretell" even though Auden mentioned "faithless" in line 2, this show that the poet related with soothsayers to a certain extent.

Wystan Hugh Auden commonly called W. H. Auden was an English poet born 21th February, 1907. He later nationalized to an American citizen but departed earth on 29th September, 1973 at the age of 66.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray (Summary)

Thomas Gray was an English poet and among other things, a professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was born 1716 but departed the earth 1771.

A book cannot be judged by its cover but according to the notion of the poem speaker, status of a dead person can be judged by the nature of his or her grave.

By looking at the graves in a certain country churchyard, the poem speaker concluded that they were poor alive which led to the sympathetic feeling towards them.

The journey of life comes to halt with death and such is buttressed in the poem. The poem speaker reminds the readers that death is inevitable and comes to everyone irrespective of class, age or status.

The poet through imagery sets the mood of finality that depicts an end to an ongoing activity. This state of finality is reflected in the significance of the images of the "curfew", the "lowing herd" and the "plowman" who, in their various activities, indicate an end of action, a span of life as it were. Thus in "tolls and knell of parting day", "wind
slowly o'er the Lea" and "homeward plods his weary way", the impression of a halt to a state of existence is conveyed.

This state of loss is reflected in a natural environment and it takes on the feature of the pathetic fallacy. There is a sense of impending darkness looming over the environment and this is seen in the "fading glimmer of the landscape". Solemn stillness of the air", the absence of the "twittering swallows" and the "cock's shrill clarion or the echoing horn".

The diction amplifies this state of sadness and grief in the poet's use of contrast and repetition. There is the repetition of "no more" to emphasize finality of action as in: "no more shall rouse them from then lowly bed", and "for them no more the blazing hearth shall burn".

Contrast is seen in the lack of action that characterizes death and the bustling activities of life. In death, "no more the blazing hearth shall burn" or busy house wife ply her evening care no children run to lisp their sires' return. While in life "off did the harvest to their sickle yield. How jocund did they drive their team afield!. How cowed the woods beneath their sturdy strike!. This contrast between activity and inactivity highlights the poet's misery and grief.

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Samuel C Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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