Name : Dodiya Meghana j
Roll no : 11
Paper Name: The African Literature
Topic: Critical Analysis Of all African Poems
Email Id : mdodiya26@gmail.com
Submitted To : Department Of English
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Introduction:
The African literature is mirror of African culture and heritage. Here in these poems we found that all poems reflect their hatred towards civilizers. During this British emperor the African culture and heritage is totally ruined. All poems talks about situation of African people, who are wavering between two culture, British culture and African culture. Also deals with the human psychology and impact of civilization on the lifestyle of African people. How happy they are before Bruisers are came. Colonizer also laughs on African culture and rituals.
1) ‘Once Upon A Time’
Once upon a time written by Gabriel Okara.Who is a Nigerian poet.He Often explain what happens when aa traditional African cullture needs the forces of the western culturre.
The poem tells of the conversation between what seems to be a father and son when father wants to learn from his son how to go tto back to normality.
There are no other voice in the poem.
"Past According to the poet is better than the present".
Father - First person
Son - seccond person
society - third person
Themes :
# Mannerism- Behaviourism
# Hiving Illusion
# Artificiality
# Process of learning
" They laugh with their hearts
Now laugh with their teeth
Shake hands with their hearts
Now they only shake their hands without hearts."
Present time people wihout hearts.Here poet compare it with his time.death of culture and coming new things.poet criticized western way of living life.
Title of the poem it was probably chosen by poet.as man the poem express his desirre to go, back in time and relearn life his child.
2)Mystic Drum
This poem is written by Gabriel Okara. The Drum represents African culture. We can say that is connecting with heart beats of poetic persona. Lady who smile’s behind tree is signifies so many things. She is an outsider. Lady thinks that she has more rich culture, but in real sense the colonized won’t have their Own culture. In this poem we found that men, women and fishes are dancing on the bit of drum. It shows the connection of nature and humans, that they are dancing together. It also shows how powerful mystic drum is? The African culture is connected with nature, the mystic drum invokes the sun, the moon,the river, gods and the trees began to dance.
" But standing behinnd a tree with
leaves around her waist,
She onlly smiled with a snake of her head".
But standing behind the tree there an outsider who smiled with an air of indifference at the richness of their culture.
The outsider stands for western imperialism that has looked down upon anything eastern.
the african culture is so much in tune with the nature the mystic drum invokes the sun, the moon,the river,the gods, and trees began to dance.
The gape finally get bridged between humanity and nature ,animal world and human worlld fishes turned men annd men becomes fishes.
But later as mystic drum stopped beating,men become men,fish become fish,life now becomes day.
Logical and mechanical thanks to western scientific imperialism and everything found its place.
3) Where I to choose
This
poem is written by Gabriel Okara. Here poet tries to compare Adam and Black
Negro man. Here poet also talks about generation gap. Adam is father and Cain
is metaphorically represented new generation. He talks about the language.
The
red streams are suggests multilingual new generation. Poet compares Cain (son
of Adam) with African man that Cain is wonderer and he doesn’t have any kind of
aim in his life. He just wanders here and there without destination. Same man
have not aim in their life.
Poet indirectly satirized modern men. The tower of
Babel is symbol of unity. Because when tower is constructed, people wanted to this
tower is a tower of oneness or unity.
But god gives them different languages
and makes them different through language. The line “And O of this dark halo
was the tired head free.” Poet tries to be free from this dark halo.
4)Dedication
This poem is written by Wole Soyinka.
This poem is kind of advice of new coming generation. Poet dedicated this poem
to new born child. Poetic persona has deep sense of life, so he gives advice to
new generation, how to live in this world. What to do and what not to do. We compare this poem with Mark Zukerburge’s letter to his new born baby.
In which
he gives advice to his daughter and hope for better future of his daughter. Poetic persona gives both negative and positive advice to new generation. With the use of different images and metaphors he tries convey his message, like
honey, scorpion, moon, sun, and many others.
Through this poem poet hope for better society, because his life's passed away but he thinks that his child
makes society better. The child itself is dedication to society.
5) Telephonic conversations:
This poem is written by ‘Wole
Soyinka’. Poet deals with racism and relation of black and white people. Talk
about first world country and third world country. A black man wont to
perchance home (land) from white lady. There is telephonic conversation between
them. Telephone is symbol of connecting people, it is tool of
communication. But here in poem it shows
distance between two people and nation also.
Lady represents first world
country and black man represent third world country (nation). Here we found
Frantz Fanon’s concept of “Black skin and white Mask”. In this poem both are
rich, necklace shows richness of lady and black man want to buy home so it
shows richness of black man. But lady over power man because she represent or
belongs to ‘first world nation’. Lady is
colonizer and man is colonized. Location place (home) white colony and for
Negro man it is kind of achievement. In this poem we found that lady asked
several question, like ‘where are you from? How dark? Are you light or very
Dark? After this there is a deep silent.
Silent suggest so many things. Silent
is ill manner silent. Here we have one question that who is really dark? Black
man gives self-confection, ‘I am African’ and many other things. Word use by
man “Madam” is shows man gives respect to white lady. I’m not fully dark, don’t
go with my color, and in this poem we found that man give his identity to that
lady.
But lady not give her identity. At the end of the poem there is one line,
“About my ears-‘Madam,’ I pleaded, wouldn’t you rather See yourself?” it shows
that what men think and mentality of white lady. When we look at this poem with post-colonial perspective, how white people feel superior and black people are
inferior. What white people think about black people? That they are always bad
and cruel, black people are barbaric, uncultured and uncivilized people.
6)
Refugee Mother and Child
This poem is written by Chinua
Achebe. First poet introduce statue of ‘Madonna’, and gives refrains of Jesus
and his mother. But in this poem poet writes about the real mother and her
child. What is the situation of the mother (African mother). Statue of Madonna
is illusion of reality. Generally smile of mother is sweet but in the poem,
mother’s smile is ghostly looking. Poet also says that mother’s heart is always
tender. Mother’s smile is ‘Ghostly looking’ because her child is dead due to
diarrhea. Here we found what the condition of African slave is. Mother, she is
not able to take care of her child in such kind of illness.
Theme:
#Starvation
# Love
# caring
# Pride
# Death
The description of mother taking care of her child is like she make child ready for school. But she makes ready her child for tiny grave. Here we found that death of motherhood also. She not sent her child to school but she sends her child for burial. If the child is belong to rich family, child get proper care. Here in the poem death of motherhood and child.
7)New York
The poet talks about “Blue Metallic eyes”. How people live life rather we can says lifelessness and many other connotation is here.
The use of the word ‘Frosty Smile’ this smile is smile of consumer’s society.
The word skyscrapers, shows richness of city and also talks about the height of
the same. In this poem there is one interesting line “lifting up Owl eyes in
the Sun’s eclipse” here poet create atmosphere of night in the day. Owl and
sun’s eclipse is the sign of something bad. In this poem we found “no child’s
laughter” it means the father and mother have no time to play with their child.
Another thing is child’s laughter is innocent; this word suggests that there is
no innocent laughter in the busy daily life. The ‘Drum’ represents African
culture and spiritual pulse of African traditional life. Poet use lion the bull
and the tree, this three things reflect so many things.
For example trees are
cut down and started building factory’s and all other materialistic things. City
becomes forest of cement and concretes. The word like “Black Blood” and “Oil of
Life” it is paradoxical that the color of blood is read and it is necessary for
life. Oil and blood are mixed with each other.
Cited:
http://jasaninidhi2014-16.blogspot.in/2016/03/topiccritical-analysis-of-poems-african.html
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