A Comparison Between the Poetic Techniques Of Ferlinghetti & Afrika

A Comparison Between the Poetic Techniques Of Ferlinghetti & Afrika

Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Tatamkhulu Afrika both have very effective

poems. Both of which are written to state some form of inequality or

discrimination. There are distinct and hidden similarities and

differences between the two. These are going to be highlighted in this

report.

As mentioned before, both are talking about certain inequality or

discrimination; however there are two main differences:

1. One poet is talking about racial issues (Afrika), the other about

democratic issues (Ferlinghetti)

2. Afrika has a clear view point as he has been subject to the

discrimination mentioned whereas Ferlinghetti is just stating what is

happening

Both of the issues written about were (and still are) key problems all

over the world, which contributes to the poems' success, as everybody

can identify with it. These poems are technically fictional, but the

truth behind the moral of them adds a genuine realism.

In "Nothing's Changed" (Afrika's poem), the tone as a general rule is

very accusative and extremely opinionated. This is because the author

is writing from his own experiences (he is black), almost in an

autobiographical sense, and hence it is written in first-person form.

He is in a way a spokesman, a representative for all black people that

are discriminated against, which is shown in the poem by using "we" in

line 26, "we" referring to black cultures.

In contrast, "Two Scavengers in a Truck. Two Beautiful People in a

Mercedes" (Ferlinghetti's poem) is written in third-person, as if he

is an observer of the scenario described in the poem. Also,

Ferlinghetti is writing a lot more factually, and isn't blatantly

opinionated, however there may be something hidden within it.

Those are the main differences. However, there are other differences

that are present:

Ferlinghetti's poem is taken from a freeze-frame, basically meaning

that a moment in time is taken, like a snapshot with a camera.

Afrika's poem, in a way; describes a journey, and is continually

moving on, explaining the frames as they come and go.