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Introduction to poetry poem analysis
Introduction to poetry poem analysis
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'Nothing's Changed' by Tatamkhulu Afrika Nothing’s changed is a very intense poem, it is showing the black boy’s feeling towards what he is seeing and experiencing during his life. The poet tells the reader how he's angry due to the attitude towards black people. There are many violent and physical emotions in this poem. He makes the words and phrases come to life, for example "small round hard stones click" and "cans trodden on, crunch" by using this technique a physical response is brought into the poem. This feeling of conflict and physical tension makes the reader feel on edge. It makes the reader feel like tension is building. The poet tells the reader how he knows he's in district six by "the soft labouring" of his lungs and "the skin" about his bones, also "the anger" in his eyes. Anger and physical tension are very important in this poem. I believe it is mainly what the poem is about. To make the feeling of anger and tension build up more. The poet refers to heat a lot, for example "flaring like a flag." Words like "hot", " white", "burn" and "flaring" are used throughout the poem to keep the anger flowing. I feel that this situation is rather like in a boiler, the pressure and heat is building steadily but it can only take so much. The poet also tells the reader that he doesn't feel welcome in this country, despite there are no "sign says it is.” The poet, in his poem gives a very clear impression that he is looking at the real world but from the outside or through a window." I press my nose to the clear panes" shows that he is looking in from the outside. Glass is a very important symbol in the poem, it represents a barrier between the black and white people or communities as they are practically two divisions, the white people think they're superior to black people. The poet refers to how black people are called "Boys" and white "Men" this is a very offensive comment which angers
The first stanza describes the depth of despair that the speaker is feeling, without further explanation on its causes. The short length of the lines add a sense of incompleteness and hesitance the speaker feels towards his/ her emotions. This is successful in sparking the interest of the readers, as it makes the readers wonder about the events that lead to these emotions. The second and third stanza describe the agony the speaker is in, and the long lines work to add a sense of longing and the outpouring emotion the speaker is struggling with. The last stanza, again structured with short lines, finally reveals the speaker 's innermost desire to "make love" to the person the speaker is in love
It's about sunlight. It's about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow. It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen.” -pg. 85
Another way that Trethewey brings this poem together is through the use of
result it has on people. In all three poems the last line of the poems
enable us to understand the moral of the poem. Which is work hard and you will receive you goals and never give up.
The elements in the poem work very well together to help set the theme of this poem. The tone set the overall mood of the poem, so show that it was rushed but not in a chaotic way. The imagery helps to show us little details of the setting, which are very helpful. And finally, the figures of speech, help the reader to compare the scene to things they have experienced in their lifetime to fully understand the poem.
I believe that the structure of this poem allows for the speaker to tell a narrative which further allows him to convey his point. The use of enjambment emphasizes this idea as well as provides a sense of flow throughout the entirety of a poem, giving it the look and feel of reading a story. Overall, I believe this piece is very simplistic when it comes to poetic devices, due to the fact that it is written as a prose poem, this piece lacks many of the common poetic devices such as rhyme, repetition, alliteration, and metaphors. However, the tone, symbolism, allusion and imagery presented in the poem, give way to an extremely deep and complicated
Tatmkhulu Afrika’s poem “Nothing’s Changed” is about an experience of returning to South Africa after the system of racial separation, apartheid. The use of contrasting images reinforce the major theme of the poem: white supremacy through apartheid, social and economic inequality between the blacks and the whites, as well as the blacks’ anger towards the whites.
the writer allows the reader to see what he sees, to hear what he hears, and to feel what he feels, and thus experience his sensitivity to the sights and sounds of nature. This way both the writer and reader are now in harmony with one another.
the mood of the poem. It contains no love phrases and is a poem about
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie attempts to use history in order to gain leverage on the present, to subvert the single story stereotypes that dominate many contemporary discourses on Africa. Written in the genre of historical fiction, Adichie’s novel transcends beyond mere historical narration and recreates the polyphonic experiences of varying groups of people in Nigeria before and after the Civil War. She employs temporal distortion in her narrative, distorting time in order to illustrate the intertwining effects of the past and present, immersing deep into the impact of western domination that not only catalyzed the war, but continues to affect contemporary Africa. In this paper, I will analyze her portrayal of the multifaceted culture produced by colonialism – one that coalesces elements from traditional African culture with notions of western modernity to varying degrees. I will argue that Adichie uses a range of characters, including Odenigbo’s mother, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene, to each represent a point in a spectrum between tradition and modernity. Through her juxtaposition, she undermines the stereotypes that continue to characterize Africa as backwards and traditional, proving instead that colonialism has produced a cross culture where the two are intertwined.
himself. She takes a look at it, but doesn't buy it, as it is too
little to do with the actual emotions that are the subject of the poem. In "East
people want to continue to read the poem a few more times. His was of
the way through the poem to the end. He does this because he thinks of