AFRICAN POETRY
What does Clark find fascinating about the dancer in “Agbor Dancer?”
Explanation
What was found fascinating about the dance in Agbor Dancer was that it centres on a female traditional dancer from Agbor, a town in Nigeria. The poet is thrilled by the dance steps of the dancer. The dancer is described as being "caught in the throb of a drum". This means that the dancer's steps move in harmony with the drum beat.
in the first stanza, the poet highlights the dancer's level of concentration and body movement to the beat of the "hide-brimmed stem" which is traced to the "ancestral core." The dancer's limbs are likened to "fresh foliage in the sun", which portrays the youthful exuberance of the dancer.
In the second stanza, the poet describes the dancer as being "entangled in the magic maze of music" which conveys the trance-like state of the dancer. The dancer's perfect dance steps and body-movement baffle the poet who can hardly describe them in his speech or in writing being "too atrophied for pen or tongue."
In the last stanza, the poet regrets not being able to participate in the communal dance like the dancer. He blames this on his Western education .... ("lead-tethered scribe") which prevents him from losing "himself in her warm caress"
Thus, inspite of the poet's fascination with the dancer and the rhythm of the dance, he remains a by-stander and can only enjoy the dance vicariously.