AFRICAN POETRY
Illustrate Senghor’s use of figures of speech in I will Pronounce Your Name
Explanation
Senghor makes abundant use of figures of speech in this poem. In fact, the power of the poem rests on the effective use of figures of speech and almost every line owes its meaning to one figure of speech or the other. It is these that the poet uses to express his deep love for his mistress, Naett, symbolizing the black woman and by extension the African continent. The opening lines contain similes and metaphors powerfully expressed. Naett's name is "mild like cinnamon".
This simile creates the central image of Naett's sensuousness which runs through the poem. The metaphor which follows moves from the image of taste to that of smell: "the fragrance in which the lemon grove sleeps". The overall impression here is one of beauty and sensuousness. Other figures of speech enhance this impression of beauty and sensuousness. There is the metaphor of the "booming coffee trees", for example. However, one senses that Senghor is not only concerned with creating an image of beauty and sensuousness alone. Naett's resilience is also in focus.
In an effective simile, he compares her to "the Savannah that blossoms forth under the masculine ardour of the midday sun". This not only demonstrates Naett's beauty and sensuousness but also her ability to thrive under the most adverse conditions.
From this point on, Naett becomes a symbol of both beauty and strength. She is compared to the violent tornado in the metaphor, "Naett, that is the dry tornado" and to lightning in the metaphor which follows: the hard clap of lightning. She emerges here as both an object of terrifying beauty and also a symbol of great strength.
The metaphor in "Naett coin of gold" and the oxymoron in "shining coal" express the fact that her beauty is hard to define. In these two figures of speech are encapsulated the thoughts which Senghor has been expressing all along. that is, Naett is black, sensuous and radiant.