AFRICAN POETRY
9. How does the diction convey the theme of Adeoti’s Ambush?
10. Discuss the theme of accommodation in The Anvi! d the Hammer
Explanation
Question 9:
(1) Relation to theme: (i) Oppression of citizens by the political leadership. (ii) The diction brings out the theme of the suffering of the people under bad leadership.
(2) Definition of diction (i) The poet's choice of words. (ii) Words or phrases that convey the intentions of the poet. (iii) It covers both the literal and metaphorical implications of what the poet says.
(3) Reference to the giant whale: (i) The land represents the leadership. (ii) This is a metaphor describing leadership. It connotes something fearful and horrid. (iii) Its activities manifest the ability to Swallow" the fishermen's hope; e.g. the sinker with hook, line and bait'. (iv) The fishermen's failure to catch fish is conveyed in expressions such as aborting dreams of a good catch'. (v) The Biblical allusion to 'all peter out with petered out desires', connotes the futility and emptiness of the fishermen's endeavours.,
(4) The reference to the sabre-toothed tiger: (i) This is also a metaphor for oppressive leadership. (ii) Words connoting fear, insecurity and violence abound; e.g. 'sabre-toothed tiger that cries deep in the glade while infants shudder home', the grizzled ones snatch their gut from bayonets of tribulation'. (iii) The impression of the people under curfew is conveyed in the expression 'halting venturous walk at dusk.
(5) The reference to the image of the giant hawk hovering in the sky. This suggests the curtailment of the people's freedom even by air and words, such as 'hovers' and hoots" suggest the terror that is imposed on the people.
(6) The land lying patiently in ambush: The word 'ambush' connotes both surprise and capture and implies that no one has the opportunity to escape, even "those who point away ... toward the shore of possibilities'
Question 10:
Relation to theme: (i) The colonial experience and its aftermath in the birth of a new African. (ii) The theme is also about both the psychological and cultural adjustment the Africans makes as a result of colonialism.
(2) The African dílemma: This is conveyed by the image of the anvil and the hammer connoting the violence of a new birth; e.g. "the joy of new songs, the trappings ... tender and tenuous'.
(3) Product of the forging: (i) imperfect African (ii) Trappings of the past. (iii) The African is resilient though 'tenuous', 'woven with the fibre of sisal and washed in the blood of the goat'.
(4) Prospects of the New African: (1) Education- 'search on the outlaw's hill' for jargons of a new dialectic'. (ii) The African still longs for the old days- 'sew the old days for us, our fathers'.
(5) The process of accommodation has not been easy. This is conveyed by the following expressions: (i) 'banner of the land' alongside 'new flags and anthems' and "flimsy glories of paved streets, (ii) the 'splash and moan of the sea', which is still audible.