The Metaphors of Wishing Africa
"Wishing Africa" is a poem in which many thought provoking metaphors are used
to make it come alive by giving the reader great illustrations. First of all what is a
metaphor? A metaphor is a figure of speech that make comparison between two unlike
things, without using the words like or as. Marilyn Brooks utilizes metaphor to shape
one of the most interesting and dramatic poems. The essence of this poem lies within the
metaphors.
There are metaphors all through out "Wishing Africa," but the first one is not a
metaphor but a simile becuase of the use of the word as. "The wind delicate as
Queen Anne's lace" (4) is the first simile in the poem. This line is significant because it
helps to let the reader feel the poem, to feel Africa. It shows the gentle ways of the
environment, or the peacefulness of Africa. This helps to show why the poetic voice
would want to go back. The next metaphor in the stanza is , "The women's bodies were
variable as coral" (9). This is one of the most imaginative lines in the poem. It gives the
feeling of beauty, as if swimming underwater in the Great Barrier Reef, looking at all the
beautiful creatures. This is significant because the poetic voice is trying to show how
great and wonderful Africa was. It also serves as an illustration of the differences
between not just the women, but also ways of thinking. The woman may represent
different experiences the poetic voice has had since leaving Africa which has changed its
mind about the country and wishes it could go back there only one more time. Or they
could represent the different parts of Africa that the poetic voice misses so much.
The next stanza is a transition from the first. "I am threaded / with pale veins"
(13-14) is the first metaphor in the stanza. This is used to show why the poetic voice
cannot not return to the country it longs for. The words "threaded" (13) and "pale veins"
are the key concepts in the metaphor. The word "threaded" (13) gives the image of pain.
There are numerous possible reasons for the pain, the only limitation is the readers
imagination. Also, when a piece of clothe is made, many pieces of thread are threaded
together, and there is no way to get a single thread out without destroying the whole piece
of clothe itself.
First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language.
To begin with, the first poetic device in this song is imagery. This poetic device affects the song because certain phrases or words help you to imagine what the song is saying. For example,
In the 4th, 5th, and 6th line of this poem the poet portrays a major simile stating “the truth’s superb surprise, as lightening to the children eased with explanation kind.” In the first part of the simile saying “the truths superb
The narrator begins developing the thesis by using a figurative language, imagery, found in the second stanza: “I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
Contradicting to an even further extent, the attitude of the work, the final stanza seems to ridicule the previous: "Wipe your hand across your mouth, and laugh; / The worlds revolve like ancient women / Gathering fuel in vacant lots," (CPP, 13). Concerning itself with the world as a whole, the lines utilize a simile to characterize the inevitable persistence of meaningless action, action that sustains persistence, inturn sustaining a spiritually defunct society.
The poem opens upon comparisons, with lines 3 through 8 reading, “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets/ of their branches. The maples/ were colored like apples,/part orange and red, part green./ The elms, already transparent trees,/ seemed swaying vases full of sky.” The narrator’s surroundings in this poem illustrate him; and the similes suggest that he is not himself, and instead he acts like others. Just as the maples are colored like apples, he
The speaker begins the poem an ethereal tone masking the violent nature of her subject matter. The poem is set in the Elysian Fields, a paradise where the souls of the heroic and virtuous were sent (cite). Through her use of the words “dreamed”, “sweet women”, “blossoms” and
In the first stanza, the tone is lighter, describing a scene where two boys are running through towns. The boys race, the faster one being described as a “wild rabbit”.
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
There are a couple of similes the author uses in the poem to stress the helplessness she felt in childhood. In the lines, “The tears/ running down like mud” (11,12), the reader may notice the words sliding down the page in lines 12-14 like mud and tears that flowed in childhood days. The speaker compares a...
In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of languages, cultures, and geographical regions helped influence our African society. The ways in which we produce our artwork, spiritual ideals, and ritual performances are organic and raw. From the tropical regions of Congo and Ghana, to the arid regions of Mali; I pass through the global gateway into a domain where the Western world lost its roots and artistic imagination and grandeur. Africa appeals most to me for its ability to create a realm where the living, dead, and artistic ideals come into a single unit of tranquil philosophy.
Along with the imagery we get from the title, there is a lot of imagery within this poem. Let us start with the first three lines:
The consistent pattern of metrical stresses in this stanza, along with the orderly rhyme scheme, and standard verse structure, reflect the mood of serenity, of humankind in harmony with Nature. It is a fine, hot day, `clear as fire', when the speaker comes to drink at the creek. Birdsong punctuates the still air, like the tinkling of broken glass. However, the term `frail' also suggests vulnerability in the presence of danger, and there are other intimations in this stanza of the drama that is about to unfold. Slithery sibilants, as in the words `glass', `grass' and `moss', hint at the existence of a Serpent in the Garden of Eden. As in a Greek tragedy, the intensity of expression in the poem invokes a proleptic tenseness, as yet unexplained.
In the first four lines of the poem, Diop finds himself pondering about Africa. Since David was born and raised in France, he had not seen Africa before, but only heard about the land through family members. It was his grandmother who communicated images, and thoughts of Africa to David, as presented in the line “Africa of whom my grandmother sings” (Diop). The next verse “On the banks of the river bank” (Diop),...
sense of closeness to the topic of his poem. In the very beginning of the poem we