Analysis on stanza one on grieved lands poem
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The Grieved Lands is poem of 42 lines with seven uneven stanzas. It is a free verse. The Grieved Lands presents the uniqueness of Black race and their resistance to slavery and colonial rule. It belongs to the group of poems which advance the unique beauty of the Black race and the dominant strength of being Black. The poet draws from the realistic nature of Negritude (a movement which celebrates and promotes the uniqueness and dominance of Blamck race to other races popularly propagated by Leopald Sedar Senghor).
In the poem, The Grieved Lands the poet presents African race as an imperishable race and African land as a land that can withstand anything; Lines 40 -41.
The first three stanzas talk about the degradation of Africa by slavery, imperialism, colonialism and Westernization. The poet uses these stanzas to decry the effects of Western influence on Africa. Line 2 “In the tearful woes of ancient and modern slave” In this line, the “ancient” refers to the physical slavery when men and women were forcefully moved out of the Land of Africa to different parts of the world. The “modern slave” refers to the present psychological and mental slavery in Africa and among Blacks, where Africans or Blacks depend on the West for aids and solutions. This is seen as the psychological acceptance of Western values, culture – dressing, lifestyle etc as the standard of measuring success and achievement.
In stanza two, the poet decries the elimination of the valuable culture, beauty, custom and land of Africa by the colonialism and westernization. He figuratively presents this through the symbol of “flower” and “forest”. This is seen in lines 7 – 10 “In the infamous sensation of the stunning perfume of the/Flower/ Crushed in the forest/ By the wickedness of iron and fire”… ‘Iron and Fire’ refers to the fierce way the colonialist and imperialist imposed themselves on Africa. These moves destroyed the beautiful flora and fauna of African land hence they grieve. The ever blossoming African beauty and teeming African youth, customs and culture represented by ‘Flower’ were crushed by civilization which made Africans lose their identity. ‘Crushed in the forest’.
In the third stanza, the poet bemoans the destruction of African dreams. All those blacks sold into slavery had their dreams in life but were stifled out by slavery while the Africans under the colonialist administration were exiled to prevent them from attaining their dreams in their father’s land hence the land grieves for her children. The poet was sent to Cape Verde for exile amidst his struggle for the Liberation of Angola. This was the fate of most other African and Black nationalists fighting for the liberation and independence of their countries from other parts of the continent. Line 13 ‘In the dream soon undone in jinglings of gaolers’ keys’.
The fourth stanza down to the seventh presents the resilient spirit of Africa in the face of oppression. The poet speaks of hope and survival. The poet posits that Africa is notwithstanding the years of her subjugation to European powers. The poet reveals this in lines 23 – 25 “They shout out the sound of life/Shout it/ Even the corpses thrown up by the Atlantic”. The poet indirectly reveals that the death of slaves thrown overboard during the slave trade era calls on her children to wrestle back power from the colonialists and imperialist. Their shouts give birth to a rejuvenated Africa.
In the sixth stanza, the poet maintains that the innocent blood of Blacks shade during slavery and the quest for independence of African are sacrificial to the survival of the Black nations. Hence new stars are rising from strong desire of men to repossess the land and appease the grieve land. The poet concludes by stating that Africa is an indefatigable part of the earth which cannot be annihilated and Angola is great part of it. Lines 40 – 41 “ Because we are living/And are imperishable particles” . Instead new stars will emerge which help in the transformation of the world as we have seen in the world today.
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