Question

Discuss the use of imagery in the poem the leader and the led by niyi osundare

Answer 1

The Lion stakes his claim

To the leadership of the pack

But the Antelopes remember

The ferocious pounce of his paws

The hyena says the crown is made for him

But the Impalas shudder at his lethal appetite

The Giraffe craves a place in the front

But his eyes are too far from the ground

When the Zebra says it’s his right to lead

The pack points to the duplicity of his stripes

The Elephant trudges into the power tussle

But its colleagues dread his trampling feet

The warthog is too ugly

The rhino too riotous

And the pack thrashes around

Like a snake without a head

“Our need calls for a hybrid of habits”,

Proclaims the Forest Sage,

“A little bit of a Lion

A little bit of a Lamb

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake

A leader who knows how to follow

Followers mindful of their right to lead”

Answer 2

The leader and the led is a poem by Niyi Osundare

• The poem is about the fight for the acquisition of power and position between political leaders in Africa and Nigeria.
• The poet describes the scenario by setting the theme in a forest.
• The animals of a forest have gathered to choose a king.
• The interested animals claimed the throne but the other animals quickly found out their mistakes in them.
• Finally the animals concluded that no animal is perfect.
• Forest sage makes them aware of the qualities desirable in a king.
• The king should have the meekness of a lamb, the fierceness of a lion, the toughness of a tiger, and the compassion of a doe.
• He should be transparent like a river and mysterious like a lake.
• Through the use of such imagery the poet describes the desirable qualities of a king.
• #SPJ1