POEMS

 ANALYSIS OF THE POEM, THE PIANO AND THE DRUMS - 

                                                   Gabriel Okara

Gabriel Okara (born April 21, 1921, Bumodi, Nigeria—died March 25, 2019, Yenagoa, Nigeria) Nigerian poet and novelist whose verse had been translated into several languages by the early 1960s.

A largely self-educated man, Okara became a bookbinder after leaving school and soon began writing plays and features for radio. In 1953 his poem “The Call of the River Nun” won an award at the Nigerian Festival of Arts. Some of his poems were published in the influential periodical Black Orpheus, and by 1960 he was recognized as an accomplished literary craftsman.

Okara’s poetry is based on a series of contrasts in which symbols are neatly balanced against each other. The need to reconcile the extremes of experience (life and death are common themes) preoccupies his verse, and a typical poem has a circular movement from everyday reality to a moment of joy and back to reality again.

Okara incorporated African thought, religion, folklore, and imagery into both his verse and prose. His first novel, The Voice (1964), is a remarkable linguistic experiment in which Okara translated directly from the Ijo (Ijaw) language, imposing Ijo syntax onto English in order to give literal expression to African ideas and imagery. The novel creates a symbolic landscape in which the forces of traditional African culture and Western materialism contend. Its tragic hero, Okolo, is both an individual and a universal figure, and the ephemeral “it” that he is searching for could represent any number of transcendent moral values. Okara’s skilled portrayal of the inner tensions of his hero distinguished him from many other Nigerian novelists.

During much of the 1960s Okara worked in civil service. From 1972 to 1980 he was director of the Rivers State Publishing House in Port Harcourt. His later work includes a collection of poems, The Fisherman’s Invocation (1978), and two books for children, Little Snake and Little Frog (1981) and An Adventure to Juju Island (1992). (Britannica) 

Stanza -1 :-

In this stanza, the poetic persona speaks of the sound of the jungle drum. This sound of drum he feels is mystical, that is, there are so many supernatural things that comes with it. The sound of the drum to him, creates agility, strength and quickness of action. This can be seen from lines 3 to 4 as he runs into imagination to the primordial time picturing what this sound would do to the jungle residents:

“… Speaking of

Primal youth and the beginning

I see the panther ready to pounce

The leopard snarling about to leap

And the hunters crouch with spears poised”

All is action and natural. The poetic persona with a straight use of imagery and comprehensible words draws the readers’ attention to the fact that everything about this sound is in their natural states using words like, “riverside, jungle, raw, fresh,” names of animal in the jungle – natural habitat, and the last line of the stanza speaking of a hunter with spear ready to strike and hunt.

Everything about this stanza depicts the freshness of nature and life as of the old.

Stanza -2 :-

Once again, the poetic persona remembers of years back when he was still an infant in his mother’s laps suckling her breast (lines 9 to 11). Suddenly, he is walking the paths of the village with no new ideas of a way of life different from the one he is born into:

“At once I’m walking simple

Paths with no innovations,

Rugged, fashioned with the naked

Warmth of hurrying feet and groping hearts

In green leaves and wild flowers pulsing.”

Stanza -3 :-

Then, here in stanza three, reality changed as the poetic persona came in contact with a different sound from a faraway land.

“Then I hear a wailing piano

Solo speaking of complex ways in

Tear-furrowed concerto;

Of far-away lands”

The change in the sound came with a different instrument other than African native drum, and it also produces a sound that is different with so many musical technicalities which the poetic persona expresses with musical dictions in words like, “concerto, diminuendo, crescendo.” He deploys them to emphasize the difficulty in understanding this new sound.

“… but lost 

in the labyrinth

Of its complexities…”

 

Consequently, in the last four lines, the poetic persona laments on the level of confusion the new sound brings when it mixes with the drums.

“And I lost in the morning mist

Of an age at a riverside keep

Wandering in the mystic rhythm

Of jungle drums and the concerto”

On a general note, the poet discusses the confusion that is created when Western culture mixes with African culture. Any attempt to unify the two results in confusion and disorder. Therefore, one is keenly advised to abhor such a style of life. If you want to be African, be it, otherwise, live like the white man.

The poetic persona is not against choosing any of the cultures, but doesn’t mix them together. Indirectly, he warns us against becoming whiter than the whites themselves or more civilized than civilization.

Léopold Sédar Senghor :- 

Léopold Sédar Senghor was a towering figure in Senegalese and African history, renowned for his literary genius and political acumen. As a young man, he studied in France and co-founded the Negritude movement, a literary and ideological force that celebrated Black African culture, traditions, and values. His poetry, such as "Prayer to Masks," "Black Woman," and "To the Negro-American Soldiers," was a powerful expression of pride in his African identity, drawing inspiration from the continent's rich oral storytelling heritage.

Senghor's impact extended far beyond the realm of literature. After Senegal gained independence from France in 1960, he became the nation's first president, serving until 1980. As a political leader, Senghor championed democracy, economic development, and maintaining ties between French-speaking African countries. He advocated for African socialism as an alternative to capitalism and communism and advanced the philosophies of Negritude and Pan-Africanism, which called for solidarity and unity among people of African descent worldwide.

Through his influential writing, political leadership, and ideological vision, Senghor left an indelible mark on modern Africa. His work celebrated Black African heritage, advocated for African unity, and fostered a sense of pride and resilience in the face of colonial oppression. His legacy as one of Africa's most prominent thinkers and nation-builders continues to inspire generations, serving as a testament to the enduring power of art, culture, and the human spirit.

• POEM ANALYSIS:-

 

Senghor's powerful poem "To The Negro-American Soldiers" is a rallying cry that addresses African American troops who fought for the United States in World War II. The poet, who later became Senegal's first president after independence, wrote this piece in 1942 while the war was raging. He opens by referring to the soldiers as "Brothers," establishing a sense of kinship and shared identity despite the distance between them, connecting through their common African ancestral roots and heritage.

The poem acknowledges the glaring contradiction that these soldiers risk their lives defending the ideals of the "Free World" when they do not enjoy full freedoms and rights in their own homeland. As black Americans in the 1940s, they faced legalized racism, discrimination, and the denial of basic liberties. Thus, their struggle is "double" - against the Axis enemies abroad and against racial injustice at home.

Senghor encourages them that their brave sacrifice during this violent conflict will ultimately lead to racial progress and liberation. He portrays their wartime service as planting "blood-stained seeds" that will eventually bear fruit, with a "free sun" rising over black people in both Africa and America. Vivid natural imagery depicts their spilled blood as "red seeds" mingling with the "black humus" of their African ancestral soil. These necessary sacrifices will nourish the future flowering of black dignity and freedom, represented by the blazing "African flame."

Senghor reminds the soldiers that this powerful inner flame - their connection to the ancient pride, strength, and spirit of their African roots - burns within them. Even if colonialism tried to smother it, that integral life force could never be extinguished, passed down inexorably through ancestry. He urges them to keep fanning and stoking this flame through their brave deeds in battle. Every act of courageous perseverance against injustice helps "rekindle" their ancestral African spirit's brilliance.

In stirring lines, Senghor declares this flame will eventually "enlighten the most distant continents" and even "redden" the sun itself with its radiance. Their righteous struggle has a transcendent, universal importance. More metaphysical, spiritual imagery casts the soldiers' experience as a kind of baptism by blood and fire. Their sacrificial bloodshed is portrayed as a purifying ritual that will help cleanse and wash away their subjugation. Through this arduous trial, they are being "tempered" - shaping their indomitable character and collective African identity.

Out of their suffering, Senghor sees a "Negro rebirth" emerging - a reinvigorated sense of cultural pride rising like the sun from the night of oppression, in tune with the natural cycles of the cosmos. He assures them their sacred cause of freedom is destined to ultimately prevail over injustice. With vivid, cosmic symbolism, he describes their blood as "dyeing the universe with purple." This equates their ordeal to an epochal, spiritual awakening that will transform and elevate human consciousness on a global scale. Senghor imbues their role with enormous historical and moral significance

In the final stanza, he urges the soldiers to remain steadfast on their difficult path ahead despite adversity. Though it may be paved with "trampled cadavers," Senghor wants them to keep their "eyes fixed" firmly on the liberating vision of ultimate victory, propelled by the "sacred fire" of their righteous African spirit that can never be broken. The closing line reaffirms their eternal, unbreakable connection to their ancestral origins, hailing them powerfully as "the Sons of the Blood, of the Sons of the ancient Blood!"

THEMES -

Racial Injustice:-

At the core of this powerful poem is the theme of racial injustice and oppression confronting the African American soldiers. Senghor highlights the glaring hypocrisy that while risking their lives to defend the "Free World," they are denied basic freedoms and human rights in their own country due to racist discrimination and systemic oppression. He laments their "double struggle" - against foreign enemies but also against the injustices of legalized segregation, disenfranchisement, and denial of civil liberties at home. The poem gives voice to their plight as brutalized second-class citizens despite their patriotism, decrying these dehumanizing racial prejudices.

African Pride/Identity:-

To inspire and empower them in this struggle, Senghor evokes the unifying power of pan-African cultural identity and ancestral heritage. He reminds them of the inner "African flame" that burns within - that indelible connection to their proud ancient roots and the perseverance of their African forebears, passed down through generations. Though colonialism tried to extinguish it, this flame can never be snuffed out. Senghor wants them to draw strength, courage and a sense of noble collectivism by re-embracing these transcendent African ethnic and cultural ties.

Liberation Struggle :-

Senghor portrays their wartime perseverance as part of a broader, historic global struggle for the liberation of black people from the chains of colonial oppression, racism, and disenfranchisement. Their role as soldiers is cast as the vanguard of an epochal freedom movement to finally overthrow subjugation and achieve justice, human dignity, and self-determination for Africans everywhere. Their "blood-stained" deeds help sow the seeds that will ultimately blossom into the "free sun rising" of a new era of black renaissance.

Resilience of the Human Spirit:-

Despite the dehumanizing adversities they face, the poem expresses an enduring belief in the resilience of the human spirit - embodied by their proud African identity - to prevail over oppression. Senghor describes their essence undergoing a spiritual "rebirth," an awakening harmonized with the natural cycles of renewal, rising like the sun from the "night" of subjugation. He urges them to keep that empowering inner "fire" burning through perseverance, resolute that their sacred cause is destined for victory through the strength of moral conviction.

In exploring these interrelated themes, Senghor's words operate as an impassioned call for the soldiers to resist racial oppression by fiercely claiming their African cultural heritage as a transcendent wellspring of spiritual fortitude. He depicts their struggle as pivotal on personal and global historical levels in finally shattering the shackles of colonial subjugation through the persevering, indomitable power of the human spirit.