Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about themes of some chosen poems. The poem is part of African literature and our syllabus.
1] You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed by Gabriel Okara.
poem
In your ears my song is motor car misfiring stopping with a choking cough; and you laughed and laughed and laughed.
In your eyes my ante- natal walk was inhuman, passing your "omnivorous understanding" and you laughed and laughed and laughed
You laughed at my song, you laughed at my walk.
Then I danced my magic dance to the rhythm of talking drums pleading, but you shut your eyes and laughed and laughed and laughed
And then I opened my mystic inside wide like the sky, instead you entered your car and laughed and laughed and laughed
You laughed at my dance, you laughed at my inside. You laughed and laughed and laughed.
But your laughter was ice-block laughter and it froze your inside froze your voice froze your ears froze your eyes and froze your tongue.
And now it’s my turn to laugh; but my laughter is not ice-block laughter. For I know not cars, know not ice-blocks.
My laughter is the fire of the eye of the sky, the fire of the earth, the fire of the air, the fie of the seas and the rivers fishes animals trees and it thawed your inside, thawed your voice, thawed your ears, thawed your eyes and thawed your tongue.
So a meek wonder held your shadow and you whispered; "Why so?" And I answered: "Because my fathers and I are owned by the living warmth of the earth through our naked feet."
About the poem
"You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed" is a poem by Nigerian writer Gabriel Okara.One of the most popular in his oeuvre, it is a frequent feature of anthologies, such as A New Book of African Verse edited by John Reed and Clive Wake (Heinemann African Writers Series, 1985). "The piece belongs with the best of Senghor's nostalgic verse," wrote Michael J. C. Echeruo in a tribute to Okara on the occasion of his 70th birthday, "with the militancy of many of David Diop's lyrics, and certainly with J. P. Clark's 'Ivbie', another of my favorite African poems. Okara's poem is more relaxed than these, however, more ironic, less tortured. In some ways, of course, it is less urgent, less strident, less involved. If Clark's 'Ivbie' was complex and for good reason, You laughed, and laughed, and laughed seemed also appropriately straightforward: proud without arrogance, hurting without showing it, and blunt without rudeness." The first of Okara's poems that it was Echeruo's pleasure to read, it was also in his opinion the most enduring. The poem is sometimes wrongly attributed to South African writer Dennis Brutus. Click to read more.
Or watch video for more understanding.
Themes of the poem
1) Cultural Conflict
The poem is written by an African poet Gabriel Okara. Africa was one of the colonized country like Asian countries. In this poem we feel suffering of African people and humiliation of western people on African people. Both western people and African culture has big cultural conflict. They have culture differences along with geographical differences. African people are close to nature and living within the nature, jungle and other. But Western people are portrayed more materialistic.
African culture - Close to nature.
Western culture - Materialistic
There are conflict of superior and inferior among Western and African people. British people think themselves superior for their white complexion and think others inferior because they are black. And though thought African people inferior, everything that belongs to African Culture / people are inferior and disgustful for them. For example here in poem we find lines like,
You laughed at my song, you laughed at my walk.
You laughed at my dance, you laughed at my inside. You laughed and laughed and laughed.
Here, the laughter of British people is satirical or we can say disgustful laughter on African Culture and people. In other case we find that Gabriel Okara defending his people and his culture but somewhere he became judgemental. He expecting Western to don't judge African culture but He himself judging Western culture by saying that they are materialistic and their laughter is ice-block laughter, while their laughter is more pure and not ice-block laughter. In this judgement we find pain of unacceptable behavior of western towards Africans. This how we find cultural conflict in this poem by comparing Laughter of Western people and African people.
2] Modernism
In this poem modernism Shawn through use of 'Motor Car'. The line we found is,
In your ears my song is motor car misfiring stopping with a choking cough; and you laughed and laughed and laughed.
This is the very first line of the poem in which poet says that their songs are like 'motor car misfiring stopping with a choking cough', motor car here is not only symbolism of modernity but also of Luxurious lifestyle of Western people. African people are more close to nature and following traditional lifestyle, like dancing, singing for entertainment. while Western people are More Modern and using luxuries for their Amenability.
3) Colonialism
The poem is written by African poet Gabriel Okara representing his nation's culture and his people's suffering as a colonized country. The poem suggesting that how Colonizers make colonized people inferior for having black complexion. Also they thought themselves superior because they believe that they have white skin because god made them from their own skin while colonized people were black and brown because they were burned in the fire of hell. By making colonized people belive this, they Sepulchralize colonized people.
Also here in the poem 'Laughing' by Western people is like mental torture. They laugh on African culture, their people's dance, song, walk, inside etc that make them feel inferior. Okara says that,
'your laughter was ice-block laughter'.
It showing that somehow African people mentally tortured by this laughing of White people.
4) Nationalism
The poem also representing nationalism. African people are always close to nature. As we see here in this video
While Western culture is industrial. Being close to nature is representing African nationality in this poem. The poem lines like,
fire of the eye of the sky, the fire of the earth, the fire of the air, the fie of the seas and the rivers fishes animals trees and it thawed your inside
In this lines we find use of many natural sources like sea, eyes of the sky means Sun, fire, air, rivers, fishes, animals, trees etc. This all natural sources representing that how African people are very close to nature and nature is representer of African culture.
Also we find reference of ancient people and nature of Africa in the poem. Here is the line indicating it,
So a meek wonder held your shadow and you whispered; "Why so?" And I answered: "Because my fathers and I are owned by the living warmth of the earth through our naked feet."
Also in poem we find reference of 'Magic Dance', which reflecting superstitious nature of African People.
5) Racism
The poem is all about pain and suffering of black people as a colonized under white colonizers. In the poem, poet says that, whites laugh on African people's walk, dance, songs, inside that is sarcastic laugh on their existence. White thinks that their culture, songs, dance, manners, behavior everything are superior, and rest are inferior, for example African people. Not only in Africa but in each country that Britishers colonized, they made them belive that they are superior and others are inferior. They thought themselves superior because they believe that they have white skin because god made them from their own skin while colonized people were black and brown because they were burned in the fire of hell. Racism is one of the most prominent theme of poem.
2] Live Burial - Wole Soyinka
Poem
Sixteen paces
By twenty-three. They hold
Siege against humanity
And Truth
Employing time to drill through to his sanity
Schismatic
Lover of Antigone !
You will? You will unearth
Corpses of yester-
Year? Expose manure of present birth?
Seal him live
In that same necropolis.
May his ghost mistress
Point the classic
Route to Outsiders' Stygian Mysteries.
Bulletin:
He sleeps well, eats
Well. His doctors note
No damage
Our plastic surgeons tend his public image.
Confession
Fiction ? Is truth not essence
Of Art, and fiction Art?
Lest it rust
We kindly borrowed his poetic licence.
Galileo
We hoped he'd prove - age
Or genius may recant - our butchers
Tired of waiting
Ordered; take the scapegoat, drop the sage.
Guara'l The lizard:
Every minute scrapes
A concrete mixer throat.
The cola slime
Flies to blotch the walls in patterned grime
The ghoul:
Flushed from hanging, sniffles
Snuff, to clear his head of
Sins the law
Declared that morning's gallows load were dead of.
The voyeur:
Times his sly patrol
For the hour upon the throne
I think he thrills
To hear the Muse's constipated groan.
About the poem
Themes
1) Sadism
The poem is about Wole Soyinka's personal experience of being imprisoned by Colonizers. The poem representing sadism. In the poem we find how guards torture prisoners mentally and physically, what kind of narrow place provided them to live.very first line being with,
Sixteen paces
By twenty-three.
Sixteen paces by twenty - three is a narrow space given to prisoners in the prison. Also they were under strict watch by guards.In the poem we find reference of three guards and how they torture poet and other prisoners. 1) Guara'l The lizard : who split over poet's prison wall to make him feel uncomfortable. 2) The ghoul: who easily hanged / kill prisoners without any regret. 3)The voyeur : who only comes for patrolling when poet is on his toilet seat. This all thing is somehow make poet and other prisoner sad. The title of the poem 'Live Burial' is also indicating sad tone of poem.
2) Greek Mythology
The poem involves Greek Mythology of Schismatic
Lover of Antigone. click to read about Antigone.
In the poem this myth represented by the lines like,
Schismatic
Lover of Antigone !
You will? You will unearth
Corpses of yester-
Year? Expose manure of present birth?
Through this myth poet trying to show that how they are living like a dead in prison.
3) Imprisonment
The poem is all about poet's experience in prison. Very first line discovers space of prison.
Sixteen paces
By twenty-three.
This is a very narrow space to walk to live. The poet says that this prisons 'They hold Siege against humanity, And Truth Employing time to drill through to his sanity'. No humanity we found by this narrow space. Also guard's treatment with poet and other prisoners in prison is also very bad and cruel.1) Guara'l The lizard : who split over poet's prison wall to make him feel uncomfortable. 2) The ghoul: who easily hanged / kill prisoners without any regret. 3)The voyeur : who only comes for patrolling when poet is on his toilet seat.
In the poem poet use word 'plastic surgeons' which is for guards or reports who report that in prison all the pensioners are sleeps well, eats well, no damage, whereas situation is totally opposite of it. Here are the lines,
Bulletin:
He sleeps well, eats
Well. His doctors note
No damage
Our plastic surgeons tend his public image.
This all things showing Imprisonment of poet and his suffering as a prisoner.
I hope my blog will be helpful to you, Thank you.
