Literature lesson note for SS1 Third Term

1. Revision of last term’s work                                                                               

1. Genres of Literature: Drama, Prose and Poetry
2. Figures of Speech

2. Literature lesson note for SS1 Third Term Introduction of African Prose

One of the following texts shall be studied in the class

1. Buchi Emecheta: Second Class Citizens

ii. Alex Agyel – Agyiri: Unexpected Joy At Dawn (2018 Edition)

1. Textual and Authorial background.
2. Plot summary of either prose listed above
3. Setting and style of the either prose listed above

3. Meticulous study and analysis of Chapters 1 – 3 of Second Class Citizen

OR Part I – Chapters 1 – 11 of Unexpected Joy At Dawn.

4. Meticulous study and analysis of Chapters4 – 6 of Second Class Citizen

OR Chapters 12 – 21 of Unexpected Joy At Dawn.

5. Meticulous study and analysis of Chapters 7 – 9 of Second Class Citizen

OR Part II – Chapters 1 –8 of Unexpected Joy At Dawn.

6. Meticulous study and analysis of Chapters 10 – 11 of Second Class Citizen

OR Chapters 9 – 16 of Unexpected Joy At Dawn.

7. MID-TERM BREAK

8. Meticulous study and analysis of Chapters12 – 13 of Second Class Citizen

OR Chapters 17 –23 of Unexpected Joy At Dawn

9. Characterisation, characters, roles, significance/ importance to the development of the plot of the text. Second Class Citizen OR Unexpected Joy at Dawn.

NOTE:

Roles played by each character in either novel must be emphasized.

10. Themes of either Prose listed above

Style, Language / Diction and Narrative Techniques of either prose listed above

Second Class Citizen:

1. Marriage without love.
2. A successful marriage is a reciprocal relationship
3. Stubborn female
4. Feminist temper
5. Irresponsible husbandhood
6. The concept of Second Class Citizen e.t.c

11. Introduction to African Poems

‘Black Woman’ by Leopold Sedar Senghor

1. Themes and Content Analysis of Black Woman
2. Poetic Devices of ‘Black Woman’

12. Revision

13 Examination

WEEK 1

Literature lesson note for SS1 Third Term Figures

A figure of speech is a word or phrase using figurative language—language that has other meaning than its normal definition. In other words, figures of speeches rely on implied or suggested meaning, rather than a dictionary definition.  We express and develop them through hundreds of different rhetorical techniques, from specific types like metaphors and similes, to more general forms like sarcasm and slang.

Figures of speech make up a huge portion of the English language, making it more creative, more expressive, and just more interesting! Many have been around for hundreds of years—some even thousands—and more are added to our language essentially every day. This article will focus on a few key forms of figures of speech, but remember, the types are nearly endless!

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a figure of speech that utilizes extreme exaggeration to emphasize a certain quality or feature.

• I have a million things to do.
• This suitcase weighs a ton.
• This room is an ice-box.
• I’ll die if he doesn’t ask me on a date.
• I’m too poor to pay attention.

Understatement

Understatement is a figure of speech that invokes less emotion than would be expected in reaction to something. This downplaying of reaction is a surprise for the reader and generally has the effect of showing irony.

• I heard she has cancer, but it’s not a big deal.
• Joe got his dream job, so that’s not too bad.
• Sue won the lottery, so she’s a bit excited.
• That condemned house just needs a coat of paint.
• The hurricane brought a couple of rain showers with it.

Paradox

A paradox is a figure of speech that appears to be self-contradictory but actually reveals something truthful.

• You have to spend money to save it.
• What I’ve learned is that I know nothing.
• You have to be cruel to be kind.
• Things get worse before they get better.
• The only rule is to ignore all rules.

Pun

A pun is a figure of speech that contains a “play” on words, such as using words that mean one thing to mean something else or words that sound alike in as a means of changing meaning.

• A sleeping bull is called a bull-dozer.
• Baseball players eat on home plates.
• Polar bears vote at the North Poll.
• Fish are smart because they travel in schools.
• One bear told another that life without them would be grizzly.

Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that connects two opposing ideas, usually in two-word phrases, to create a contradictory effect.

• open secret
• Alone together
• true lies
• controlled chaos
• pretty ugly

Simile

Simile is a figure of speech in which two dissimilar things are compared to each other using the terms “like” or “as.”

• She’s as pretty as a picture.
• I’m pleased as punch.
• He’s strong like an ox.
• You are sly like a fox.
• I’m happy as a clam.

Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things without the use of the terms “like” or “as.”

• He is a fish out of water.
• She is a star in the sky.
• My grandchildren are the flowers of my garden.
• That story is music to my ears.
• Your words are a broken record.

Euphemism

Euphemism is a figure of speech that refers to figurative language designed to replace words or phrases that would otherwise be considered harsh, impolite, or unpleasant.

• Last night, Joe’s grandfather passed away (died).
• She was starting to feel over the hill (old).
• Young adults are curious about the birds and bees (sex).
• I need to powder my nose (go to the bathroom).
• Our company has decided to let you go (fire you).

Personification

Personification is a figure of speech that attributes human characteristics to something that is not human.

• I heard the wind whistling.
• The water danced across my window.
• My dog is telling me to start dinner.
• The moon is smiling at me.
• Her alarm hummed in the background.

Symbolism is a literary device that refers to the use of symbols in a literary work. A symbol is something that stands for or suggests something else; it represents something beyond literal meaning. In literature, a symbol can be a word, object, action, character, or concept that embodies and evokes a range of additional meaning and significance.

For example, in his poem “Fire and Ice,” Robert Frost utilizes symbolism to indicate to readers how the world may be destroyed:

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

In the poem, fire symbolizes destructive and consuming emotions such as jealousy, desire for power, anger, and impulsivity. Ice, in the poem, symbolizes destructive and withholding emotions such as hate, indifference, loneliness, and isolation. Of course, the poet indicates to the reader that the literal meanings of fire and ice make them capable of destroying and ending the world. However, it’s the symbolism of fire and ice that enhances the meaning and significance of the poem.

Common Examples of Symbolism in Everyday Life

• rainbow–symbolizes hope and promise
• red rose–symbolizes love and romance
• four-leaf clover–symbolizes good luck or fortune
• wedding ring–symbolizes commitment and matrimony
• red, white, blue–symbolizes American patriotism
• green traffic light–symbolizes “go” or proceed
• tree blossoms–symbolize spring season

Assonance is a literary device in which the repetition of similar vowel sounds takes place in two or more words in proximity to each other within a line of poetry or prose. 

Examples

• Keep your eyes on the prize
• Lean, mean, fighting machine
• Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite

Reference Material

Literary Devices Editors. (2013). Retrieved November 4, 2014, from http://literarydevices.net/metaphor/

WEEK 2

SECOND CLASS CITIZEN by Buchi Emecheta

1. Textual and Authorial background

Buchi Emecheta is one of Nigeria’s most well-known writers. She graduated from the University of London, wrote over twenty novels, plays and short stories, and independently raised her five children.

Buchi Emecheta was born on July 21, 1944, in Lagos, Nigeria. Her parents were Igbos who had left the Igbo town of Ibusa (Igbuzo in Igbo), located in what is now called Delta State. She joined the husband in London (in 1962) where she worked as a librarian.

Second Class Citizen, her first published novel in 1974, is semi autobiographical – it is based on her childhood in Lagos and early life in London with her husband before she divorced him. It also depicts the struggle for women in receiving their education and surviving in a European white society while adapting to different religious beliefs and still following the beliefs of their people.

B. Plot Summary

Second Class Citizen, which tells the story of Adah Ofili from childhood to her early years in London, opens with a discussion of dreams. The eight-year-old Adah, who was born in Lagos during World War 2, only dreams of going to school since she is not allowed to attend school because she is not a boy.  One day, when her mother is distracted, Adah goes to the Methodist School where her neighbour teaches, and he allows her to learn with them for the day. She returns home meeting a group of policemen in their compound. Her mother is being punished for child neglect, yet Adah is allowed to continue attending school.

Months later, Adah father goes to the hospital but does not return. His demise makes his nuclear family to separate. His wife, Adah’s mother, is inherited by his brother. His son, Adah’s brother, goes to live with one of his (Adah father’s) cousins whereas Adah is sent to live with one of her mother’s brothers.

Adah is allowed to remain in school only because she could bring a higher bride price if educated. Suitors come; however, she is not interested in any of them. Instead, fascinated with the possibility of winning a scholarship to secondary school, Adah steals the money for the sitting fee, passes the examination, and wins the scholarship. She attends the Methodist Girls’ School and completes the four-year course.

Knowing full well that she will not be allowed to live on her own in the university, Adah marries a student named Francis Obi (who is too poor to pay the bride price) with the hope of being able to attend school and study at her own pace. She births a daughter and begins working for the American Consulate Library. Having had the dream of going to the United Kingdom, she shares it with her husband. They decide to go, but his family, who depends upon her income, approves of his leaving but insists that Adah remain at home and continue to support the family. Her husband’s father does not approve of women going to England. At first, Adah is filled with rage, but she controls her anger and comes up with a plan – “Be as cunning as a serpent but as harmless as a dove,” she quoted to herself. Once again, she uses her cleverness to get what she wants. She sends Francis (her husband) off to England to study while she works and sends him money in the meantime.

Adah is known for her perseverance; she does not give up. When her husband writes to her a few months later that he is going to be in England for at least four or five years, she decides it is time to make her move. She convinces her in-laws that it is necessary for her to be in England with her husband, stating that her husband wants her there, which he did say to her in the letter. She soon books herself and her two children first class tickets on a ship to England. As a foreshadowing of all that is to come for her, Adah arrives England, welcomed by cold, rainy and cloudy skies. She is shocked by the greyness but will not give up on her dreams. Adah has arrived in the United Kingdom where she becomes a second class citizen. She is only a first class citizen in Nigeria.

Some of the main points of struggle for Adah are being a black woman in a predominantly white society, learning of the women’s right movement during the seventies, the fact that there is birth control available to her, and the struggle to pursue her goal in becoming a writer between four children and a lazy abusive husband.

The novel deals with many different issues and movements and how they all interconnect and relate to one another and also one woman. Just as the reader starts to find hope for Adah, another circumstance arises. And as the story progresses, one wonders how one woman can put up with so much, yet be so strong not only for herself, but also for her children. She neither gives up on them nor her dreams, not even when her first piece of work was burnt by her husband.

Setting

As regards the time, the novel is set in post colonial Nigeria. The physical locales of the novel are Nigeria and the United Kingdom as the plot of the novel moves from Nigeria to England, following the developmental process of the protagonist, Adah.

Style in Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen

Style is a particular way, pattern, or design in which a work is written. It comprises the language/diction, tone, structure, narrative technique or point of view etc. Some elements of style used in Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen are:

1. Language/Diction

The language of the novel is simple and easy to understand. The sentences and words used are not very complicated. The reader can read the story with ease and understand every bit of it.

2. Point of View/Narrative Technique

The story is told from the third person point of view. The narrator is not presented as a character within the narrative; he is primarily omniscient, internally focalizing on Adah’s subjective experiences, emotions and interpretations. As a result, the thoughts and emotions of the other characters are not divulged to the reader. Instead, only their external actions and reactions are described from Adah’s subjective point of view.

3. Euphemism

Emecheta has used different euphemistic expressions to cover the harshness of sexual activities in the novel. Below are some examples:

i. “As soon as her husband touches her, she gets a swollen tummy…” (22). By “touch” here, the writer means “sex”, and by “swollen tummy”, she means pregnancy.

ii. “Is it too much for a man to want his wife?” (88). Here, “want” refers to sexual urge.

4. Tone

The tone of the story is melancholic, depicting Adah’s struggle within the patriarchal and colonial hegemonic structure. However, the story contains a tinge of hope because of the character of Adah who is determined and optimistic in the face of conflict.

5. The use of Imagery

The novel depicts vivid yet fast-paced description of Adah’s experiences through the use of certain words which create such pictures in the minds of readers. Adah’s childhood in Nigeria is reflected in the architecture of the house, the setting and the city of Lagos. The imagery of UK such as the ghetto in which Adah stays and its architecture such as the claustrophobic spacing of the house and lack of basic amenities projects a sharp dichotomy to Nigeria, and visually depict her demotion to a second class citizen.

EVALUATION

1. Discuss the background of the author of either text.
2. Narrate the story of the either text.
3. Identify the different level of the setting of the either text.

WEEK 3

Analysis of Chapters 1 – 3 Second Class Citizen

Chapter one of the story starts out with Adah as a young girl who is stuck at home with her mother who does not pay much attention to her. Adah the main character or the protagonist of the novel “Second Class Citizen” was born in Nigeria and belonged to the Ibo tribe. Adah is a young girl who begins to have her dream when she is about eight years to get to the United Kingdom. Adah’s brother (Boy) is away at school all day while her father is away working. Adah decides that she wants to go to school too and she sneaks away from her mother one day and runs all the way to school. She has met the teacher a few times before and she goes hoping that he will let her sit in his class.  When she arrives she disrupts the entire class by bursting into the room.  The children all stare at her but the teacher just looks at her and smiles and lets her sit in on the rest of the class (Page 10-11).

From Adah’s childhood, when she hear her father speak of the United Kingdom, and “the preparation of the Ibuza women who lived in Lagos for the arrival of the town first lawyer (Nweze) from the United Kingdom”. The title “United Kingdom” when pronounce by Adah’s Father, sounded heavily like the of noise associated with bombs. It was so deep, so mysterious that Adah’s father always voiced it as if he were speaking of God’s Holiest of Holies. Going to the United Kingdom must surely be like paying God a visit. The United Kingdom, then must be like heaven (Page 8). Adah’s dream is to go to the United Kingdom to study and to see the greatness that she is sure is there. Her troubles begin from the first moment she realizes what her dream is. First she is not allowed to go to school because she is a girl and the family does not want to spend the money for her to go. She is a girl of her own mind though she goes to school anyway which ends up getting her mother in trouble.

In chapter two, her next set of problems occurs when her father (Pa) dies and she is sent to live with her mother’s Elder brother as servant. Any money that her family had went to her brother’s education (Boy), and the only reason she was kept in school (though not very good ones) was because it was thought that her uncle would be able to get more money for her when they finally married her off. “Children, especially girls, were taught to be very useful very early in life, and this had its advantages. For instance, Adah learned very early to be responsible for herself, she had to survive.”(Page 18). This desire to persevere and survive in her society is what leads Adah on her journey through life. It is also the driving force behind her desire to never give up on her dreams.  She avoids marriage over and over until she realizes that marriage might be her only way to continue on with her dreams. She then gets married to Francis and uses her marriage in the sense that she gets a good job and takes care of her husband and her children and she saves money with the intent for her family to go over to United Kingdom. The plan is that she will go along with her husband and both of them will continue their educations and become prominent figures in society.

She was beginning to believe she would go to England” (Page 29). The news Adah receives from her husband is not that she will go to England, but that her husband will go to England to study to better himself while Adah will stay at home and continue to support the family. Her husband’s father does not approve of women going to England and so he will not allow both of them to move there. At first Adah is filled with rage, but she controls her anger and she comes up with a plan.  “Be as cunning as a serpent but as harmless as a dove,” she quoted to herself.” (Page 30). Once again she uses her smarts to get what she wants. She sends Francis (her husband) off to England to study and in the meantime she works and sends him money.

In Chapter three, Adah keeps her hopes up and when her husband writes to her a few months later that he is going to be in England for at least four or five more years, she decides it is time to make her move and she convinces her in-laws that it is necessary for her to be in England with her husband and that Francis wants her there, which he did say to her in his letter. She soon books herself and her two children first class tickets on a ship to England and as she arrive in England, welcomed by cold, rainy and cloudy skies. A foreshadowing of all that is to come for her. She is shocked by the greyness but she will not give up on her dream. Adah has arrived in the United Kingdom and this is where she goes from a first class citizen in her native Nigeria to a Second Class Citizen in England, (Page 39) the Francis that she came to meet was a new Francis. There was something very, very different about him. Adah was stunned when he kissed her in public with everybody looking in public. Adah was really not comfortable with the environment Francis (her husband) stays. She said, “Francis does not tried at all”, he should have taken example from his Friend Mr Eke when he knew that his wife was coming with their daughter, he  made sure he move away from his lot, (Page 42) but anyway; Adah has no choice, days later she realized that Francis had become sophisticated in many things. She kept all this to herself, though, there was no point in arguing with Francis; he was as remote as the English people Adah had seen at Liverpool. Adah the house where they now lived was a place in which one could not have a good family ding-dong in peace. But anyway, Adah was able to get a job in the United Kingdom.

EVALUATON

1. Discuss Adah’s first day at Methodist School;
2. Examine the significance of the planning and reception in honour of Lawyer Nweze
3. Describe to what extent the death of Pa affect Adah’s education

ASSESSMENT

1. Why wasn’t Adah sure of the age at which she became aware of her dream?

2. “She was a girl who arrived when everyone was expecting and predicting a boy. So, since she was such a disappointment to her parents…nobody thought of recording her birth.” What does this tell you about the period/setting of this book?

2b. Do people still hold such belief about female children? Discuss within groups and share your thoughts with the class.

3. Where is Adah from and why was it difficult to believe that it was her hometown?

4. List two differences between Lagos and Ibuza as explained in the text.

5. Whose arrival influenced Adah’s childhood dream?

6. Why was Lawyer Nweze’s return to Nigeria such a big deal for the people of Ibuza?

 7. What was Adah’s mother’s occupation?

8. Adah’s mother would never make Adah a dress that was exactly her size because she thought Adah would outgrow it just as soon. Think about your parents or guardians. How often do they buy you clothes? Have you had a similar experience as Adah’s?

9. What was Adah’s dream?

10. Why did Adah begin to tell lies at home?

11. What did Adah decide to do to pursue her dreams?

12. Who is Mr Cole?

13. Was Adah received warmly at her new school?

14. What experiences shaped Adah’s low conception of women?

15. What trouble did Ma get into at home and how did that change things for Adah?

16. What happened to Adah and her brother, Boy, following the death of their father?

 17. Nonchronological Plot: At this point, we realise that the author’s narration of how Ada

WEEK 4

Literature lesson note for SS1 Third Term

Analysis of Chapters 4 – 6 Second Class Citizen

In chapter four, she started working on the first June three months after her arrival and was very good in her office responsibilities, but they say in England that Nigerian children have two set of mothers, the natal mother and the social mother. It came as a big surprise to Adah but she refuses to make any attempt to look for a foster mother (Page 51). Adah was so startled that she spilled the hot custard she was making. So that was, it! Francis wanted their daughter to start speaking only in English. This was due to the fact that Nigeria was ruled for so long a time by the English. An intelligent man was judged by the way he spoke English. But it did not matter whether the English could speak the languages of the people they ruled. This conversation had a terrible effect on little Titi. She later overcome her difficulty in speaking, but she was well over six years old before she mastered any language sufficiently well to be able to converse intelligently. That early confusion retarded her verbal development a great deal. But, thank God, it did not land her in one of those special schools for back-ward children!

After that revelation, Adah started nagging Miss Stirling to find a nursery place for her children. But, as every young mother who tried to place her child in a nursery could testify, there was no place for the children.

In chapter five, Adah undergoes several challenges and began to lose faith in herself, which she began asking herself all sorts of rhetorical questions: Had my dream of coming to the United Kingdom been right after all? Am I simply an empty dreamer? Their living condition is a big problem and the pressure on her to look for a foster mother too. Francis has change and a lot more. After all, Adah gets Miss Trudy to take care of their children, but Adah’s pay at work was just enough to pay the rent, Francis’s courses, his examination fees, his books and Trudy’s payment for taking care of their children. They have little left after this and so it was impossible for Adah to have lunch at work. Adah’s trouble continuous as Vicky was sick, there was no money to pay for his hospital bill (Adah’s thinking), she could no longer bear the suspense, and Francis’s behaviour toward her is getting worse. She was impatient, and was beginning to hate it all.

Adah later got a nursery place for her children. Miss Stirling spoke. We’ve got nursery places for your children. Your little girl could start on Monday and, when the baby is out of hospital, there will be a place for him too. Adah had exploded another myth. Second class-citizen could keep their children with them, but just look at the price they had to pay! Vicky was still in danger, her marriage hung in the balance, and now all this row.

In Chapter six, ‘Sad news’ Francis spat out as if he had a poison that tested bad in his mouth. He reminded Adah of a snake spitting out venom. Francis had a small mouth, with tiny lips, too tiny for a typical African. ‘What Sad news?’ Adah asked. Her heart thumping between her ribs. She was making a frantic attempt to make her voice sound unhurried, normal. Anything for a quiet life. Francis held up an envelope, an impersonal type of envelope one of those horrible khaki-coloured ones that usually herald the gas bill or the pink statement from the London electricity board. In any case, that type of envelope never brought good news to everyone. ‘It is very, very bad news. And, believe me, I am beginning to lose faith in human nature’ he when on savouring Adah’s suspense. She was not surprised to bear the later statement from Francis. He was always disappointed in human nature when other humans refused to bend to his wishes.

Another trouble from Adah’s landlady, I can’t wait to see them pack their brats and leave house, the landlady would say loud sad clear along the hallway, to nobody, just like a mad woman roaming about in an open asylum (Page 78).

EVALUATION

Discuss the relationship between Adah and her husband.

Examine the relationship between Adah and Trudy e.t.c

ASSESSMENT

1. How many months has Adah been in the UK?
2. Who was the Chief Librarian Adah worked with? Describe her in three sentences.
3. Why did Adah feel out of place with the assistants, but not with her boss?
4. Was Adah happy with her marriage? Cite a quote from page 48 to support your answer.
5. What did Adah notice about reading as a librarian in Nigeria and the UK?
6. Discussion: What would you do if your greatest wish comes true, but turns out unfulfilling?
7.  Why did Adah begin to doubt the genuineness of her dream of coming to the UK?
8. Why did she think the “Presence” was no longer with her? In what ways have things changed for her since she moved?
9. Spot the use of biblical allusion on page 60. What does it mean?
10. Think Pair Share: Do you believe in superstitions? Have you ever woken up feeling that something bad will happen and then it happens eventually? Turn to your seatmates and discuss this, then share with the class.
11. What sad news did Francis bring?
12. Why were they asked to quit their home? (Answers include: she was in a white man’s job, she wouldn’t send her children away to be fostered, they were Igbo, etc.)
13. What was the stereotype about the Igbo tribe on page 75?
14. How was Francis different from his neighbours which made them jealous?
15. Why was house-hunting more difficult for Adah

WEEK 5

Literature lesson note for SS1 Third Term

Analysis of Chapters 7 – 9 of Second Class Citizen

In chapter seven, there was another group of Nigerians who come to England. This group of men came in the late forties. Adah came to know Mr Noble whose story was somehow like hers, he became second class when he came to England, and he gave her all sort of stories going round about him. The stories where so many, so confusing and so contradictory that he became a living legend. The version that was told to Adah he was a retired civil servant, that he was the only son of a certain chief in Benin City, that he had six wives and about twenty children and that he left them all, and came to England to read law (Page 85). The long and short of it is that he fail to make it.

 Francis and Adah find room in the Nobles’.

Chapter eight, some weeks later, when Adah, Francis and their two young children had settled in at the Nobles’ (Page 103). Adah felt unwilling to go to work for she felt uncomfortable and unusually heavy.  She could have stayed longer in bed, but she had to be in the library by nine-thirty. Sad, and feeling very sorry for herself, as she usually did on such day, she dragged herself up, envying her husband who was still having a good snore. She felt like waking him up, just or the sheer joy of it. She was stretching her hands towards him. On the verge of pulling him up, when the piece of humanity inside her gave her a gentle push was followed by arrow like punches. One of the punches was so intense that she was jolted into reality.

Then came the sermon, Francis was a great one for preaching sermons. It was always Jehovah God said that. Adah was having a rest after the eyes of the pig’s head at the butcher’s, she watched and listened to her husband preaching to her about the diligence of the virtuous woman, whose price was above rubies.

                In chapter nine, Adah and her husband was a book of mystery. Francis troubles to Adah was annoying, it grows to the extent when Adah hears the mention of “home” she cries (Page 133) her thought when on and on; she has only her children which she can switch her love to them since Francis (her husband) turned back on her.

          Some days later, the nightdress did arrive. It was blue. The shape and cut was exactly like the one Adah had in the hospital. It was just a long cotton shirt, the type specially made for the very old. Adah was indifferent. At least she would not feel guilty about wearing the hospital’s shirt anymore. She did not bother to show it round as she had planned, because she was not proud of it. It was not beautiful, and she could only have one. So for the rest of her stay she learned another rule. She should keep to herself. If she got herself involved in any kind of gossip or conversation. She might be lured to talk about herself, about her children and about herself, about her children and about her husband. She did not want to do that anymore. There was nothing to talk about.

EVALUATION

1. Narrate Adah’s experience during pregnancy.
2. Discuss Francis spiritual life.

ASSESSMENT

1. What happened to most of the Nigerian men who sought “the kingdom of the eligibles”?

2. Spot the use of biblical allusion on page 88. What does it mean? Answer- “Like the seeds of that sower in the Bible, they fell on the wayside to be trodden upon by passersby.” Students should explain its meaning.

3. Who did the men who fail in achieving their dreams in the UK marry and why did they choose such women?

4. Why was Mr Noble no longer respected, but treated like a clown?

5. How did he earn himself the name, Mr Noble?

6. Why wouldn’t Adah stay back at home, even though she was tired and feeling ill?

7. On page 104, the author, explaining Adah’s eagerness to work or solve all problems writes “The funniest thing was that she’d felt it was her duty to work, not her husband’s. He was to have an easy life, the life of a mature student, studying at his own pace.” Do you think Adah put herself in such position? Did she have much choice? Discuss within your group and share your ideas with the class.

8. Why didn’t Adah know about the strike?

 9. Why didn’t Adah and Francis own radios or buy newspapers?

10. “She simply accepted her role as defined for her by her husband.” What was this role?

11. Where was Adah when she woke up? What do you think had happened to her?

12. When Adah bore her first child, Titi, why were Francis and his family not excited seeing the baby?

13. Identity a quote on page 122 that supports the theme of gender discrimination.

14. “Francis was like the Vicar of Bray. He changed his religion to suit his whims.” What does this comparison mean?

15. Why was Adah particularly fascinated by the story of the woman without a baby for 17 years?

WEEK 6

Analysis of Chapters 10 – 11 Second Class Citizen

 In chapter ten, Francis went to work for two weeks. Adah felt very guilty about this. She knew her man ought to go out for work for their living, but in her own particular family, she had been doing all the work. It seemed to her that she was failing, by staying at home and letting Francis go out to work in that terrible winter. Francis would worsen the effect when he came home, telling her how very difficult it was to work as a postman in England during Christmas. “You are given a big bag of letters and parcels as a load of Christian in the pilgrim’s progress. And, like Christian, you are expected to carry the load, up the stairs leading into flats, and down the stairs to those living in basements.

          Pa Noble told Adah that you worshiped two goddesses in England; one is Christmas, and the other is holidays. As soon as they finished advertising for Christmas on television and in the papers, the next big thing is the annual holiday. After that, Mr. Noble invited Adah’s children for tea. She quickly got the children ready for Mr. Noble’s tea party (Page 147). She told Titi to eat everything on her plate because Mrs. Noble would be very angry if she made a mess of her food. Titi understood some of the reasoning Adah was trying to pump into her.

          Chapter eleven, after Adah’s children, attend the Mr. Noble tea party, one Monday morning, when her family was asleep, Adah got together her wash things to have her bath. There was no bathroom in the house in which they lived so she paid visits to the public baths in Prince of Wales Road several times in the week. During one of these visits, on a Monday, she saw this bird; grey small, solitary but contented in its solitude. 

EVALUATION

1.        Discuss how Smart Adah is in terms of home management during Christmas

2.        Examine the significance of Adah’s fourth pregnancy

ASSESSMENT

1. Spot the biblical allusion on page 139.

2. Why did Adah feel guilty over Francis’ decision to work?

3. What is the difference between Francis as a worker and Adah as a worker?

4. Where did Francis work and what were his complaints about his work? 30

5. Why did Francis tell horrid (unpleasant) experiences about his work?

6. Why was Adah suddenly filled with anger walking her daughter to her playgroup?

7. What was Adah’s dream in England?

8. Adah said that her children were going to be different. In what way?

9. Who was Adah’s favourite poet?

10. Why was Adah’s bath that morning “particularly important”?

11. Why did Francis ask Adah not to go for the family planning alternatives open to them?

12. What challenge did Adah have at the Family Planning Clinic?

13. What did Adah do with the form Francis was meant to sign?

14. Why didn’t Adah want another baby?

15. Why did Adah sit beside the West Indian mother?

WEEK 7

MID-TERM BREAK

WEEK 8

Analysis of Chapters 12 – 13 Second Class Citizen

Chapter twelve, Adah was pregnant again. This time she did not cry, she did not wring her hands, but behaved philosophically. If this pattern was going to be her lot in life she would do all she could to change it, but what was she going to do if all her efforts failed? She when to her Indian doctor. She told him her whole story and that she wanted the pregnancy terminated. The Indian doctor was not a young man at all, but he had a certain way of saying things and was so small that one could easily take him for young man. He had made good in London and had two sons who were both up at Cambridge; he had married a woman doctor he met when he was a student himself.

In chapter thirteen, Adah has a dreamed to be a writer. She starts writing the book “The Bride Price” the more she wrote, the more she knew she could write and the more she enjoyed writing, She was feeling this urge: write; go on and do it, you can write (Page 180). She finally done the book “The bride price” as a joke at first, but realizing that she was serious, she scribbled along. Now a few of her friends had read it and they said that it was good (Page 183).

Adah became curious, suspicious, her heart beat faster when she came home and saw Francis burning her papers. She ask, what are they, Francis? What are you burning? Letters? Who wrote them? Francis, what are you burning? But Francis did not reply for a while, but went on feeding crumpled sheets in to the stove and watching the burnt papers flying lifelessly about the room like black bird (Page 186).

                Finally Adah and Francis parted ways and do not stay together.

EVALUATION

1. Narrate the burning of Adah’s manuscripts incidence and the collapse of the marriage.

ASSESSMENT

1. What did Adah decide to do about the pregnancy?

2. What was Adah’s challenge when she was little? What was the new challenge?

3. What did Adah pray for?

4. Would you say that the Presence is Adah’s metaphor for God? Or what do you think “It” symbolises? Explain the reason for your choice. Support your answer with evidence from the text.

5. Why was Adah unhappy with the churches in England?

6. How did Adah get to establish a personal relationship with God?

7. What was her relationship with Francis like at this point?

8. What were Adah’s new colleagues like?

9. Who rekindled Adah’s love for reading and writing and introduced her to books by black authors?

10. How do you think things will change for Adah as she had found people with whom she shared similar interests?

11. Why did Francis refuse to read Adah’s manuscript?

12. What female writer did Adah mention to oppose Francis’ opinion of her being unable to write because she was black and a woman?

13. Did Francis disapproval discourage her?

14. What did Francis do with her manuscript and what was his reason?

15. What did Adah say to him?

16. Why did Adah move out of their home with her children?

17. What was Francis’ parting words to Adah and how did Adah feel about that?

 18. How did Francis locate her new home?

19. What did Francis say to her about her leaving?

20. What reason did Francis give for hitting Adah

WEEK 9

Characterisation, characters, roles, significance/ importance to the development of the plot of the text. Second Class Citizen

A. MAJOR CHARACTERS– The two major characters in the novel are:

1. ADAH OBI: Her name is Adah Ofili but married to Obi, from Ibuza, her husband is an Ibuza man, daughter of Ma and Pa. Ma, a seamstress, Pa, a railway molder. She lost her father and her mother remarried. Not well trained by her cousin—Vincent. After the death of her father, she needed home and married Francis. Boy, her brother is sent to school. She sponsored her husband education to England. She travelled to England. Both couple quarreled most time, her husband burnt her manuscript and they separated.

2. FRANCIS OBI: Husband of Adah. Married Adah because she was an orphan and a hardworking woman. He enjoyed immunity based on priority placed on male child. A self-conscious man, depended on his wife. His education was sponsored by his wife, not serious in school, failed most time in his examination, jealous of Adah’s success, a male chauvinist. A wicked husband, burnt his marriage certificate and his children’s birth certificates. He allows Igbo way of life to control him. Finally, they separated.

B. MINOR CHARACTERS:

The following are some of the minor characters from the novel.

1. BABALOLA: He came to London to study like Obi, on a Northern Nigerian Scholarship and never had any studies. Lived a reckless life, lavished his money. He believed Allah will take care of “future action”. Married Janet an English girl. His friends abandoned him for the action. He connected Adah to Trudy, the child minder.
2. MR. COLE: He is a Sierra Leonian, a neighbor of Ofilis on Akinwumi street. He was a teacher at the Methodist school. Adah went into his class. Mr. Cole encouraged Adah to get education. He led Adah home at the close of school.
3. COUSIN VINCENT: A cousin from Adah’s motherside. Adah lived with him after she lost her father and her mother remarried. He could not pass his school examination. He gave two shillings to buy a pound of steak from the market. Adah used the money to buy entrance form into Methodist Girls High School. He flogged Adah for what she did.
4. DR. HUDSON: She was a surgeon, ran a surgery at the crescent. It was her surgery Adah ran to when her fetus kicked hard at her stomach. Adah avoided the hospital because of the cost involved.
5. MR. NOBLE: A Nigerian that acquired the “noble” as soon as he got to England. Many stories were heard about his background, came to London to study Law and could not make a law degree. He got job at the railway to shoulder a lift without electricity. He had accident and was compensated. He bought an old terrace house on Willes Road by Kentish Town Station. He was Obi’s landlord.
6. LAWYER NWEZE: He was the first lawyer from Ibuza. He was given a heroic welcome after his education in England, an inspiration to Adah Ofili. He never married a white woman.
7. TRUDY: She was introduced to Adah by Babalola. She was a baby minder. She was charged to take care of Adah’s two babies, she stayed a block away from Obis. She lived in a slummy area. Vicky contacted virus meningitis, Adah accused her of incompetency. Adah’s action led to the removal of Trudy’s name from the list of approved child-minders. She left Malden Road to Camden  Town.

EVALUATION

1. Examine the character of Adah.
2. Discuss the significance of Francis to the development of the novel.

WEEK 10

Themes of  Style, Language / Diction and Narrative Techniques

Second Class Citizen:

Themes in Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen

1. The Theme of Determination

The determination to succeed against all odds is Adah’s watchword. This inbuilt virtue of the protagonist is portrayed right from her childhood in Nigeria to her early life in London. Adah breaks several protocols which seem to stand as barriers between her and her dreams. Even though the society she finds herself makes her believe that it is wrong for the girl child to be well educated, Adah, on several occasions, sneaks into the class of her neighbour (who is a teacher) in order to be lettered. Fascinated with the possibility of winning a scholarship to secondary school, Adah steals the money for the sitting fee, passes the examination and wins the scholarship. She eventually attends the Methodist Girls’ School and completes the four-year course. This can be achieved only when one is determined to succeed.

Again, Adah never lets the decision of her in-laws, especially her father-in-law who does not approve of women travelling abroad, stop her from achieving her dream of going to the United Kingdom. She uses her cleverness to calm the situation and do everything possible for herself and two children to meet her husband in London. Even when meets a husband who has changed from good to worst in London, she never hesitates to sign a divorce because she does not want anyone or anything to truncate her chances of surviving in London. This is the spirit of a determined soul. From the beginning of the story to the end, Adah is clad with determination.

2. Gender Inequality

One cannot adequately dissect Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen without paying a courtesy visit to the corridors of gender inequality. Gender inequality is a theme that is loudly projected in the novel. This is not done for a mere fanciful purpose; it is done to show how a typical African society gives too many privileges to men than women. Adah, the protagonist, is not allowed to go school because she is not a boy. At a point, she is allowed to go to school only because she could bring a higher bride price. As a married woman, her in-laws, especially her father-in-law, insist that her husband, Francis Obi, travel to the United Kingdom instead of her. According to them, a woman cannot travel abroad, leaving her husband behind.

3. Frustration

The same society that gives too many privileges to men also adorns them with a taxing responsibility – the responsibility of being the bread winners of their homes. Most men become frustrated when they fail in this task. This is the fate of Francis Obi, Adah’s husband, in the novel. Financially, Francis Obi is no match for his wife. But he never allows this to affect his sanity during his stay in Nigeria. However, after waiting for a number of years in the UK without getting a job, he becomes frustrated. His frustration grows into anger, which he always pours on his loving wife through physical abuse.

Although she signs a divorce, Adah understands how demanding her society is and the reactions of those who cannot really cope with its ever increasing demands. In her words: “Francis was not a bad man, just a man who could no longer cope with the over demanding society he found himself” (p. 110). This is a sad reality for most immigrant men or any man who does not have the ability to cope with the failure and setbacks of life. She divorces Francis because he becomes uncontrollably abusive and she does not want anyone or anything to truncate her stay in London. She is a goal getter.

4. Discrimination

Discrimination is the distinct treatment of someone because of their race, sex, culture, attitude etc. Upon moving to the UK with the hope of having a better life, Adah, who is successful and a first class citizen in Nigeria, is instantly demoted to the status of second class. Adah is discriminated by the political superstructure that is tainted by racial prejudices in the UK. Gender discrimination/inequality can as well be discussed under this theme.

Style in Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen

Style is a particular way, pattern, or design in which a work is written. It comprises the language/diction, tone, structure, narrative technique or point of view etc. Some elements of style used in Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen are:

1. Language/Diction

The language of the novel is simple and easy to understand. The sentences and words used are not very complicated. The reader can read the story with ease and understand every bit of it.

2. Point of View/Narrative Technique

The story is told from the third person point of view. The narrator is not presented as a character within the narrative; he is primarily omniscient, internally focalizing on Adah’s subjective experiences, emotions and interpretations. As a result, the thoughts and emotions of the other characters are not divulged to the reader. Instead, only their external actions and reactions are described from Adah’s subjective point of view.

3. Euphemism

Emecheta has used different euphemistic expressions to cover the harshness of sexual activities in the novel. Below are some examples:

i. “As soon as her husband touches her, she gets a swollen tummy…” (22). By “touch” here, the writer means “sex”, and by “swollen tummy”, she means pregnancy.

ii. “Is it too much for a man to want his wife?” (88). Here, “want” refers to sexual urge.

4. Tone

The tone of the story is melancholic, depicting Adah’s struggle within the patriarchal and colonial hegemonic structure. However, the story contains a tinge of hope because of the character of Adah who is determined and optimistic in the face of conflict.

5. The use of Imagery

The novel depicts vivid yet fast-paced description of Adah’s experiences through the use of certain words which create such pictures in the minds of readers. Adah’s childhood in Nigeria is reflected in the architecture of the house, the setting and the city of Lagos. The imagery of UK such as the ghetto in which Adah stays and its architecture such as the claustrophobic spacing of the house and lack of basic amenities projects a sharp dichotomy to Nigeria, and visually depict her demotion to a second class citizen.

EVALUATION

1. Identify and discuss the themes of Second Class Citizen
2. Mention and describe the narrative techniques used.

WEEK 11

Introduction to African Poems

‘Black Woman’ by Leopold Sedar Senghor

1. Themes and Content Analysis of Black Woman
2. Poetic Devices of ‘Black Woman’

Black Woman

Naked woman, black woman

Clothed with your colour which is life,
with your form which is beauty!

In your shadow I have grown up; the
gentleness of your hands was laid over my eyes.

And now, high up on the sun-baked
pass, at the heart of summer, at the heart of noon,
I come upon you, my Promised Land,
And your beauty strikes me to the heart
like the flash of an eagle.

Naked woman, dark woman

Firm-fleshed ripe fruit, sombre raptures
of black wine, mouth making lyrical my mouth
Savannah stretching to clear horizons,
savannah shuddering beneath the East Wind’s
eager caresses

Carved tom-tom, taut tom-tom, muttering
under the Conqueror’s fingers

Your solemn contralto voice is the
spiritual song of the Beloved.

Naked woman, dark woman

Oil that no breath ruffles, calm oil on the
athlete’s flanks, on the flanks of the Princes of Mali
Gazelle limbed in Paradise, pearls are stars on the
night of your skin

Delights of the mind, the glinting of red
gold against your watered skin

Under the shadow of your hair, my care
is lightened by the neighbouring suns of your eyes.

Naked woman, black woman,
I sing your beauty that passes, the form
that I fix in the Eternal,

Before jealous fate turn you to ashes to
feed the roots of life.

CONTENT ANALYSIS

The poem starts by presenting the woman as naked, whereby her black skin is the clothing. The colour of her skin is life. Life here implies birth. Her offsprings inherit this trait, which marks them out of all other races of the world. Her dark, beautiful skin protects her children and tenders them. The persona remembers how his mother cared and brought him up. ‘In your shadow I have grown up/ the gentleness of your hands was laid over my eyes’ Lines 4 – 5.

From the tone of the persona we can see, he is writing in retrospect. We should bear in mind that Leopold Sedar Senghor wrote this poem while he was away in France for studies. So, we can see why he speaks from the point he remembers and wishes to return to his mother, who can be his birth mother or the land of Africa personified.

In the next stanza, he wallows in an imaginary life outside Africa and away from his mother. He recollects what home feels like. He imagines home (Africa) and his mother’s warmth to be paradise through the use of Biblical allusion ‘Promise Land’ Line 8. His tone shows that he detests the Western Summer but wishes for the Sun-baked African weather. He concludes the stanza by referencing the beauty and the joy it brings to his heart. This stanza shows the empathy of black African women. Yes, some critics can say he idolizes it, but who does not idolize hi/her mother? He puts it in lines 9 – 10 as ‘And your beauty strikes me to the heart/like the flash of an eagle.’

Furthermore, the poet’s persona draws our attention to the subject matter –‘Naked woman, black woman. This time around to the persona appeals to the physical attributes of the black woman. I think I will say the poet wanted to reveal the sexual anatomy of the Black woman. This is seen in the line where he states ‘firm-fleshed ripe fruit, somber raptures.’ With this, he refers to the attractive strong torso of the African women, which was devoured by the White Colonialist and, in some cases, subjected to rape. From these beautiful dark bodies come the wine (blood) that runs in every black man’s veins and gives them the strength to travail o upon the face of slavery and colonization.

As a negritude poem, the poem elevates black beauty over all other races. Also, this section can be interpreted as revealing the beauty and untapped nature of Africa’s grassland and topography before the imperialists, slave masters, and colonialists came to Africa. Africa’s savannah shone and flourished until the Westernization defiled her innocence. That old Africa is what the poet still imagined.

In the next stanza, he metaphorically refers to the black woman’s sound when making love to her man. ‘… muttering under the conqueror’s fingers / Your solemn contralto voice is the spiritual song of the beloved…’ Also, this line can mean the fate of Africans as the power Imperialist and colonialists subdued them. They surrendered to the conquerors’ strength. Also, the stanza reminds us of the towering drumming sounds common to ancient Africa, which is used to waken and prepare the warriors for the war. Underneath these drumming war beats is the soothing voice of the African women that calms the nerves of their beloved ones.
The rest of the stanzas discuss how calm and reassuring the black woman is. He compares her to ‘a calm oil’ that can’t be ruffled but possessed a soothing power on her children. Line 21 ‘Oil that no breath ruffles, calm oil on the athlete’s flank.’ In addition, he states the shiny nature of her skin and how she protects her children on and off the continent.

In conclusion, the poet reveals his fear of losing the beauty of the black woman, which will soon be taken away by jealous fate. The beauty of the black woman will fade and die, but the poem will leave eternally because the poet has immortalized her in his poem. He also stated that her beauty would rejuvenate because she had fed the roots of life with her beauty. We can also say the poet calls for the resurrection of Africa’s culture and heritage, which have died with Westernization.

Now, we have seen the analysis of the black woman let’s look at the use of symbolism. The Black Woman by Leopold Sedar Senghor, is symbolic. The Black Woman represents Africa, who was raped and dehumanized by the Westerners leaving Africa bare. The poet uses the Black Woman to sensitize Africans to regain their pride. The Black Woman also represents the motherly nature of African women who survived slavery.

SUBJECT MATTER

This poem was originally written in French as “femme notr”, and later translated to English. It is a hymn of praise to the African black woman as a person and symbol of the richness of African culture. The black woman is seen as a mother, daughter, sister and indeed the poet’s home country, Senegal. Senghor’s experiences while living abroad influenced his writing of this ode to the black woman, whose beauty is natural and perfect. He also uses the poem to, stress the need to accord the black woman her rightful place in the scheme of things in the African society.

Themes from the poem

1. The beauty of the black woman
2. The beauty of Africa
3. The nurturing role of mother Africa
4. Celebration of Africa and African Culture
5. Nostalgia/Homesick.

The Beauty of the black woman

“Clothed with your colour which is life,

with your form which is beauty!”

Throughout the poem, Senghor elevates physical beauty to spiritual heights and explores the beauty of the titular black woman from many different (though equally celebratory) perspectives. The black woman is seen as an embodiment of the African continent whose beauty is raw, unadulterated and perfect. He goes to compare the beauty to a ripe fruit.

The Beauty of Africa

The poet personifies Africa as the black woman, who’s ever beautiful. He is proud of the undiluted culture and physical features that make the African heritage unique. Senghor presents mother Africa a paragon of beauty and complete perfection without any western influence before the colonization. It is important to note that the poem uses word like: nakedness, blackness, darkness to describe the perfect beauty of Africa. These words are normally used to Connor the “uncivilized peoples” of Africa. The poet sees nothing negative or evil about Africa, but rather a “promised land” that flows with milk and honey.

The nurturing role of mother Africa

The poet reflects on his childhood experience in Africa. He feels extremely proud in being an African and attributes all that he is today to the black woman for sharing her knowledge with him. His reflection is necessitated by the experiences in France. Which made him to remember where he was brought up as a child. He recollects his childhood days, and regards the period as a form of paradise. Besides, he refers to the black woman as the “promised land” in the poem. He describes how the African woman nurtures her child in the African continent. In the light of this nurturing role, he sees the black woman not only as an individual but by extension the symbol of African heritage.

Celebration of Africa and African Culture

Beyond just praising the beauty of blackness, the poem also celebrates and reflects upon Africa and African culture. Senghor mentions the Princes of Mali, Gazelles, and savannahs, as well as tom-tom drums “muttering / under the Conqueror’s fingers.” This line is likely a reference to colonialism in Senegal (or even Africa at large). It acknowledges and empowers the ways that Africans were able to use African culture to subvert European imperialism.

Mortality

The end of the poem turns to ideas of mortality and the natural progression of life into death. Senghor writes that he fixes the titular woman “in the Eternal” before she is turned “to ashes to / feed the roots of life.” Here, he acknowledges that, despite the beauty (of women, of the culture, of the land, of everything), all must eventually turn to dust and help build other things. This is a sort of spiritual “circle of life,” and he uses his poem to freeze a moment of beauty before it must give way to something else.

POETIC DEVICES

Allusion

Allusion is a figure of speech that refers to a famous story, event, personality, or object in history to make a comparison for the readers. It can be a historical, mythological, literary, or religious (biblical). In this poem, the poet used biblical allusion in Line 8.
‘I come upon you my Promise Land.’

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound or sounds, especially consonant at the beginning of several words that are close together in a line of poetry. Examples in this poem:
Line 12 – Firm-fleshed ripe fruit, somber raptures
Line 14 – Savannah stretching to clear horizons
Line 15 – Savanah shuddering beneath the East Wind’s

3. Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unrelated things by stating that one thing is another. This is used in the poem in the following lines:
Line 7 – Pass at the heart of summer, at the heart of noon.
Line 23 – Gazelle limbed on Paradise, pearls are stars on the night of your skin.

4. Onomatopeia
Onomatopoeia is a poetic device in which a word imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It used mainly to create sound effects in poetry. This is another poetic device used in the poem. Line 16.
‘Carved tom-tom, taut tom-tom muttering.’

5. Simile

A simile is a poetic device that involves comparing two unlike things through the use of the words ‘as’ or ‘like.’ Example in the poem is in line 10 ‘Like the flash of an eagle.’

6. Ode: the poem is a hymn of praise to the black woman, an African mother, daughter or sister and indeed mother Africa which deserves to be treated like a woman, the poet praise the natural beauty of the African woman, and stresses the need to accord her the rightful place in the society.

7. Repetition: line 1 “naked woman, black woman” and. Line 6 “naked woman, dark woman ” are repeated in lines 11 and 16 respectively to emphasize the natural beauty of the African woman.

8. Symbolism: Senghor uses symbolic words like: the Promised Land, ripe fruit, Savannah, oil and gazelle to symbolize the natural beauty of the black woman as a person, as well as a symbol of African woman and mother Africa.
9. Apostrophe: it is a literary device that poet employs to address the black woman, the object of praise as though she were physically present with him.
10. Personification: the black woman is figuratively used to personified the African continent and Senghor’s country, Senegal. The poet uses beauty of colour of the African woman skin to personified the rich African culture before western influence and colonization.
11. Imagery: the poet natural imagery to link the Beauty of the black woman to nature, and by the same token to his homeland of Senegal. Natural images like: wind, sun, noon, night, and stars are presented as attributes of the darkness of the African woman’s skin.
12. Alliteration: the poet uses alliteration to buttress the beauty of the black woman in lines 1,2,3,6,7,9 etc.

Line 1,6,11 and 16 naked woman black woman
Line 2 “clothed with your colour which is life, with your form which is beaut”
Line 3 “…grown up; the gentleness….”
Line 7 ” firm-fleshed ripe fruit….. Mouth making lyrical my mouth ”
Line 9 “carved tom-tom, taut tom- tom…”
Line 12 “…flanks, on the flanks…”

STYLE

Diction: the poet uses choice of words to symbolized the beauty of the black woman. He deliberately uses words like nakedness, black and darkness which are seen as negative attributes to praise the natural beauty of the black woman. The poet is also challenging the African woman to appreciate her natural beauty. And to bleach the dark skin in the name of sophisticated culture of the western world.
mood: the mode of the poem is that of Adoration. The poet adores the awesome beauty of the black woman. He describes everything about the African woman as naturally beautiful. Senghor sees Africa as the black woman he loves to celebrate. He seeks to adore that state of natural beauty before it is taken away by death.
Tone: the poet’s tone of the appreciation of natural beauty of the black woman pervades the poem. He praises the African woman not only for her natural smooth dark skin, but also for the way and manner she brings up her children.

Study question
1. Discuss the poet’s diction in “black woman”.
2. Discuss the effective use of imagery in the poem.
3. Comment on the use of metaphor to portray the beauty of the black woman in the poem.
4. Discuss the theme of the beauty of the “Black woman “.
5. Examine the poet’s mood in the poem.
6. What is the poet’s attitude towards the “black woman” In the Poem?
7. Examine Senghor’s use of symbolism in the poem.
8. How does the “Black woman” reveals the poet’s childhood and love for mother Africa.
9. How does the poet’s tone portray the beauty of an African woman?
10. How does the poet depict “Black woman” as a nourisher in the poem.

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