Poem Africa Essay - 784 Words

Robert Barham Professor Dean English 102 15 September 2011 Regaining Her Strength Women are the foundation of life. Many say that without women the world would not function. In the poem â€Å"Africa†, the speaker personifies the country as a woman who has gone through tribulations of getting her country stripped by white men enslaving her sons and daughters. Through it all she regains her strength. What she went through helped her to become a stronger woman, and stronger country. The speakers uses vivid imagery, metaphors, personification and gives human emotions to the continent. The entire poem is a extended metaphor to describe Africa as this beautiful woman who is going through devastating changes to her homeland. In Maya†¦show more content†¦Its stressed that these young lives are being destroyed. Now we see why the two Niles represent her tears, because her homeland is being raped and destroyed. In this stanza the structure changes, lines 9, 11, 13, 15 have five syllables whereas 10, 12, 14, 16 have four syllables, with the last line having four syllables too. Every other line is in a pattern. The last stanza of the poem represents Africa’s past pain and the good that has come. now she is rising, remember her pain remember the losses her screams loud and vain remember her riches her history slain now she is rising although she had lain; (18-25) The woman gets upset because she remembers her pain and she takes a moment and screams loud and vain, but she continues to rise. In this stanza the structure is the most different, where the lines run five to six syllables. There is no sort of pattern and every other line is still rhyming, which helps you to read the stanzas without pausing or hesitation. Maybe this stanza is different because this is where the country remembers all the pain it went through. The poem tone changes throughout from beginning to end. It goes from being cheerful to displeasing. â€Å"thus she had lain, sugar cane sweet/ to â€Å"now she is rising, remember her pain, remember the losses, her screams loud and vain† (1-2, 18-21). Her screams loud and vain suggest that Africa was devastated when her young daughter’s and sons were taken from theirShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s Poem, Africa1491 Words   |  6 Pagesorigins begin in Africa. Maya Angelou’s poem, â€Å"Africa,â €  paints a portrait of the history of Africa. Her canvas depicts the beautiful landscapes with its people far and wide as well as those who were abducted from its shores. The three stanzas, which make up the poem, construct a story about a nation that was beaten, raped and left behind to die, and despite that was triumphant in the end. Maya Angelou’s poem is a tribute to the struggles and triumphs of Africa. 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