The poem A Far Cry from Africa is written by the Saint Lucian Poet and playwright Sir Derek Walcott (1930-2017). He received a Nobel Prize in literature in 1992. The poem was published in 1962.

Background of the Poem

Historical Context

The poem was written on the horrific events taking place in Kenya in the 1950s. At that time Kenya was a colony of the British. The poem is a cry of Derek Walcott on the injustices taking place there under British rule. A nationalist uprising by the Kenyans called the Mau Mau uprising against colonialism led to the deaths of almost thirteen thousand people, mostly Kenyans.

Derek Walcott wrote this poem about the inhumanity of man against man. He expresses anger over the fact that deaths are reduced to statistical data.

Literary Context

The poem is partially autobiographical since Derek Walcott had grandparents from both Africa and Britain, so he had a mixed ancestry. This double identity led him to write many postcolonial poems regarding the racial and cultural tensions arising due to British colonialism.

A Far Cry from Africa Summary

Stanza I (line 1-10)

The poem begins with the speaker describing a scene set in Africa. A wind blows that ruffles the orange-brownish skin of Africa. Kikuyu, just like flies, quickly batten down upon the bloodstreams of Veldt. Dead bodies of people are scattered in a paradise. A worm ruthlessly says that not to waste time sympathizing and pitting those who are already dead. 

Both the scholars and statistics stick to this colonial policy and justify these dead bodies as facts and figures. He further says that it makes no difference to a white child that has been killed in his bed nor does it affect those brutal people who did violence against Jews.

Stanza II (line 11-21)

The poet shifts the image to Africa’s Wildlife, beasts, and birds centuries ago. He says that before the arrival of Africans and Europeans Wildlife existed there. The poet describes the hunting custom and says that the process of violence and conquering is a sign of the law of the jungle. 

Animals killing each other for food is natural and acceptable but men who call themselves a creature of the divine, inflict pain on others, act like beasts. The war started by these men is like dancing to the beats of drums. Though the natives think that killing the whites would bring them courage, it causes them to fear.

Stanza III (line 22-33)

The speaker says that those who think brutality to be necessary hide their brutality by wiping their hands with a napkin. The speaker compares the Mau Mau uprising to the Spanish Civil War. The fight is just as a gorilla wrestles with superman where the gorilla is compared with natives and superman is compared with white men. In the last few lines, the speaker speaks about himself. 

He says that he has the blood of both the Africans as well as the British. He is unable to decide to turn to whom or to divide his blood into two? He openly curses the British officers for their brutality and violence. He is unable to choose between Africa and English, the language that he uses for writing and speaking. 

The speaker then questions himself that should he leave them both or should he support them for their violence and brutality? He again questions himself that how should he see all the violence and brutality and stay calm? He asks how he can turn away from Africa and keep living? 

 

A Far Cry from Africa Themes

Violence

One of the main ideas of the poem is violence. The speaker condemns the violence caused by the Africans as well as the British. The speaker has a double heritage of both the Africans and the British but he sides with none. He favors humanity and peace. He is against all kinds of violence.

Cruelty and Brutality

The speaker is against the cruelty caused by colonialism. He condemns the British for their cruelty and ruling people forcefully. He is also angry with the Locals who have also become brutal. The speaker says that both sides are violent and cruel. Since he has the blood of them both in his veins, he can side with none.

Culture Clash

The poem is about the Cultural clash between the Africans and the British. Both sides are violent and are brutal towards each other. The poet is against the brutality of both and favors none.

 

A Far Cry from Africa Literary Analysis

The poem “A Far Cry from Africa” is a three-stanzas free verse poem. There is no regular metrical pattern or rhyme scheme which shows the tension the poet wants to convey.

The poem is about the Mau Mau Uprising or the Mau Mau Revolt in Kenya, a rebellion by the locals against the British colonialism.

The poem begins with the speaker describing a scene where a wind ruffles the fur of Africa. Here the wind symbolizes the war and violence that is disturbing the peace of Africa. Africa is compared to an animal of yellowish-brown color, most probably a lion. Kikuyu, a Kenyan tribe, is compared to flies using a simile

The speaker says that the flies are fed on blood. They are batten upon the streams of blood in Veldt, a grassland in Southern Africa. This gives us a clue about the setting of the poem. The Kikuyu tribe is compared to flies because the speaker wants to say that they are into violence. 

In the fourth line of the first stanza of the poem, we can see the irony in the statement using a juxtaposition where the word Corpses is used in relation to Paradise.

The speaker then calls the British Colonists using the word worms through a metaphor. This metaphor is used to show a sickening scene in which worms start eating the decaying dead bodies.

The speaker is angry at the fact that there is no compassion in the hearts of the brutal people for those who are dead. Death is reduced to just statistical data. He then makes an allusion to the Jews who suffered the violence of the Nazis during World War II and who were significant to none.

The second stanza says that men have become brutal like animals though it is natural for animals to be wild and violent but not for humans.

The speaker says that the brute people call their brutality a brutish necessity. They wipe their hands upon a napkin of a dirty cause. Here the napkin represents British mannerism.

The speaker then compares the war with that of the Spanish Civil War. The speaker says that the fight is like a gorilla wrestling with a superman. The gorilla here represents the native Kenyans while the superman represents the British Colonists.

At the end of the poem, the speaker says that “I who is poisoned with the blood of both,”. This line means that he is not really happy with his ancestry. He asks several rhetorical questions to whom shall he turn because both the sides are his ancestors and he has the blood of both in his veins. He can neither turn away from both of them nor can he support them in their brutal cause.

The poem thus ends without any conclusion.

Significance of the Title

The title of the poem is a general one that has many meanings. It can suggest the geographical distance between the poet (since he lived in Saint Lucia) and Africa. It also reflects the helplessness of the Africans whose cry goes into nothingness since no one pays attention to it. 

The title can also mean that independence or freedom is a far cry from Africa, which means that Africans can never achieve freedom from colonialism.

Type

The poem belongs to Postcolonial poetry in which the speaker speaks against colonialism and the violence it causes. The speaker favors peace and harmony. He is against any type of brutality that is caused by man against man.

Tone

The tone of the poem changes throughout the poem. It is sad and grim at the beginning. It becomes angry and sarcastic in the middle and at the end of the poem, the tone becomes helpless. The speaker is unable to choose between the two.

Point of View

The poem begins with the third-person narrative but towards the end of the poem, the point of view becomes the first-person narrative.

A speaker is an unknown person who gives a clue about his identity towards the end of the poem. He says that he has the blood of both the British as well as Africans which shows his dual identity.

Setting

The poem is set in Veldt, open grassland in Southern Africa. The poem is set in the 1950s reflecting the Mau Mau Revolt, a war between the British authorities and the Freedom Army of Kenya. The speaker says that both sides are violent and he favors none. He is against the brutality and cruelty that both sides use.

Form

The poem consists of three stanzas where the first stanza has ten lines, the second one has eleven lines and the third stanza has twelve lines. The poem, though not a perfect free verse, does not have a regular rhyme.

Meter

The poem does not have any particular meter but the dominant meter is iambic while others include anapest (a metrical foot that consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable), trochee a foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable) and pyrrhic (a foot consisting of two unstressed syllables).

A wind | is ruff | ling the taw | ny pelt (line 1)

The above line has three iambs and one anapest.

Of Af | rica. | Kiku | yu, quick | as flies, (line 2)

The above line has three iambs, one trochee and a pyrrhic.

Batten | upon | the blood | streams of | the veldt (line 3)

The above line is written in four iambs and one trochee.

The meter of the poem keeps changing to show the changing scene and tone of the poem.

Symbolism

Wind

The wind in the first line of the first stanza symbolizes the War and violence taking place on the African land. The wind that ruffles the tawny pelt of Africa is in fact a symbol used for the brutality and cruelty that is caused by man against man.

Literary Devices

Alliteration

It is the repetition of the same consonant sound in the initial syllable of the successive words. For example:

Statistics justify and scholars seize (line 7)

The consonant sound s is repeated at the beginning of the successive words.

Assonance

It is the repetition of the same vowel sound within the successive words. For example:

A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt (line 1)

Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, (line 2)

The vowel sound i is repeated within successive words.

Consonance

It is the repetition of the same consonant sound within the successive words. For example:

Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies (line 2)

The consonant sound k is repeated within the successive words.

Corpses are scattered through a paradise. (line 4)

The consonant sound r is repeated within successive words.

Metaphor

It is an indirect comparison between two, unlike things. For example:

  • Tawny Pelt:

A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt (line 1)

Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, (line 2)

The tawny pelt in the first line of the first stanza of the poem is a metaphor used for the land of Africa. Tawny is an orange-brown or yellowish-brown color that refers to the brownish land of Africa. Pelt refers to the fur of an animal. This phrase is used to compare Africa to an animal. The speaker says that a wind (war, violence) ruffles the tawny pelt (brownish colored African land) of Africa (an animal, most probably a lion). 

  • Worm:

Only the worm, colonel of carrion, cries: (line 5)

The metaphor worm is used to show the British colonists. The poet uses this metaphor to create a sickening scene of worms wriggling over dead bodies.

  • Paradise:

Corpses are scattered through a Paradise. (line 4)

In the above line, metaphor Paradise is used to show the land of Veldt. The poet uses this metaphor in order to show that the land of Veldt used to be like a Paradise before the violent war.

Simile

This is a direct comparison between two unlike things using like or as. For example:

Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, (line 2)

The Kikuyu tribe is compared to flies that feed upon blood. The poet has used this comparison in order to show the brutality of the Kikuyu tribe.

Cacophony

It is the use of combination of words with rough or inharmonious sounds. For example:

Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, (line 2)

These rough and harsh sounds are used to show the violence and brutality of the Kikuyu people and to emphasize their harshness and roughness.

End-stopped Lines

Batten upon the bloodstreams of the Veldt. (line 3)

Besides enjambment, the poet has also used end-stopped lines. The above line is an example of end-stopped lines.

Enjambment

It is the continuation of the sentence beyond the end of the line. For example:

A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt (line 1)

Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, (line 2)

The sense of the first line is continuous with that of the second line. The wind that is blowing, ruffles the hair of Africa, which is compared to an animal here.

Allusion

It is a reference to a historical figure or an event. For example:

  • Kikuyu:

The second line of the first stanza of the poem makes a reference to Kikuyu. It is the largest tribe/ethnic group in Kenya, inhabiting Central Africa.

  • Jews:

The last line of the first stanza refers to Jews. Here it means the cruelty and inhumanity caused by the Nazis during World War II. The speaker makes a reference to that in order to show that the violence caused by the British against the Africans is like the Nazis causing violence against Jews during the Second World War.

  • Spanish Civil War:

The third line of the third stanza refers to the Spanish Civil War. The Civil War in Spain was fought between 1936 and 1939. It was fought between the Spanish Government and the Nationalists (the rebel part of the army).

Anaphora

It is the repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. For example:

How can I face such slaughter and be cool? (line 32)

How can I turn from Africa and live? (line 33)

The word How is repeated at the beginning of the above two lines, for an emphasis. The poet wants to emphasize the fact that he is helpless regarding the violence caused by the Africans and the British against each other. He uses how in order to show that he has nowhere to go except these two.

Rhetorical Questions

A rhetorical question is a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer. For example:

Betray them both, give back what they give? (line 31)

How can I face such slaughter and be cool? (line 32)

How can I turn from Africa and live? (line 33)

The poet uses rhetorical questions in order to show his grieved emotions. He asks such questions which he knows shall not be answered. He, having a dual ancestry, is sad by the violence caused by the Africans and the British. Thus he uses the rhetorical questions in order to show that he cannot turn away from anyone of both sides.

Imagery

Strong imagery is used at the beginning of the poem where the speaker describes the scene of the war. The speaker says that a wind ruffles the hair of the African land which is compared to an animal. Kikuyu are flying like flies and worms are wriggling over the dead bodies. All this description enables the reader to imagine what is happening in the poem.

Rhyme scheme

Just like the meter of the poem, the rhyme scheme is also not regular. Some of the lines perfectly rhyme with each other, some nearly rhyme while others do not rhyme at all. The regular rhymes create harmony while the slant rhymes of the poem reflect the tension.

Regular Rhymes:

pelt (line 1)

veldt (line 3)

flies (line 2)

cries (line 5)

dead (line 6)

bed (line 9)

Slant Rhymes:

flies (line 2)

paradise (line 4)

seize (line 7)

jews (line 10)

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