Limbo. This dance is also known as the Under the Stick Dance because this describes what happens.

Transcription

1

2 This dance is also known as the Under the Stick Dance because this describes what happens. Limbo A stick is supported at either end and the dancer must dance under the stick to the rhythm of Caribbean music. Dancers take it in turns to dance under the stick. After each round the unsuccessful dancers are eliminated and the stick is lowered until there is one victorious dancer. The dance is said to have originated with West Indian slaves.

3 Limbo How does your understanding of limbo change over the course of the poem? What features in the poem relate directly to the limbo dance. What do we learn about the poet s culture? What journey does the poet go on in this piece? How and why does the poet use images of violence and beating? Which of the religious images are the most effective?

4 Brathwaite makes a number of references to the limbo stick in the first 25 lines. What effects do you think these references have? The narrator dances down to pass under the stick and then dances upwards on the other side. What tis Brathwaite suggesting by his descriptions of fthese movements? As the narrator describes the dance which leads him down down down He feels the misery and oppression of the slave, for the dark ground is under him. The physical descent is symbolic of the loss of fdignity it and dfreedom. The spread dlegs of fthe dancer also represent both submission of the slaves and hints at the rape of the female slaves by their white captors. However, as the music plays, the narrator dances up on the other side up up up He is not to escape slavery, but he begins to see how he might find the resources to cope with it. The physical rising can be seen as symbolising his rising spirits.

5 Although it has never formed part of the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, h it has sometimes been believed that t Limbo is either: the temporary state of the soul where it awaits the glory of Christ s ascension into heaven or the place where the souls of unbaptised babies reside.

6 The poem is clearly meant to represent the rhythm of the limbo dance. How does Brathwaite achieve this? The Chorus The rhythm of the lines Ascent and descent Repetition The chorus, which is repeated several times, represents the type of rhythm that can be found in limbo dances. Particularly if the poem is read aloud, the reader almost becomes part of the dance, perhaps as a spectator. The rhythms of the dance are suggested by the repeated rhythms of the lines, e.g: stick hit sound and the ship like it ready stick hit sound and the dark still steady stick is the whip and the dark deck slavery drum stick knock and the darkness is over me The repeated ideas of descent and ascent describe the motions of the limbo dance: down down down will be said with a falling cadence, while up up up will be said with a rising cadence. There are numerous examples of repetition in the poem. This repetition helps to create the effect of a rhythmic dance, especially when combined with the repetitive rhythms. It is also an ironic reminder of the different meanings of the word limbo as the reader is forced to consider both dance and slaves as locked away and forgotten souls.

7 NOTHING S CHANGED Tatamkhulu Afrika Wrote about injustice of Apartheid in 1960s. He had to use false name due to regime. Mixed race,he chose to be classified as coloured and so unwelcome in places like District 6 (his former home, demolished by white government). His poem, Nothing s Changed, highlights issues of racial discrimination, the fact that little has changed since the fall of apartheid and whether it is right to take part in attacks to fight that discrimination.

8 Nothing s Changed

9 District Six was an area in Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain, near to the harbour and the City Bowl. It acted as the gateway to Cape Town. District Six was a cosmopolitan area. Priests, teachers, school children, prostitutes, families, politicians, midwives, gangsters, fishermen, pimps, merchants and artisans lived in the area.

10 They came from all over the world and different corners of South Africa and together created a rich mix of different cultures. They also introduced in South Africa a strong political tradition. The area was a seedbed of ideas and activities.

11 Most of the people who lived in District Six were working- class. They wanted to live close to the city, harbour and factories where they worked. Rich with memory, it was a place which has made a great contribution tibti to the history and culture of Cape Town, and indeed to South Africa.

12 Consider How does Afrika describe District 6? What is the tone of his description? What are the differences between the inn and the café? (Consider vocabulary and details given.) What does the poet want to do by the end? Is he right?

13 Island Man You probably realised straight away that the one reason for the poem being called Island Man is because the narrator comes from a Caribbean island. We are told this in the note underneath the heading. However, a little more thought might also suggest to you that there is an underlying irony in the title, because the narrator is now resident on another island, Britain.

14 We might also wonder whether he is the Island Man because of his apparent isolation in his new surroundings. The poet might have in the back of her mind the famous meditation by John Donne: 'No Man is an Island' No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

15 What things are being compared? The poet is making a comparison between the Island Man s view of his island home in the Caribbean and his environment in London. How does the poet link the two worlds? The impressions of the Caribbean island are all in the Island Man s head. They are his thoughts as he wakes up in the morning. However, as he becomes more awake, he begins to recognise the world he now lives in. The poet indents the words groggily groggily perhaps to suggest that the man is in that uncertain state between waking and sleeping. The two worlds are linked by the words sands.. In one respect they link to the descriptions of the island, but in another they are linked to the road surface of the North Circular Road. In reality, the closest the Island Man will get to the sandy beaches in London is the grey surface of the road.

16 What impression are we given of the Island Man s Caribbean home and how is this impression conveyed? Impression Hope and the excitement of the new day. The beautiful natural sounds. How the impression is conveyed The one word first line Morning might well suggest the exciting potential of the new day. The word, by itself on the line, draws attention to the possibilities of this new day. As the Island Man wakes up he hears the sounds of the island. He hears the sound of blue surf, an exciting and exhilarating sound. He also hears the cries of the seabirds. The poet uses the words steady breaking and wombing, but it seems that it has been deliberately unclear which sounds these words refer to: the surf or the birds. She seems to want the reader to think about how the words might describe both. We might also see that wombing is almost onomatopoeic, especially if it is describing the calls of the birds. The colours. The visual descriptions. The natural world. The use of colours helps the poet to create an impression of beauty. The surf is described as blue and the small island as emerald. These complementary colours describe the visual impact of the natural surroundings. The scenes that are described are just the sort of scenes that the reader might have in mind as an earthly paradise. It is easy to visualise the surf, the seabirds, the fishermen and the sun rising at dawn. It is described as rising defiantly as if it were expressing its independence and individuality. The descriptions refer mainly to the world of nature. The implication is that the way of life on the island is in harmony with nature and is a more peaceful existence than life in a city.

17

18 Where do you think the poem is set? Why do you think the poem is called lld Blessing? Blessing

19 How does the poet put across to the reader the usual lack of water and how people view water in the first two stanzas? In stanza 3, what effect is created by the poet s description of water?

20

21

22

23

24 In stanza 3, how do the reactions of the people reveal their attitude to water? What is the effect of the descriptions p in the last stanza?

25 Blessing

26 Blessing

27 Cracked earth

28 Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes

29 Structure The poem is structured around the contrasts between the garbage-men and the elegant couple as they are both stopped for a time at the same set of lights. As the stanzas progress they highlight the differences between the two pairs. The beginning of the poem focuses on the closeness of the pairs at the lights. The middle of the poem develops the contrasts between them and shows that in terms of wealth they are worlds apart. The end again refers to their proximity at that moment in time; they are equal in space and just for an instant, the poor can look down on the rich.

30 Language g Ferlinghetti is American and so, as you might expect, he uses American vocabulary : garbage truck garbage-men g stoplight downtown hip He also uses American spellings : colored and odorless The language is generally straightforward and contains comparatively little l imagery, perhaps to give the impression that the poet is just describing the scene as he sees it.

31 Language cont There is some use of imagery where he describes the garbage-men. Two Scavengers looking down like some/ gargoyle Quasimodo (Quasimodo is a famous as the Hunchback of Notre Dame from the novel by Victor Hugo.) He uses the imagery of the oceans to describe American democracy perhaps p ironically. in the high seas/ of this democracy as if they were watching some odorless TV ad What effect does the imagery have on the reader?

32 Language cont Ferlinghetti uses many adjectives to describe the vehicles and the people and to point out the contrasts: red plastic blazers bright yellow garbage truck hip three-piece linen suit grey iron hair

33 Rich and poor In pairs discuss the following question. Themes The class divide Beauty and ugliness Is America the land of opportunity, as it claims, or are there still rigid class diii divisions? What evidence is there in the poem to What evidence is there in the poem to support your answer?

34 In stanza 1 what details are we given about the garbage- men and their truck and the elegant couple and the Mercedes? The garbage-men and their truck What is the message in the description The elegant couple and their car What is the message in the description What is the effect of these details? Copy out the table and use it to help you to answer the questions.

35 Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes 1. What do you think the poet is trying to suggest by using this title? 2. Where is the poem set and why? A few questions for you to think about 3. The scavengers look down from their truck into the car. How is this described and what do you think Ferlinghetti is trying to achieve? 4. After considering the last stanza, what do you think Ferlinghetti s attitude is? 5. For whom do you think the poet demonstrates more sympathy, the elegant couple or the garbage- men?

36 Night of the Scorpion Themes Love Fear Pain and healing Religion and superstition Old/new beliefs Changing view Parents and children

37 STRUCTURE The poem can be split into three sections. With a partner, see if you can identify the dff different sections and say where they begin and end. Write out the lines that begin each new section The mother is stung by the scorpion. The mother s suffering. The mother s recovery.

38 LANGUAGE The narrator uses a great deal of imagery the actions of the people are not always seen in a favourable light Description of the scorpion Prayers are used repetition of May give impression of asking God for help List of remedies Matter of fact tone FIND AN EXAMPLE OF EACH OF THE ABOVE.

39 Vietnam is a country in the Far East, many thousands of miles from Europe and USA.

40 Historically, France ruled Vietnam, but after a rebellion by the Vietnamese people, the French withdrew. USA were afraid that Communism in the north would spread south and take a hold and sent troops to fight against Communist sympathisers and divided the country into North and South. North communists led south USA led. The Vietnamese held out against the odds and now have control of their own country, but they suffered devastating losses and atrocities which were committed by American led forces. Eventually, due to public protest, t the American troops were brought home.

41

42 What Were They Like Themes Destruction of a culture Death Bitterness Sadness Life linked with nature

43 LANGUAGE Questions asked in straightforward, clear language not really any imagery Answers are emotionally loaded bitter and lots of imagery Sir might be ironic or respectful References to nature and culture STRUCTURE A series of closely focused questions and developed answers which reflect the bitterness of the poet

44 Vultures Themes Good and evil Disgust and love Hope and despair Human nature

45 LANGUAGE Vultures Find quotations showing the following in the poem: Depressing and dismal opening Evokes disgust Commandant described in horrific terms L ll h Love is small when compared to cruelty

46 Vultures Structure: Divided into four sections: First: mindless, though h natural killing by animals Second: a comment Third: atrocities of the human world Last: asks is there any hope for humanity