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African thunderstorm , vocab , Figures of speech
Find these poetic…
African thunderstorm
Analysis
stanza 1
The first stanza gives the reader the imagery of the storm moving across the sky and the direction in which it is coming from, the west, this may also be a reference to the intrusion of colonizers in from the west. The “worldwide” of them entering Africa. “From the west
Usually storms are a blessing bringing rain for the up coming harvest but in this case it was compared to a plague of locusts which is devastating for a farmers, in this case the locusts are colonizers.
stanza 3
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Screams of delighted children,
Toss and turn” the innocence of children personified,
they do not understand the danger of the storm and
see it as exciting which is in contrast to the mothers
looking for shelter from the storm. This is the first stanza
that lets us see how the storm is affecting the people.
“Women, Babies clinging on their backs Dart about In and out”.
The repetition of the last line shows the emphasis on the strength
of the storm and also to show movement.
“The wind whistles by Whilst trees bend to let it pass.”
The storm as finally settled on the village the stanza again gives the imagery of a violent storm tearing up the village. “Clothes wave-like tattered flags
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The emphasis of the onomatopoeia “Rumble, tremble and crack”
allow the reader to get a vivid picture of the destruction caused by the storm.
But the relentless storm continues not caring about the carnage that it has left behind “And the pelting march of the storm.”
stanza 2
Again we get more imagery of the sky, clouds heavy with rain described as being pregnant for the emphasis of them ready to burst ready to pour rain on the land.
The clouds are high in the sky thing to look up at that could be a reference to how these colonizers see themselves or how they perceive that people see them
”Pregnant clouds Ride stately on its back,
” the word stately brings contrast as it means pristine, proper, and order whereas the storm is meant to be disorderly.
The stately proper men
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Like sinister dark wings
;” this line again bringing the ominous feeling
, like a bird of prey waiting, looking for its target.
The mass and force of this storm as it travels is depicted through the last line of the stanza”The wind whistles by And trees bend to let it pass.” As the trees bent it could be signifying that the tree is showing that the storm is stronger from acknowledging a superior
stanza 4
Here even mortal man exemplified by the feminine extraction is seen to be harried by the onrush of the wind
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Form and structure
The poem is divided into two parts which divide the content into the general and the specific. The first part, make up of stanzas one and two, describes the storm as it gathers momentum, and the third stanza describes its impact on human existence.
The irregular number of words on a line, with many single-word lines, captures the unpredictable progress of the wind and the accompanying clouds. This technique is also evident in the second part of the poem, where the frantic movement of the village women as they ‘Dart about/in and out/ Madly’ (lines 22 – 24) is physically demonstrated by the line divisions.
The description of ‘The Wind whistles by/And trees bend to let it pass’ in the second stanza in lines 25-26, although ‘And’ has been replaced with ‘Whilst’ (line 26). The path of the storm has not been diminished by the trees. In fact, the trees give away to allow it to progress unhindered
Sound devices
The noise in the village has the screams of children competing with ‘the din of whirling wind’ (line 19).
As the storm gets closer, its imminent arrival is heralded by the onomatopoeia of the ‘Rumble, tremble, and crack’ (line 31) of the thunder, and the impact of lightning striking the earth
This poem utilises sound effectively. Much use is made of onomatopoeia as the wind is ‘whirling’ (lines 7 and 19) and it ‘whistles’ (lines 14 and 25).
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Figures of speech
Find these poetic devices thin the poem
- Simile
- Personification
- Metaphors
- Alliteration