An African elegy – Ben Okri
CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION
About the poet:
Ben Okri was born March 15, 1959 and was educated both in his native
Nigeria and in England. His first novels, Flowers and Shadows (1980) and The
Landscapes Within (1981) use surrealism to show the dysfunction of a
politically scarred country. This theme persists in Okri's work, which also
includes the Booker Prize–winning novel The Famished Road (1991) and
essay collection A Way of Being Free (1997). In April 2014, Okri was
conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Pretoria for his
contributions to literature. Much of his work looks at the relationship
between African mysticism and modern Western culture.
About this poem:
• An elegy is usually a mournful poem written to marks a person’s death
but it may also be a serious, thoughtful poem.
• This poem is about serious matters of grief and pain
• This poem is not a traditional elegy although there is the mention of
‘suffering’ and ‘pain’ of the Africans.
• The poem describes their ability to enjoy life in spite of the troubles they
encounter and to keep their optimism about life’s possibilities.
• This ‘elegy’ shows that Africans have a unique way of dealing with grief
and pain and find joy in the small pleasures of life and have hope for the
future.
IMAGERY
Stanza 1:
METAPHOR(lines 1-2): Africans are compared to ‘miracles…Time’
suggesting that Africans are in some way chosen by God to bear suffering
and then be celebrated as ‘the wonders of the earth’ (line 5) for this
unique ability. It shows an African’s unique perspective of dealing with life.
Stanza 2:
METAPHOR(line 6): describes how things can go badly, ‘burn’ on the one
side and ‘turn golden’, go positively at another. This shows how one’s
attitude can decide the way an experience can turn out.
Stanza 4:
PERSONIFICATION: the speaker describes the collective memory of joy
African have by describing how the ‘sweet’ African music ‘makes the air
remember’(lines 16-17). Another example is the personification of
‘Time’(line 19) suggesting that time will reveal the ‘secret miracles’ of life
that are at work, suggesting the mysticism of life.
Stanza 6:
METAPHORS: ‘the ocean is full of songs’, ‘the sky is not our enemy’ are
metaphors that emphasis the idea of mystery, joy and surprise.
Personification: (line 30) ‘Destiny is our friend’ summarizes the main
message of the poem, which is one of unbridled joy and optimism that the
African spirit is able to overcome adversity.
STRUCTURE
• Traditionally, an elegy is a mournful poem usually written in response to
death.
• This poem has no rhyme scheme and is written in three stages
→ grief at the pervasive state of suffering throughout Africa
→ sorrow at the worldview that Africans are always in a state of sorrowful
suffering
→ praise at the spirit of Africans to survive and experience joy despite all
the adversity they encounter time after time because of their
understanding of the magical and mystical qualities of life.
THEMES
• The speaker is in awe of the magical quality of nature and life. He
focuses on the promise of a better life and the need to be in harmony
with our world.
• The speaker’s tone reflects his amazement at the people’s faith and
endurance.
• The message of the poem is that Africans are eternally hopeful in spite
of hardship.
• They are able to find positives even in difficult situations.
