Analysis of the Poem A to Z by Cynthia Ikoro Oroh. December 2014

 

Excerpts from a Thesis by Cynthia Ikoro Oroh

This was a 25,000 word academic paper. I have only quoted the sections that covered the Poem A to Z . My Time (Anthology of Poems).  2005 by Dr Wilson Orhiunu

 

1.3 Aims and Objectives

This study seeks to analyze the structure of the poems written both in English, Pidgin English and a blend of both. The study would look at the language of the poems critically and analytically. The purpose of carrying out this study is to show that Wilson Orhiunu’s My Time has both structural and language features whether written in English or Pidgin English.

 

1.4 Justification of the Study

A research gap has been established that nothing has been written on the selected poems concerning their structure and language. The study of the structure and language of different poems by different writers has been adequately explored by researchers but no one has attempted to do a structure and language analysis of the poems. This study is justified also by the fact that it would create an avenue for more scholarly work on the book and create an awareness of its creativity.

 

1.5 Scope and Limitations

This study would explore the structure and language of twenty poems from the poetry collection for the research are “A to Z”, “Africanian”, “Ashamed to Say”, “Cry”, “Earth’s Been Sold”, “Give Hope”, “GPS” “How it is”, “Hypocrites”,“I beg”, “Joyful Ghetto Rhyming”, “Kai Kai Lady”, “Misunderstanding Bob”,“Mr. Perfect”, “My time”,“Naija Politician in Love”, “Next Time”“Obioma” “Pain” “Sam Twenty Tiri”. In examining the structure of the poems, this research would focus on the stanza and verse, rhythm and metre, the rhyme scheme and their significance. For the language, the diction would be considered, mood, imagery, irony, figurative use of language and significance of the writer’s choice of language.

STRUCTURE OF THE POEMS

 

3.1"A TO Z

Poem Summary/Subject Matter

The poem's subject matter is the diverse things happening in the Nigerian society, that is, the good, the bad and the ugly. The poem touches almost every aspect of life in Nigeria but majorly deals with the plight of the masses amidst plenty. The poem portrays suffering, indignation, hopelessness, corruption, oppression, etc. "A to Z" as the name implies, is the representation of the society in its totality.

 

Stanza and Verse

"A to Z" is a 26 line poem without stanza division, and each line begins with the chronological representation of the 26 letters of the alphabet. In each line, written in initial capital letters are the words representing the letter the line stands for in the poem.Though there is no physical division of the poem into stanzas, but from the lines of the poem, it is obvious that there is a division of thought, just like paragraphs represent the same unit of thoughts. The division of the lines of the poem into unit of thought is as follows:

 

 Lines A - D is individualized. It is talking about a particular person, and to be precise. Words like 'his', 'he 'his' 'he' used sequentially from lines A – D, shows that the poet persona is referring to a man. A is the first letter of the alphabet and it represents the beginning of the story of the man. B, C and D give more information about the ‘Area Boys’. With this, a stanza has been created mentally. Line E is on its own and it forms a unit of thought different from that of A – D. It is the only completely positive line in the poem and it stands as a stanza all by itself. Lines F – L represents the terrible living conditions in Nigeria, ranging from bad governance, hunger, to joblessness and jobs with meagre salaries. Lines F – L therefore represents same line of thought forming its own stanza. Lines M – Z, the poet persona changes his tone, and personalizes the story. He includes himself in the predicament of the country. Words like “our”, “ours”, “we”, “we’re” connote the personae’s inclusion in the story.

 

With this proposed mental division of the poem into stanzas, the poem has four stanzas. The first made up of 4 lines, the second made up of 1 line, the third made up of 7 lines, and the last made up of 14 lines. Though there is a mental division of the units of thoughts, the poet did not intend to give the poem a physical stanza division. This would have stopped the sequential flow of the poem in the A, B, C format.

 

Rhythm and Metre

This is where the beauty of the poem is most prominent; the poem is highly rhythmic as it is expected of nursery rhyme, which is the format the poet uses for the poem. The poet, using the A, B, C format gives the poem a musical tone. When reading the letters of the alphabets by children, it follows a well-defined rhythmic pattern: A for Apple, B for Ball, C for Cat, and so on. This poem does the same thing as in A for the Area boy, B for the Babes, C for the Contracts, and so on. Therefore, the rhythm of the poem conforms to the recitation of the A, B, C rhyme. Reciting the poem from the beginning to the end without of a stanza pause/ division is what makes the poem overly rhythmic.

 

The glide also, from stressed to unstressed syllables and vice versa is what brings about the rhythm of the poem. The stress is placed mostly on the word representing the letter of that line and this places more emphasis on the word as it is preceded by an unstressed syllable.

 

Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme of the poem is, AA BA  BB  AA  CB  DD EE  BB  FF GG  HH  GI. Having no stanza division and following no rhyme scheme, the rhyme of the poem is uniquely different.

 

LANGUAGE OF THE POEMS

     4.1 “A TO Z”

DICTION

            Following the pattern of the A to Z nursery rhyme, the writer picks words that would stand for each letter of the alphabet. Letter A in the poem stands for Area and letter Z stands for Zebra. Since it is written in line with the nursery rhyme, the writer’s choices of words are simple that is, he uses low diction. The writer is addressing everybody because the poem covers diverse facets of life. The poem addresses issues ranging from bribery and corruption, bad governance, suffering and strife of the masses to joblessness and the health of everyone. Words like “Dozens of Bribe”“hunger” “indignation” “failure” “governance” “k-leg” suggest the thematic preoccupation of the poem.

                       

IMAGERY

There are mental images created in some of the lines of the poem. The most vivid images are found in the last few line of the poem, they are lines 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26. In line 19, the image of a football stadium is created in the mind of the reader. In line 20, the reader pictures a tailor on a machine sewing Ankara and could even here the sound the machine makes while sewing. In line 21, the image of a man dressed in traditional attire, sitting under an umbrella is created in the reader’s mind. The image of dejection is created through taps that are not bringing forth water. This image is created in line 23. In line 24, the reader pictures the musical instrument Xylophone with a group of people singing in accompaniment to the instrument. In the last line, the reader first pictures a Zebra with is black and white stripes and then transport that image to the road, creating a road with black and white stripes.

These mental images are created by the writer to make the reader see through words the picture of the country he is trying to paint.

 

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

There is strong use of irony in the poem. In line 7, “G for the Garri the people can’t eat” show’s a deep irony. Garri is supposed to be a staple food everyone can afford, and it is mostly done by the poor masses. It is therefore ironic that the most common food cannot be afforded by people in charge of its production. Line 14 strengthens the irony. “N for Nigeria in potential number one” the number one position could mean in Africa. If Nigeria is potential number one then it is quite ironic that so much hunger and indignation exist amidst plenty of wealth and enjoyment. Another use of irony is in line 15 “O for October whose first day is ours”. October 1^st stands for Nigeria’s Independence Day but even with this independence, Nigeria is still under the burden of neo-colonialism as seen in line 17 “Q for the Queen we are still commonwealth”. These two lines suggest an irony of Nigeria’s situation that even after gaining independence; they are still in a subtle way under their former colonizers.

The writer’s use of irony serves as a way of strengthening his message. He satirizes the government, the country and all that is bad, in a bid to write it.

 

5.3 CONCLUSION

From the foregoing, it is evident that much work has not been done on the overall literary appreciation of Wilson Orhiunu’s My Time. Structure and language is an aspect of literature (poetry) that has been adequately explored in many works but there’s a wide research gap in terms of some contemporary works especially those written in Pidgin English. This research has to an extent covered a gap in this field but there’s still so much work to be done in this area. Aspects on literature like the themes, socio-historical context, form and content etc. are still unexplored in the poems of Wilson Orhiunu. The researcher therefore suggests that writers should pay closer attention to homeland poems that are deep-rooted in the Nigerian society. 

 

 

                                   REFERENCE

PRIMARY SOURCES

Orhiunu, Wilson.  My Time.Birmingham: 2005