Moncada Africa by David Diop literary analysis PDF

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Analysis of David Diop's Poem "Africa"...

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April Anne P. Moncada July 2, 2011 Edited: June 30, 2020

“Africa” by David Diop A Call for Liberty

David Diop’s poem “Africa” is a free verse about Negritude that downplays the aesthetic dimension of the poem to emphasize its intellectual and emotional dimensions. A poem is a voice; it is a form of expression—aesthetic expression. However, there are times when the message is more important than its form. The message is so powerful that following a rigid style of writing would constrict it, and because of its power, it seems to blow the poem off its seams. Such is “Africa.” The poem shouts—cries—for liberty, for freedom. It brings the reader from the ancestral savannahs to bondage to an African future full of hope of liberty, and in its wake, it leaves a lasting sense of pride and love for being Black. The poem is not as melodic as Edgar Allan Poe’s works or as perfect in measure as Shakespeare’s sonnets. It is a free verse. There is no rhyming scheme, and it has an irregular meter. It is however written in a voice that the reader can easily relate to. The use of the first-person point of view does this effectively, conveying an intimate voice that draws the reader into the world of Africans and make them feel the latter’s plight. This poem is a rebellion against the conventions of a poem. The form is dictated by the content. The natural rhythm of the language with the help of literary devices delivers the message home more effectively.

One of the dominant literary devices in the poem is the repetition of words or lines. The first line itself is a repetition: “Africa my Africa.” Moreover, the first three lines start with the same word, “Africa,” as if to engrave it in the minds of the readers. Lines 13 and 14 also exhibit repetition.

This back that never breaks under the weight of humiliation This back trembling with red scars (13–14)

There is also the use of specific type of repetition called anadiplosis, a rhetorical term for the repetition of the last word of one line or clause to begin the next (“Anadiplosis”). There is also a pattern in the structure of the lines: noun phrase + prepositional phrase, and all three lines start with the article the as shown in the following lines (emphasis added). The use of anadiplosis in this section demonstrates how “sweat” and “work” bespeaks of their slavery of which they have shed blood for:

The blood of your sweat The sweat of your work The work of your slavery (8–10)

Alliteration, where the same sound starts a series of words or syllables, is also employed by Diop as exemplified in the following line (emphasis added). The alliteration serves as the tonal underline of the theme of this poem.

Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields (7)

“Africa” can also be taken as a rebellion, which will be discussed more in the succeeding paragraphs. Yet what the poem downplayed in aesthetics, it more than made up for in its powerful, compelling imagery. It makes the reader see, hear, taste, and feel the Black experience. With this, it unlocks in the reader’s the sentiments it seeks. Readers cannot help but feel compassion for the Africans and hatred toward the colonizers. For Filipinos, this is not so hard to do because they have been under foreign rule themselves. Even on a more personal level, the readers can also say that bullies are just like these oppressors. Despite Africans’ grave circumstances, there is hope as symbolized by the tree, growing “splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers” (19). David Diop wrote this poem sometime in the 1950s, and he could not be more right. Indeed, there is hope. The Blacks around the world eventually would earn the R-E-S-P-E-C-T (to copy Aretha Franklin) that they deserve. With Obama in the White House, it seemed indubitably so. However, with the sparks of racism going on recently in the US and the Black Lives Matter protests that ensue, it seems like racial equality still has a long way to go in the US. The Negritude literary movement began as “a protest against French colonial rule and the policy of assimilation” (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). It is also an affirmation of Black identity, but the idea was foreign to or created resistance from the foreign colonizers. At the time, it was difficult for them to understand that people who are not white are still humans with dignity. These colonizers are symbolized as “white and faded flowers” (19) surrounding the tree. They are faded because they are losing their power while the tree is standing strong, a beacon of hope for the Africans.

Alongside its imagery is the spare use of punctuation marks. In fact, the only terminal punctuation is the period at the last line of the poem. With only a few punctuations, the reader is left to her own devices in interpreting the cadence, tone, and expression of the poem. The form of the poem, its aesthetic dimension, serves as the springboard upon which the message of the poem is catapulted straight to the reader’s heart. Beyond its structure, this poem is one of advocacy. In this sense, it is intellectual and emotional at the same time. Intellectual because the persona is presenting an idea—Negritude, the sense of Negro pride. At the time when Blacks were considered third-class citizens and treated as slaves, Diop reminded them of their glorious past being “proud warriors in ancestral savannahs” (2). Notice that he uses the word “ancestral,” indicating ownership and heritage and pride as Africans. Some people write dramas, novels, and short stories to promote a cause. Jose Rizal did so in his novels just like Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. But writers can sometimes say what they want in lesser words and be just as effective. Moreover, by limiting the use of poetic form and style and thus downplaying the aesthetic dimension of the poem, Diop highlights the more important dimensions to serve his purpose. This is what makes “Africa” his masterpiece. Works Cited “Anadiplosis - Examples and Definition of Anadiplosis.” Literary Devices, 11 Dec. 2017, literarydevices.net/anadiplosis/. “Classic Poems About Africa - Africa by David Diop.” Atlantic Rock, 27 May 2018, atlanticrock.com/classic-poems-about-africa-africa-by-david-diop/. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Negritude.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 Nov. 2019, www.britannica.com/art/Negritud

Appendix

Africa by David Diop Africa my Africa Africa of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs Africa of whom my grandmother sings On the banks of the distant river I have never known you But your blood flows in my veins Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields The blood of your sweat The sweat of your work The work of your slavery Africa, tell me Africa Is this your back that is unbent This back that never breaks under the weight of humiliation This back trembling with red scars And saying no to the whip under the midday sun But a grave voice answers me Impetuous child that tree, young and strong That tree over there Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers That is your Africa springing up anew springing up patiently, obstinately Whose fruit bit by bit acquires The bitter taste of liberty. Original French version: Afrique mon Afrique Afrique des fiers guerriers dans les savanes ancestrales Afrique que me chantait ma grand-mère Au bord de son fleuve lointain Je ne t’ai jamais connue Mais mon regard est plein de ton sang Ton beau sang noir à travers les champs répandu Le sang de ta sueur La sueur de ton travail Le travail de l’esclavage L’esclavage de tes enfants Afrique dis-moi Afrique

Est-ce donc toi ce dos qui se courbe Et se couche sous le poids de l’humilité Ce dos tremblant à zébrures rouges Qui dit oui au fouet sur les routes de midi Alors gravement une voix me répondit Fils impétueux cet arbre robuste et jeune Cet arbre là -bas Splendidement seul au milieu de fleurs blanches et fanées C’est l’Afrique ton Afrique qui repousse Qui repousse patiemment obstinément Et dont les fruits ont peu à peu L’amère saveur de la liberté

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