POEM LIKE OTHER LITERARY GENRES HAVE THE MESSAGE TO CONVEY AND USE LITERARY DEVICES TO BRING ABOUT THE MESSAGE. DISCUSS THE TRUTH OF THE STATEMENT BY USING FOR POEMS

Qn 1. Poems like other literary genres have the message to convey and use literary devices to bring about the message. Discuss the truth of the statement by using four poems

ANSWER

    Poems refer to the piece of poetry or is an arrangement of words containing meaning and musically. Message refers to what have leant literary works. And literary devices refers to specific aspects of literature, in the sense of its universal function as an art form which expresses ideas through language which we can recognize, identify, interpret and or analyze.

       It is true that “Poems like other literary genres have the message to convey and use literary devices to bring about the message”. The statement is proved by using the poems of SUNRISE written by” Jwani Mwaikusa”, TWO DOGS  AT THE GATE written by “ Jwani Mwaikusa”, THE DYING CHILD written by “ Freeman Peter Lwamba” and POOR WOMAN written by “ Jwani Mwaikusa”

      By starting with the poem of SUNRISE written by “Jwani Mwaikusa”, the statement is proved by using only symbolsas the literary device which has shown in this poem:

    The poet has used symbols of “sunrise” and “sunset”, the symbol ofsunrise means the beginning of struggling for the freedom and sunset the end of struggling for the freedom. These symbols bring the message that unity is a tool of victory. This proves on how the lower classes or oppressed people are unity in struggling for their freedom which helps them to regain their freedom from the oppressive class or colonialists. Therefore, people should be unity in any struggle

 The second poem which is used to defend the statement is TWO DOGS AT THE GATE written by “Jwani mwaikusa”. The poet has used symbols and the figures of speech to prove the statement:

By starting with symbols, the poet has used king’s dogs and common dogs, these symbols show the presence of classes, the king’s dogs represent upper class which means leaders and rich people and common dogs present lower class which means the poor people or oppressed people. Therefore, the symbols bring the message that the classes are the source of hostility in the society, in this poem, the lower and upper class inter in conflict after the lower classes to discover that they are being oppressed by upper class. Therefore, classes should be discouraged in the society.

    The second literary device used in this poem is figures of speech; the poet has used the following figures of speech:

         Similerefers to comparison of two unlike entities by using conjunction. The poet has used this figures of speech by showing “fat, health and twice as big as st. Bernard” to show on how the upper class or leaders use the resources of poor people to enrich themselves without caring the life of other people. This brings the message that selfishness and exploitation are source of the poverty in the society. Therefore, people should not exploit each other as what shown in this poem, the leaders are selfish and exploitative.

          Also the poet has used hyperbole; this refers to exaggeration of something out of its truth. The poet has used” burning red with anger” this presents the cruelty of the leaders to poor people in struggling for the government’s posts, so this situation leads the existence of the conflicts between the lower and the upper classes, this because the upper class use their power to humiliate the poor people. So, this figure of speech brings the message that humiliation is not good thing in society since it can bring the conflict among of people. Therefore, people should not humiliate each other.

       On other hand, the statement is proved by using the poem of POOR WOMAN written by “Jwani mwaikusa”. The poet has used the symbols and figures of speech to defend the statement:

Starting with symbols, the poet has used   “wild honey” and” powered milk”. The poet has used these symbols to distinguish their important that is wild honeypresents natural milk from mother and powered milk presents artificial milk from industry. The poet tends to bring the message that mothers should feed their children by using their breasts in order to make a child to have a good healthy and not to feed them the milk from industries as what done by a woman from this poem who caused her child to suffer from unknown disease.

        The second literary device used in this poem is figures of speech, which proves the statement:

          The poet has used hyperbole that is “the fire of life is no longer in him” and “finally dropped out of his anus”, these mean that the child is suffering to death due to poor balanced diet and poor carefulness from his mother. Therefore, the poet brings the message that mothers should be responsible to care their children and should not do as what is done by a woman in the poem who is careless to her child by feeding him the poor balanced diet, and this caused her child to suffer to death. 

          The last poem which defends this statement is THE DYING CHILD written by “freeman Peter Lwamba”. The poet has used symbols and figures of speech to prove the stament

           Starting with symbols, the poet has used the symbol of“flies” to present the political leaders who exploit the lower class. This symbol convey the message that exploitation is the source of the poverty, this proves in this poem, the exploitation of the leaders against the lower class makes the lower class to become poor since what they have on the hand are always  taken by the leaders. Therefore, leaders should not exploit the lower class because they have the right of possessing the properties.

            Also the poet has used figures of speech of hyperbole “he looks older than ten” and litotes “young than young” both symbols present the oppression of the leaders against the lower class hence caused the people to be inferior to them and undefined. So this brings the message that oppression is the source of the hostility in the society. This proves in this poem when the “son” decides to plan the revolution when he becomes an old. This happens after discovered that, he is being oppressed by the leaders. Therefore, leaders should not oppress the lower class so as to avoid unnecessary conflicts against them.

Therefore, the above are the explanations of how the poets use their literary works to bring the message to the leaders.