Poetry: Post Mortem

BY Wole Soyinka


Subject: Literature-in-English

Theme: Poetry

Topic: Post Mortem BY Wole Soyinka

Sub Topic:

Date: dd/mm/yyyy

Class: S.S 2

Average Age: 12 years and above

Duration: 35 Minutes

No of Learners: 40



Background and setting

Author's background:

Wale Soyinka was born in Abeokuta (Nigeria) in 1934. Studied in University of Ibadan and leads (England) He lectured drama & produced plays in University of Lagos, Ibadan and Ife. His international fare has been enhanced by his winning the Nobel Peace prize for literature. Several of his plays and poems have been produced worldwide.

Subject Matter:

Modern gadget store not just food but dead as well. Poet reflects on futility of postmortem as medical practice. Should man bother abut origin & cause of death?

Theme:

Death as a mystery which is beyond human understanding. The power of death over man and its ability to reduce even the greatest to a "grub".

Form:
This is a five stanza poem, unrhymed, with three lines to a stanza. Some of the stanzas run into others as the case with one and two. The from is thus a simple one.

Language, Style, Narrative Techniques and Symbolism:

1. Although Soyinka is generally known to be difficult, this poem is relatively simple. The language is simple apart from the' use of medical term; post-mortem "grey slab" "grey sealpal".
2. The syntax is not involved. The sentence structure is straight forward virtually throughout the poem.
3. There is a pun on bear in the word bier. The poet is being obviously clever in the use of this pun. Because the pun is obvious it lacks the element of surprise one can expect from a suitable pun.
4. The poet makes use of allusions, euphemisms like "manpike" and "suboil grab". Poetry often does not call a spade a spade. This is a good example of what is called poetic diction.


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