The Song Of The Women Of My Land- Questions And Answers
QUESTION 1: Give a vivid account of “The Song of the Women of my Land” by Oumar Farouk Sesay.
This poem is a reference to the civil war in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002 and it discusses the women of Sierra Leone and the agonies they passed through during the war.
The first four lines of the poem reveal to us that the war took place some years back and that the memory of what happened then is gradually fading away from them. He compares the way time has made them to forget the degrading events with a sculptor, chipping away at bits of wood.
“Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
Time chisels away bits of their memory”
The third stanza, lines 5 to 11 takes us to the arena of the war to reveal to us some of the inhuman treatments the women were exposed to. Due to these cruel treatments by the warriors, their minds were disorganized that it was difficult for them to think like normal human beings.
The women were enslaved, sexually abused and forced into marriages. The ladies among them were also raped and forced to take up arms.
The fourth stanza, lines 12 to 18 is about the women singing about what they were passing through during the war to bring a little succour to them and ease them of the agonies and pains that had been meted on them.
This song also serves as a reminiscence for the generation yet unborn to fall back to know what happened during the war, hence the war has become an “antiquity” which is an object from an ancient time.
In lines 19 to 23, the poet makes reference to the effect of time on the song again. He says that time has taken away some of the words of the song and also makes them forget some of the ugly experiences they passed through during the war.
These make the song die and he compares it with some of the women that did not survive the war to tell the story, but left back the song to tell the story for them.
“Yet time strips the lyrics and scars the tune,
Leaving a dying song
Dead!
Like the women who died long ago,
Leaving the song to tell the story of their lives”
In lines 24 to 31, the poet expresses how difficult it is to remember now vividly what the women passed through while being enslaved and de-humanized on their own land. It is difficult to remember because it was not documented in any form.
The next stanza, lines 32 to 36 is about the content of this poem that the lyrics of the song of the women of his land now form the incoherent verses of the poem that is written not in the local language, but a foreign language (English) and composed outside the country (Sierra Leone).
The next stanza, lines 37 to 45 is about the experiences of the poet while composing this poem. He found it difficult to write the lyrics coherently in foreign language, hence he is “stripped of lyrics like a scorned ghost.
“He thereby concludes that the women suffered a lot, died and the people are gradually forgetting what they passed through.
The poet says that this poem “is all that remains of the song of the women of my land. “This poem serves as a reminiscence for the inhuman treatment the women were exposed to at that time.
QUESTION 2: Comment on the use of symbolism and imagery in “The Song of the Women of my Land.”
SYMBOLISM: This is the representation of a thing or concept with something that shares a quality with it. These symbols as used create images in the minds of the people; the use of imagery.
In the first two lines;
“Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
Time chisels away bits of their memory”
The symbols of sculptor and chisel, which is a tool used by sculptors, are used to explain how the memories of the war are fading away from the people; they forget the lyrics of the women. Chisel is a cutting tool used by a sculptor in shaping the sculpture. This creates the image of a sculptor using the tool in the minds of the people.
In the fifth stanza;
“Today the tune roams the forlorn fields”
“Fields” is used here to symbolize the devastation of their land; field is a land area free of woodland. It creates the imagery of a place where no activity is taking place.
IMAGERY: This is an imaginative language that produces pictures in the minds of people reading or listening. We have the use of agricultural images in lines 7 and 28 of the poem;
7- of how they ploughed the terrain of their mindscape
“Mindscape” as used here is a replacement for landscape which is an agricultural term. It’s making reference to the thoughts of the women about the ugly experiences they have about the war; what occupies their minds.
28- Who ploughed their soil and soul
“Ploughing” is also an agricultural term which means the breaking of the ground into furrows for planting. The poet makes use of this to show the extent of the maltreatment of the women; they suffered the way their soil suffered. They are compared with the way ground is ploughed in preparation for planting.
QUESTION 3: Comment on the language of “The Song of the Women of my Land.”
Language is referring us to the use of the various literary devices by the poet in passing across his messages. This includes the use of figures of speech which adds beauty to language. These literary devices are well used by the poet.
In stanzas one and two, we have the use of personification where time is given the attribute of a living thing that it chisels away the memory of the people that they forget the lyrics of the song of the women in the poem. It is also used in the following stanzas and lines;
9- in those days when a song beheld their lives;
10- when servitude cuffed the ankles of their soul,
11- and dereliction decapitated epic of their lives.
Stanza five is also full of personification. “Time” and “song” are given the attributes of a living thing;
19- Yet time strips the lyrics and scars the tune,
20- Leaving a dying song
21- Dead!
22- Like the women who died long ago,
23- Leaving the song to tell the story of their lives
In stanza six, lines 24, 25 and 26, “tune” is given the attributes of a living thing;
24- Today the tune roams the forlorn fields
25- Like their souls looking for lyrics
26- To tell the tale of the servitude
Personification is widely used in stanzas seven and eight. In stanza seven, lyrics of the women is personified as “feeding the verses of the poet,” “wriggling in rhythms and melodies,” “Hollering in distant tunes. “In line 36 of the same stanza, “song” is also personified; it is given the attribute “died.”
“where the song of their lives died.”
In stanza eight, the pen of the poet is well given the attributes of a living thing to illustrate the difficulties the poet encountered in writing the lyrics of the song in another language;
37- The stuttering lips of my pen
38- And the screeching voice of my nib
39- try to sing the song of the women of my land
Personification, as used in the poem makes the understanding of the message easier and enriches the use of the language.
There is also the use of symbolism and imageries; this creates the mental picture of the events described in the poem and makes it clearer.
7- of how they ploughed the terrain of their mindscape
28- Who ploughed their soil and soul
SYMBOLISM: This is the representation of a concept through symbols. In lines 1 and 2 of the poem, the symbols of “sculptor” and “chisels” are used to explain how far they have forgotten the lyrics of the song of the women.
1- Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
2- Time chisels away bits of their memory
QUESTION 4: Identify the poetic devices used in “The Song of the Women of my Land.”
These are the poetic devices used in the poem
SIMILE: This is the comparison of two things with the use of “like” and “as.”We have this in lines;
1- Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
22- Like the women who died long ago,
25- Like their souls looking for lyrics
42- stripped of lyrics like a scorned ghost.
ALLITERATION: This device is well used in the poem. We have it in lines;
POETIC 5- they sang in the forlorn fields
8- for memories of lyrics lost in the vast void of time
10- when servitude cuffed the ankles of their soul,
11- and dereliction decapitated epic of their lives.
12- With a song, they sponged off their anguish,
15- give lyrics to the tune of their lives,
16- cheat the tyranny of time,
19- Yet time strips the lyrics and scars the tune,
22- Like the women who died long ago,
23- Leaving the song to tell the story of their lives
24- Today the tune roams the forlorn fields
25- Like their souls looking for lyrics
26- To tell the tale of the servitude
28- Who ploughed their soil and soul
29- For a song to sing the story of their lives
30- The song of the women of my land
31- left in the memory of the wind.
32- Now feeding the verses of the poets, it echoes in the fields
35- In places far afield from the forlorn fields,
36- where the song of their lives died.
39- try to sing the song of the women of my land
40- In verses far from the theatre of toil
41- where they left a song that now roams the land
42- stripped of lyrics like a scorned ghost.
43- The tune tuning the tenor of my verse,
44- is all that remains of the song of the women of my land
45- Who laboured and died leaving a dying song:
46- The dirge of their lives!
PERSONIFICATION: In stanzas one and two, time is given the attribute of a living thing that it chisels away the memory of the people that they forget the lyrics of the song of the women in the poem. It is also used in lines 9, 10 and 11 thus;
9- in those days when a song beheld their lives;
10- when servitude cuffed the ankles of their soul,
11- and dereliction decapitated epic of their lives.
Stanza five is also full of personification. “Time” and “song” are given the attributes of a living thing;
19- Yet time strips the lyrics and scars the tune,
20- Leaving a dying song
21- Dead!
22- Like the women who died long ago,
23- Leaving the song to tell the story of their lives
In stanza six, lines 24, 25 and 26, “tune” is given the attributes of a living thing;
24- Today the tune roams the forlorn fields
25- Like their souls looking for lyrics
26- To tell the tale of the servitude
Personification is widely used in stanzas seven and eight. In stanza seven, lyrics of the women is personified as “feeding the verses of the poet,” “wriggling in rhythms and melodies,” “Hollering in distant tunes. “In line 36 of the same stanza, “song” is also personified; it is given the attribute “died.”
“where the song of their lives died.”
In stanza eight, the pen of the poet is well given the attributes of a living thing to illustrate the difficulties the poet encountered in writing the lyrics of the song in another language;
37- The stuttering lips of my pen
38- And the screeching voice of my nib
39- try to sing the song of the women of my land
METAPHOR: This literary device is used in lines;
7- of how they ploughed the terrain of their mindscape
12- With a song, they sponged off their anguish,
16- cheat the tyranny of time,
18- to give meaning to an epoch of antiquity,
24- Today the tune roams the forlorn fields
28- Who ploughed their soil and soul
35- In places far afield from the forlorn fields,
40- In verses far from the theater of toil
46- The dirge of their lives!
IMAGERY: This is an imaginative language that produces pictures in the minds of people reading or listening. We have the use of agricultural images in lines 7 and 28 of the poem;
7- of how they ploughed the terrain of their mindscape
28- Who ploughed their soil and soul
ENJAMBMENT: If we look at the poem critically, we shall see that the poem runs-on-line. The sense expressed in a line extends to the other lines.
REFRAIN/REPETITION: There is the repetition of “the song of the women of my land” in lines 3, 30, 39 and 44. The word “memory” is repeated in lines 2, 8 and 31. The word “forlorn” is repeated in lines 5, 24 and 35. “Away” is repeated in the first three lines to show the extent of which the memory is being lost. “Song” is also repeated 14 times in the poem in lines 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 20, 23, 29, 30, 36, 39, 41, 44 and 45. The word “lyrics” is repeated six times in the poem in lines 3, 8, 15, 19, 25 and 42.
PARALLELISM: This is placing phrases or sentences of similar construction and balance side by side, or one after the other to maintain balance or reinforce each other as we have in lines 13 and 14 of this poem;
13- to behold their collective pain,
14- to celebrate their gains,
SYMBOLISM: This is the representation of a concept through symbols. In lines 1 and 2 of the poem, the symbols of “sculptor” and “chisels” are used to explain how far they have forgotten the lyrics of the song of the women.
1- Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
2- Time chisels away bits of their memory
QUESTION 5: What are the themes of “The Song of the Women of my Land.
Forgetfulness: This poem opens on the note of forgetfulness in the first four lines. The event took place some years back, so time has taken away a bit of their memory to remember all they experienced then. This also had effects on the poet while composing the poem that he couldn’t write coherently.
Inhumanity: The women were exposed to all forms of inhuman treatment by the warriors. The women were enslaved, raped, incapacitated and forced into marriage. The ladies also experienced all sorts of abuse. They were raped and forced to take up arms. The women were physically and spiritually dehumanized.
Succour: When the women were in great agony, to bring a little succour to themselves, they made a song of their horrendous experiences so that they would not feel the effects of the cruelty meted out on them.
Message: This “song” of theirs that contains their ugly experiences serves as a message to the generation yet unborn. Those that did not witness the events can fall back at the “song” to know what happened then.
Death: In the course of maltreating the women, a lot of death was recorded as not all of them survived the tyranny. Many were raped to death and the ladies that were forced to take arms and fight were killed because they were not trained to fight war.
“Like the women who died long ago,
Leaving the song to tell the story of their lives”
Vulnerability: The women and the children were the most affected entities during the war because they are the most vulnerable in any society.