About the Poet (Wole Soyinka)
Wole Soyinka was born on 13th July, 1934 in Abeokuta, Ogun state, South-west Nigeria. He attended Abeokuta Grammar School and Government College Ibadan for his secondary education.
He afterward studied further in Nigeria and the United Kingdom; University College Ibadan and the University of Leeds, England.
He was an active partaker in the agitation for Nigeria’s independence from British Colonial Masters.
Wole Soyinka is a strong critic of successive governments in Nigeria after the country’s independence from the Colonial Masters.
He was against especially the military governments for their anti-people policies. He was severally put on the wanted list of these military governments.
He was arrested by the government of General Yakubu Gowon in 1967 during Nigeria’s civil war and detained for two years.
His offense was that he volunteered to be a non-government mediating actor which didn’t go down well with the government of General Gowon.
He is a renowned poet, dramatist and novelist. He has written a lot of plays, some novels and poems. One of his plays, “The Lion and the Jewel” is in the current WAEC syllabus 2020-2025.
He also has a good number of essays, films and translations to his credit. He translated some of the works of D.O Fagunwa from Yoruba language to English language.
Much of his works have been influenced by the oppressive rules in Nigeria from both military and civilian governments. The unique culture of his people also forms the basis of his writings.
Wole Soyinka has lectured in various universities both in Nigeria and abroad. He won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.
Introduction
Night, especially in Africa is believed to be the time evil things happen. Witches, wizards, and all the devilish people are believed to be powerful in the Night.
Night marauders are believed to work effectively under the cover of darkness in the night. “Evil is better perpetrated in the Night.”
Ironically, Night is supposed to be a time for rest after a day’s job, except for the few that work legally in the Night. Darkness, which is symbolic of Night, creates fear in the people.
In this way, Night is very complex; it depends on the way we look at it. To some people, it is a time of their actions, while to some, a time of rest.
Wole Soyinka in this poem of nature presents Night as a period to be feared. He believes it is a time of activities for evil people.
Night by Wole Soyinka- Analysis
In the first stanza of the poem, the poet, who personifies Night expresses the power and the effects of Night on him. The poet doesn’t have the power to resist the effects of Night on him.
He says he doesn’t have the boldness like the clouds to challenge the coming of Night.
He expresses his fears for the Night which he must submit to its nature (Dark nature); the mist and the warmth that is felt in the early part of the Night.
“Your hand is heavy, Night, upon my brow,
I bear no heart mercuric like the clouds, to dare
Exacerbation from your subtle plough.”
The poet expresses further the power of Night in stanza two; it has power over the sea and its waves. It can suppress the seas and the waves.
It is also compared with the nature of a woman due to its jealousy of the evening rays on the sea and the dancing movement of the waves that are quenched by a “clam.”
Through the darkness, Night has power over the sea and its nature. It is compared to a clam which could easily close its two pieces together at will.
In the third stanza, the poet expresses his fears of the Night by the seaside. He submits himself to the power of Night. The fear of the Night makes his blood run cold.
“Of the waves, And I stood, drained
Submitting like the sands, blood and brine
Cousin to the roots. Night, you rained”
The poet goes deeper into the power of night and various frightening effects of Night. He reflects on the different frightening shadows of leaves that are produced in the Night.
These shadows of leaves appear like jagged edges of the sand. Every object loses its shape in the darkness. Likewise, the devilish people are faceless with the use of masks to hide their identities.
In the last stanza, the poet begs Night to shield him away from the activities of the “night children.” The “Night children” perform their nefarious activities in the Night.
He begs not to hear the frightening voices of these agents of the devil. He believes that such noises and voices could harm him and doesn’t have power over the approaching Night.
Themes
Fear: The poet expresses the fear of the Night because of the evil perpetrators that work under the cover of the Night (darkness).
This fear is great to the extent that the poet begs the Night to hide him from the evil doers.
The Danger of the Night: The dangerous nature of the Night is also expressed in the poem. The eyes cannot penetrate through the darkness and anything can come out of the darkness.
The “Night Children come out in the Night to perpetrate their evil deeds. All these make the poet entertain fear.
The complexity of the Night: The nature of Night is complex; it is both for the peaceful and the devilish people. After a day’s work, Night is so convenient to rest one’s head.
At the same time, the evil-doers also make use of the Night to attack their victims. They hide under the cover of the darkness produced by the Night to execute their devilish mission.
Poetic Devices
Personification: This is when the attributes of a living thing are given to the non-living. Night is personified throughout the poem.
In line 1:
“Your hand is heavy, Night upon my brow”
The use of personal pronouns like “your” and “you” gives credence to the use of personification in the poem.
Simile: There is the use of Simile in line 2 where the poet compares himself with clouds. In line 4 where he compares Night with a Clam.
Also, in line 8, where he expresses his fears and compares his submission to that of the sand.
Alliteration: There is the use of alliteration in
Line 1: “Your hand is heavy”
Line 8: “…blood and brine”
Line 12: “Sensations… silent”
Imagery: The use of imagery in this poem makes it possible for the poet to create pictures of fear in the minds of the readers. He creates images of fearful nights in the people.
Metaphor: Metaphor is used in the poem to establish the power of Night. In line 6, fluorescence means the shining surface of the sea.
In line 13, the devilish people of the Night are referred to as the “night children.”
Structure: The poem is five stanzas written in triplets each. This means that the poem has five triplets.
Enjambment (Run-on-line): The fear that runs through the poem makes it imperative for the poet to write the poem thus. The lines run into each other.
Further explanation on “Night” is here