Africa by Maya Angelou

This is the second poem of Maya Angelou that we have studied, and I must say that I am intrigued to look for more of her poetry and other writing.

The title is simple, one word, a continent: Africa. There are of course images naturally associated with Africa, definitely, such as poverty, savannah, safari, violence, child solider, etc. Although, these are terms more likely associated in today's day and age rather then when this poem was written; nonetheless they effect the way that I understand the poem as the reader.

Structurally, the poem contains 3 stanzas. The first stanza contains 8 verses, the second contains 9 verses and the third contains 8 verses. It is interesting to note the oddity of the incongruent stanza lengths. The rhyme scheme is ABCB DEFE GHIH JKLK MNON PQRQ SQ. While the poem has a nice rhythm, there is no specific characteristic which continues throughout the poem.

The poem is about a Africa, and the hardships it went through, especially with the pressure and violence of Europeans and the slave trade. In the first stanza, Africa is being described as a beautiful woman with the "mountains her breats" and "deserts her hair", but Africa is also described as a sad woman, with the line "two niles her tears". It also specifically mentions the color of her skin; black and and states that she has been black throughout the years. Interesting to note, considering the colonizaiton of parts Africa by the British, since we know at this time many white people were moving to this area and to this day, South Africa and other parts remain prodominately white. The second stanzas describes the domination of the European over Africa and all the things that were forced upon them; such as religion, the slave trade, the violence, etc. The third stanza changes the tone, and becomes much more strong and full of courage. It describes Africa sticking up for itself and finally screaming out about the injustices.

I would say repetition and personification are the most interesting aspects of this poem to analyse:

Repetion is noted in the fact that "she has lain" is used four times throughout the poem, touching each stanza. Clearly the point of the poem is to communicate that throughout history, throughout the terrible violence and oppression, Africa has never retaliated. By repeting this line four times, the poet is emphasizing this concept. The poem is also structured as to provide proof of violence and then counter it with that line. In the last stanza of the poem, we see the contrast of what she now is. Africa is rising, is striding. This repetition, yet contrasting repetition, provides an empowered end to the poem.

Notably, the poem consists on one large metaphor, or the personification of the continent Africa. The entire poem appears to be describing a woman at first glance, but then the imagery and the descriptions kick in and the reader understands that literally Africa's breats are mountains and literally Africa's tears are rivers - so the poet must be describing the continent as a whole. It is extremely effective as it allows the reader to feel empathy towards this woman, much more easily then a person could feel empathy for something as large as an entire continent. The metaphors speak beautifully to the power of not only one person but to a nation, especially in the last stanza when she is screaming out.

Overall, I loved the poem. I found it a little bit hard to understand in parts (especially the second stanza), but I loved the imagery and the personification!