Page 175 - English_F5

English

(f) Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

The Vultures
In those days
When civilisation kicked us in the face
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When holy water slapped our cringing brows
The vultures built in the shadow of their talons
The bloodstained monument of tutelage.
In those days

There was painful laughter on the metallic hell of the roads
And the monotonous rhythm of the paternoster
Drowned the howling on the plantations
Of the bitter memories of extorted kisses
Of promises broken at the point of a gun
Of foreigners who did not seem human
Who knew all the books but did not know love.

But we whose hands fertilise the womb of the earth
In spite of your songs of pride
In spite of the desolate villages of torn Africa
Hope was preserved in us as in a fortress
And from the mines of Swaziland to the factories of Europe
Spring will be reborn under our bright steps.
----By David Diop----

Questions

1. What is the poem about?
2. Who are the vultures according to the poem?
3. Who is the persona?
4. Comment on the structure of the poem.
5. What do you think is the central idea of the poem? Why?
6. How does the title relate to the content of the poem?
7. Describe the poem’s structure. How does the tone change in the middle of the
poem?
8. Comment on the language usage.
9. Explain the poem’s relevance to your society.
10. Identify the lessons that one can learn from the poem.
11. Identify images used in the poem? Explain how powerful and effective the
images are.

Form Five 166 Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE)

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