The  

lesson is an introduction to the poem Song of Lawino.

Follow the poem according to the steps 

Read both analysis and summary given below.

If you face any challenges do call me on my Whatsapp i will be sure to guide you. 

Step 1. Introduction

 Song of Lawino is an Epic poem.

 An epic poem, epic is a lengthy narrative poem.

 It was first published in 1966 in Luo and was translated into other languages including English.

 Song of Lawino is written from a first person point of view.

Step2.  About the Author.

 Okot p'Bitek  was born on 7 June 1931  and died  20 July 1982. He was a Ugandan poet, who
achieved wide international recognition for Song of Lawino.

 He  was born in Gulu, in the North Uganda grasslands. His father, Jebedayo Opi, was a
schoolteacher, while his mother, Lacwaa Cerina, was a traditional singer, storyteller and dancer.  

  His ethnic background was Acholi, and he wrote first in the Acholi dialect, also known as Lwo. 

 Acholi is a dialect of Southern Luo, one of the Western Nilotic languages.

 At school he was noted as a singer, dancer, drummer and athlete. He was educated at Gulu High
School, then at King's College, Budo, where he composed an opera based on traditional songs.

 He went on to study at universities in the United Kingdom.

  For his university studies ,he travelled abroad first as a player with the Ugandan national
football team, in 1958. 

 He gave up on football as a possible career, stayed in Britain, and studied education at

the University of Bristol and then law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. 

 He then took a Bachelor of Letters degree in social anthropology at the University of Oxford,

with a 1963 dissertation on Acholi and Lango traditional cultures.

 According to George Heron, p'Bitek lost his commitment to Christian belief during these years. 

 This had major consequences for his attitude as a scholar of African tradition, which was by no
means accepting of the general run of earlier work, or what he called "dirty gossip" in relation to
tribal life. 
  His character Lawino also speaks for him, in some places, on these matters.

Step 3 : Synopsis of the Poem.

 Song of Lawino is a long poem dealing with the tribulations of a rural African wife whose
husband has taken up urban life and wishes everything to be westernised. 

 Song of Lawino was originally written in the Acholi dialect of Southern Luo, translated by the

author into English, and published in 1966.

 Song of Lawino is a poem about an African woman’s cry against her husband’s abandonment of
the past in favour of western traditions. 

 Lawino, a non-literate woman, says “Husband. 

 Her university-educated husband has adopted Western ways, rejected her, and taken another,
Westernized woman.

 It addresses cultural, Educational and political aspects of life.

 It is made up of  13 poems.

Analysis  

 Song of Lawino is a long poem that addresses the issues facing a liberated Africa.

 It is a poem that poems a question; what kind of liberation should Africa take on? Should it
honor its traditions or should it adopt the European values that were in during colonialism?

 In this poem Okot  addresses this question by telling the story of a woman Lawino and Ocal .

 The poems deal with the differences and value system between lawino and Ocal in their
marriage.

POETIC DEVICES

Instructions :

This lesson is on different poetic devices and poetry analysis.

The purpose of this lesson is to help you recall the different poetic devices looked at in Grade Ten now
that you will be looking at Poetry in detail.

Follow the lesson according to the following steps;

1. Definitions of some poetic devices with examples.

2. Functions of poetic devices.

3. The poem plenty.

 4. Stanza by Stanza analysis.

5. Themes.

6. Diction / vocabulary. 

7. Post test

What are Literary Devices?

Introduction

Commonly, the term Literary Devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to
convey his or her message(s) in a simple manner to his or her readers.  When employed properly, the
different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work.

Two Kinds of Literary Devices

Literary Devices have two aspects. They can be treated as either Literary Elements or Literary
Techniques. It will be convenient to define them separately.

Literary Elements have an inherent existence in literary pieces and are extensively employed by writers
to develop a literary piece e.g. plot, setting, narrative structure, characters, mood, theme, moral etc.
Writers simply cannot create his desired work without including Literary Elements in a thoroughly
professional manner.

Literary Techniques, on the contrary, are structures usually a word or phrases in literary texts that
writers employ to achieve not merely artistic ends but also readers a greater understanding and
appreciation of their literary works. Examples are:
metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, allegory etc. In contrast to Literary Elements, Literary
Techniques  are not unavoidable aspects of literary works.

To have a better understanding of Literary Devices, it is useful to look at their definition and examples:

Common Literary Elements

1. Plot:  It is the logical sequence of events that develops a story.

2. Setting:  It refers to the time and place in which a story takes place.

3. Protagonist:  It is the  main character of story, novel or a play e.g. Hamlet in the play Hamlet

4. Antagonist:  It is the character in conflict with the Protagonist e.g. Claudius in the play Hamlet

5. Narrator:  A person who tells the story.

 6. Narrative method:  The manner in which a narrative is presented comprising plot and setting.

7. Dialogue: Where characters of a narrative speak to one another.

8. Conflict.  It is an issue in a narrative around which the whole story revolves.

9. Mood:  A general atmosphere of a narrative.

10. Theme:  It is the central idea or concept of a story.

Common Literary Techniques

1. Imagery:  It is the use of figurative language to create visual representations of actions, objects and
ideas in our mind in such a way that they appeal to our physical senses. For example:

 The room was dark and gloomy. -The words “dark” and “gloomy” are visual images.

 The river was roaring in the mountains. – The word “roaring” appeals to our sense of hearing.

2. Simile and Metaphor: Both compare two distinct objects and draw similarity between them. The
difference is that Simile uses “as” or “like” and Metaphor does not. For example:

 “My love is like  a red red rose” (Simile)

 He is an old fox very cunning. (Metaphor)

3. Hyperbole:  It is deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the sake of emphasis. For example:

 Your bag weighs a ton!

 I have got a million issues to look after!

4. Personification:  It gives a thing, an idea or an animal human qualities. For example:

 The flowers are dancing beside the lake.

 Have you seen my new car? She is a real  beauty!

5. Alliteration: It refers to the same consonant sounds in words coming together. For example:

 Better butter always makes the batter better.

 She sells seashells at seashore.

6. Allegory:  It is a literary technique in which an abstract idea is given a form of characters, actions or
events. For example:

 “Animal Farm”, written by George Orwell, is an example allegory using the actions of animals on
a farm to represent the overthrow of the last of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the Communist
Revolution of Russia before WWII.  In addition, the actions of the animals on the farm are used
to expose the greed and corruption of the Revolution.
7. Irony:  It is use of the words in such a way in which the intended meaning is completely opposite to
their literal meaning. For example:

 The bread is soft as a stone.

 So nice of you to break my new PSP!

Function of Literary Devices

In general, the literary devices are a collection of universal artistic structures that are so typical of all
works of literature frequently employed by the writers to give meanings and a logical framework to their
works through language.  When such works are read by readers, they ultimately recognize and
appreciate them. Because of their universality, they also allow the readers to compare a work of one
writer to that of the other to determine its worth. They not only beautify the piece of literature but also
give deeper meanings to it, testing the very understanding of the readers along with providing them
enjoyment of reading. Besides, they help motivate readers’ imagination to visualize the characters and
scenes more clearly.

Note that :

 The examiner will not merely ask us to give definitions of poetic devices but will ask you to identify and
define them as used in the poem. Therefore, let us now study the poem given to you in week 12
homework and identify  the different elements from the poem. 

This poem was used as homework 12 therefore, take advantage to see where you went wrong.

Analysis of the poem stanza by stanza.

Stanza 1: we learn that there are 5 young children and one mother. The mother finds it difficult to look
after so many kids.

Stanza 2: we learn that the family is poor, and the mum is struggling.

Stanza 3: we learn that the mum has to do a lot of maths and worry about money, and keep track of
shopping lists to make sure the family have enough to eat

Stanza 4: the things that the mother could afford with the money that she has — petrol, porridge,
aspirin, bread, toilet paper — everyday items, bare essentials (no luxuries)
Stanza 5: the children thought the mother was very mean and disobeyed her, stole extra biscuits

Stanza 6: the children stole extra water for their baths, and thought this was a luxury

Stanza 7: Focus shifts (VOLTA / TURNING POINT) into present tense, we focus on the poet herself. This
allows us to compare the poet’s life now to her mother’s life when the poet was young. The poet’s life is
very luxurious now — she leaves the heating on, she has long baths.

Stanza 8: the poet (daughter) misses her childhood, her sisters who are now ‘scattered’ and her mother,
the difficult time they shared together

SPEAKER / VOICE

Stanzas 1–6 are from the point of view of the poet, as a child, looking at her mother and not being sure
why she’s so mean

Stanzas 7–8 from the daughter’s point of view when she’s grown up — she sees her mum and childhood
differently, she realises how lucky she is now

Personal point of view, memory / reflection on the past

ATTITUDES

Being poor can be difficult

“where dams leaked dry and windmills stalled.” without water you cannot clean the dishes, shower, etc,
so we realise that the poet’s childhood was tough and that her family struggled to cope with basic
necessities

The children formed an alliance against the mother, playfully resisting her strict rules — they “swiped
biscuits” / “Stole another precious inch” of water for the bath

Because the poet was poor she had limited supply of food and very limited access to luxurious or
pleasurable experiences, this suggests that the few things she did have were very special to her — we
shouldn’t feel sorry for her because she did enjoy her childhood, but we should learn to appreciate and
be thankful for what we have

Being poor can sometimes be fun as it brings people close together, especially families and siblings

When we’re older, we can realise that we didn’t fully understand something important in our childhood

The daughter misses the squabbles that she and her mother used to have when they had a long time
ago, suggesting that they were a form of entertainment and never too serious, perhaps they were an
important bonding experience for her and also a way for her to create her own identity by being defiant
against her mother’s strict rules

Later when the poet is mature she realises that the mother’s strictness wasn’t because she was mean,
but instead because she was trying to protect the family and make sure they had enough money to live.
She changes her attitude towards her mother and begins to appreciate everything she did for her as a
child.

LANGUAGE FEATURES
“running riot” > alliteration, creates a strong image of the children being chaotic

“dams leaked dry and windmills stalled” > strong visual imagery — dams and windmills are countryside
images, perhaps she lived in the countryside, alliteration of ‘dams’ and ‘dry’

“it was a clasp to keep us all from chaos” > talking about the mother’s smile — a metaphor, the
tightness of the smile creates a sense of being restrained

“Anger” > powerful, emotive language — shows the reaction of the mother to the difficult time,
suggests frustration, struggling, difficulty coping

“warmth / disgorged from fat brass taps” > visual imagery, also tactile imagery (warmth shows the
feeling of the water), enjambment — the image flows from one line to the next, the flow of the line is
similar to the flow of the water into the bath. ‘Fat brass taps’ > uses assonance (half-rhyme, repeated ‘a’
sound) to reinforce the image, to create a sense of largeness. ‘Fat’ is also a sign of luxury, and a type of
personification. It suggests that the bath is a moment of luxury. The word ‘disgorged’ suggests that the
taps are spitting out water from their throats, a kind of personification.

STRUCTURE / FORM

Dashes — creates a pause, a breathing space, in the flow of the poem. Stops the flow of images, makes
us pay attention. Sometimes it shows shock or confusion of the poet as a child e..g. “at some fault — //
of mine” > shows confusion

Volta > turning point in stanza 7, the tense shifts from past to present, the focus shifts from the poet’s
memory of childhood to her life now. She makes a comparison between her easy life now and her
difficult life as a child, but we realise she had a happy childhood.

Free verse — the poem is set into quatrains (four line stanzas), which gives it some sort of regular
structure, but within that the line length is irregular and there is no set rhyme scheme. This perhaps
represents the way in which memories are both set and fluid in our minds, or the struggle between the
mother’s attempt to keep everything regular and the children trying to cause chaos.

THEMES

Poverty — not having enough food to feed the family, or heating to have a proper bath. The mother
suffers and struggles to provide enough for the children, but the children seem happy. They enjoy
playing around with the mother, and testing boundaries.

Luxury — in later life, the poet has enough money to leave the heating on and take a long hot shower,
these are luxuries compared to her childhood — this is kind of normal, not luxurious exactly, but when
we see the poet’s earlier life we realise it’s a luxury for her

Parenting — there is an absence of a father figure, so we assume that the poet’s mother raised her five
children by herself. She seems strict and as though she doesn’t allow the children to have fun, but we
realise later (as the poet also realises when she’s older) that in fact she was trying to protect her
children and to make sure they didn’t suffer from being poor. She seems like a tired figure, but a
protective and good mother, and in adulthood the poet is able to appreciate everything she did for her
and her siblings.
Pushing boundaries — the children test the limits of their mother’s patience, she hides her stress and
anger with a tight smile / grimace. This is part of growing up, and in the poem it’s always presented
playfully rather than showing serious tension.

Difficulty — difficult times help you to appreciate good times, difficult times bring people together,
sometimes you don’t realise how difficult or serious a situation is until you’re out of it and you can
reflect on the experience

Childhood — there’s an innocence and naivety to the poet’s memories, as if she goes back to a state of
childhood when she thinks about them. Despite struggling, she appears to have had a very enjoyable
childhood with a lot of strong memories and close family bonds built.

VOCABULARY

Plenty — a lot / more than you need

Grimace — a painful smile

Sybarite — an ancient Greek person who lived in Sybaris, a luxurious city in what is now Southern Italy.
Sybarites are pleasure seekers who live an extravagant lifestyle.

Disgorged > poured out from

Co-conspirators > people who plot together against something.

This is a lesson on characters in the poem Song of Lawino.

The basic understanding of how characters are employed in the text is vital to understanding the rest of
the text.  

Also note that characterisation in poetry is far different from prose which you are used to.

Hence it is very critical that you read the notes below to clearly understand how the characters in the
poem are employed by the author.

After clearly understanding the notes write down the notes or better still print them and stick them in
your classwork books.

Characterisation in Song of Lawino

It can be defined as the creation of characters in novels, plays and short stories. From this definition
applied to these terms, we have good tools to understand the way Okot p'Bitek uses this technique in
his poems Song of Lawino and Song of  Ocol.

In Literature, characterization conveys the theme and characters move the plot or the context. So
characterization in Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol is central to understanding the themes developed
by Okot p'Bitek.

In studying characterization, we determine whether the character is the protagonist or the antagonist,
the minor, supporting the character. For instance, the protagonist Lawino: the hero of Song of Lawino
and Song of Ocol endures insults from Ocol who behaves like a White man. Ocol is considered as the
antagonist to whom p'Bitek centers the debate. 

Lawino and Ocal (major)

The main characters are Lawino and Ocol who are always central to the conflict as we discover in the
poems during our analysis. 

Lawino stands for African culture and Ocol stands for Western culture.

Other Characters(minor)

 The characters such as Clementine, Clansmen, brother, Lawino's mother are minor characters for they
do not support the debate from the beginning to the end.

Characterisation as Employed by P'Bitek 

Okot p'Bitek uses a technique of presenting his characterization in a form of a long speech uttered by
the speaker. What we call a dramatic monologue.

In the poem, there is a series of conflicts which begin with Lawino who lives in a home with harmony
together with her husband. Now she undertakes a journey. She has to leave her home to journey where
she can find peace. The journey motif is that Ocol puts her out. He is no longer in love with Lawino, his
traditional wife. He is in love with Clementine, the modern wife. Lawino also does not want to see her
rival, the woman with whom she shares her husband

If we read carefully the text we realize that sometimes, Clementine disappears on the stage.

Other characters never appear at all such as Ocol, Lawino's mother, Clansmen, brother; to say that most
of the characters are hidden behind the poem. 

Only Lawino monologues on the stage. 

This is the way p'Bitek presents his characters in his poem. The narrator expresses her feelings as a
single speaker on the stage. 

Now go to the task and answer the questions as clearly as possible.

My Husband‘s Tongue is Bitter

Ocol and Lawino are married and are in the middle of a serious disagreement because Ocol is ‘educated’
and ‘Westernised’ and Lawino is not

Ocol is completely contemptuous of Lawino’s lack of schooling and that she (Lawino) is reacting to Ocol
by mocking him.   

He says Black people are primitive And their ways are utterly harmful

Their dances are mortal sins, They are ignorant, poor and diseased! ...»( SOL, P. 36).

In this Chapter, Lawino asserts that Ocol is rude and abusive both to her and other people:
                    «My husband abuses me together

                      with my parents

                       He says terrible things about my

                      mother

                      And I am so ashamed! ...» (SOL,

The following are points of differences  between Ocal and Lawino as seen in the poem.

1. Education -represented by the letter A, dead eyes and blocked ears.

2. Culture - represented by  rats and guitar.

3. Religion - represented by charms and the gospel.

The lesson is on the second  poem;  The Woman With Who I Share My Husband.

 Read the summary notes below then answer questions on the task.

Summary of the poem.

 Lawino introduces us to Clementine and to her rivalry with Clementine for Ocol’s love. 

 She contrasts the way in which Clementine tries to make herself attractive to Ocol by slimming
and by wearing cosmetics with a picture of a traditional welcome home for a man with several
wives. 

 Ocal rejects the old type

 He is in love with a modern woman, one that speaks English.

 Things have changed for Lawino as she says, 

              “Only recently he promised that he trusted me completely…….

              I used to admire him speak English….’’

  Ocal is now in love with Clementine, a beautiful and modern girl.

   Clementine resembles the wild cat because she aspires to be a white woman.

  Lawino is okay with this form of marriage because she knows that a man’s heart is won through
nice meals, a hot bath and sour porridge when he returns home from the field or from the hunt.
Take note :

  Stylistic devices used to achieve  satire. 

   Poem 2 contains satirical comments on the industrialised worlds  and on the modem woman  
exemplified by Clementine. 

   Notice that Clementine the ‘new woman’, is described by Lawino using ‘fiercely satirical lines’ 

 The  discussion on the new woman however, majors on cultural alienation.

 Lawino concludes this section by a sudden shift from her description of Clementine and shows
the disparity between Western ways and African ways of life. 

 Lawino does not believe that the two ways of life are equally valid for Africans. 

 She thinks the customs of white people are suitable for Whites. 

 She doesn’t mind them following their own ways;

                              I do not understand

                              The ways of foreigners

                              But I do not despise their customs

                              Why should you despise yours?

 For Lawino those Africans who insist on following the ways of white people are foolish, because
they misunderstand their own ways and do not know themselves. 

                                 If they try to destroy African traditions they will fail.

                                  The ways of your ancestors are good

                                  Their customs are solid and not hollow

                                  They are not thin not easily breakable.

The lesson is on the third  poem; I Don’t Know The Dances Of White People.

  

We discussed the form of this poem in our live lessons, now look at other details from  the poem. 

After reading and understanding the poem, answer questions on your student portal. 

If you face challenges, get intouch with me on our whatsapp page.

 Remember to print out (if you cannot, please write) and stick notes in your class work book.
 

Step 1: What’s The Big Idea.

In this section Lawino is involved mainly in telling the white people that we too have a culture. 

 It is concerned with dances and is done mainly to defend African culture from the abuses
heaped on it by the Whites. 

 Lawino mocks the old missionary idea about traditional African dances being immoral because
they are danced naked. 

  Western dances are immoral because they encourage people to embrace in public and to
ignore the rules of respect for relatives. 

 They are dirty and silly because they are danced in the smoky atmosphere of overcrowded halls
where no one can be comfortable and relaxed. 

 Acoli dances are both more moral and more enjoyable, since nothing is hidden and they are
danced in the open air, where men and women have rooms to let themselves go and express
their pride in competition with each other. 

Step 2 : Thematic Aspects of the Poem.

A theme is the underlined meaning of any literary work. The following are the thematic aspects as seen
in the poem.

A.                                     AFRICAN DANCES

Lawino defends African dances as compared to European dances. 

The Whites condemned African dances because of the immorality of nakedness.   Lawino doesn’t waste
time in a reasoned and balanced defence of dancing naked.

She presents the openness, liveliness, and healthiness of the Acoli dance positively without apology.

                                           When the drums are throbbing

                                                                        And the black youths

                                                                        Have raised much dust

                                                                      You dance with vigour and health

                                                                      You dance naughtily with pride

                                                                      You dance with spirit

                                                                      You compete, you insult, you provoke

                                                                      You challenge all.

B.                         IMMORALITY OF WESTERN DANCES

Lawino attacks western dances for being immoral and disrespectful for relatives. Western dances are
immoral because people embrace in public and dance with anyone, including close relatives. Lawino
laments;

                                There is no respect for relatives

                                                            Girls hold their fathers

                                                            Boys hold their sisters close

                                                            They dance even with their mothers.

C.                            EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION

Lawino pinpoints some  practices that have affected the african ‘been tos’.

  They drink white men's drinks.

   Each man has a woman although she is not his wife.

  They kiss each other on the cheek as white people do. 

  You kiss her open-sore lips as white people do. 

  You suck slimy saliva from each other’s mouth as white people do. 

  They dress up as white men as if they are in white men countries.

  They wear dark glasses and neck-ties from Europe. 

  You smoke cigars like white men.

Section Five. The Graceful Giraffe Cannot Become A Monkey.

This section makes fun of the pain and efforts that African girls go through to straighten their hair.
Lawino condemns the hair straightening and the wearing of handkerchiefs as dirty and calls the wearing
of wigs as witchcraft. In the same section she describes traditional hairstyles and adornments of the
body and the way in which young men are attracted by them.

 
THEMATIC ANALYSIS

IDENTITY AND AWARENESS

Africans need to be aware of their identity. In this poem Lawino reacts to her husband’s complaint. She
turns her husband’s complaint into a praise-song for herself and her people. She does so by showing
that she is aware of her identity as a black African woman and proud of it. Just like all other women of
other races are proud of theirs Lawino sees no need why she should abandon hers. She says;
Listen
My father comes from Payira,
My mother is a woman of Koc!
I am a true Acoli
I am not a half-caste
I am not a slave girl

AFRICAN CULTURE vs EUROPEAN CULTURE

This small part of the poem centres entirely on hairstyles alone. Lawino shows that all people were
created naturally beautiful and should be proud of how they are. For Lawino there are no reasons for
Africans to do their hair like white women because white women never wish to do theirs like Africans.
She uses the images ostrich plumes, chicken feathers, crocodile skin, etc to show that every creature
has a point of departure from other creatures. No one creature should ever try to change and become
like any other. The same applies for people from different races.

TRADITIONAL HEALING
Moreover, Lawino shows how Africans used to deal with different social and natural phenomena.
Although it might seem as a kind of incantation, it helped to deal with unusual misfortunes. For
example she says if a ring-worm has eaten the little girl’s hair, all they do is put hot porridge on the
head, hold a dance, sing a song, and then the hair grows again. This traditional ritual is still relevant to
some societies today.

PROTEST
Lawino shows an open protest against European culture that is invading African culture. She does all it
takes to educate African women to love and care for what they have, believe in who they are, and
what they want to do with their lives. She protests doing her hair like white women. She says;           
It is true
I cannot do my hair
As white women do
Lawino’s final words conclude her stand and protest against her husband’s suggestions when she
declares:
The long-necked and graceful giraffe
Cannot become a monkey
Let no one
Uproot the pumpkin.

 
DEATH RITUALS
It is common in African set up for people to do certain practices when death has occurred, believing
that it would help in purifying the homestead and clearing the bad luck brought by the death. While in
some societies they shave their hair, in Acoli they leave their hair uncombed and remove all the beads
and necklaces as a sign of mourning. So a woman who adorns herself in the middle of such a crisis is
considered to be the killer and she just attends the funeral to congratulate herself.

STIGMATISATION
Ocol stigmatises Lawino because of her traditional adornments. He claims that Acoli’s adornments are
Old-fashioned and unhealthy. Due to this social stigma, Lawino wonders whether she is suffering from a
“Don’t touch me disease”. She says
He says I soil his white shirt
If I touch him
My husband treats me
As if I am suffering from
The “Don’t touch me disease”

LOSS OF IDENTITY
In this part again, Lawino goes back to Clementine and discusses how she does her hair as compared to
the treatment befitting African hair. Tina likes doing her hair as white women, even so, her efforts fail
and she ends up appearing like a strange creature. Describing her different looks, Lawino uses strong
similes picturing how awkward Tina looks.
ü  She resembles a chicken that has fallen into a pond
ü  Her hair looks like the python’s discarded skin
ü  It lies lifeless like sad and dying banana leaves
ü  It remains untouched, yellowish, and greyish like the hair of a grey monkey.
All these are images of loss of identity because Tina is no longer identical as an African and she does
not qualify to be a European. In fact she is living in limbo and in a complete dilemma.

WITCHCRAFT/SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS
In African traditional setting, many happenings are linked to witchcraft or superstitious beliefs. For
example, the ghosts of the dead people are thought to have interactions with the living beings and can
cause some things to happen in human life. Lawino for instance believes that the wigs that Tina puts on
her head are the hair of some dead white women who died long ago and that alone qualifies her to be
a wizard.  As one night the wig fell down, Lawino comments that it was the ghost of a dead woman
that did the pull. She says;

One night the ghost of the dead woman

Pulled away her hair
From the head of the wizard
The fact is that Lawino portrays her ignorance about the wigs technology and overstates the matter as
a way of showing her anger and discontent with Tina’s rivalry in her marriage.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS.
Section Six LOCAL BELIEFS and IGNORANCE Traditionally it is believed that lightning and thunder are
caused by a giant reddish-brown bird (Rain-Cock) that is almost identical with the domestic fowl. When
it opens its wings, lightning flashes and thunder is caused when it strikes with its powerful bolt. The Acoli
have this belief and they attribute it to the actions of electricity. This is a portrayal of Lawino and the
Acoli’s ignorance of the advancement in modern technology. Her description of the electric stove by
linking it to local beliefs on one side and her ignorance of how to use it on the other side tell it all. She
rejects the use of the electric stove simply because she has no idea how to use it but she attaches some
empty and unfounded claims to justify her protest. She gives complaints such as it is not proper to cook
while standing and the fact that she is afraid of touching the deadly tongue of the Rain-cock

WESTERN LIFESTYLE VS AFRICAN LIFESTYLE

Lawino describes Ocol’s life as a perfect replica of Whites lifestyle. In traditional communities food stuffs
are not refrigerated before they are cooked. Lawino asserts that White men stoves are good but for
cooking white men foods which she describes as tasteless and bloodless meat killed years ago and left to
rot, for boiling hairy chicken and for baking bread. They can also be suitable for warming up tinned beef,
fish, frogs, snakes, peas, beans, etc

The relevance of different aspects of traditional life.

Food storage methods. She shows different containers suitable for storing African food stuffs for future
use. They dry them up and store them in different containers like; pots, jars, earthen dishes, grass
pocket etc. Grinding grains. This is done by using the mother stone and her daughter. Different types of
firewood. She describes the kinds of firewood found in her mother’s kitchen and their suitability for use.

EATING ETIQUETTE/MANNERS
In traditional communities eating manners are strictly observed by all members of the family in respect
to gender and age and the Acoli are no exception. Young boys have to sit cross-legged and the girls are
required to sit carefully on one leg and only the father sits on a stool. The eating process itself is done by
simply washing the hands and attacking the loaf from all sides. It should also be noted that when eating
only the right hand is used even when someone is left handed. Lawino wonders why she should sit on
chairs - which she describes as trees - like monkeys. She wonders why knives should be used in cutting
the millet bread and eating using the left hand is considered to be bad manners and the one who eats
using the left hand is considered to be rude

CULTURAL CONFLICT
Lawino shows an open cultural clash between the culture of her people and that of the Whites. She
shows the differences that exist between Acoli’s culture and European culture in almost all walks of life
and she finalizes by showing that the only way to end the supposed controversy is by retaining her
culture. She says: I do not enjoy white men’s foods and how they eat how could I know? And why should
I know?
The Resolve
The fact that Ocol abuses African foods by calling them primitive and backward does not move or shake
her in any way. She continues to insist that African foods have made her strong enough to dance all
night long and thus she gives her credit to it. To resolve this conflict she advises. My husband I do not
complain that you eat White men’s foods if you enjoy them **** go ahead shall we just agree to have
freedom to eat what one likes?

   'WHAT'S WITH THIS POEM?'

        

Lawino confesses her ignorance of the various ways cooking that the white man has introduced.

At the same time, she makes fun of the tastelessness of tinned and frozen foods.

She describes her mother’s house, the way in which it is organised for storing and preparation of food
and the ways in which food is eaten by her father’s family.

                            ‘’WHAT TO CHEW ON’’

 Ocol criticizes his wife for not cooking white people's meals:

«Ocol says

       Black people's foods are primitive,

       But what is backward about them?

       He says Black people's foods are dirty:

       He means, Some clumsy and dirty black women

       Prepare food clumsily

       And put them

        In dirty containers.» (SOL, P.62).

 Lawino again argues that the food that is native to her people is best for them:

«Look, Straight before you

Is the central pole That shiny stool...

At the foot of the pole Is my father's revered stool.

Further on The rows of pots

Placed one on top of other Are stores

And cupboards. Millet flour, dried carcasses

Of various animals, Beans, peas

Fish, dried cucumber...» (SOL, P.59)

 Ocol criticizes the improved stove and Lawino praises it; Ocol gives his point of view of that
improved stove:

«I really hate, The charcoal stove!

Your hand is always

Charcoal-dirty

And anything you touch

Is blackened;

And your finger nails

Resemble those of poison

woman.» (SOL, P.57).

 In this passage she accepts that she does not know such a cooking:

«I do not know How to cook

Like white women;I do not enjoy

White men's foods;

And how they eat

How could I know?

And why should I know it?» (SOL,

P.62).

 In the closing lines of the poem of this section, the poet gives his point of view through Lawino
that:

«I do not complain
That you eat

White men's foods

If you enjoy them

Go head

Shall we just agree

To have freedom

To eat what one likes?»(SOL, P.63).

Section Eight:  I Am Ignorant Of the Good Word in the Clean Book

What is it about?

           It is about religion 

           In this poem , Ocal looks down on Lawino and says she is a mere pagan who does not
know the ways of God. 

 It is concerned with the way missionary teachers treated their African converts. 

Lawino uses the experience of her sister Erina and herself to try to show that she thinks the missionaries
did wrong. 

 She tells us that when the Protestants wanted to win converts they made Africans work like
servants for them whilst they themselves did none of the work in their own houses and did not
even share their food with the girls they wanted to convert.

 The Focus.

 Christanity vs African Tradition

 Christian names vs Traditional names

 Diviner priests

 Prayer

 Hypocrisy

 Holy communion
Lawino’s Argument.

 She refuses to join the protestant catechist class because she does not want to be a slave.

 The missionaries enslave you but when they are eating they send you away to play games.

 Eating human flesh

 Parroting in the catholic church

 Sexual immorality 

 Drunkenness  

 Acoli names are names too.

Analysis 

 The description of the Catholic Evening Speakers’ Class illustrates the mistake they made in the
classroom. The missionary teachers did not understand the big gap between their ideas and traditional
way of thinking. They tried to impose their ideas on the pupils’ minds by rote-learning: the repetition by
the pupils of the words and phrases they did not understand until they knew them by heart.

            Lawino compares this kind of missionary education with traditional Acoli education through the
playing of games and singing of songs which were “relevant and meaningful”. Lawino thinks the
Christian attitude to sexual desire is pointless and hypocritical. She illustrates this hypocrisy by the tale
of the teacher who followed her to the dance and the padre who steals glances at girls’ breasts during
confessions.

            She insists that it is unhealthy to separate young girls and young boys from one another. Her
criticism of the meaningless names that the missionaries made their converts assume is similar to her
criticism of the rote-learning in missionary teaching. 

Lets chew on this?

Now look at your society,  how do christian preachers  behave ? Is there any similarity with what Lawino
says? 

Section Eight. I Am Ignorant Of the Good Word in the Clean Book

THEMATIC ANALYSIS
What moral teaching arises from the poem?

This seems to be a central theme in this section. Lawino describes the kind of hypocrisy portrayed by
the missionary teachers by telling us that when the Protestants wanted to win converts they made
Africans (especially young girls) work like servants for them whilst they themselves did none of the work
in their own houses and did not even share their food with the girls they wanted to convert. When it
was time for eating they sent them away to play games and the young girls had to gather wild sweet
potatoes and eat them.

Another form of hypocrisy is portrayed by the priests who come to conduct the mass while drunk
contrary to the Christian doctrine.

Lawino thinks the Christian attitude to sexual desire is pointless and hypocritical. She illustrates this
hypocrisy by the tale of the teacher who followed her to the dance and the padres who are not allowed
to marry but they steal glances at girls’ breasts during confessions. She insists that it is unhealthy to
separate young girls and young boys from one another while the same priests start hunting for the girls.
She says;

The teacher, still drunk

He too is coming

To hunt for girls.

MENTAL COLONIZATION

Africans were mentally colonized when they accepted that their names are sinful, primitive and did not
sound good. As a result they had to change their names and acquire Western names which were
thought to be holy. Lawino criticises the meaningless names that the missionaries made their converts
assume because the process of acquiring a new name was by itself so laborious and cumbersome. At the
end, one was colonized both physically and mentally. Ocol himself was christened as Milchizedeck
Gregory and insists to be called by his Christian name. He condemns African names saying;

Pagan names, he says

Belong to sinners

Who will burn

In the everlasting fires.

EXPLOITATION

The protestant teachers and Catholic priests made the people work for them by telling them that it is
the only way to acquire a Christian name. They made their converts work for them while they
themselves did none of the works. The young girls had to draw water, grind millet and simsim, hoe their
field, split firewood, cut grass for thatching and for starting fires. They had to smear their floors and
harvest their crops. This is the highest level of exploitation that was wrapped by the trick of acquiring a
Christian name.

Chew on this

Christanity is portrayed as a means of exploitation by Okot.

INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
Poetry: a form of literature that provokes emotion in the reader and that is often beautiful and
entertaining.

The Definition of Poetry

• The kind of thing poets write (Robert Frost)

• The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings (William Wordsworth)

• The recollection of an emotion, which causes a new emotion (William Wordsworth)

•Poetry is feeling confessing itself to itself, in moments of solitude (John Stuart Mill)

• When we read a poem something happens within us. They bring to life a group of images, feelings,
and thoughts (Stageberg & Anderson) HOW TO READ POETRY?

• Read it more than once don’t scan or skim you won’t get it.

• Use standardized dictionary.

• Read the poetry aloud to determine its rhythm related to tone and theme use English accent instead
of Indonesian. Types of Poetry;

• lyric

• Narrative

• dramatic.

A Lyric Poem.
A lyric poem is a comparatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single speaker presents a state of
mind or an emotional state. Lyric poetry retains some of the elements of song which is said to be its
origin. Lyric Poetry

• the most popular form of poetry today.

• characterized by the expression of the speaker’s innermost feelings, thoughts, and imagination.

• lyric a stringed musical instrument, lyre was used in classical and medieval times to accompany a
singer.

Types of Lyric poetry

Subcategories of the lyric are; elegy Ode sonnet dramatic – ode a lyric poem that expresses a noble
feeling with dignity. – elegy a poem of lamentation especially issues to do with death. _ The sonnet was
originally a love poem which dealt with the lover’s sufferings and hopes.

Narrative Poetry
• tells a story

• the poet takes on a role similar to that of a narrator in a work of fiction Sub-categories of narrative
poetry are: epic, ballad.

• Ballad is strongly marked by rhythm suitable for singing. A ballad is a song, originally transmitted
orally, which tells a story. It is an important form of folk poetry which was adapted for literary uses from
the sixteenth century onwards. The ballad stanza is usually a four-line stanza Epic – the longest
narrative, old epic is anonymous – it does not simply tell a single action but record a way of life – the
traditional – Some examples:

• Beowulf consists of around 3000 line

• Dante’s Divine Comedy

• John Milton’s Paradise Lost SPAMROD

• S = Simile

• P = Personification

• A = Alliteration

• M = Metaphor

• R = Rule of three/Repetition/Rhetorical question

• O = Onomatopoeia/oxymoron

• D = Dynamic vocabulary Basic things to notice in a poem

What is the poem about?

 What is the purpose, theme or The Caesura The pause in a line, which is often best discovered by
reading the poem aloud. The pause is not necessarily punctuated. The caesura can be marked with (//).
Alliteration Words that begin with the same letter: The wiggly wobbly wagon wheel Allusion reference
to something else outside of the subject of the poem: The open window alludes to the woman’s longing
for freedom from her current situation.

Diction
The poet’s precise choice of words.

Imagery
Descriptive, sensory words that create a mental picture.

Metaphor
comparison between two unlike things without using like or as.

Repetition
a recurrence of elements to create unity .

Rhyme
same syllable or word sounds, often occurring at the end of lines of poetry. There is also the possibility
of slant rhyme. This is when words do not truly rhyme but have a similar sound or appear to rhyme
visually (bridge/grudge, orange/forage, said/paid). Rhythm Repetition of stressed and unstressed
syllables which create a certain sound and pace.

Simile
comparison between two objects using like, as, or than. \

Symbolism
using one object to suggest another meaning: A window might symbolize freedom, release, or
opportunity.

Theme
the dominant unifying idea in a poem

Free Verse
Free Verse does not use any particular pattern of stress or number of syllables per line. It is a type of
verse that has been widely used only since the twentieth century. Although without regular metre, it is
not without rhythmic effects and organisation. Free verse can be organised around syntactic units, word
or sound repetitions, or the rhythm created by a line break.
Poetry: a form of literature that provokes emotion in the reader and that is often beautiful and
entertaining.

Written Literature

 Literature in its written type exists in an array of forms such as prose, drama and poetry. Forms of
written literature

 1. Prose. 

Prose, as a form of written literature, is basically writing and speech in its normal continuous form,
without the rhythmic or visual line structure characteristic of poetry. Works of literature in prose form
include novels, short stories, essays, articles, biographies, etc.  

 Novels. A novel is a long work of written fiction. Most novels involve many characters and tell a
complex story by placing the characters in a number of different situations. Novels are usually
divided into chapters, in which the story traditionally develops through the thoughts and actions
of the characters.  

 Short stories. A short story is a work of prose fiction that is shorter than the novel. Short stories,
usually, depict one character’s inner conflict or conflict with others, usually having one thematic
focus.

     Essays. An essay is a short, non-fiction, piece of writing. It is a short analytic, descriptive, or

interpretive piece of literary or journalistic prose dealing with a specific topic, especially from a
personal and unsystematic viewpoint .

 Articles. An article is a piece of non-fiction writing that can be found in a newspaper, a

magazine, or a reference book, e.g. an article on Ecology.  

 Biographies. A biography is an account of somebody’s life written or produced by another

person, e.g. as a book, movie, or television program. An autobiography is an account of
somebody’s life written or produced by that person. 

Literary Genres  (prose)

 These are the various categories of artistic works based on form, style, or subject matter, into which
artistic works of all kinds can be divided. Comedy, Tragedy and Satire are such examples of literary
genres. 

A.  Comedy.

 Comedy is a form of expression that is intended to amuse. It is associated with humorous behaviour,
wordplay, pleasurable feeling, release of tension, and laughter. Filled with a playful spirit, comedy
frequently exposes absurd, ridiculous, or bizarre aspects of human nature. Examples of works of comedy
include; “Mr. Bean,” by Rowan Atkinson; “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” by Jammy Uys; and “Mwine Mushi”
by Robam Mwape & Webster Chiluba.
 

     B.Tragedy. 

Tragedy as a literary genre presents the heroic or moral struggle of an individual, culminating in his or
her ultimate defeat. The main character, usually through a fault in them, undergoes difficulties resulting
in their sad ending, usually death. Examples of works of tragedy include; “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua
Achebe; “The Three Theban Plays,” by Sophocles; and “Romeo and Juliet,” by William Shakespeare. 

    C. Satire

 Satire. This is the use of humour in the form of irony, sarcasm, exaggeration, ridicule, or outright
mockery to expose human wickedness and folly. Examples of works of satire include; “The Government
Inspector” by Nikolai Gogol, and “Kalaki” by Roy Clarke.

2. Drama (Plays). 

Drama or plays, as a form of literature, are basically works of art written for performance on the stage,
television, or radio. We should remember to make a distinction between drama, which concerns the
written text, or script, for the performance, and theatre, which concerns the performance of this script. 

3. Poetry. 

Poetry, as a form of literature, basically entails literary works written in verse or lines of high quality,
great beauty, emotional sincerity or intensity, or profound insight. Poetry, therefore, is a form of
literature that emphasizes rhythm, other intricate patterns of sound and imagery, and the many possible
ways that words can suggest meaning.

 Fact and Fiction

 Fact or non-fiction literature is based on truth or scientifically proven finding. Fiction, however, is
literature based on imagination. Works of fiction such as most novels and stories describe imaginary
people, places and events.