Beatrice Babarinlo
NON-commitment
Hurrah! to them who do nothing
see nothing feel nothing whose
hearts are fitted with prudence
like a diaphragm across
womb’s beckoning doorway to bar
the scandal of seminal rage. I’m
told the owl too wears wisdom
in a ring of defense round
each vulnerable eye securing it fast
against the darts of sight. Long ago
in the Middle East Pontius Pilate
openly washed involvement off his
white hands and became famous. (Of all
the Roman officials before him and after
who else is talked about
every Sunday in the Apostles’ Creed?) And
talking of apostles that other fellow
Judas wasn’t such a fool
either; though much maligned by
succeeding generations the fact remains
he alone in that motley crowd
had sense enough to tell a doomed
movement when he saw one
and get out quick, a nice little
packet bulging his coat pocket
into the bargain—sensible fellow.
The image above connects to the poem, at the beginning of the poem it's describing the features of being lazy. The image shows a woman not doing nothing and laying alone on the bed.
About Chinua Achebe
*Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist and author of 'Things Fall Apart,' a work that in part led to his being called the 'patriarch of the African novel.
*Born in Nigeria in 1930, Chinua Achebe made a splash with the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958.
*In 1958, Achebe published his first novel: Things Fall Apart. The groundbreaking novel centers on the clash between native African culture and the influence of white Christian missionaries and the colonial government in Nigeria.
*In 1967, Chinua Achebe and poet Christopher Okigbo co-founded the Citadel Press, intended to serve as an outlet for a new kind of African-oriented children's books.
*On the writing front, Achebe remained highly productive in the early part of the decade, publishing several collections of short stories and a children's book: How the Leopard Got His Claws (1972).
The poem above is about how the author has to deal with lazy people and how when he asks them to do a task and has to go through a kind of like a showdown with the person giving the author "vulnerable eyes". The poem also gives a background story on how people did sensible tasks in the past.
The speaker is agitated a little and has to go through an obstacle, and explains the use to common sense and how to use it sensibly. The speaker also refers back to the bible and how Judas wasn't that much of a fool because he could sense when there's trouble and moved quickly and sensibly.
The author uses figurative language to let the reader find what the poem is really about and make the poem more creative. "Each vulnerable eye securing it fast", this quote means that in terms of puppy dog eyes trying to capture the speaker's attention."I'm told the owl too wear wisdom", meaning the person knows what they're doing in order to capture the speaker's attention."Like a diaphragm across womb's beckoning doorway to bar", the quote is comparing the author to a diaphragm banging on the doorway to a bar and trying to get in."Securing it fast against the darts of sight", meaning hiding a specific thing before attention and eyes lay upon it.
The form of the poem is set into one whole stanza to keep the flow going and read how it put together well. The poem includes figurative language and background history of how it relates to the poem.
At the beginning of the poem, the tone is agitated because of how he's tired of people that don't do anything and gets away with it. Later on, the tone is calm because of how the speaker has to go through a showdown. Towards the end, the tone is calm because the author is describing how sense relates to the poem by putting in background history.
The theme of the poem is to be sensible in everything you do.
Works Cited:
http://www.babelmatrix.org/works/en/Achebe%2C_Chinua-1930/Non-Commitment
The speaker is agitated a little and has to go through an obstacle, and explains the use to common sense and how to use it sensibly. The speaker also refers back to the bible and how Judas wasn't that much of a fool because he could sense when there's trouble and moved quickly and sensibly.
The author uses figurative language to let the reader find what the poem is really about and make the poem more creative. "Each vulnerable eye securing it fast", this quote means that in terms of puppy dog eyes trying to capture the speaker's attention."I'm told the owl too wear wisdom", meaning the person knows what they're doing in order to capture the speaker's attention."Like a diaphragm across womb's beckoning doorway to bar", the quote is comparing the author to a diaphragm banging on the doorway to a bar and trying to get in."Securing it fast against the darts of sight", meaning hiding a specific thing before attention and eyes lay upon it.
The form of the poem is set into one whole stanza to keep the flow going and read how it put together well. The poem includes figurative language and background history of how it relates to the poem.
At the beginning of the poem, the tone is agitated because of how he's tired of people that don't do anything and gets away with it. Later on, the tone is calm because of how the speaker has to go through a showdown. Towards the end, the tone is calm because the author is describing how sense relates to the poem by putting in background history.
The theme of the poem is to be sensible in everything you do.
Works Cited:
http://www.babelmatrix.org/works/en/Achebe%2C_Chinua-1930/Non-Commitment
From what I have read from the poem I believe that the poem is speaking of people who are committing the sin of lust, and the author is describing these people to only love for them selves, people who do nothing to actually sustain a relationship with another; when the the author says "he alone in that motley crowd
ReplyDeletehad sense enough to tell a doomed
movement when he saw one", it made me believe that he says that people who only lust and the don't try to commit to someone will be destined to be alone.
I see the poem as a sarcastic criticism of those who choose not to become involved in certain matters for fear of getting in trouble. Judas, for example, is praised for recognizing that any association with Jesus spelled trouble. In an effort to save his own skin, Judas betrays Jesus for some silver coins. Ironically, Judas ends up killing himself out of grief. Casting the situation in a humorous light, Mr. Achebe claims that Judas removed himself from a sticky situation and gaining a "nice little packet" of coins "bulging his coat pocket."
ReplyDeleteAlthough the poem does criticize corruption and selfishness, the ironic tone complicates the theme. Achebe's warning is more against apathy than laziness. Both laziness and apathy deal with a lack of action, but laziness is driven by a lack of energy or effort, while apathy is caused by not caring. When the poem is interpreted through the lens of apathy, the tone becomes less playful and more scalding. Achebe's cynicism makes sense because he lived in a post-colonial world, where the status quo was established on the back of wrongdoing, exploitation, and selfishness.
ReplyDeleteThis poem represents a certain use of rhetoric; although the image you chose doesn't have much emotion displayed and is portraying a "lazy" approach, I feel the author is showing he dislikes people who show a certain resilience towards their daily life tasks. Even though the poem has a hypocritical feel towards people who don't do things he's still trying to persuade his readers.
ReplyDelete