AN EASY AND AUTHENTIC THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF POETRY OF BEN OKRI

1. 1
AFRICAN LITERATURE
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
According to Okri, “Poetry is the great river of soul murmurings that runs
within humanity.” Discuss the major aspect of his poetry in the light of his
quotation.
Ranging across a wide variety of subjects, the poetry of Okri portrays humanity in a
new light and the modern world with all its richness and dilemmas. It introduces a
new graceful way to live creatively with change. Carrying an abundance of
imageries and metaphors, his poetry vividly portrays the actual message that he has
to convey to the humanity. Striking against human oppression and racial
discrimination, his poetry gives a new vision to the humanity (especially the African
nation), a vision of freedom, freedom of both mind and soul from the clutches of
slavery. As critic Brecon Nomad says, “Ben Okri writes from the heart, exploring
subjects like love, identity, war, conflict, terror and humanism” (1). His poetry
gives a strong voice whose voices were being suppressed so far under the autocracy
of Caucasian whites who claim their control over African nation by providing the
justification that they belong to a superior race and have full authority over the
inferior races. As critic, Ayo Kehinde says, “His poetry signifies a condition of
equality among speakers and listeners, not necessarily in wealth or social
influence, but in the ability to ‘speak’ and be ‘heard’ (2). His poetry seems to be
a mighty river that out bursts with the universal messages of freedom, racial
indiscrimination and racial unity. The themes of love, freedom and racial pride, that
he portrays, mirrors the aspirations of every African who seems to be weary of
slavery, racial discrimination and yearns for freedom from the cage of racism and
slavery. As Martin Luther King says, “I have a dream that one day on the red
hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Okri’s poetry

2. 2
vividly portrays the vast cauldron of misery in which humanity still suffers and there
seems to be no way out. As he says, “After the wind lifts the beggar / From his
bed of trash / And blows to the empty pubs / At the road's end / There exists
only the silence / Of the world before dawn / And the solitude of trees”
(“Undeserved Sweetness” 1-7). His poem “Undeserved Sweetness” unveils the
dilemma of the modern world that is marred by despotism and injustice. Wind
symbolizes the powerful evil forces (colonizers) that controls and oppresses the ones
who are inferior to it (colonized). By drawing the imagery of a powerful force
exploiting those who do not possess the power to confront it, Okri highlights the idea
that the colonizers did not leave the colonized untouched; they exploited the African
nation and altered their identities by stripping them of their heritage and freedom.
The colonial rule in Africa made the ‘colonized’ ambivalent and insecure about their
own identity as it snatched away their culture, sense of selfhood and uniformity. As
Barrack Obama (President of United States of America) says, “The worst thing
that colonialism did was to cloud our view of past” (Dreams from My Father: A
Story of Race and Inheritance).The colonizers exercised dominion and butchery on
the African nation by exploiting them and depriving them of their basic human
rights. Due to the unjust treatment of the colonizers, the African nation went through
extreme physical sufferings and psychological traumas. Colonial period locked the
Africans into a cage of physical and psychological paralysis from where they were
unable to progress further in their lives and to strive for freedom. By admonishing
colonialism and celebrating the strength of African nation, his poetry awards the ray
of hope to the wounded souls of those who, (because of witnessing extreme
savagery) have fallen deep into the sea of despair and hopelessness. As he says,
“Wake up to what you are, / You are a sun, you are a star/ Wake up to what
you can be/ Search, search for a new destiny” (‘As Clouds pass Above our Heads’
45-48). Okri through his poem “As Clouds Pass Above our Heads” incites the

3. 3
African nation to wake up to the reality of time and struggle hard to escape from the
cage of slavery. Okri advises the African nation to stay united, strong and strive to
forge their identities and freedom by boldly striking against injustice and oppression.
As the poem narrates, “I will not let that general fear of death run my life /And
I’ll make magic even out of strife / Into the higher realms I will enter / And
make my corner the centre” (“O That Abstract Garden” 29-32). The poem put
forward the idea that no matter how much the colonizers, oppressors may try to
suppress the humanity through their evil tactics, it will somehow manage to rise from
the depths of oppression, castigation like the spell of magic and shall reclaim their
identities from the harsh clutches of the oppressors. In another poem, he highlights
the similar idea as he says, “Only the free in spirit / Will find their way out of this
maze / We are children of the stars / We ought to amaze” (I Sing a New Freedom
9-12).Okri underlines the importance of freedom and pays homage to the racial pride
and unity of African nation. He says that in order to live the live to its fullest and
confront the challenges of this world, physical and psychological freedom is
important. It is none other than freedom that can help the humanity in finding its
way out through the maze of life. Every human being was born free. No one was
made to serve the others who live in a false fantasy that they belong to a superior
race and therefore have the right to rule on their weak fellow beings. Okri propels
his nation to rise from the dungeons of slavery by raising their voices against
oppression and by boldly fighting the demons of colonization. As Albert Camus
says, “The only way to deal with an indifferent world is to become so absolutely
free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” By comparing the African
nation to the stars, Okri unveils the idea that the Africans possess the power to rise
above their present situation. They have been suffering enough violence since the
era of slavery but now they have the power to battle against the forces that have been
snatching away their freedom and rights from them. Okri believes that the day will

4. 4
come when the African nation will be considered as one of the honorable races of
the world, brotherhood and freedom will become a reality, justice and unconditional
love will have the final word. Desire for freedom is intrinsic to every human soul
and Ben Okri through his poetry promotes this new soul-awakening message of
freedom to the humanity especially the African nation. Striking against colonization
and encouraging humanity to fight against it in order to win freedom, his poetry
becomes the voice of every agonized soul that does not possess the power to voice
its misery and serves as a source of hope for the humanity that has been stuck in the
midnight of oppression and injustice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES:
 “As Clouds Pass Above our Heads” by Ben Okri
 “I Sing a New Freedom” by Ben Okri
 “O That Abstract Garden” by Ben Okri
 “Undeserved Sweetness” by Ben Okri
 “Rulers against Writers, Writers against Rulers: The Failed Promise of the
Public Sphere in Postcolonial Nigerian Fiction” by Ayo Kehinde.
 “Poetry for Soul: Verses of Freedom” by Brecon Nomad.
(The End)