Search results
Vultures. ‘Vultures’ is one of the famous poems of the Nigerian poet Chinua Achebe. It is a dark and somber piece that focuses on the Belsen concentration camp and a commandant who works there. In the greyness. and drizzle of one despondent. dawn unstirred by harbingers. of sunbreak a vulture.
- Summary
- Detailed Analysis
- Structure
- Themes
- Literary Devices
- About Achebe
- Similar Poetry
‘Love Cycle’opens by describing the actions of the sun at dawn. At this time, the poem compares the interaction between the sun and Earth to the aftermath of dispassionate sex between a couple. It goes on to describe the harshness of the sun as dawn gives way to noon. Here, Love Cycle relates the earth’s endurance of the sun’s scorching rays to the...
Stanza One
‘Love Cycle’ opens with the persona describing the attitudeof the sun at dawn. One can imagine the sun’s withdrawal from embrace to mean its light isn’t fixated on anything. This translates to how widespread and scattered the sun’s rays are at this time. Unlike at noon, the rays aren’t locked on any surface; they aren’t harsh as well. Hence, their representation is “long misty arms.” The adjective “long” reveals the far reach of the sun.
Stanza Two
This stanza introduces the object of the sun’s influence: Earth. The persona portrays the interaction between the two entities as a relationship between a couple. As shown in the first three lines of the stanza, however, the nature of their relationship is dispassionate. The aforementioned lines mention the aftereffects of sex between the represented couple: it’s lukewarm. This reveals the ironyin the last line of stanza one. In that line, the persona calls the sun and Earth “happy lovers,” b...
Stanza Three
In this stanza, dawn gives way to noon. Again, the persona portrays the sun as a man with a temper. Like his temper, the speaker predicts the “soft-eyed light”—representing the sun’s rays at dawn—will grow hot with time. The man “ploughing through the vast acres of heaven…” is a metaphorfor the sun’s journey from the east, where it rises, to the west, where it sets. The speaker tells us that within that time, the sun will become harsh.
‘Love Cycle’ comprises five stanzas written in free verse. Each stanza heavily employs enjambment, creating fragmented lines occasionally punctuated to indicate a pause. Stanzas often end with incomplete sentences, which are completed in the next stanza. Love Cycle concludes with a full stop.
The central theme explored in ‘Love Cycle’is nature. The themes of unhealthy relationships, anger, endurance, and power play all emanate from the poet’s exploration of the central theme.
Irony: Considering the state of the represented relationship in ‘Love Cycle,’ the title of the poem is ironic. This irony resurfaces between stanzas 1 and 2. The persona calls the sun and Earth “ha...Synaesthesia: This poetic device associates attributes of the five senses with each other. It is evident in stanza 3, where the sense of sound is associated with sight: “…whispers of soft-eyed ligh...Born on 16 November 1930, Chinua Achebe was a renowned Nigerian novelist, poet, and essayist. He is majorly known for his debut novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the face of modern African literature. A recipient of several national and international awards, Chinua Achebe, published short stories, poetry collections, and essaysduring his li...
You can check out more of Achebe’s poems and other romantic poems if you enjoyed ‘Love Cycle’: 1. ‘Vultures‘– a poem centering on the Belsen concentration camp and a commander working there. 2. ‘Refugee Mother and Child‘ – a sad poem depicting the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War. 3. Ten of the best nature poems
- Female
- January 28, 2003
- Poetry Analyst
Apr 14, 2022 · Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) Chinua Achebe and a Summary of 'A Mother in a Refugee Camp'. 'A Mother in a Refugee Camp' is one of Chinua Achebe's best-known poems. It focuses on the plight of a mother and her dead child, who she is about to bury, the son she will soon have to forget. The poem has strong imagery and pathos (evoking sadness) and ...
Achebe’s poem here serves as a written analysis of that time period, a reflection based on what he saw that draws its strength from the imagery and language by painting a picture of words for the reader, one that brings suffering to life in a way that not many poems do. A significant part of the strength of this poem is the realization of how ...
In this collection, Achebe relates the stories of the people who suffered during the war. The images created, as in “Benin Road,” are portraits of a country tortured by the reality that on a ...
Chinua Achebe expressed “Refugee Mother and Child” as a reaction to his experienced childhood in neediness with unprivileged kids and enduring and felt propelled by their psychological quality. All through the poem, Achebe drives us to a comprehension of mother`s delicate love. In 1967 common war broke out in Nigeria when the Catholic ruled ...
People also ask
Why did Chinua Achebe write'refugee mother and child'?
Why is Chinua Achebe a great poet?
Who is Chinua Achebe?
What is a mother in a refugee camp by Chinua Achebe about?
How does Chinua Achebe describe love cycle?
Was Achebe a poet?
Powered by LitCharts content and AI. In Chinua Achebe's "Vultures," a pair of grim birds nuzzling each other after devouring a rotting corpse become a metaphor for the uneasy fact that human beings are equally capable of love and evil. Just as vultures can feast on death and still cuddle, the speaker observes, the man who runs a Nazi death camp ...
