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Chinua Achebe Biography Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born on November 16, 1930, in Ogidi, a large village in Nigeria. Although he was the child of a Protestant missionary and received his early education in English, his upbringing was multicultural, as the inhabitants of Ogidi still lived according to many aspects of traditional Igbo (formerly written as Ibo) culture.
- Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart by Nigerian author and poet Chinua Achebe,...
- No Longer At Ease
Overview. No Longer at Ease, published in 1960, is a novel...
- Things Fall Apart
- 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
Full Title: Marriage is a Private Affair. When Written: 1952. Where Written: Ibadan, Nigeria. When Published: 1952. Literary Period: Postcolonialism. Genre: Short story. Setting: Lagos and an Ibo village in Colonial Nigeria. Climax: Okeke dismisses Nnaemeka and refuses to talk to him for eight years because of Nnaemeka’s refusal to marry ...
Overview. No Longer at Ease, published in 1960, is a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is the second book in Achebe’s African Trilogy, which also contains Things Fall Apart (1958) and Arrow of God (1964). The novel tells the story of Obi Okonkwo—a young Nigerian man who is the grandson of Okonkwo, the main character in Things Fall ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Marriage is a Private Affair” by Chinua Achebe. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The Corruptibility of Civil Servants. One of Chinua Achebe's main socio-political criticisms in No Longer At Ease is that of corruption in Nigeria. From the moment the book begins the main character, Obi Okonkwo, is confronted with the issue of bribery. From the moment he arrives at customs to the point at where he gives in to taking bribes ...
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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.
