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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.
- Vultures by Chinua Achebe - Poem Analysis
Lee-James, a.k.a. LJ, is an English school teacher that has...
- Refugee Mother and Child by Chinua Achebe - Poem Analysis
Achebe’s poem here serves as a written analysis of that time...
- Vultures by Chinua Achebe - Poem Analysis
Chinua Achebe (1930 – 2013) was a Nigerian poet and writer. His first novel Things Fall Apart often considered his best, is the most widely read book in modern African literature. He won the Man Booker International Prize in 2007. In 1962 he attended an executive conference of African writers in English at the Makerere University College in Kampala, Uganda. He met with important literary ...
The poem conveys in an understated but enormously effective way the tragedy of conflict and the effect on civilians, especially children. ... Achebe achieves huge impact through simple language ...
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‘Vultures’ by Chinua Achebe describes the vultures in such a disparaging and grim fashion that could be construed as a metaphorfor the people responsible for the atrocities in Belsen and in particular the “Commandant”. The first stanza is the longest part of the poem and it is not a coincidence. It is a metaphor for the commandant’s predominant per...
The poem is written in four stanzas, in free verse with no rhyming pattern. There a few instances where the poet uses slant rhyme and perfect rhyming as well. Achebe mostly uses alliteration and consonance for creating internal rhymings. It contains lots of enjambed lines giving the poem a fast pace, but with a jarring rhythm that mirrors the dark ...
Stanza One
This first stanza of ‘Vultures’ begins with a relentlessly long sentence filled with dark, sullen descriptions. Achebe uses alliteration in the second and third lines: “and drizzle of one despondent/ dawn unstirred by harbingers.” But this is an enjambed line and so doesn’t give the ebb and flow usually associated with alliteration. This helps to emphasize the bleak toneAchebe is trying to achieve. He uses the description of the vulture’s seating position “perching high on broken/ bones of a...
Stanza Two
In this stanza, Achebe skillfully contrasts the “light” of love with the “dark” of death by mentioning that in this darkest of environments, the “charnel-house,” a storage place for corpses, there is the presence of love. He personifieslove itself. Achebe uses an exclamation point on the phrase “her face turned to the wall” because love can’t stand to look at the atrocities contained within. It may also be a reference to people being lined up against walls before being gunned down by firing s...
Stanza Three
The third stanza throws the poem ‘Vultures’on its head somewhat. It cleverly constructs the character of the “Commandant at Belsen”. His description is not particularly flattering. The commandant’s only physical description includes his “hairy nostrils” but his actions are kind and very human. He brings chocolate home for his child. A kind gesture and not actions one would probably associate with a war criminal. Achebe makes readers see that even this horrible man has a soft side and that is...
Chinua Achebe was a contemporary Nigerian poet who spent part of his life living in his native Africa and part of it in the United States. He was a highly educated man who is one of Africa’s most famous writers producing not just poetry but novels as well. Achebe dabbled in politics, but left that endeavor behind, allegedly due to frustration with ...
The following list contains a few poems that similarly showcase the themes and subject matter described in Chinua Achebe’s ironic poem ‘Vultures’. 1. ‘Death Fugue’ by Paul Celan – This poem presents the dying thoughts of a Jewish person who was confined in a concentration camp. Read more Paul Celan poems. 2. ‘Never Shall I Forget’ by Elie Wiesel – ...
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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 ...
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine. Poems & Poets. ... Chinua Achebe. Share (Photo by Michel Delsol/Getty Images)
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In this powerful poem, Achebe portrays the heart-wrenching reality of a mother and child living in a refugee camp. He highlights the devastating effects of war and displacement on families, underscoring the universal themes of love, loss, and resilience. 2. "Vultures". "Vultures" is a haunting poem that juxtaposes the brutality of war with the ...
