Limbo, Nothings Changed, and Blessing Essay -- Poetry Tatamkhulu Afrik

Limbo, Nothings Changed, and Blessing â€Å"Write about the various ways in which the poets present their ideas and give the reader an insight into different cultures.† The three poems that will be studied are: Limbo by Edward Kamau Braithwaite Nothings changed by Tatamkhulu Afrika Blessing by Imtiaz Dharker The cultural location and inspiration (for the writers) of these poems is of great curiosity (to many readers) and also of high deviation, thus the way in which we are given an insight into the different cultures will be considered very carefully. Limbo Edward Kamau Braithwaite, the writer of Limbo is creating tension and anxiety, while at the same time expressing his view of slavery in the poem, he is trying to create the effect of a ship filled with evil and is trying to make the reader see that slavery is far from good but actually very, very cruel, he tells the story of afro Caribbean slavery in a rhyming & rhythmic dance. He has made it a very motivating and complex poem. I feel that there are two meanings or storylines to the poem the first and main narrative being a play being acted out on the ship showing the cruel and evil history of Afro Caribbean slavery, and the second being a more upbeat and blissful side to the poem which is portraying the actions of the limbo dance. The first three quarters of the poem deal with slavery and the limbo dance combined together while the last quarter of the poem is like the sun breaking and light coming out, it only deals with the happiness that there is around the limbo dance in much more detail and describes how their is light at the end of the tunnel for the slaves. The poem has a very strong beat, signifying the dance that is being po... ...heme that has been incorporated into the poem. Rhythm has not been used in the poem, it is very brief, and gives the effect of ordinary speech. We have a clear sense of Imtiaz Dharker’s culture; water is valued very highly, (as people’s lives depend on this supply). Personally I feel that In Britain we constantly take water for granted and should not and that the poet maybe trying to convey to us a very important message. The poem ends with a picture of the littlie children naked and screaming. The sense of their beauty is overshadowed by the idea of how weak, fragile and helpless they are. Overall I feel this poem is the best poem (of the three) to give the reader an insight into different cultures in a brief and logical way, however I feel that Tatamkhulu Afrika Who wrote â€Å"Nothings Changed† present his ideas in the most vivid and original way.