Alliteration and the use of techniques
"Limbo" is a poem by Edward Kamau Brathwaite, a carribean poet in the 1930s about slavery and the boat journey of slaves being transfered from their native countries. Limbo is sprititually the place in between heaven and hell, a comfortable home. The slaves find comfort in the suspense, and paradoxically the continuos rythm of the game of limbo.
the point of this poem is to get the picture of slaves into your head working hard and the only fun they get is to play limbo
It depends. It doesn't use specific formal language and is set-out like a song with the 'beat of the drum' creating a heartbeat. The poem uses lots of repetition which may suggest it to be informal, yet it has no slang or shortened words. I don't think this poem is trying to be formal or informal, it just wants to portray the location and actions of the slaves through a rhythmical structure.
1684
This poem tells the story of slavery in a rhyming, rhythmic dance. It is ambitious and complex. There are two narratives running in parallel: * the actions of the dance, and * the history of a people which is being enacted. Going down and under the limbo stick is likened to the slaves' going down into the hold of the ship, which carries them into slavery. In Roman Catholic tradition, limbo is a place to which the souls of people go, if they are not good enough for heaven or bad enough for hell, between which limbo lies; it has come to mean any unpleasant place, or a state (of mind or body) from which it is difficult to escape. The story of slavery told in the poem is very easy to follow, yet full of vivid detail and lively action. The poem has a very strong beat, suggesting the dance it describes: where the word limbo appears as a complete line, it should be spoken slowly, the first syllable extended and both syllables stressed: Lím-bó. While the italics give the refrain (or chorus) which reminds us of the dance, the rest of the poem tells the story enacted in the dance: these lines are beautifully rhythmic, and almost every syllable is stressed, until the very last line, where the rhythm is broken, suggesting the completion of the dance, and the end of the narrative.
Edward Kamau Brathwaite wrote Limbo to describe the pain the West African slaves went through on the ships. How they were in darkness and also how no matter what they did they couldn't escape all they could here was their heart beating in the rhythm of limbo.
The theme of the poem Limbo is the Slaves and their journey on slave ship from Africa to America. It is believed that the limbo dance was created on slave ships which could be where the name came from.
"Limbo" is a poem by Edward Kamau Brathwaite, a carribean poet in the 1930s about slavery and the boat journey of slaves being transfered from their native countries. Limbo is sprititually the place in between heaven and hell, a comfortable home. The slaves find comfort in the suspense, and paradoxically the continuos rythm of the game of limbo.
the point of this poem is to get the picture of slaves into your head working hard and the only fun they get is to play limbo
The poem "Limbo" by Edward Kamau Brathwaite may be available for download on reputable poetry websites, such as Poetry Foundation, PoemHunter, or through online bookstores where his collections are sold. It's important to purchase and download from legal and authorized sources to respect the copyright of the author.
normal
The absence of punctuation in Edward Kamau Brathwaite's poem "Limbo" is a deliberate stylistic choice to convey a sense of continuous movement and rhythm. It reflects the themes of oppression and struggle, creating a sense of fluidity and ambiguity that mirrors the experience of individuals in limbo, caught between different worlds and identities.
It is currently an English Language GCSE poem from the AQA exam board so you are able to get a copy from their website.
The limbo poem by Seamus Heaney is set in a bog in Ireland. Heaney draws inspiration from the peat bogs of his childhood in Northern Ireland to explore themes of history, memory, and identity in his poetry.
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Edward Kamau Brathwaite wrote the poem "Limbo" to shed light on the history of the transatlantic slave trade and the experiences of enslaved African people. Through this poem, he captures the emotional and physical struggle faced by those who were forcibly taken from their homes and brought to the Western Hemisphere.
The old man in Edward's poem died at the end.