Speaker: A civilian speaking to a soldier. The speaker is trying to frighten a soldier who’s hesitant in killing. Setting: Nigerian Civil War. The poet is on the side of the civilians.
Civilian and Soldier by Wole Soyinka
Ghost.
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My apparition rose from the fall of lead, Declared, 'I am a civilian.' It only served To aggravate your fright. For how could I Have risen, a being of this world, in that hour Of impartial death! And I thought also: nor is Your quarrel of this world.
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You stood still For both eternities, and oh I heard the lesson Of your training sessions, cautioning Scorch earth behind you, do not leave A dubious neutral to the rear. Reiteration Of my civilian quandary, quandary, burrowing earth From the lead festival of your more eager friends Worked the worse on your confusion, and when You brought the gun to bear on me, and death Twitched Twitched me gently in the eye, your plight And all of you came clear to me.
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I hope some day Intent upon my trade of living, to be checked In stride by your apparition in a trench, Signaling, I am a soldier. soldier. No hesitation then But I shall shoot you clean and fair With meat and bread, a gourd of wine A bunch of breasts from either arm, and that Lone question - do you friend, even now, know What it is all about?
Bullet. To provoke. Mass murder.
Terrified of murder and death. A state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation. Bullets everywhere. Problem and wor ry.
Skill.
The war.
1. Poem Synops Synopsis is “Civilian and Soldier” by Wole Soyinka is a fragment of the ___ Nigerian Civil War. It revolves around the relationship between an ordinary civilian and a hesitant soldier. The speaker, a civilian, evaluates the relationship in an array of way. way. Ranging from imagining how he would terrify the soldier once the soldier realizes that he’s still alive, to trying to project the situation if the roles were reversed - the soldier is the civilian and the civilian is the soldier. In the end, the poem points out that the people who are involved in the killings during the Nigerian Civil War are sometimes clueless about what the two sides are actually fighting for. 2. Themes Themes a. Deat Death h b. Hierarchy Hierarchy in society society
3. Literary Elements a. Structure - Line breaks Help direct focus to the last word in a line, or the first word in the next line. For example, the word “lesson” in line 8 and “lone” in line 25 are emphasized by the line breaks. - Juxtaposition “lead festival” [line 13]: The word “lead”, which in this case means bullet, and the word “festival” alludes to contradicting things. Lead refers to the violent nature of the civil war, whilst festival is usually an event held when something is worth celebrating. The juxtaposition lies by the fact that the death of many is not something that should be called a festival, and this directs the readers’ focus at the rate and magnitude of the killings. b. Language - Diction The wording of the poem creates the impression that the speaker of the poem is civilized, and this makes it easier for readers to project the speaker as a civilian. c. Meaning - Metaphors “fall of lead” [line 1] and “lead festival” [line 13]: Working together with the juxtaposition, this metaphor emphasizes the huge scale in which the murder is occurring at. “both eternities” [line 8]: Underlines immensity of the hesitation experienced by the soldier. “death/Twitched me gently in the eye” [line 15 - 16]: Highlights just how close the civilian is from death.
