An Africa Thunderstorm
By David Rubadiri
From the west
Clouds come hurrying with the wind
Turning sharply
Here and there
Like a plague of locusts
Whirling,
Tossing up things on its tail
Like a madman chasing nothing.Pregnant clouds
Ride stately on its back,
Gathering to perch on hills
Like sinister dark wings;
The wind whistles by
And trees bend to let it pass.In the village
Screams of delighted children,
Toss and turn
In the din of the whirling wind,
Women,
Babies clinging on their backs
Dart about
In and out
Madly;
The wind whistles by
Whilst trees bend to let it pass.Clothes wave like tattered flags
Flying off
To expose dangling breasts
As jagged blinding flashes
Rumble, tremble and crack
Amidst the smell of fired smoke
And the pelting march of the storm.
Summary of An Africa Thunderstorm
- Popularity of “An Africa Thunderstorm”: The poem, “An Africa Thunderstorm” by David Rubadiri, a phenomenal Malawian diplomat, academic and poet, playwright and novelist, is a remarkable literary piece. It is uncertain when the poem first appears, but in the world of internet, it appeared on Poem Hunter in 2012. It talks about the thunderstorm the speaker once witnessed. It highlights how sometimes weather changes dramatically and leaves a lasting impression behind. The specific feature of the poem has been pointed out in its title.
- “An Africa Thunderstorm” As a Representative of Wonder: This poem is about the power of nature. It begins when the speaker talks about the storm’s arrival; he presents a graphic detail of the clouds coming from the west and covering the sky. The magical movement of the clouds makes him curious about natural phenomena. He further explains the mood of the wind as it whistles as if it asks the natural objects to let it pass. After detailing the shift in the weather, he talks about the people as how they react once a storm approaches them. It affects almost everyone in the village from children to adults. It spreads a sense of terror in the village; instead of being excited, everyone seems afraid, curious, and worried. Then everything turns topsy turvy, tatters flying and fires cindering.
- Major Themes in “An Africa Thunderstorm”: Amazement, man versus nature, and the power of nature are the major themes of this poem. It presents the threat of an incoming thunderstorm in an African village. Throughout the poem, the writer tries to highlight the power of that unwanted guest that comes with great force. He presents a graceful movement of the clouds that shadow the village in an erratic and unexpected pattern. Even the children shout, and their laughter disappears once the directionless wind starts whistling. Instead of welcoming the expected weather shift, babies latch onto their mother’s backs and women, too, get mad. Through this short poem, the speaker highlights that we still lack the power to control the natural world no matter how advanced we become.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “An Africa Thunderstorm”
literary devices make simple poetic pieces meaningful and worth reading. Their clever usage helps the readers to understand the underlying message. The analysis of the devices used in this beautiful poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ “Whilst trees bend to let it pass” and again the sound of /o/ in “Clouds come hurrying with the wind.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ in “whirling wind” and /k/ in “Clouds come.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ and /s/ in “Whilst trees bend to let it pass” and the sound of /n/ and /m/ in “Like a madman chasing nothing.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“Babies clinging on their backs
Dart about
In and out
Madly;
The wind whistles by
Whilst trees bend to let it pass.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. David Rubadiri has used imagery in this poem such as “Clouds come hurrying with the wind”, “Whilst trees bend to let it pass,” and “Clothes wave like tattered flags.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. The poet has used natural hazards as an extended metaphor just to show how they bring devastating changes to the earth.
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The poet has personified clouds in the opening stanza of the poem such as;
“Clouds come hurrying with the wind
Turning sharply
Here and there.”
- Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. The writer has used this device at many places in the poem such as “Like sinister dark wings; /the wind whistles by” and “Clothes wave like tattered flags.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “An Africa Thunderstorm”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction with a curious and fearful tone.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Octave: Octave is an eight lined stanza borrowed from Italian poetry. Here only the first stanza is the octave.
- Refrain: A refrain is the occurrence of a line at several places in the poem. The verses “The wind whistles by/and trees bend to let it pass” is, therefore, a refrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem with each having different verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines from the poem “An Africa Thunderstorm “are useful to quote while talking about the disaster that occurred in the past.
“As jagged blinding flashes
Rumble, tremble and crack
Amidst the smell of fired smoke
And the pelting march of the storm.”