The African Beggar
By Raymond Tong
Sprawled in the dust outside the Syrian store,
a target for small children, dogs and flies,
a heap of verminous rags and matted hair,
he watches us with cunning reptile eyes,
his noiseless, small-poxed face creased in a sneer.Sometimes he shows his yellow stumps of teeth
and whines for alms, perceiving that we bear
the curse of pity; a grotesque mask of death,
with hands like claws about his begging bowl.But often he is lying all alone
within the shadow of a crumbling wall,
lost in the trackless jungle of his pain,
clutching the pitiless red earth in vain
and whimpering like a stricken animal.
Summary of The African Beggar
- Popularity of “The African Beggar”: “The African Beggar” by Raymond Tong, an acclaimed British poet, and writer, is a beautiful descriptive poem. It first appeared in his Collected Poems published in 1994. It paints a vivid picture of a beggar and his surroundings. It also highlights how poorly they fight for their lives while begging in the streets. The beauty of the poem, however, lies in the counter presentation of the beggars’ supposed opinion about the alms givers.
- “The African Beggar” As a Representative of Sorrow: The poem centers on the attitude of society which openly makes baggers an object of ridicule. It begins with the speaker talking about a man sprawled in a pathetic condition outside a Syrian store. Unfortunately, he is neglected by the people and is being teased by animals and children. The description shows that he is nothing more than a pile of bones and skin, as he does not possess any feelings. His small-poxed face and yellow teeth make people hate him. His ugliness never allows people to feel pity for him. However, after describing the disgusting physical state of the beggar, the speaker, then, highlights how he feels when people neglect him and treat him as a useless object. The poem’s tone changes in the last stanza where the speaker shows empathy toward this poor creature as he narrates his pain and miserable plight.
- Major Themes in “The African Beggar”: Poverty, fantasy versus reality, and miseries are the major themes of the poem. It is a poem that draws a clear picture of the beggar through words. The speaker details the physical attributes as well as inner feelings of that unknown beggar. Although he seems ugly, horrible, and unattractive from the outside, once we observe closely, his tragic life directs us toward the pain and acute misery that surrounds him. The writer successfully describes society’s stance toward beggars who are treated like animals. Instead of helping, people tease them and make fun of them. Through this simple text, the poet urges us to change our attitude toward these downcast people.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “The African Beggar”:
literary devices are magical elements that give a unique feeling and meaning to seemingly simple poetic pieces. The analysis of the devices used in this beautiful poem “The African Beggar” shows this fact is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ “Sometimes he shows his yellow stumps of teeth” and again the sound of /e/ in “a target for small children, dogs and flies.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /b/ in “begging bowl.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “he watches us with cunning reptile eyes” and the sound of /s/ in “Sprawled in the dust outside the Syrian store.”
- 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:
“Sometimes he shows his yellow stumps of teeth
and whines for alms, perceiving that we bear
the curse of pity; a grotesque mask of death,
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Raymond has used imagery in this poem such as “a heap of verminous rags and matted hair”, “his noiseless, small-poxed face creased in a sneer,” and “lost in the trackless jungle of his pain.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used misery as an extended metaphor to show how baggers are treated in society.
- 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 in the last line of the poem such as “and whimpering like a stricken animal.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The African Beggar”
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 and Tone: The poem shows descriptive diction with a tragic tone.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Raymond Tong has used end rhyme in this poem such as; “flies/eyes” and “pain/vain.”
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem with each having different lines.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The African Beggar” are useful to quote in speeches or lessons while referring to the miserable life of the people living helplessly in the streets.
“But often he is lying all alone
within the shadow of a crumbling wall,
lost in the trackless jungle of his pain,
clutching the pitiless red earth in vain
and whimpering like a stricken animal.”
