The Anvil and the Hammer by Kofi Awoonor-Williams.
Preview.
This is a colonial/post colonial poem, written to give an exposé on the cultural changes that came in the wake of the colonial masters. In terms of message, it bears similarity with Vanity by Birago Diop: the loss of the essence of the African culture, and a pertinent need to rediscover this loss. But in "The Anvil and the Hammer" the tone is less of warning and more of complacent laid back lamentations. No one points accusation at another for neglecting the ancient traditions, instead, there's the tone of giving up, like no hope exists again, just a bit of trying for solutions.
Setting:
The physical setting is most likely to be a rural area very close to the sea where Importation and exportation is carried out, definitely in Africa.
The poem is set the during the colonial era, when the colonies started to lose, gradually, their culture, traditions, in the face of the new one imported by the colonial masters. This period was when colonies were defined by their masters so as to maintain dominance. To achieve complete dominance, the colonies had to be given identities, and the masters probably forgot that these people had their own culture with which they could be identified, this "flags and anthems had to be made of "snatches from their (westerners) tunes"
Structure
The poem has 21 lines, a solid flow of words, as one stanza.
1st four lines describe the forceful transformations that has to be passed through by the poet. A very grotesque image of a person between forces like an anvil and a hammer, continually slammed into a particular shape he does not necessarily fit into.
Next 5 lines is a reminisce of what old times looked like, before the scramble for and the partition of Africa, where westerners came over to place their stamps on various colonies. One thing that catches ones literary attention is the pun on the word laced, the word, not only a verb that describes the dilution of the African culture by the colonial masters, but also, when taken to the sphere of clothing and textile, we find the fiber of sisal, an African material being juxtaposed with "lace(d)" a western clothing material. In this subtle almost unnoticeable way, the poet enunciates how their culture is being overtaken by a strange one, and there's nothing effective to be done.
The same goes for the Succeeding 5 lines, but this time, of pleading to "our fathers" to help them at least keep their cultural heritage, "sew the old days" into what they can wear as undergarment, under the "new garment" . This employment of clothing vocabulary/diction, gives meaning to the pun found in the preceding stanza, the words "sisal" and "lace(d)". But, the fact remains that the original culture is now worn underneath, (probably because it cannot be completely done away with) kept in the background, while they put on the lace the white man's new culture. The poet persona also makes mention of washing in a whirlpool (which turns round and round, depicting the image of dizziness) in "many rivers estuary" , which could represent the white man's land, where some Africans (including the poet himself) were sent for a transformation, through education, into a "total man". It's after this transformation that at least their own culture stays as an undergarment.
The next four lines is a description of how new nations, or more accurately countries, are created. The colonies ignore the unpleasant sides of their colonial masters (exploitations, racism, history of slavery and forced labour and so on), and they (colonies) when it's time to become independent, take up "snatches from their tunes", to create an identity for themselves. The Union Jack of Britain, for example, remained the national flag of some colonies after independence, and till now certain African anthems were written by the colonial masters. Let's not even start with the names of the African countries, some which were later changed.
The Last two concluding lines of the poem is bemoaning a loss that seems unrecoverable. As the sea carts it away, or, as the western explorers in the name of expendition steal the cultural heritage of Africans away. Not only the material culture, but also the practicable aspect, for example, no government worker in some parts in Africa is allowed to wear the the native attire to work, all the white collar jobs, most time discourages the wearing of native clothing to work, especially on weekdays. All these portrays the drastic decline of the African culture due to the contact with the colonial masters.
Figures of speech:
Metaphor: this is the most prominent technique used in the crafting of this piece: throughout the poem, the poet employs the use of a apt troupes in depicting, the fading away of one culture, and other taking its place.
Starting from the title of the poem, the anvil is the symbol of the old culture, and the hammer doing the shaping job represents the western culture and the force with which they take over the life of their "victims"
Sisal is an African fabric, also a troupe for the African culture, as opposed to "lace(d)". Pangs is something associated with childbirth, in this case it is about the poet persona's getting "born again" , taking on a new culture, exchanging the kwente Garb for the suit (that takes a lot of effort, trust me). This "transformation" takes place in "forging houses" another way of saying the institutions of the westerners, which served as tools of incorporating their ideals into Africans.
The paved streets and outlaw hills, new songs, new garment, songs and rumours all represent the westerners way of life, their culture, new to their colonies. Despite referring to the culture of the British as something eliciting"joy" like a new song, he refers to them in the same breathe as "outlaws" and the songs and rumours implies that these masters also have their rumours, bad side, things to be ashamed of, which is merely ignored.
Our song's reverberation in the sea is a metaphorical expression that implies the drowning culture of the Africans in the face of one that had forced its way in.
IRONY: the poet employs this in a sort of tactical way, saying two contradicting things in the same breathe of this one stanza poem. Take for example when he refers to his transformation as something eliciting "joy of new songs" but as a matter of fact he sees his transformers as outlaws, people who have gone through a wrong process of forcing their way of life on another.
Another irony is the word "outlaws hill" used to represent the westerners and others who've accepted their culture. As a matter of fact these hills , or more accurately Government reserved areas housed the law itself, top government officials, the rulers, holding the reins of the society.
The use of irony is very interesting, as it comes as sacarstic jabs.
IMAGERY: the dominant images are visual and tactile.
For the visual, it for most of the times paints a picture of both cultures. "Sisal", "blood of goat" , fetish hut etc., Depicts the African way of life. On the other hand we have "paved streets", new garments, (and every other new stuffs in the poem) flags and anthems depicting the new culture.
The tactile images describe the pains and strives of rebirth, we have pangs, and joy (in the ironical sense)
Also, the poet employs auditory, as he hammers on the idea of "songs", "tunes" listening, rumours etc.
THEMES.
Cultural assimilation : The poem talks about the inculcation of the foreign culture. He represents the foreign culture with the "hammer" which shapes the african culture into a new one, fashioned after the western style of living. "New garment" and "new flags and anthem" are all products of this new culture which the colonies assimilate. The poet seems to express happiness at the transformation as it brings the "joy of new songs" (not forgetting the elements of irony) . This assimilation is sort of impossible to avoid, and as a consequence, the only solution that seems to be in sight is to keep their own tradition, at least as an undergarment.
Cultural transformation: the poet speaks in "great lengths" about the rebirth of the African, the process involves, being shaped, with a somewhat use of cohesion , gradually into another person with a new culture infused in the system. Then, the old culture is laid to rest, in a background, an undergarment, worn under the "new garment". Therefore, a typical African man would eat with cutlery in international conferences, and dig properly into his bowl of food in the comfort of the African kitchen. What about African beauty queens, they wear their traditional attires as a sort of costume in which they'll be seen for the purpose of adding slight local colour into the show, in the end, they'll have to wear evening ENGLISH dresses to clinch the crown.
This transformation is depicted as painful, unpleasant, as the poet persona describes it in terms of how a blacksmith would shape a piece of iron, as well as how a woman would deliver a baby in a "pangful" labour
Confusion as a result of cultural clashes: it is always very difficult having to juxtapose different cultures, especially when values differ, which is the case with the western traditions and the African way of life. We have words like "whirlpool" to project the dizzying effect of being caught in between the force of two cultures. The recollections of the past are now "laced" by the the new culture, referred to as "flimsy glories of paved street" (something somewhat unworthy), In the same vein, the poet seems to happy and lament at the same time: the atmosphere of the poem is therefore sort of confusing, where it's hard to pin point the particular emotion the poet tries to convey: is he happy to have a new culture transform him, or is he sad of losing, letting go, laying in the background, his culture?, Or his he happy to be transformed in the joy of new songs? This theme is mostly achieved by the use of irony
The importance of retaining traditional cultures: While the poem talks about cultural transformation ,it shows the value of the old traditions.The poet says "sew the old days for us,our father" to show that although the traditions might not me as perfect as it seems ,the fussion of the good sides of each coins will be fantastic.The poet uses phrases like "trapping of the past","snatches from their tunes" to show the ingenuity of the traditional culture and the fatality of losing them.
LOSS: very close to the end of the poem, the poet reiterates a feeling of loss formerly implied in the plea for the father's to help conserve the savagable remains of their original culture. A deeper shade of nostalgia is represented at the tail two stanza of the poem, where the former song (metaphor for African traditions, heritage) reverberates in the sea. The sea is said to be "moaning", perhaps that's just the normal way it does like every other sea, when there's a rush waves; or maybe not, the poet and his fellow concerned Africans could be the ones lamenting, the relegation of their own culture in the face of another.
Meet the poet
He had a nice smile
And I really love this philosopher look
Kofi Awoonor (13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonisation. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams,[1] and was also published as Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor. He taught African literature at the University of Ghana. Professor Awoonor was among those who were killed in the September 2013 attack at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where he was a participant at the Storymoja Hay Festival.
Preview.
This is a colonial/post colonial poem, written to give an exposé on the cultural changes that came in the wake of the colonial masters. In terms of message, it bears similarity with Vanity by Birago Diop: the loss of the essence of the African culture, and a pertinent need to rediscover this loss. But in "The Anvil and the Hammer" the tone is less of warning and more of complacent laid back lamentations. No one points accusation at another for neglecting the ancient traditions, instead, there's the tone of giving up, like no hope exists again, just a bit of trying for solutions.
Setting:
The physical setting is most likely to be a rural area very close to the sea where Importation and exportation is carried out, definitely in Africa.
The poem is set the during the colonial era, when the colonies started to lose, gradually, their culture, traditions, in the face of the new one imported by the colonial masters. This period was when colonies were defined by their masters so as to maintain dominance. To achieve complete dominance, the colonies had to be given identities, and the masters probably forgot that these people had their own culture with which they could be identified, this "flags and anthems had to be made of "snatches from their (westerners) tunes"
Structure
The poem has 21 lines, a solid flow of words, as one stanza.
1st four lines describe the forceful transformations that has to be passed through by the poet. A very grotesque image of a person between forces like an anvil and a hammer, continually slammed into a particular shape he does not necessarily fit into.
Next 5 lines is a reminisce of what old times looked like, before the scramble for and the partition of Africa, where westerners came over to place their stamps on various colonies. One thing that catches ones literary attention is the pun on the word laced, the word, not only a verb that describes the dilution of the African culture by the colonial masters, but also, when taken to the sphere of clothing and textile, we find the fiber of sisal, an African material being juxtaposed with "lace(d)" a western clothing material. In this subtle almost unnoticeable way, the poet enunciates how their culture is being overtaken by a strange one, and there's nothing effective to be done.
The same goes for the Succeeding 5 lines, but this time, of pleading to "our fathers" to help them at least keep their cultural heritage, "sew the old days" into what they can wear as undergarment, under the "new garment" . This employment of clothing vocabulary/diction, gives meaning to the pun found in the preceding stanza, the words "sisal" and "lace(d)". But, the fact remains that the original culture is now worn underneath, (probably because it cannot be completely done away with) kept in the background, while they put on the lace the white man's new culture. The poet persona also makes mention of washing in a whirlpool (which turns round and round, depicting the image of dizziness) in "many rivers estuary" , which could represent the white man's land, where some Africans (including the poet himself) were sent for a transformation, through education, into a "total man". It's after this transformation that at least their own culture stays as an undergarment.
The next four lines is a description of how new nations, or more accurately countries, are created. The colonies ignore the unpleasant sides of their colonial masters (exploitations, racism, history of slavery and forced labour and so on), and they (colonies) when it's time to become independent, take up "snatches from their tunes", to create an identity for themselves. The Union Jack of Britain, for example, remained the national flag of some colonies after independence, and till now certain African anthems were written by the colonial masters. Let's not even start with the names of the African countries, some which were later changed.
The Last two concluding lines of the poem is bemoaning a loss that seems unrecoverable. As the sea carts it away, or, as the western explorers in the name of expendition steal the cultural heritage of Africans away. Not only the material culture, but also the practicable aspect, for example, no government worker in some parts in Africa is allowed to wear the the native attire to work, all the white collar jobs, most time discourages the wearing of native clothing to work, especially on weekdays. All these portrays the drastic decline of the African culture due to the contact with the colonial masters.
Figures of speech:
Metaphor: this is the most prominent technique used in the crafting of this piece: throughout the poem, the poet employs the use of a apt troupes in depicting, the fading away of one culture, and other taking its place.
Starting from the title of the poem, the anvil is the symbol of the old culture, and the hammer doing the shaping job represents the western culture and the force with which they take over the life of their "victims"
Sisal is an African fabric, also a troupe for the African culture, as opposed to "lace(d)". Pangs is something associated with childbirth, in this case it is about the poet persona's getting "born again" , taking on a new culture, exchanging the kwente Garb for the suit (that takes a lot of effort, trust me). This "transformation" takes place in "forging houses" another way of saying the institutions of the westerners, which served as tools of incorporating their ideals into Africans.
The paved streets and outlaw hills, new songs, new garment, songs and rumours all represent the westerners way of life, their culture, new to their colonies. Despite referring to the culture of the British as something eliciting"joy" like a new song, he refers to them in the same breathe as "outlaws" and the songs and rumours implies that these masters also have their rumours, bad side, things to be ashamed of, which is merely ignored.
Our song's reverberation in the sea is a metaphorical expression that implies the drowning culture of the Africans in the face of one that had forced its way in.
IRONY: the poet employs this in a sort of tactical way, saying two contradicting things in the same breathe of this one stanza poem. Take for example when he refers to his transformation as something eliciting "joy of new songs" but as a matter of fact he sees his transformers as outlaws, people who have gone through a wrong process of forcing their way of life on another.
Another irony is the word "outlaws hill" used to represent the westerners and others who've accepted their culture. As a matter of fact these hills , or more accurately Government reserved areas housed the law itself, top government officials, the rulers, holding the reins of the society.
The use of irony is very interesting, as it comes as sacarstic jabs.
IMAGERY: the dominant images are visual and tactile.
For the visual, it for most of the times paints a picture of both cultures. "Sisal", "blood of goat" , fetish hut etc., Depicts the African way of life. On the other hand we have "paved streets", new garments, (and every other new stuffs in the poem) flags and anthems depicting the new culture.
The tactile images describe the pains and strives of rebirth, we have pangs, and joy (in the ironical sense)
Also, the poet employs auditory, as he hammers on the idea of "songs", "tunes" listening, rumours etc.
THEMES.
Cultural assimilation : The poem talks about the inculcation of the foreign culture. He represents the foreign culture with the "hammer" which shapes the african culture into a new one, fashioned after the western style of living. "New garment" and "new flags and anthem" are all products of this new culture which the colonies assimilate. The poet seems to express happiness at the transformation as it brings the "joy of new songs" (not forgetting the elements of irony) . This assimilation is sort of impossible to avoid, and as a consequence, the only solution that seems to be in sight is to keep their own tradition, at least as an undergarment.
Cultural transformation: the poet speaks in "great lengths" about the rebirth of the African, the process involves, being shaped, with a somewhat use of cohesion , gradually into another person with a new culture infused in the system. Then, the old culture is laid to rest, in a background, an undergarment, worn under the "new garment". Therefore, a typical African man would eat with cutlery in international conferences, and dig properly into his bowl of food in the comfort of the African kitchen. What about African beauty queens, they wear their traditional attires as a sort of costume in which they'll be seen for the purpose of adding slight local colour into the show, in the end, they'll have to wear evening ENGLISH dresses to clinch the crown.
This transformation is depicted as painful, unpleasant, as the poet persona describes it in terms of how a blacksmith would shape a piece of iron, as well as how a woman would deliver a baby in a "pangful" labour
Confusion as a result of cultural clashes: it is always very difficult having to juxtapose different cultures, especially when values differ, which is the case with the western traditions and the African way of life. We have words like "whirlpool" to project the dizzying effect of being caught in between the force of two cultures. The recollections of the past are now "laced" by the the new culture, referred to as "flimsy glories of paved street" (something somewhat unworthy), In the same vein, the poet seems to happy and lament at the same time: the atmosphere of the poem is therefore sort of confusing, where it's hard to pin point the particular emotion the poet tries to convey: is he happy to have a new culture transform him, or is he sad of losing, letting go, laying in the background, his culture?, Or his he happy to be transformed in the joy of new songs? This theme is mostly achieved by the use of irony
The importance of retaining traditional cultures: While the poem talks about cultural transformation ,it shows the value of the old traditions.The poet says "sew the old days for us,our father" to show that although the traditions might not me as perfect as it seems ,the fussion of the good sides of each coins will be fantastic.The poet uses phrases like "trapping of the past","snatches from their tunes" to show the ingenuity of the traditional culture and the fatality of losing them.
LOSS: very close to the end of the poem, the poet reiterates a feeling of loss formerly implied in the plea for the father's to help conserve the savagable remains of their original culture. A deeper shade of nostalgia is represented at the tail two stanza of the poem, where the former song (metaphor for African traditions, heritage) reverberates in the sea. The sea is said to be "moaning", perhaps that's just the normal way it does like every other sea, when there's a rush waves; or maybe not, the poet and his fellow concerned Africans could be the ones lamenting, the relegation of their own culture in the face of another.
Meet the poet
Kofi Awoonor (13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonisation. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams,[1] and was also published as Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor. He taught African literature at the University of Ghana. Professor Awoonor was among those who were killed in the September 2013 attack at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where he was a participant at the Storymoja Hay Festival.
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