Compare the methods poets use to have an impact on their readers in Limbo (page 5) and one other poem.

Edward Kamau Brathwaite uses a mixture of rhythm, descriptive language and language devices to drag his reader into the scene and story of the poem. The combination Brathwaite has created pulls you onboard the slave ship, makes you experience the ordeal and suffer the emotions. The poem is an excellent example of how a poems content can lead you in different directions. The name itself, Limbo, is a case of how different meanings can come from the same thing. Limbos many different definitions include a tribal dance; a place between heaven and hell for the lost and unwanted; and most significantly, the word is part of an African culture. Brathwaite uses these words and phrases to compel you to take an interest in the source of the poems inspiration. On the other hand, Chinua Achebe uses an amalgamation of extended metaphors, dark and vivid descriptions and contrasting language to create an impact on the reader. Achebes inclusion of a description of vultures is similar to Brathwaites many meaning phrases, as the vultures could also be perceived as the soldiers within Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp. Vultures is a strong and effective poem written to contrast the sense of evil and love. Brathwaite structures his poem in a way with a repeating pattern consisting of rhythmic beats. The poem is riddled with stanzas one, two or three lines long. The longest stanza is four lines long, with a rhythmic repetition. The poem begins with the word And which presents the idea that the poem is part of an ongoing story, a cyclical cycle. The poem ends with a full stop, signifies the end of the journey. The use of stanzas with three lines, each line having only one word, creates a sense of moving oars, beatings from a whip or beats from an ongoing rhythm. On the contrary, Achebe uses a structure that creates a story-like feel. This is effective as it drags you into the poem and suggests that the poem is a tale of fact. Achebe also includes a mixture of punctuation, which conveys the idea that Achebe structured his poem to an extent that he could no longer differentiate between poem and story. Limbo includes a collaboration of metaphors, alliteration and onomatopoeia. Brathwaite uses phrases such as silence is over me to have an impact on his readers. The phrase can be perceived as a metaphor or a personification. A few meanings of the phrase are that the silence is God, another row of slaves or even the slave master. Another phrase that Brathwaite uses is out of the dark this could mean dark emotions, that it was dark under the dark, it was a dark time or it could represent the dark events that occurred. The many perceptions of phrases in this poem have an impact on the reader as they convey the idea that perhaps once something is seen in a different light it has a different effect. Brathwaites use of hot slow step in the form of three lines creates a beat, but also makes you believe that the figure is tired but still alive. Drum stick knock is an effective use of onomatopoeia in Limbo, it could represent beatings and fear which creates a strong impact on the reader. Vultures is combination of metaphors, oxymorons, contrasting language and dark descriptions. The first two stanzas of Vultures are extended metaphors. The first stanza describes the actions of two vultures, an extended metaphor about the actions of the soldiers. The second stanza describes how love turned her face on the Jews, but it could also mean that love is taken from the soldiers and the hide with their faces turned from death and destruction. Achebe includes a mass variety of dark descriptions in his first stanza, vocabulary such as harbingers which are related to death, swollen corpse a representation of death and vulture a scavenger

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that preys off dead creatures. The phrase smooth bashed-in head is an example of an oxymoron within Achebes poem; it gives a visual image of the vultures appearance, which creates a greater impact. Achebes third stanza contrasts the beauty of love and the horror of the concentration camps. Fumes of human roast clinging rebelliously to his hairy nostrils, is a physically unattractive sight but when compared to pick up a chocolate for his tender offspring, a phrase which is barely eight words afterwards, it is a stark contrast between disgusting and sweet. This creates an intense impact, as the visual images are easy to create. The final stanza is a mixture of metaphors and contrasts that can be perceived as should we praise that within the cruellest of hearts there is the root of love or should we despair for within every love is the fragment of evil. The last stanza creates a question in your mind, which makes you curious for the answer something that drags you further into the root of the poem. If you interpret Limbo in different ways, you find different feelings that Brathwaite held. It seems that Brathwaite admires his ancestors incredibly for their strength and bravery and therefore wrote the poem to honour them. It is also possible that Brathwaite simply wrote the poem as a way to express his anger towards the slave traders and the conditions that the slaves were forced to suffer in. Contrastingly, it is unclear as to what Achebes feelings are within the writing of Vultures. Achebe could be using the poem to voice his disapproving opinions of the holocaust. However, Achebe could also be using the poem to express that he feels as though there were second-hand sufferers like the Commandants daughter. Achebe could also be using the poem to portray that he believes the holocaust was distressing and dark. Limbo made me feel a deep hatred toward the slave traders and the conditions that they forced their captors to endure. I also felt admiration for all of the sufferers who came out of the ordeal without being broken. My own feelings prove that the poem had an impact on me as I felt similar feelings to that of the poets, which he tried to express and succeeded in doing so. Achebes poem, Vultures made me feel depressed and upset about the terrible events within the holocaust. I also felt sorry for the young daughter of the Commandant who didnt know the truth of her fathers evil deeds. Once again, this proves that the poet was effective in having an impact on his readers as I was made to have similar emotions to that of the poet.

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