Analysis

In this section, the researcher seeks to analyze her poem,’’ The Chains of Poverty’’. This poem
chronicles the hardships that a mother and her two sons face, as a result of poverty. Poverty is
reflected in this piece, as the researcher makes use of communicative behaviours and dialectal
variation.

Communicative behaviours refer to people’s tendency to express feelings by means of indirect

messages. This element was indicated amongst characters in the way how they felt at their
present financial situation. The characters that make full use of this feature are Mama and her
two sons. From the beginning of the poem, we see a description of the surroundings in which
they were living in. These living situations brought about the feeling that the characters in this
poem were frustrated at their current living environment. Also, in stanza one we see the
characters’ physical and emotional state worsening, as the shackles of poverty encaptured them.
Some examples of this are, ‘’Their siblings with a look of sadness, bewildered’’,’’She wept at
the situation she and her children were subjected to live in’’ and ‘’ She knew change never came
and never will’’. These examples are used to highlight the inner melancholy that Mama felt that
she was unable to provide for her children’s needs. Moreover, we see the feeling of concern
blooming in the poem, as the boys often asked Mama where their next meal was coming from.

The next element to be analyzed is dialectal variation. Dialectal variation refers to changes in
languages due to various influences. The setting of this poem is taking place in a rural
community, where Creole is dominant among persons there. Creole was spoken by each
character in this poem to highlight the struggle the family is going through at the present
moment. Some examples of Creole are,’’All dese years an abe still ah live in poverty’’ and ‘’Ah
tellin’ ayo pon now, ayo tek yall education’’.

In conclusion, the poem clearly highlights the two elements, being communicative behaviours
and dialectal variation. Examples were shown portraying these two elements and how they
justified the characters’ financial plights.