4. The Awakening Age
About the Poet:
A winner of Man Booker prize for his novel The Famished Road, the Nigerian poet, fiction writer, and essayist Ben Okri (1949-) spent his early childhood in London. Informed by folk tales and dream logic, Okri’s writing also treats his family’s experience of the Nigerian civil war. In an interview for The National, Okri stated, “I grew up in a tradition where there are simply more dimensions to reality: legends and myths and ancestors and spirits and death. You can't use Jane Austen to speak about African reality. Which brings the question: what is reality? Everyone's reality is different. For different perceptions of reality we need a different language.”
About the Poem:
Ben Okri , a Nigerian poet and novelist, in
his poem "The Awakening Age” projects the sufferings obstacles and
hardships of the African Negroes and appeals or calls for the peace,
prosperity, happiness, liberation, unity and harmony among the people of the
world. He wishes to awaken the whole world and its people from the world of
darkness, and poverty to the awakening age of enlightenment The poem has seven
stanzas and each stanza contains two lines. As the poem has altogether 14
lines, it looks like a sonnet. It opens with a colloquial word like 'Oye'.
Then, he talks about journey of the people who travet in the meridian line,
have vision of the new world. Here, these ordinary travellers may see
sufferings and hardships of the poor people and wish to awaken them into the
world of freedom, emancipation, equality, and prosperity of the modern world.
Then, the poet talks about optimistic people who are very much hopeful about
the woven history of mankind where they can climb over the hill through a rope
of hope to obtain a new height. This rope of hope lead people to the age of
enlightenment, empowerment, wisdom, equality and prosperity through hard works,
creativity and hardships. They have clear heart full of purity and whiteness.
Through this finely composed poem with apt rhyming schemes depicts the issues
of partiality, inequality, poverty, racial and colour discrimination and he
hopes to see the voice of equality, freedom, feelings of brotherhood, justice,
unity and harmony among the people of the whole world. He prefers to see a
loving place of equality where people help each other with brotherly and
sisterly feelings.
Summary:
The
poem "The Awakening Age" by Ben Okri is a poem of hope. Here in this
poem, the poet has wished for all the miserable Nigerians who had been
fragmented due to the devastating civil war that lasted for three crucial
years.
Here
in this poem, the poet is wishing for their wellbeing after the outbreak of
civil peace, a time for all to enter a new world of the awakening age.
The
poet wishes for all these miserable and fragmented Nigerian people that they
may have a vision of a new world, a world of hope, prosperity, unity,
truth, wisdom and creativity. He also wishes for them that they may experience
the glory of the awakening age beyond their poverty rage. Here, by the
awakening age, he refers to the age of enlightenment where there is peace,
prosperity, liberation, joy, unity and harmony among people.
The poet has presented a suitable new world in the awakening age for all of them. He makes a call for all the Nigerians' hope to move further. For him, Nigerians are quite rich in their hopes and these hopes have connected them firmly from history. Next, he makes a call for their unity as well as solidarity to reach a new height of prosperity with positivity in their hearts. He also makes a call for their change in perceptions with truthfulness in a new world to gain much in their lives away from problems and pains. He talks about the new world of the awakening age where all these people have a chance to get jobs, wisdom and creativity beyond their poverty. In this state, their life will be joyous and they will be able to gain better in the time and space of the new world.
Understanding
the text
a) Who are the people ‘who travel the meridian
line’?
The people 'who travel the meridian
line' are those Nigerian people who have been divided into two sects as the
south and the north due to the devastating civil war. These people have
travelled a long path of hunger, poverty, unemployment and other aspects in
their lives during their survival in fragmentations.
b) What does the poet mean by ‘a new
world’?
By 'a new world', the poet means a fine
world which is a world of hope, prosperity, unity, truth, wisdom and
creativity. This is the world of united Nigeria that people have experienced
after the outbreak of civil peace in Nigeria.
c) How are people connected to each other?
People are connected to each other with
hope from history. They are quite strong in their hopes. Due to this firm hope,
they can rise to a new height of a prosperous and united nation with positivity
and wisdom.
d) What can we gain after our perceptions are
changed?
We can gain varieties of things after
our perceptions are changed. Through changed perceptions, we can gain
truthfulness away from problems and pains. When our perceptions are changed, we
will be able to gain unity, truth, prosperity, work, wisdom and
creativity.
e)
How
are we benefited by new people?
We are benefited by new people by their
support in various aspects. Our unity with them leads us towards a prosperous
state. They support us to reach a new height where there is positivity in our
hearts, truthfulness in our perceptions, work, wisdom and creativity.
f)
Describe
the rhyme scheme of this sonnet.
There are altogether seven different
stanzas that contain fourteen lines. Every stanza has two lines (couplet). The
rhyme scheme of this sonnet is so simple and sonorous which has provided a
rhythmic tone. Every stanza has a rhyming couplet. For example AA BB CC DD EE
FF and GG.
Reference to the context
a) What does the poet mean by ‘the awakening age’?
By 'the awakening age', the poet means
an age of African people's recognition, realization, or coming into awareness
of their condition, and the beginning of their new world. This age is the age
of enlightenment where there is peace, prosperity, liberation, joy, unity and
harmony among people. This age appears just after the bloody civil war of
Nigeria.
b)
Why,
in your view, have these people ‘lived with poverty’s rage’?
In my view, these people have 'lived
with poverty's rage' because they involved themselves in the bloody civil war
for continuously three crucial years. During that time millions of people
especially children died of starvation. They were concerned more in fighting
for various internal issues regarding religion, culture, political ideology
ethnicity etc. ignoring the sufferings of common Nigerians.
c)
Why
does the poet appeal for solidarity among the people?
The poet appeals for solidarity among
people because he wants to see all the miserable Nigerians to reach a new
height of prosperity in a new world, a world of hope, prosperity, unity,
truth, wisdom and creativity. He believes that solidarity among people can only
lead them towards perfection and prosperity.
d)
Does
the poet present migration in a positive light? Why? Why not?
Yes, the poet presents migration in a
positive light because he has presented this migration with immense positive
hopes as well as good wishes. This isn't a physical migration of people but a
migration of their state from one level to another through the mean of
awakening. The poet wants to see them united, prosperous, truthful, wise,
creative in a new world of awakening age away from the concept of miseries.
e)
Nepal
is also known for its economic as well as educational migrants. Have you
noticed any change in the perceptions and behaviours of these migrants when
they return home from abroad?
Yes, I have noticed various changes in
the perceptions and behaviours of these migrants when they return home from
abroad. Migrants return home with immense joy in their minds and hearts. They
feel extremely happy to step their motherland. They have good financial status
and knowledge related to their foreign life. They try to show their imposing
attitude over others. They try to be a bit standard and civilized than others.
They try to expose themselves as if they are of high social status. After
spending some days in Nepal, they start talking rubbish about their own country
regarding jobs and opportunities. But some people wish to stay in their
motherland and do business in their own country. People's perceptions and
behaviours change according to their own experiences of the time and situations
which they have spent or faced. Most of them wish to go to foreign lands again
and again. Some of them wish to stay in Nepal and try to apply their skills for
the development of their nation as well as their people. Some migrants try to
reveal their experiences of foreign lands to others. They try to work for the
welfare as well as the development of people and the nation.
f)
Relate
the rhyme scheme of this sonnet to the kind of life idealized by the poet.
This poem "The Awakening Age" by Ben Okri is a poem of hope where we find the rhyme scheme of AA BB CC DD EE FF and GG. Every couplet of seven different stanzas is perfect in its rhyme as well as meaning. With the help of the rhyme scheme of the poem, the poet is able to present the idealized life of Nigerian people in a new world of the awakening age. All these rhyming words at the end of couplets have a direct connection with the Nigerian people's lives and their ideal way of living along with wisdom, realisation, hope, prosperity, truth, opportunities and joy. His wonderful rhyming scheme has perfectly presented his hopes as well as well wishes regarding the ideal life of Nigerian people in a new world.
Reference beyond the context
a) Write an essay on 'The Impacts of Migration on
Nepali Society'.
The Impacts of Migration on Nepali Society
In recent days, migration in Nepal is a
lot more in trend. Most Nepalese people are on the way to migration. People are
seen migrating in both levels as internal migration and external migration.
People are migrating to urban areas within the country and also to foreign
lands. The sole cause behind their migration is to seek better living standards
as well as opportunities. Nowadays, it is quite difficult to find out youth
manpower in the country. Most of the youths of Nepal have moved to foreign
lands in the name of education and jobs and settled their lives over there. The
rural areas are facing a lack of youths. In most villages of Nepal, elderly
people are living miserable lives. Most youths are spending their lives working
in urban areas as well as foreign lands. Nepali societies are facing very bad
impacts due to this concept of migration.
Following
are some of the bad impacts of migration on Nepali society:
1.
The
number of youths is decreasing rapidly.
2.
Most Nepalese societies are facing a lack of
youth manpower.
3.
The
relationship between people is becoming weaker.
4.
In
most societies of Nepal, elderly people are spending their lonely life in a
very miserable state.
5.
Due
to the lack of people in societies, people are experiencing loneliness during
the time of festivals.
6.
There
is no sense of love, affection, care, co-operation, security, peace and harmony
among people of societies.
7.
Due
to the lack of people, the development of societies even has decreased.
8.
The
prime concept of humanity itself is in a question mark.
9.
People
are seen away from relationships and selfishness among people is seen.
10. Birth rate has also decreased
dramatically.
