Vultures - Critical Analysis - Overview

 

 

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Chinua Achebe:

Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet and critic who represented his culture and became a dominant figure of modern African literature. Chinua Achebe’s poem largely deals with his own culture. He was a highly educated man who expressed his people’s life. Among the many themes his works cover are culture and colonialism, masculinity and femininity, politics, and history. His legacy is celebrated annually at the Chinua Achebe Literary Festival.

Critical analysis of Vultures:

Ø Background of the poem:

The title “Vultures” suggests that the poem is about a bird vulture, the first section of the poem contains the description of vultures with their characteristics and living habits, but when it comes to the second and third sections we come to know that the poem is not only about a bird but the bird is just a metaphor here. There is an underline satire on the commandant of Belsen camp, which was a Nazi concentration camp and how that commandant has supervised the killing of thousands of Jews.

With the reference of a scavenger bird that feed on dead flesh, the poet has pointed out the cruelty of mankind.

Ø Inspiration of the poem:

The poet has witnessed the cruelty of Nigerian civil war (the war was fought between the government of Nigeria and the republic of Biafra, a state which declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967). In the Nazi concentration camp of Belsen, a commandant was given a duty to observe the deaths of thousands of Jews. This cruelty is explained by the poet with the metaphor of vultures.

Ø Brief overview of the poem

The poem is divided into four sections. The first section is about vultures, the second is about the nature of love, the third section is about commandant and his life and the last section is about the conclusion of the poem.

Stanza 1:

The poem opens with a gloomy environment in which poet is describing how the dawn is. With the word ‘harbingers’ poet referring to two things birds, as birds are the harbingers of morning and death and dooms, which refers to the news of death. The setting is ‘grey’, ‘colourless’ and ‘despondent’ and poet is not talking about a beautiful morning which birds usually can bring. The sun seems feeble and shine less as it is unable to brighten up the day.

In next lines, there is an imagery that a vulture is settling high on the ‘bones of a dead tree’. The literal meaning of this personification can be a branch without leafs but the hidden meaning suggests that a vulture is sitting on the heap of bones. The image here is associated with death. A vulture is settling itself too close to its mate and both are sitting there as if they are in deep love. The word ‘nestled’ here suggests the comfort and intimacy level of vultures with each other. This is something hard to imagine as the bird like vulture, which is a scavenger, can also make love and feel affection. This seems unsuitable.

In next lines a poet has given description of a vulture’s bashed-in head which is compared to a pebble set on a thin neck and surrounded by ‘gross’ feathers. His ugly head is nestling with the head of his mate. The word ‘affectionately’ seems unfit to here. The description of a bird and its characteristics are creating unfit combination in the mind of readers. Poet here refers to the concept of love in every creature.

Further poet describes the eating habits of vultures. There is a disturbing image of vultures eating a corpse is presented here. This image is immediately after the image of affection between vulture and his mate which reminds the cruel nature of vultures as scavengers. Vultures are eating a wet corpse lying in a ditch and eating the things from its intestine. They overeat, rather than just eating to satisfy their hunger or appetite. This is an unlikely description. Then they choose their branch and sit there, even after sitting there with overeating, they keep their ‘telescopic eyes’ on the corpse which has not much flesh left, but still they keep observing on the remaining parts. The word telescoping here refers to mechanical word, eyes of vulture is like a telescope which is fitted on the gun so it can make it ready to shoot. The word ‘cold’ here refers to actions which are done cold blooded and heartless.

Stanza 2:

 The second stanza starts with the word ‘strange’ which refers to the nature of love. Love is here personified as woman. Poet describes that the one which is very particular and hard to please has found a corner in the charnel house. The image of presence of love in charnel house is again weird and disturbing. The woman (love) who is very hard to please has found a way of existing in such unpleasant environment (charnel house). She has cleared or cleaned a corner in the charnel house and she (love) is laying there by turning her face to the wall, as if she is not ready to see the nasty things around her or ignores the existence of evil around her.

Stanza 3:

Third stanza here describes the life of commandant who is on duty at Nazi concentration camp in Belsen. The commandant is going home with the burning smell of human dead bodies to his nostrils. The commandant was given a duty to supervise the deaths of Jews and he has done his duty well. That represents his cruelness. The line ‘fumes of human roast clinging rebelliously to his hairy nostrils’ is quite significant and disturbing. ‘Fumes of human roast’ represents his heartless behaviour and deaths of people around him. It suggests that he is surrounded by lots of dead bodies. ‘clinging rebelliously’ refers to the people who were rebelling and got killed, on the other way one can argue that the deeds of commandant is accompanying him in form of ‘fume’, which he is unable to ignore. ‘In his hairy nostrils’ refers to the ugliness of him. This line reminds the description of vultures with their ‘gross feathers’. Poet has here given a slight hint to the connection of vulture with commandant.

On his way to home he stopped at the shop which was at the edge of the road. He was there to buy chocolate or his ‘tender offspring’ which refers to ‘loving child’ who was waiting at home for his ‘daddy’ to return. Here poet has presented contrast which can make readers uncomfortable. Commandant’s duty is totally opposite to his behaviour with his family. On one side he is killing thousands of families and sons of those families and on the other side he is proving himself as the loving father. Again poet has given a slight hint to the readers that there is some connection between vultures and commandant. There is a contrasting image of affection and Evilness.

Stanza 4:

This stanza provides the conclusion to the ideas of poem. it opens with the statement that we should praise God as he has granted a little love (glow-worm) in the most cruel person (ogre). We should be happy that God has put some tenderness in the small cold part (icy caverns) of the cruel heart. Further poet describes the loss of hope with the word ‘despair’. For commandant, his softer side is as ‘germ’ for him. Poet says that even the familiar love and affection can be felt by the cruel heart but though there would always be an eternal evilness in it.

Here we are offered two options first one is to thank God that love can even exist in the tiny part of the cruelest heart. This represents hope. (Commandant and vultures). The second option is instead of having a gratitude towards God, we could have a sense of hopelessness because with the capacity to love with goodness, there will always be a rooted existence of evil in it.

Ø Forms and technicalities:

The poem is in free verse.

There is no particular rhythm and rhyme scheme in the poem.

There is a use of punctuation (ellipsis and enjambment).

The poem contains disturbing imagery with impactful diction and contrast.

Alliteration - drizzle of one despondent dawn 

Personification - broken bones of a dead tree