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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
