NOTE: Read the two analysis on the poem and make your own informed appraisal.

Our Earth Will Not Die By Niyi Osundare

ANALYSIS 1
THE POEM
Lynched,

the lakes,

Slaughtered,

the seas

Mauled,

the mountains.

But our earth will not die.

Here

There

everywhere

a lake is killed by the arsenic urine

from the bladder of profit factories

a poisoned staggers down the hills

coughing chaos in the sickly sea

the wailing whale, belly up like a frying fish,

crests the chilling swansong of parting waters.

But our earth will not die.

Who lynched the lakes. Who?

Who slaughtered the seas. Who?

Whoever mauled the mountains. Whoever?

Our earth will not die

And the rain

The rain falls, acid, on balding forests

Their branches amputated by the septic daggers

Of tainted clouds

Weeping willows drip mercury tears

In the eye of sobbing terrains

A nuclear sun rises like a funeral ball

Reducing man and meadow to dust and dirt.

But our earth will not die.

Fishes have died in the waters. Fishes

Birds have died in the trees. Birds

Rabbits have died in their burrows. Rabbits.

But our earth will not die

Our earth will see again

eyes washed by a new rain

the weltering sun will rise again

resplendent like a new coin

the wind. unwound, will play its tune

trees twittering, grasses dancing;

hillsides will work with blooming harvests

the plains batting their eyes of grass and grace.

the sea will drink its heart’s content

when a jubilant thunder flings open the skygate

and a new rain tumbles down

in drums of joy.

our earth will see again

this earth, OUR EARTH.

THE POET’S BACKGROUND

Niyi Osundare was born in the year 1947 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti state, Nigeria. He is a
prolific poet, dramatist and literary critic. He gained degrees at the University Of
Ibadan (BA), the University of Leeds (MA) and York University, Canada (PhD,
1979). He was previously a professor (from 1989) and Head of English (1993-1997) at
the University of Ibadan. He later became professor of English at the University of
New Orleans in 1997. Osundare has a wife, Kemi, and three children, two girls and a
son who still lives in Nigeria. His deaf daughter is the real reason Niyi settled in the
United States. She could not go to school in Nigeria so they found a school in the US
for her. They moved with her so as to be closer to her.
He has always been a vehement champion of the right to free speech and is a strong
believer in the power of words, saying, “to utter is to alter”. Osundare is renowned for
his commitment to socially relevant art and artistic activism and has written several
open letters to the former president of Nigeria (Olusegun Obasanjo), whom Osundare
has often publicly criticised.
Osundare believes that there is no choice for the African poet but to be political: “You
cannot keep quiet about the situation in the kind of countries we find ourselves in, in
Africa. When you wake up and there is no running water, when you have a massive
power outage for days and nights, no food on the table, no hospital for the sick, no
peace of mind; when the image of the ruler you see everywhere is that of a dictator
with a gun in his hand; and, on the international level, when you live in a world in
which your continent is consigned to the margin, a world in which the colour of your
skin is a constant disadvantage, everywhere you go- then there is no other way than to
write about this, in an attempt to change the situation for the better.”

Under the rule of the dictator General Sani Abacha (1993-1998), Osundare regularly
contributed poems to a Nigerian national newspaper (now part of the collection Songs
of the Season that criticised the regime and commented upon the lives of people in
Nigeria. As a result, he was frequently visited by Security Agents and asked to explain
his poems and to whom they referred: "By that time I realized that the Nigerian
security apparatus had become quite 'sophisticated', quite 'literate' indeed!"

"A couple of my students at the University of Ibadan had become informers; a few
even came to my classes wired. And when I was reading abroad, someone trailed me
from city to city. At home, my letters were frequently intercepted."

In 1997, he accepted a teaching and research post at the University of New Orleans. In
2005 Osundare was caught in Hurricane Katrina, and he and his wife were stuck in
their attic for 26 hours. Their neighbour, who at the time was driving by in his boat,
heard their shouts for help. They were rescued and bounced around from rescue
shelters till they ended up in Rindge, New Hampshire, where Osundare could get a
teaching job as a professor at Franklin Pierce College till things settled down.

Osundare is a holder of numerous awards for his poetry, as well as the Fonlon/Nichols
award for "excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to
Human Rights in Africa".

His 60th Birthday Literary Fete took place at venues in Ikere-Ekiti, Ibadan and Lagos
state of Nigeria in March 2007

His poem "Not My Business" is compulsory study in the AQA A syllabus for GCSE
English Language.

In December 2014, Osundare was awarded the Nigerian National Merit Award
(NNMA) for academic excellence.

BACKGROUND OF THE POEM

Osundare’s poem entitled “Our Earth Will Not Die” begins with a more solemn tone,
“almost elegiac”. In an elegiac tone, Osundare means this poem is something that can
be read at a funeral. It means it is practically fit to be sung as a funeral song. By the
opening lines of this poem, I can hear some sort of pain the author is feeling due to the
suffering of Earth. Osundare writes, “Lynched / the lakes / Slaughtered / the seas /
Mauled / the mountains / But our earth will not die”. After reading the opening, I
immediately noticed that Osundare is comparing the way human beings treat the Earth
to the way slaves were treated in the past. Slaves were lynched, slaughtered and
mauled by dogs for that matter

I feel Osundare used the images of slavery mentioned above to show that the Earth is
like a human, and the things we do to it are inhumane. Just as slaves were people with
worth, the earth is our home and should be treated as such, but no matter what we do
to it, Osundare does not hesitate to remind the reader that the earth will survive this
disgrace, just as the slaves did on the march to freedom.

Osundare’s use of personification is phenomenal. He writes, “a lake is killed by the

arsenic urine / from the bladder of profit factories”. He personifies the factory as a
person with some sort of bladder infection. This “person” release violent toxic urine
every time they decide to relieve themselves into the river. This is interesting because
it shows how helpless nature is. Nature cannot stop the toxic waste being dumped into
its life. Osundare also gives the sea human characteristics. He writes, “coughing chaos
in the sickly sea”. The sea is sick and coughing up this nastiness is polluted in its
waters. But again, Osundare doesn’t neglect to tell us that the earth will live on.

Just when I thought Osundare’s reassurance of the earth’s life was pointless; the tone
of the poem completely changes. He writes that this sad song’s music turns into an
upbeat, festive sound. During the other parts of the poem, he continues to reassure that
the earth will live on but the sadness and language of the poem is still sad, until the
very last part of the poem. The language grows into something more optimistic. He
writes, “Our earth will see again / eyes washed by a new rain / the weltering sun will
rise again / resplendent like a new coin”. Here we see that Osundare is accomplishing
this reassurance with the reader. He ends the poem, “Our earth will see again / this
earth, OUR EARTH”. So the earth was blinded by the terror and disrespect of the
people, but thanks to the new rain, the unpleasantness of the earth will be washed
away and the earth will prosper and be all it can be. Osundare wrote this poem, to me,
to make the reader really take a second look at the way the earth is treated. He showed
a different side of nature. He showcased the darkness and cries of the natural world
that we cannot see or hear. Osundare was the vocal cry of nature to its people.

BASIC ANALYSIS OF THE POEM

The first stanza immediately introduces us to what the poet is trying to express in this
poem. The beginning is describing how the earth is maltreated comparing the earths
treatment to that of slaves shows how the depth of maltreatment. Despite all this the
poet persona believes that the “…earth will not die”.

The second stanza is describing the kind of relationship that industries and agriculture
have. It explains how industrialization appears to be mistreating the earth and
poisoning it. Here we see the poet persona explaining how the earth minus being
mistreated is also helpless to do anything but receive the treatment. Yet again the poet
believes that earth will go on.

The third stanza is full of rhetorical questions. These questions are to show how we
reading the poem as inhabitants of earth should not assume that the people carrying
out the suffering on and maltreatment of earth is none other than us.

The fourth stanza continues on with industrializations’ effects on planet earth. It says
how “ the rain falls, acid, on balding forests”, showing us acid rain which is an after
effect of the exhaust fumes from factories all over the world. Yet again the earth is
helpless as “weeping willows drip mercury tears/In the eye of sobbing terrains”. In
this stanza we als o see that the suffering of earth is affecting things on earth even the
humans as the poet persona says that “a nuclear sun rises like a funeral ball/Reducing
man and meadow to dust and dirt”.
The fifth stanza helps to show that human beings are not the only life force on earth. It
shows how the animals such as the rabbits, fish and birds have died in their habitats.
In spite of all this though the poet still believes that the earth will not perish.
The sixth and last stanza of the poem shows us so much hope. The poet persona
believes that “our earth will see again/eyes washed by a new rain”. The poet persona
has simply being saying that the earth will stand despite all negativity potrayed but in
the last stanza the poet persona shows that his hope is not him settling. The poet
persona strongly believes that the earth will get better and not stay the way it is. This
stanza changes the mood of the poem from the previous serious one.
LITERARY DEVICES

PERSONIFICATION: This is the attribution of a personal nature or human

characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in
human form. This can be seen in the lines below

Weeping willows drip mercury tears

the plains batting their eyes of grass and grace.
when a jubilant thunder flings open the skygate

IMAGERY: This is a literary device that consists of descriptive language that can
function as a way for the reader to better imagine the world of the piece of literature.
In the lines below
Lynched
the lakes
Slaughtered
the seas
Mauled
the mountains
Osundare is comparing the way we treat the earth with the way slaves are treated
hence he uses words like lynched, slaughtered and mauled. He also uses this device
when he terms the waste products of factories and industries as toxic urine.

SIMILE: It is an expressed comparison between two unlike things in which ‘like’, or

‘as’, or any other similar expression is used. It is seen in the line from the poem
below.
A nuclear sun rises like a funeral ball
ENJAMBMENT: This poetic device refers to the continuation of a sentence without
a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. It is clearly seen in the lines
below

a lake is killed by the arsenic urine

from the bladder of profit factories

and a new rain tumbles down

in drums of joy.

REPETITION: This is when there is the repetition of a phrase or sentence for the
purpose of emphasis. This poetic device is employed at the end of five out of the six
stanzas with the phrase below.
our earth will not die

ONOMATOPOEIA:This refers to a word that phonetically mimics or resembles the

sound of the thing it describes. It is employed in the lines below.

the wailing whale, belly up like a frying fish,

trees twittering, grasses dancing;

ALLITERATION: This is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of

words. It is seen the lines below.
coughing chaos in the sickly sea
Weeping willows drip mercury tears

RHETORICAL QUESTION: this is poetic device in whicha question asked in order

to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer: examples
from the poem are stated below.
Who lynched the lakes. Who?
Who slaughtered the seas. Who?
Whoever mauled the mountains. Whoever?

USE OF LANGUAGE AND STYLE

Language refers to the choice of words employed by the poet. The diction employed
in this poem is simple as the poet uses basic words. The poet made use of words that
are comprehendible and words that convey the message easily. The words used give a
clear mental picture of what the earth (nature) goes through.
I thought Osundare’s reassurance of the earth’s life was pointless until the tone of the
poem completely changes. He writes that this sad song’s music turns into an upbeat,
festive sound. During the other parts of the poem, he continues to reassure that the
earth will live on but the tone and language of the poem is still sad, until the very last
part of the poem. The language grows into something more optimistic. He writes,
“Our earth will see again / eyes washed by a new rain / the weltering sun will rise
again / resplendent like a new coin”. Here we see that Osundare is accomplishing
portraying this reassurance with the reader. He then ends the poem, “Our earth will
see again / this earth, OUR EARTH”
The poem is a 48 line poem. The poem is a free verse meaning that it does not employ
any particular rhyming scheme.
The tone is solemn and serious. The poet persona takes this topic with all seriousness.
The mood is sad but eventually develops into hopeful and determined.

THEMES
HELPLESSNESS
The beginning of the poem and almost throughout the poem the poet explains how the
earth is treated horribly and without any form of respect. The first six lines of the
poem compare the earth’s treatment by those who live on it to the way slaves were
treated. This is where helplessness of the planet begins to show itself. The earth just
like the slaves is displeased or not satisfied with the way those in control of it are
handling it but cannot do anything more than feel displeased because it is helpless to
do anything.

HOPEFULNESS
The poem seems to have an exceptionally sad tone but there is a hint of hopefulness
within every stanza. The poet continues to explain how the earth is being mistreated
and manhandled and makes it seem like these issues are grave and not being paid
close attention to. Yet the poet persona strongly believes that the earth will still not die
despite the circumstances. The last stanza of course gives the most hope. In the
previous stanzas the poet persona is simply saying how the earth will not die in spite
of suffering while the last stanza shows how the poet persona is so hopeful that he
believes that the earth has a future of more than mistreatment.

LOVE FOR NATURE

The most dominant theme is the love for nature. The poet persona speaks of the
pollution of nature in a tone that suggests displeasure. The poet persona loves nature
that he refuses to give up hope on the revitalisation of the earth seeing rain as a
cleaning agent. The poet persona also emphasises the strength has to become better
after suffering.