Poetry from

Around the
World
 Limbo
What does the word
‘Limbo’ mean?
Why might it have both
positive and negative
meanings?
How could ‘Limbo’ be
used as a metaphor for a
struggle?
 Learning Outcomes
 To describe the speaker’s thoughts and feelings
in Limbo
 To explain the denotations and connotations
within Limbo
 To evaluate how the writer uses ‘limbo’ as an
extended metaphor for slavery.
The word ‘Limbo’ can have several different
meanings …
(watch clip to 5.00)

It can refer to a type of dance contest that originated in the Caribbean, specifically
on the island of Trinidad. It was originally used for wakes (funerals) before
becoming popular amongst the public as a form of entertainment during the
1950s.
During the limbo dance, contestants must dance under a suspended bar that is
brought lower and lower to the ground after each dance. Contestants are not
allowed to touch the bar and the only part of their body allowed to touch the
ground is their feet.
The contest continues until there is only one dancer left who has not knocked off
the bar.
Limbo is also a term used in Catholicism
In Catholicism, it represents a place between Heaven
and Hell, where souls are trapped and cannot ascend
to Heaven but are also not punished for eternity in Hell.

‘Limbo’ can also be used as a metaphor for someone

who finds themselves in a difficult situation and cannot
get out: “I feel I am stuck in Limbo.”
The poem we are analysing today looks at the slave trade and the
conditions on slave ships.

Discuss: What do you know about how slaves were treated and
what the conditions were like on the ships transporting slaves?
The way human beings were treated on these ships was utterly horrifying. People were
forcibly taken from their homes and their families and treated like animals, living in
atrocious conditions throughout their journey across the ocean!
 What was the life like on slave ships?
WATCH UP TO 2mins

Challenge:
1. What happened to people before boarding?
2. How were slaves divided onboard?
3. What toilets were there?
4. What diseases did slaves catch?

More challenging:
1. What happened to people before boarding?
2. What was wrong with conditions below deck?
3. How were slaves punished?

Mega challenging:
Make notes on:
- Living conditions above deck
- Living conditions below deck
 Slave Trade
Between 1540 and 1850, around 15 million men,
women and children were captured in Africa and
taken in ships to America.
On the ships the
slaves were chained
to iron bars.

Sometimes they were

expected to row. If
they disobeyed they
would be struck with
whips or sticks.
The conditions on the ships were
extremely poor and many slaves died
during the crossing.
Once they arrived they were sold and
made to work as slaves on the plantations
in America and the Caribbean islands.
Before we read the poem …
Important events On August 26th 1963
Martin Luther King
made his famous ‘I
have a dream’
speech to 200,000
During the 1950s/60s the people in
Washington.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) killed
dozens of Afro-
Caribbeans due to their
beliefs in white
supremacy. No one was
convicted of these
crimes.

In 1955 Rosa Parks

boarded a bus and
refused to give up
her seat. She was
arrested and
convicted. Her
appeal and release
sparked the end of
bus segregation in
the US.
 The African Slave Trade
• The exact numbers of Africans shipped overseas during the slave trade is hotly debated - estimates
range between 10 and 28 million.
• What is undisputed is the degree of savage cruelty endured by men, women and children. 20% of
those in the holds of the slave ships died before they even reached their destination.
• Between 1450 and 1850 at least 12 million Africans were taken across the notorious Middle
Passage of the Atlantic.
• Despite attempts to suppress or even eradicate African culture, slaves and their descendants carried
skills and traditions to their destination countries.
• Britain banned the slave trade in 1807 but a fierce debate started in the United States, which started
a civil war. Slavery was eventually abolished in the US in 1865 by the 13th Amendment to the
constitution.
 Now let’s read the poem together …

As we read, think about:

How the speaker feels about their journey and why;

Why the speaker keeps repeating themselves and their words;

How the writer’s use of language is able to convey the

speaker’s thoughts and feelings about their life.
Limbo

And limbo stick is the silence in front of me

limbo

limbo
limbo like me
limbo
limbo like me

long dark night is the silence in front of me

limbo
limbo like me

stick hit sound

and the ship like it ready

stick hit sound

and the dark still steady

limbo
limbo like me
long dark deck and the water surrounding
me
long dark deck and the silence is over me

limbo
limbo like me

drum stick knock

and the darkness is over me

stick is the whip

and the dark deck is slavery

stick is the whip

and the dark deck is slavery

limbo
limbo like me

knees spread wide

and the water is hiding

limbo
limbo like me
knees spread wide
and the dark ground is under me

down
down
down

and the drummer is calling me

limbo
limbo like me

sun coming up and the drummers are

praising me

out of the dark and the dumb gods are raising

me

up
up
up

and the music is saving me

hot slow step

on the burning ground.
 Read the poem again …

In pairs annotate your copy of the poem using SMILE.

Write your ideas around the poem and explore the meaning of
key words and ideas. Be prepared to share your thoughts with
the class.
 Three meanings of the word ‘limbo’.
Suggests 1. Dance; 2. A place between heaven
an ongoing Limbo
and hell; 3. Any state of uncertainty.
situation?
And limbo stick is the silence in front of me
limbo

limbo Repetition of the word

Repetition of limbo like me ‘silence’ suggests no
‘limbo’ gives limbo communication.
the poem a limbo like me
beat, like
music to the long dark night is the silence in front of me
limbo dance.
limbo
limbo like me
Some parts of The ‘stick’ is a symbol of the
the poem stick hit sound slaves’ oppression – a slave
rhyme. and the ship like it ready driver’s weapon. The limbo
stick from the dance also
Articles (i.e. ‘a’ stick hit sound means you have to bend your
and ‘the’ ) are body into submission.
and the dark still steady
omitted to mimic
the drummer’s
beat. limbo
limbo like me
 long dark deck and the water surrounding A sense of
me entrapment – no
long dark deck and the silence is over me escape: both
physically and
Repetition mentally for the
of ‘dark’ limbo
slaves.
and limbo like me
images of
darkness drum stick knock
suggests and the darkness is over me
physical The words are short and
conditions, when pronounced they sound
stick is the whip like a drum beat, or the stick
but also
mental and the dark deck is slavery of the slave driver hitting
despair of the slaves.
people on stick is the whip
the ship. and the dark deck is slavery

limbo
Italics suggest A very submissive position for
repetitive limbo like me
the slaves to be in. The area
chanting like a in the hold of the ship was very
chorus, knees spread wide
low and cramped and with no
conveying a and the water is hiding
vivid image of windows.
dance. limbo
limbo like me
 knees spread wide
Monosyllabic and the dark ground is under me
words and Repetition with dual meaning:
singular down 1) Going down into the hull of
word lines down the boat, like going under the
give more down limbo stick.
emphasis. 2) Going down into hell
and the drummer is calling me
Repetition with dual meaning:
Could also limbo
suggest the
1) Going up out of the hull of
limbo like me
slave has died the boat, on to land.
or been set free 2) Dying and going up to
sun coming up and the drummers are
and has been heaven.
praising me
taken by his
‘Gods’, he has
been saved by
out of the dark and the dumb gods are raising
the limbo music me Could mean they have arrived
associated with at their destination, and the
the African up self-proclaimed ‘gods’ or white
Gods. up men are taking them onto land,
up up out of the hull of the ship.

and the music is saving me Only piece of

punctuation –
hot slow step makes poem
on the burning ground. more rhythmic.
 MAIN THEMES IN THE
POEM
Black oppression and slavery.
Importance of layout and presentation to
the poem.
Poem as a single metaphor.
Features of a traditional (Caribbean)
dialect.
The writer uses the limbo dance as an extended metaphor for
describing how people felt on slave ships

The poem is a bit like an iceberg. On Words on

the surface the language appears the surface
relatively repetitive and simple, but
when you start to focus on specific
ideas and specific words, they have
multiple meanings and associations.
Deeper meanings
When analysing poetry, it is important and connotations

to think about denotations and

connotations.
Denotations and Connotations
A denotation is what you can see, the exact meaning of a word. For instance,
when you read ‘stick’ in the poem, you probably think of a limbo stick used
by dancers. The stick denotes a piece of wood.

Connotations are how you respond to a word emotionally and what

associations you give to it.

For instance, the word stick also has connotations related to slavery. The
word could allude or refer to a stick used by slave traders to beat and abuse
slaves with. Therefore, the stick has connotations of abuse, violence and
torture in this poem.
Connotations and denotations in ‘Limbo’

And limbo stick is the silence in front of me Working with the person
nearest to you, re-read
Limbo and make notes on
Limbo denotes a type of dance, but also has the rest of the poem,
connotations of being stuck, unable to move out exploring the denotations
of your situation. and connotations of at
least five other words or
Stick denotes a piece of wood, but also has phrases.
connotations of violence, destruction, abuse and
torture. Bonus Challenge: Explain
how the connotations of
Silence denotes a lack of sound, but also has each example helps to
connotations of loneliness, isolation and sadness. convey the speaker’s
The speaker is alone on the ship, despite being thoughts and feelings.
surrounded by people all the time.
long dark deck Throughout the poem, the speaker refers to a ‘darkness’
and the ‘dark’. This could denote how there was a lack of
light inside the ship or the nights at sea, but it may
connotate the fear, terror and confusion the speaker faces.

drum stick knock This may allude to how the speaker is beaten by the crew
and the darkness is over me
on the ship, which is why a ‘darkness’ is over him – he has
been knocked out by the blows. At the same time, it
denotes the sounds of drums being beaten.

down This could mean the speaker is being taken down into the
down ship, or it could allude to being sent down into Hell.
down

and the drummer is calling Who is the drummer? Could it be the crew on the ship?
me The slave owners? Is it an allusion to God or a god? Could
it be death?
sun coming up The sun could indicate that the journey is coming to an end
and the drummers are praising me
and the ship is arriving at its destination.

out of the dark The speaker is being raised out of the ship. Who could the ‘dumb
and the dumb god are raising me god’ be? The slave owners? The crew? Someone else?
The speaker is coming to the end of his sea
journey
up
up
up
and the music is saving me
hot
slow
step
on the burning ground.

He has survived the atrocious journey on the ship, and is coming ‘up, up, up’ out of it, but now he
takes a ‘hot / slow / step’ onto ‘burning ground’, which is likely to be the land of the Caribbean or the
US, where he would spend the rest of his life forcibly working for a slave owner.

Is the ground ‘burning’ because this is another allusion to Hell?

 You are to answer the following questions
in your book in full sentences:
1. The poem has often been called an extended metaphor, why
do you think this is?
2. Why do you think the language is very simplistic and there is
only one piece of punctuation in the whole poem?
3. Make two tables: one of words associated with darkness and
pain, the other with words of light and hope. What do you
notice about the position of these groups of words in the
poem?
 Plenary: Roll of the dice
• The teacher will roll a dice.

• 1,3 =
• 2,4 =
• 5,6 =

If your number comes up

then you will be asked a
To describe the speaker’s thoughts and feelings in
question by one of the other Limbo
students regarding the poem To explain the denotations and connotations within
and what you have learnt Limbo
today. To evaluate how the writer uses ‘limbo’ as an
extended metaphor for slavery