You are going to go through Textbook solutions OF AFRICA BY David Diop KARNATAKA BORAD CLASS 9 ENGLISH. Understanding a poem meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the exam. Efforts have been made to ensure a thorough critical and line by line analysis. Let us find Textbook solutions OF AFRICA BY David Diop KARNATAKA BORAD CLASS 9 ENGLISH
How does the poet come to know about the history of Africa?
Ans: The poet has heard about his native land Africa, from his grandmother.
The poet did not spend much of his life in Africa. Pick out the line/lines that express this feeling.
Ans: “I have never known you
But your blood flows in my veins”
This line mainly expresses the poet’s feeling about not being able to spend much of his life in Africa.
Despite staying away from Africa, how is he able to describe Africa?
The poet has heard stories of his ancestral land from his grandmother. That’s where he got to know the most about Africa, even after not staying there.
“Red scars”- what does this term in the poem refer to?
“Red scars” refers to the torment and torture done on the Africans by the colonialists. These are the scars of pain and torture on the African people, that have been talked about.
Pick out the lines that talk about the humiliation suffered by the Africans.
“The blood of your sweat
The sweat of your work
The work of your slavery
The slavery of your children”
“This back trembling with red scars”
These lines describe the humiliation done to the Africans.
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“That tree there in splendid loneliness”- Explain this phrase with reference to the feelings of the poet about his country.
The poet has compared his Africa with this lonely tree. Africans have always been discriminated against and tortured as well. the poet here talks about how the lonely tree stands amidst the faded white flowers, but still would prosper just like his native land. This part of the poem shows hopes for an independent Africa.
“That grows again patiently obstinately
And its fruit gradually acquires
The bitter taste of liberty.”
What does “That” refer to? How does it grow? What does “bitter taste of liberty” refer to?
Literally, “That” refers to the tree, but in a deeper sense, it refers to the land of Africa. The tree grows with care and with the urge to survive. Similarly, the African land will prosper because of the urge of people to survive and fight back against all oppression and odds. This fight will gradually lead to liberty and freedom.
Fill the following table:
| Poetic device | Lines from poem |
| Personification | “Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields” |
| Alliteration | “Your beautiful black blood” |
| Simile | None |
| Metaphor | None |
| Oxymoron | “Bitter taste of liberty” |
Fill in the blanks:
The poet continues to say that he has never known Africa, but despite the distance, he cannot deny how much it is a part of him. The phrase beautiful black blood which flows in his veins describes his African descent and shows how much Africa is a part of him and how much he loves his country and its people. The next verses are angry and accusatory as he stresses that it is the blood and sweat of his people which is irrigating the fields for the benefit of other people. Here he is pointing a finger at the colonialists who exploited the black people and used them as slaves to profit from their hard labour.
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