At a funeral Flashcards
(27 cards)
The Brutality of Oppression
Explanation:
The poem critiques the apartheid regime’s systemic violence, which leads to the death of innocent people like Valencia Majombozi, a young Black doctor. The funeral setting symbolizes how apartheid treats Black lives as disposable.
Evidence from the Poem:
“stubbled graves” (line 2) – The rough, unkempt graves reflect the government’s disrespect for Black lives.
“death’s-head tyranny scythes our ground” (line 10) – Compares apartheid to Nazi Germany, suggesting it harvests Black lives like crops.
“whose gifts the mud devours” (line 6) – The doctor’s potential is wasted, buried by an oppressive system.
Why it Matters:
Brutus highlights how apartheid not only kills people but also destroys their dreams and contributions to society.
The Futility of Ceremony Under Oppression
Explanation:
The poem criticizes empty rituals (like funerals) that do nothing to challenge the system causing these deaths.
Evidence from the Poem:
“hollow panoply” (line 5) – The grand funeral display is meaningless because it doesn’t bring justice.
“bugled dirging slopes” (line 4) – Military-style funerals suggest Black deaths are treated as wartime casualties, yet nothing changes.
Why it Matters:
Brutus shows how performative mourning (like state-sanctioned funerals) distracts from real resistance.
Resistance and Defiance
Explanation:
The poem shifts from grief to a call for action, urging the oppressed to fight back rather than accept their fate.
Evidence from the Poem:
“Arise! The brassy shout of Freedom stirs our earth” (line 9) – A direct call to revolt.
“Better that we should die, than that we should lie down” (line 12) – Preferring death in struggle over passive submission.
Why it Matters:
Brutus transforms mourning into a political statement, arguing that resistance is the only way to end oppression.
The Dehumanization of Black People
Explanation:
Apartheid reduced Black individuals to numbers, restricting their rights through laws like passbooks.
Evidence from the Poem:
“Aborted, not by Death but carrion books of birth” (line 8) – The “books of birth” refer to apartheid’s racial classification laws, which determined a person’s fate at birth.
“narrow cells of pain, defeat and dearth” (line 11) – Apartheid confined Black people to poverty and suffering.
Why it Matters:
Brutus exposes how apartheid didn’t just kill people—it erased their humanity before they even had a chance to live.
Title
The title immediately sets a somber and reflective tone. It invites the reader into a moment of collective mourning — but the poem evolves beyond a personal eulogy into a political statement against systemic injustice
Main idea
Brutus uses the funeral of a young doctor not just to express personal sorrow, but to highlight how apartheid robs Black South Africans of their futures, talent, and dignity. He contrasts the beauty of the ceremony with the emptiness of symbolic gestures, insisting that real change won’t come from honouring the dead, but from rising up against injustice.
Black, Green, and Gold
Line: “Black, green and gold at sunset; pageantry”
What it symbolizes: These are the colours of the ANC (African National Congress) — the main liberation movement fighting apartheid.
Why it matters: Their presence at the funeral connects the individual loss to the political struggle. The funeral becomes not just personal mourning but a symbol of national sacrifice and resistance.
Bride’s-white / Nun’s-white
Line: “In bride’s-white, nun’s-white veils the nurses gush their bounty”
What it symbolizes: White is traditionally associated with purity, innocence, and peace — brides and nuns are symbols of love and service.
Why it matters: These images show the innocence of the victim, and also reflect the selfless role of nurses. But when contrasted with red (below), it shows that even pure intentions are stained by violence.
Red-wine Cloaks
Line: “Of red-wine cloaks, frothing the bugled dirging slopes”
What it symbolizes: The red lining of the nurses’ cloaks suggests blood or sacrifice.
Why it matters: It transforms the image of the nurses from peaceful caregivers into silent witnesses of war and bloodshed, showing how deeply violence has affected everyone
The Mud
Line: “For one whose gifts the mud devours, with our hopes”
What it symbolizes: The mud represents the grave — death and decay.
Why it matters: It symbolizes how the talents of the young doctor, and the hope she represented, are being swallowed by a system that kills before potential can flourish.
Death’s-head Tyranny
Line: “Not Death but death’s-head tyranny scythes our ground”
What it symbolizes: Refers to the skull emblem of Nazi SS soldiers — a symbol of brutal dictatorship and murder.
Why it matters: Compares apartheid to fascism, showing that it’s not just random death, but a planned, cruel, oppressive system.
The Scythe
Line: “scythes our ground”
What it symbolizes: The scythe is the traditional tool of the Grim Reaper, symbolizing death as a harvest.
Why it matters: It suggests that the regime is systematically cutting down lives, like crops, highlighting the scale and coldness of the killings.
Carrion books of birth”
Line: “Aborted, not by Death but carrion books of birth”
What it symbolizes: The pass books (used in apartheid to control movement based on race) are compared to rotting flesh (carrion).
Why it matters: Shows how the system of racial classification kills people’s lives from the start — it is disgusting, dehumanising, and symbolic of decay and oppression.
Form
What it is:
The poem has two stanzas, each made up of six lines (a sestet), so the full poem is 12 lines.
Why it matters:
The structured form contrasts with the chaos of apartheid and the tragedy it creates. This neat, formal structure may reflect the false order and beauty of the funeral ceremony — something the speaker later calls “hollow.” It could also suggest control and calmness, while the content of the poem is full of emotional intensity and anger.
Meter
What it is:
The poem does not follow a consistent, regular meter like iambic pentameter. Instead, it uses free verse with moments of rhythm and occasional stress patterns that echo the emotional shifts — especially when expressing anger or sorrow.
Examples:
“Oh all you frustrate ones, powers tombed in dirt” – has a strong, emphatic beat.
“Better that we should die, than that we should lie down.” – feels like a firm, marching rhythm, adding to the defiant tone.
Why it matters:
The irregular rhythm reflects the unpredictable, disrupted lives under apartheid. But at key moments, when the speaker becomes more forceful or emotional, the meter tightens up — like a drumbeat calling people to rise.
Rhyme Scheme
What it is:
There is no consistent or fixed rhyme scheme, though there are some near rhymes and sound echoes:
“pageantry” / “eternity” (lines 1–2) – similar endings.
“dirt” / “birth” / “earth” (lines 7–9) – these words link through sound and meaning.
“ground” / “down” (lines 10 and 12) – a looser rhyme that still feels deliberate.
Why it matters:
The lack of a regular rhyme scheme mirrors the disruption and brokenness in the lives of the oppressed. It also makes the poem feel more natural and speech-like, which suits the direct address and call to action in the second stanza.
Tone
The poem’s emotional tone shifts from mourning to militant defiance, reflecting Brutus’s call to action:
Solemn & Hopeless (Lines 1–6):
Funereal pacing with words like “dirging” and “hollow” conveys grief and futility.
Angry & Confrontational (Lines 7–11):
Nazi comparisons (“death’s-head tyranny”) and imperatives (“Arise!”) fuel outrage.
Defiant & Resolute (Final Line):
The closing line—”Better that we should die, than that we should lie down”—rejects submission, ending on a note of revolutionary resolve.
Effect: The interplay of diction and tone transforms the poem from a lament into a rallying cry against oppression.
Diction
Brutus’s word choice is deliberate and impactful, blending visceral, military, and symbolic language to expose apartheid’s violence and inspire defiance:
Violent Verbs: “devours,” “scythes,” and “aborted” depict apartheid as a force that destroys lives.
Military/Jarring Terms: “Salute!,” “bugled,” and “brassy shout” frame resistance as a battle cry.
Biological Decay: “carrion,” “rotten flesh,” and “mud” emphasize dehumanization under oppression.
Contrasting Imagery: “bride’s-white” (purity) vs. “red-wine cloaks” (bloodshed) highlights systemic hypocrisy
Apostrophe
Example: “Oh all you frustrate ones…”
How it’s used: Brutus directly addresses the oppressed people, as if speaking to them face to face.
Why it matters: This device turns the poem into a personal call to action, not just a reflection — it involves the reader emotionally and politically.
Alliteration
Example: “bugled dirging slopes”
How it’s used: The repetition of the ‘b’ and ‘d’ sounds creates a funeral tone — soft and mournful.
Why it matters: It adds to the musical quality of the poem and emphasizes the solemn mood of the funera
Assonance
Example: “brassy shout of Freedom stirs our earth”
How it’s used: The repeated ‘a’ and ‘o’ sounds create a sense of urgency and echo.
Why it matters: This reinforces the rallying cry for the oppressed to rise up — it sounds bold and loud.
Repetition
Example: “Not Death but death’s-head tyranny…” and “Better that we should die, than that we should lie down.”
How it’s used: Key words like “Death” and “die” are repeated to highlight the theme of destruction and sacrifice.
Why it matters: It forces the reader to focus on what kind of death matters — not just physical death, but the death of spirit and hope under oppression
Irony
Example: “Salute! Then ponder all this hollow panoply”
How it’s used: The poem first presents the funeral as grand and honourable, then reveals it as “hollow.”
Why it matters: Shows the emptiness of public ceremonies that do nothing to change the reality of apartheid — a fake honour for real suffering.
Enjambment
Definition: When a line runs over into the next without punctuation.
Example: “Of red-wine cloaks, frothing the bugled dirging slopes / Salute! Then ponder…”
How it’s used: Ideas flow quickly from one line to the next.
Why it matters: Creates a sense of movement and urgency, especially during emotional or dramatic sections.
