I Will Pronounce Your Name by Sedar Leopold Senghor
I Will Pronounce Your Name by Sedar Leopold Senghor
I Will Pronounce Your Name by Sedar Leopold Senghor
Naett, your name is mild like cinnamon, it is the fragrance in which the lemon grove sleeps
And it resembles the savannah, that blossoms forth under the masculine ardour of the midday sun
Fresher even than the short dusk, when the heat of the day is silenced,
I am you hero, and now I have become your sorcerer, in order to pronounce your names.
Structure:
The poem is a panegyric (praising) poem with ten lines no rhyme scheme. It could also be called a lyric poem as
it sings the praise of Naett. The poem also consists mostly end stopped lines, has no line breaks and about 12
feet per line.
Repetition:
Naett is stated six times in the poem which also includes the description of her as stated in these sample quotes
“Naett, that is the dry tornado, the hard clasp of lightning” and “Naett, coin of gold, shining coal, you my night,
my sun! …”
The poet uses selected words that help to create a vivid image in the readers mind. The use of well described
words such as “sugared clarity of blooming coffee trees”, “coin of gold”, “shining coal”, “dry tornado”, “shadows
of tamarind”, “savannah”, etc.
There are many figurative languages that are used in the poems. “Your name is mild like cinnamon” shows the
use of simile, “…lemon grove sleeps”, “…short dusk”, “…heat of the day is silenced” and “hard clap of lightning”
demonstrates the use of personification, “…you, my night, my sun…” shows the use of paradox, “…dry tornado”,
“…shining coal” presents the use of metaphor and “fresher even than the short dusk…” and “…fresher than
shadows of tamarind” demonstrates hyperbole.
“…hard clap of lightning” portrays onomatopoeia. It also shows the use of allusion, just like the reference to
Futa, an ancient Kingdom in North Africa and reference to Elissa, queen of Carthage also known as “Dido queen
of Carthage”.