Analysis Of The Poem Not My Business - 1043 Words

Niyi Osundare’s free verse poem â€Å"Not My Business† is about the way that tyranny grows if not opposed. It offers three different stories of oppression followed by the experience of the speaker. This story is set in Nigeria but could apply to other countries too. Osundare’s use of a refrain symbolizes the desire to be free from oppression, which the speaker associates with the yam. On the other hand, the clichà © â€Å"Not my business† is representative of the speaker’s indifference to the ubiquitous grasp of terrorism. Every utterance of â€Å"What business of mine is it†(Osundare 5), shows the speaker feels more and more exempt from oppression and terror so long as it does not involve himself. Only in the final stanza, when he is robbed of the yam that his â€Å"...savouring mouth†(Osundare 7) seeks, does he realize the flaw in his thinking. His indifference towards tyranny is at the root of his struggle. If the speaker had rea lized, no matter what his situation, that terror affects everyone in an oppressed society, then he would have realized that freedom would be unattainable as early as â€Å"They picked Akanni up one morning†(Osundare 1). Perhaps he would not have tricked himself into believing he was free. â€Å"Not My Business† is a poem comprised of eight stanzas. The odd-numbered stanzas describe aspects of terror that fill this repressed society. Even-numbered stanzas, except the the final stanza, reveal the speaker’s regret and flawed indifference to the pervasive grasp of terrorism.Show MoreRelatedThe Gift: Lies in Nature’s Lessons1406 Words   |  6 Pagesqualities of these poems are depicted, with the use of literary devices such as imagery and Tone. Nature is the underlying theme to both poems; however, they differ in that Thurston’s, River otters at play, is centered on unprincipled laws relating to love and communication. 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