Season Analysis – Wole Soyinka Essay Example

poem, to me, demonstrates sibilance the most. Coincidentally, the sound that the words make is also what is being described in the excerpt. The functionality of the assonance is mainly for setting the tone and mood of the entire poem.

There seems to be a very contrasting image described in the poem. One side shows the landscape as peaceful and calm; suggesting everything is going swell. The other sends the message of rust and decay. Despite these hints of dire times, the poem leaves us on a slightly more positive note, “We await... The promise of the rust”. This quote is what we finish on, something of hope. It leaves us to think that things should be alright for these garners. This overall contradictory image demonstrates the reality of people dependent on nature, but yet somehow still in harmony with it.

To add to the decay/growth mindset of the poem there are a couple of uses of quotations to both show nature as growing and nature as dying. “Pollen is mating time” this extract belongs to the spring season; the time of growth. In the next passage, we are contradicted with “The wilted corn-plume” and its message of winter and demise. This tone of the poem is set with the help of rhythm set to greater enhance the poem’s message. Soyinka’s use of rhythm is unusual. There is neither rhyme nor a set meter for the lines but instead, we are invited to listen to the words fall and flow together in a serene and calm manner.

The flow is not hindered by line breaks either, “Thread corn-stalks in winged Streaks of light. ” The asterisk is where

the line break is set in the poem but does nothing to stop the flow of the words. Not only does this effect let it flow, but it also adds to the whole worry-free feeling of the poem at that set time. In conclusion, the poem Season uses various poetic devices to further enhance the overall mood of the poem. The poem and its feel of the rustling cornfields are best described through the use of assonance and imagery. Wole Soyinka’s use of these devices ensures that it is effective in its meaning.