Themes in The Song of the Women of My Land by Oumar Farouk Sesay
This analysis focuses on the themes in “The Song of the Women of My Land” by Oumar Farouk Sesay.
Themes of endurance and resilience, oppression of women and their labour, and the effect of time on history and memory are central to the message of the poem. Here is further discussion on the themes in the poem.
Complete Analysis of The Song of the Women of My Land by Oumar Farouk Sesay
Literary Devices Used in The Song of the Women of My Land
1. Toil, Servitude, and Oppression of Women
This song tells of pain and toil, such that it was left behind in the “forlorn field”. The speaker describes where the song was sung and abandoned as the “theater of toil” (Line 40). The new generation cannot remember the lyrics as they are now far away from where it was sang.
Women of this land were treated mostly as labourers in the past. These women were overworked and underappreciated. The masters (individuals or companies) made them labour as slaves in their farms and plantations, and failure to work may result in punishment or even death (Lines 9-11). These women sang to ease their burden (Line 12) and to tell their life story even to the next generation (Lines 15-18).
2. Mortality, Memory, and the Power of Time
Over time, the generation of women who suffered in the forlorn fields passed. The lyrics of the song they sang while they worked are fading until a time when the lyrics were forgotten (Lines 20-24). Since the song told of their lives, if forgotten, so would the women and the events be forgotten – time strips away memory. Howbeit, the tune remains.
Also, the laboring women projected their lives into the future for the coming generation to know their story and maybe learn from it (Lines 16-17).
“cheat the tyranny of time
And commune with the yet unborn”
As the tune of the song remains, the writer tries to pen the song, but the lyrics have been erased by time. Therefore, the writer ends up with a dirge about the lives of the women who sang the song in the forlorn fields.
3. Perseverance
The inner strength of the women in the face of suffering is obvious. Despite their condition, misery, hopelessness, and burden, they persisted, working the fields, enduring the pain, consoling and celebrating themselves with song. This was not ignorance of their situation; it was a deliberate act to survive and thrive despite the opposing reality. Neither the poor conditions nor the difficult tasks set for them could quench their hope and thirst.
4. The Power of Music
The poem is about the song the women sang as they toiled in the fields. This song served many purposes – tell their story, ease their pain, celebrate, connect them to the coming generations, etc. Music, therefore, is portrayed as a powerful tool that can serve various roles.
5. Art as a Tool for Preservation of Information and Events
The poet notes that the new generation seeks to use the song sung by the women of the land in the forlorn fields. However, the lyrics of the song have been forgotten; only the tunes roam. For this, he, the poet, writes about the women and their song, but without the lyrics. He creates a dirge – a lament for the women long gone from this life, a story that keeps their memory alive.
Conclusion
The subject of the oppression of women by the soceity and men is not uncommon. Sesay used the poem, The Song of the Women of My Land, to tell the stories of the suffering of the women in the past, with a focus on their labour in the fields. The poem tells of their sufferings, how they used music (the song) to lift their spirit and write their story.
As the poet searched but could not recreate the lyrics of the songs, he joins creatives to tell the story his own way using a dirge.