‘ DEATH OF MY FATHER’ POEM

Read the poem below and then answer the question that follows.  (20 marks)

DEATH OF MY FATHER

His sunken cheeks, his inward-looking eyes,
The sarcastic, scornful smile on his lips
The unkempt, matted, grey hair,
The hard, coarse sand-paper hands,
Spoke eloquently of the life he had lived.
But I did not mourn for him.

The hammer, the saw, and the plane,
These were his tools and his damnation,
His sweat was his ointment and his perfume.
He fashioned dining tables, chairs, wardrobes,
And all the wooden loves of colonial life.
No, I did not mourn for him.

He built colonial mansions,
Huge, unwieldy,arrogant constructions;
But he squatted in a sickly mud-house,
With his children huddled stuntedly,
Under the bed-bug bed, he shared with Mother.
I could not mourn for him.

I had already inherited
His premature old-age look,
I had imbibed his frustration;
But his dreams of freedom and happiness
Had become my song, my love.
So, I could not mourn for him.

No, I did not shed any tears;
My father’s dead life still lives in me,
He lives in my son, my father,
I am my father and my son.
I will awaken his sleepy hopes and yearnings,
But I will not mourn for him,
I will not mourn for me.

Questions

a)    Identify the persona.    (2 marks)
b)    What is the poem talking about?   (3 marks)
c)    Comment on the alliteration that is used in the poem. (2 marks)
d)    Apart from alliteration, identify and explain any other two aspects of style that the poet has used.        (4 marks)
e)    What reason does the persona give for not mourning his father’s death? ( 3 marks)
f)    What is the father’s profession in the poem? ( 1 mark)
g)    Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem: ( 3 marks)
    i)    The hard, coarse sand-paper hands,
        Spoke eloquently of the life he had lived.
    ii)     His premature old-age look,
    iii)     I will awaken his sleepy hopes and yearnings,
h)    What is the attitude of the persona towards his father’s life? ( 2 marks)

DEATH OF MY FATHER ANSWERS

a)    The persona is a child (1mk). ‘My father’s dead life still lives me.’                        (1mk)              
b)    The poem talks about the abject poverty in which the persona’s family lives under (1mk). / The struggle for survival by the parents which is hereditary (1mk). ‘I am my father, my son’. However, the persona is optimistic that through him, his father’s dreams and aspirations will be fulfilled (1mk). ‘I will awaken his sleepy hopes and yearnings’.        (1mk)
    (2mks for the explanation and 1mk for the illustration)                                                                      (3 marks).
c)    Sarcastic, scornful, smile (1mk) – it brings out his father’s suffering. /shows the persona’s sarcasm on his father’s state (1mk).
    Squatted in a sickly mud house (1mk)- it emphasizes the abject poverty in which the persona’s family lived under(1mk). The student must identify the alliteration to score                                                                    (2marks)
d)    Irony.  ‘He built colonial mansions but squatted in a sickly mud house.’ It shows the poverty in which the persona’s father lived.
    Metaphor. ‘Sand-paper hands.’ It is a sign of the tough life the persona’s father has gone through. /The struggles he has gone through.
    Repetition. ‘I did not mourn for him.’ It emphasizes the persona’s optimism.
    Sarcasm. ‘His sweat was his ointment and perfume.’ Shows the hard manual work the late father did.
    Contrast. ‘He built colonial mansions but squatted in a sickly mud house.’ ’ It shows the poverty in which the persona’s father lived.
    (Accept any other relevant style; Identification+ illustration 1mk, comment 1mk)                                (4marks)
e)    He wants to fulfill his father’s dreams of freedom and happiness (2mks). ‘His dreams of freedom and happiness had become my song (1mk).’/ He is hopeful or optimistic that he will awaken his father’s hopes and dreams (2mks). ‘I will awaken his sleepy hopes and yearnings’(1mk)                                                         (3marks)
f)    A carpenter. ‘He fashioned dining tables, chairs, wardrobes’/ ‘The hammer, the saw and the plane were his tools’(1mark)
g)    i)     The rough hands were a sign /testimony of the tough life/suffering the persona’s father had gone through due to poverty.
    ii)     He looks older than he actually was.
    iii)     He will fulfill his father’s plans or wishes or ambitions.
h)    Sarcastic. ‘He built colonial mansions but squatted in a sickly mud house.’                     (2mks)
    Disdainful, the persona is extremely contemptuous of the kind of life the father lived. ‘with his children huddled….