This document contains a full analysis of the prescribed Matric IEB poem: Portrait of a loaf of bread by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali. This poem has been broken down and analysed line by line to ensure it is fully understood by the reader and includes points on the structure and techniques in the poem.
Portrait of a loaf of bread
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
By Adrian MacKenzie
Summary = The poem explains the long, hard process of baking bread and how it may be appreciated and enjoyed by people of
differing classes. The poem is critical of class divides and highlights the excessive lifestyle of the upper class as opposed to the
humble lifestyle of a labourer.
Tone = critical and cynical
Look back to the rolling fields → invitation to the journey/process of making bread
waving gold-topped wheat stalks → Personification gives the field more value. Long vowels create a slow rhythm
mowed by the reaper’s scythe, → slow rhythm continues, mimicking the slow movement of a scythe in the fields
bundled into sheaves → Rhythm increases as line length decreases.
carted to the mill → Rhythm increases more with shortened vowels. Past Participles foreground actions in process
and ground into flour.
Kneaded into mountains of dough → indentation indicates the next step in the process (land to factory)
to be churned by rollers
and spat into pans as red hot → Sibilance creates an aural element to this step of the tactile process
as Satan’s cauldron. → Simile – extremely harsh conditions in the process. (emphasises harsh working place)
Brought to the café, → transition from the process of making bread to the convenience of being served bread
warmly wrapped in cellophane, → Alliteration (w) gives a warm, comforting feeling as opposed to harshness.
by ‘Eat Fresh Bread’ bakery van; → Unimaginative diction as opposed to the imagery and diction of stanza 1
for the waiting cook → waiting suggests a sense of expectation and almost ungratefulness. Links to overall message.
to slice and toast → Active voice used proceeding a series of actions
to butter and to marmalade → Verbs/actions create a sense of urgency
for the food-bedecked breakfast table. → Image of a sumptuous feast where bread is expected, unappreciated.
Whilst the labourer → Whilst suggests a juxtaposition. Transition from (upper class) being served to working class.
with fingers caked with → Tactile, laboured imagery
wet cement of a builder’s scaffold → working class. Reference to the process: wet cement = bread dough
mauls a hunk and a cold drink → Diction is ravenous and unrefined. Connotations of grabbing chunks of bread
and licks his lips and laughs → Alliteration (l) amplifies his contentment/satisfaction (sensual pleasure)
‘Man can live on bread alone’.→ Biblical Allusion
According to the bible ‘man shall not live on bread alone’
But, in the ending of this poem, it is evident that man may live on bread alone. Bread has found its purpose – to be eaten
and to provide nourishment and pleasure to the labourer.
Note: The labourer only has bread, while the people in the cafe have a ‘food-bedecked table’ where bread is of little value.
Despite the labourer's lack of options, he is, nevertheless, content with bread alone.
This demonstrates the excessive, often ungrateful lifestyle that is lived by many in the upper class.
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