HOPEACADEMY
ENG2602
ASSIGNMENT 03
2024
2024
Answer ONE of the following two questions.
QUESTION 1: POETRY
Closely read the following poem “Farewell” by E.E. Sule and answer the question that
follows.
Tight jinxed professors gazing at the immensity of nothing!
Behold a multitude of books speeding away in escape
Pens swagger in hollowness, prostitute with cheap sheets
Afro-haired professors walking the length of the Atlantic in fury!...........
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, ENG 2602 ASSIGNMENT: 03
DUE 13 AUGUST 2024
QUESTION 1: POETRY
Write a carefully-worded essay of 1000 – 1200 words (approximately 2 to 3 typed
pages) in length in which you analyse how the poet uses diction, particularly
metaphors, poetic techniques, and any other features of language to express a
mixture of frustration, outrage, disappointment, hopelessness, and sadness, at
the forced migration of educated people from their land after political
independence. As he laments the disastrous state of affairs in his country, the
poet turns to inanimate objects like rocks, rivers, shelves, even ghosts, for
answers. His use of personification suggests his loss of confidence in some of his
compatriots and expresses how his country has dashed the hopes of its people,
especially professionals like university professors.
In E.E. Sule’s poem “Farewell,” the pervasive themes of frustration, outrage,
disappointment, hopelessness, and sadness are explored through the lens of the
forced migration of educated individuals, particularly university professors. This
immigration emerges as a poignant commentary on the disillusionment
experienced by intellectuals after the promises of political independence have
failed to materialize. The poet employs rich diction, particularly metaphors,
alongside poetic techniques such as personification, to elucidate the emotional
terrain traversed by these educated individuals who find themselves alienated
from their homeland.
From the very outset, the poet utilizes jarring metaphors to articulate the disdain
and disconnection felt by the intellectual class. The phrase “tight jinxed professors
gazing at the immensity of nothing” serves not only to capture the professors’
physical posture but also their mental state. The word “tight” suggests restraint
and unease, while “jinxed” infers a sense of being cursed or perpetually unlucky.
