Comprehensive notes covering The Cry of South Africa by Olive Schreiner.
A combination of information from the textbook, The Complete Poetry Resource (Sixth Edition), as well as additional class and video notes.
Written by an 85% < English HL Student
Demand, using an exclamation mark =
1. Give back my dead! conveys a sense of urgency and outrage.
Meaning hill or peak and described by being
2. They who by kop and fountain rocky in the following line.
An Afrikaans word.
South Africa = “the motherland”
3. First saw the light upon my rocky breast! The word “breast” creates the idea that the
country has maternal care.
The speaker is demanding the impossible.
Possessive
4. Give back my dead, That the addressee, Britain, give back the
lives, of the South African’s, that were
taken.
“sons” = the men who fought in the war.
5. The sons who played upon me (Not the only ones who perished in the war,
the women were confined to concentration
camps.)
6. When childhood’s dews still rested on their heads. Emphasises the youth of those who died.
Possessive
7. Give back my dead
Meaning to be torn apart.
England
South Africa’s children have been torn from
8. Whom thou hast riven from me
her by war.
Imagery: Men literally pulling children
When war was declared, soldiers were
away from their mothers’ arms.
called from all parts of the British empire to
9. By arms of men loud called from earth’s farthest
fight in the war. e.g. Australia
bound Short for “boundary”
Poet implies that tied like prisoners, not
Where the heart is. having any control over their own destiny.
10. To wet my bosom with my children’s blood ! Emphasises the speaker’s emotions and
her deep desire to have her people back.
Possessive The final repetition is followed by a
11. Give back my dead, summary of the previous points the
speaker made.
A demand to give back those who were
12. The dead who grew upon me! born in SA, grew up there and were killed
there.
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