Comparing Invictus And Stepping Out

You Have Power for Change No Matter the Circumstance
Invictus by William Ernest Henry & Stepping Out by Maureen Watson
Despite oppressive circumstances, an individual has resilient control over their fate. Poets Henry and Watson exemplify this idea through Invictus and Stepping Out, respectively. Henry initially establishes a universal image of oppression, using metaphor and simile to describe “the night that covers [him], Black as the pit from pole to pole”. He later uses this to comment on the “unbreakable soul” and “bloody, but unbowed” head of his persona. Conversely, Watson uses imagery to explore the role of women in society, describing that she was “patted”, “moulded” and “shaped” to fit the expectations of society, whose labels “formed

Through their poems, Walker and Jonker each epitomise this idea. Walker uses imagery and her free verse style poem to establish a metaphor for resilience. This allows her to use enjambment and repetition to create a insistent tone and abrupt rhythm. For example, throughout Torture she repeats the phrase “plant a tree” after describing oppressive actions including the “[assassination] of [one’s] leaders and lovers”, the “torture [of one’s] mother” and the “torture [of one’s] brother and sister”. Walker uses the word “your” in these descriptions to communicate directly with the audience, establishing an empathetic response for greater effect. Thus, the repetition of the phrase “plant a tree” builds the cyclical nature of the poem where oppression is combatted by resilience. Conversely, Jonker uses imagery to symbolise freedom by constantly referring to “the child who was shot dead at Nyanga”. She initially and abruptly comments that “the child is not dead”, building a sense that despite death, the child’s legacy lives on. Jonker’s later descriptions describe the child figuratively “[lifting] his fists against his mother” and “against his father who shouts Afrika”, “the breath of freedom and the veld in the locations of the cordoned heart”, and “the breath of righteousness and blood in the streets of his embattled pride”. This emphasises a stand for justice and freedom, against

Angelou and Skyes each demonstrate this idea in their poems. In Caged Bird, Angelou uses vivid and powerful imagery to build an analogy for oppression through contrasting descriptions of a “free” and “caged” bird, built by metaphor and personification. In her first stanza, Angelou describes that “a free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream until the current ends… and dares to claim the sky”. The description uses an image of a flowing stream to describe the endless opportunities available to a “free bird” and can also be interpreted to illustrate the flow of time and life in freedom. However, in the second stanza of the poem Angelou describes that a caged bird “that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage” and “sings of freedom”. Clearly, Angelou uses her analogy of “free” and “caged” birds to symbolise oppressive societies. Conversely, Skyes uses imagery built by alliteration of “locked” and “block” in her first stanza to establish a strong image of imprisonment. Through this, she describes “a locked room in a locked block / A locked block in a locked prison complex”. Skyes later refers to the “outside”, which she describes as “a prison / too” because it is “regulated by twelve million citizens who play warden to each other”. Thus, she shows the oppressive and authoritarian nature of society. Additionally, Skyes uses questions to portray her ideas describing that “[she] lives in a prison and