ANALYSIS OF 'THE POEM OF JOAO': NOEMIA DE SOUSA

THE POEM OF JOAO

NOEMIA DE SOUSA

Poet’s background

Noemia de Sousa was a poet from Mozambique. She was born in 1926 and she died in 2003. She is of mixed Portuguese and Mozambique origins. Her poetry is in the Portuguese language. She lived most of her life in Lisbon and was a member of ANOP. Her poetry is didactic and single purposed. She is a poet for and of the Mozambique freedom fighters.

Poem’s settings

The poem setting is in colonial Mozambique. Joao, a character in the poem, is used by the poet to depict how young people in the colonized nations have dreams and hopes and their desire that they could be independent. This is a young and ordinary person that does the usual things in society.

“He suffered with the passivity of the peasant women….

He sold tired green vegetables with the Asian traders…….”

Themes

The main themes in the poem are colonial trauma, and stable economic and political state of affairs. The idea is to provide the needful inspiration and insight to the people in their quest to liberate themselves. The poet encourages her audience that though the hero depicted in the poem Joao has been taken by “them”. Them in this case, refers to the colonizers as this is what happened to those that appeared to be against what the colonizers  considered right. Though this is the case, Joao is in each of the people of the land; since they all craved for freedom.

“Joao is in the multitudes….

… Who can take the multitude and lock it away…”

The poet show that the oppressors would not be able to silence them because though they could take the few active ones in the society, the rest are all seeking the same thing.

Stylistic devices

Noemia has employed repetition has a strong style to emphasize on her point that Joao was an ordinary man who desired the best for his country. This has the effect of creating the picture of Joao on the readers mind.

Another device employed by the author’s metaphor.

“Joao was an eagle born to fly…..”

Joao is likened to an eagle.

Author’s point of view

In her poem, Noemia de Sousa is understand as  a “whole”, an entre people that wants to play ts part­- the people of Mozambique; thus, the poet preserves herself has the spokesperson of that peopled.