“A Strange Wind” by Timothy Wangusa – Analysis & Summary
A STRANGE WIND (By Timothy Wang’s)
A strange wind is blowing, dust fills our eyes;
We turn and walk the unintended way.
We press our sore eyes and reopen them
To expanded horizons, to a new day!
The narrow circle of our cherished experience breaks,
Our trusted gods dissolve and ghosts vanish, Disembodied voices announce world news
We see the hidden side of the moon,
The dead man’s eye transfers to the living,
The atom splits and the songbird Crocks,
Economics opposes charity,
Law protects nation shouts, and the big one brags,
Futile raids cease and global wars commence,
And the rude son strikes the father- a sword!
INTRODUCTION
Timothy Wangusa, a Ugandan professor, has written a fifteen line poem – ‘A Strange Wind’. In this poem, he addresses the growing rivalry between the developing and developed nations in the world and portrays the differences between the two. Professor Wangusa is looking at the world after the process of globalization from a developing country’s point of view. This makes sense as Professor Timothy Wangusa is a citizen of a developing country – Uganda. Professor Wangusa is clearly comparing the developing and developed nations from the developing nation’s point of view. This can be seen in his first line: ‘A strange wind is blowing, dust fills our eyes’
The strange wind that is being talked about is the turmoil that is being caused due to the inequality of power between the developed and developing countries. The dust symbolizes the lag in national development. We usually expect the developed countries
to have tarmac roads that are clean all the time. The fact that there is dust, shows that the place the persona is in is under-developed.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1. What do you think the poem is about?
Ans: the poem is about the new changes in the country and else where in the world. The poet sees the new change changes as unintended. The changes have affected every corner of life. This is the strange wind. What kind of wind? Is it globalization?
2. Is the persona happy with the strange wind?
An: No! The persona is not happy with the strange wind. The wind has brought problems to them. The wind has negative effects to them. This can be seen in the poem when a persona says “A strange wind is blowing, dust fills our eyes”.
3. What are possible themes in this poem?
An: Some possible themes in the poem can be integration of culture, new system of economy, oppression, lack of peace and injustice in the society.
4. The type of the poem. This is free verse poem with one The stanza is having fifteen verses. It does not adhere to the traditional patterns of writing poems. It is a poem without regular rhyme.
5. Language use and diction
The Language used is simple and understandable. It is easy to get a massage of the poet. Figures of speech have witnessed. E.g
- Imagery: “A strange wind” is referring to “new changes”
- Personification: “Law protects wizards and forbids “
“The small nation shouts, and the big one brags”
- Hyperbole (Exaggeration): “The dead man’s eye transfers to the living”.
6. Tone or voice: the attitude of the persona is The persona seems to be intelligent and understanding of what is going on.
7. Mood: The state of mind of the poet reflects
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