Derek Walcott's 1962 poem "A Far Cry From Africa" responds to the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya, a guerrilla war fought by native Kenyans against British colonists from 1952-1960. The speaker—implied to be from a colony, just as Walcott himself was—has both African and English heritage. Although the speaker hates colonial rule, he also bristles against the gruesomeness of the rebellion, creating a feeling of deep ambivalence and confusion regarding his loyalties. Ultimately, the poem treats both the violence in Kenya and the speaker's own conflicted identity as part of the legacy of colonialism. Rather than finding a way out of this legacy, the speaker expresses the deep pain it persistently causes.

• Read the full text of “A Far Cry from Africa”

• “A Far Cry from Africa” Summary

• “A Far Cry from Africa” Themes

  • 

    Colonialism and Divided Identity

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-33
  • 

    Language as a Tool of Resistance and Self-Expression

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-33
  • 

    Humanity and Violence

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-33

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Far Cry from Africa”

  • Lines 1-3

    A wind is ...
    ... of the veldt.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-6

    Corpses are scattered ...
    ... these separate dead!"

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-10

    Statistics justify and ...
    ... expendable as Jews?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-14

    Threshed out by ...
    ... or beast-teeming plain.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 15-17

    The violence of ...
    ... by inflicting pain.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 18-21

    Delirious as these ...
    ... by the dead.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 22-25

    Again brutish necessity ...
    ... with the superman.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 26-27

    I who am ...
    ... to the vein?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 28-33

    I who have ...
    ... Africa and live?

    

    

    

    

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• “A Far Cry from Africa” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “Kikuyu, quick as flies,”
    • Line 10: “savages, expendable as Jews”
    • Line 18: “Delirious as these worried beasts”
    • Line 24: “A waste of our compassion, as with Spain,”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-4: “A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt / Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, / Batten upon the bloodstreams of the veldt. / Corpses are scattered through a paradise.”
    • Lines 18-19: “his wars / Dance to the tightened carcass of a drum,”
    • Line 21: “the white peace contracted by the dead.”
    • Lines 22-23: “Again brutish necessity wipes its hands / Upon the napkin of a dirty cause,”
    • Lines 25-29: “The gorilla wrestles with the superman. / I who am poisoned with the blood of both, / Where shall I turn, divided to the vein? / I who have cursed / The drunken officer of British rule,”

  • Personification

    

    

    

    

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    Where personification appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-6: “the worm, colonel of carrion, cries: / "Waste no compassion on these separate dead!"”
    • Lines 22-23: “brutish necessity wipes its hands / Upon the napkin of a dirty cause”

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “Kikuyu”
    • Line 9: “the white child hacked in bed”
    • Line 10: “savages,” “expendable as Jews”
    • Line 12: “ibises”
    • Line 13: “civilization's dawn”
    • Line 15: “beast,” “beast”
    • Lines 16-17: “upright man / Seeks his divinity”
    • Line 18: “beasts”
    • Line 24: “as with Spain”
    • Line 25: “gorilla,” “superman”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-4: “A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt / Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, / Batten upon the bloodstreams of the veldt. / Corpses are scattered through a paradise.”
    • Line 9: “What is that to the white child hacked in bed?”
    • Lines 11-14: “Threshed out by beaters, the long rushes break / In a white dust of ibises whose cries / Have wheeled since civilization's dawn / From the parched river or beast-teeming plain.”
    • Line 19: “Dance to the tightened carcass of a drum,”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “pelt / Of”
    • Lines 7-8: “seize / The”
    • Lines 11-12: “break / In”
    • Lines 12-13: “cries / Have”
    • Lines 13-14: “dawn / From”
    • Lines 15-16: “read / As”
    • Lines 16-17: “man / Seeks”
    • Lines 18-19: “wars / Dance”
    • Lines 20-21: “dread / Of”
    • Lines 22-23: “hands / Upon”
    • Lines 23-24: “again / A”
    • Lines 28-29: “cursed / The”
    • Lines 29-30: “choose / Between”

  • Irony

    

    

    

    

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    Where irony appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-8: “Statistics justify and scholars seize / The salients of colonial policy.”
    • Lines 15-17: “The violence of beast on beast is read / As natural law, but upright man / Seeks his divinity by inflicting pain.”
    • Line 25: “The gorilla wrestles with the superman.”

  • Antithesis

    

    

    

    

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    Where antithesis appears in the poem:

    • Lines 29-33: “how choose / Between this Africa and the English tongue I love? / Betray them both, or give back what they give? / How can I face such slaughter and be cool? / How can I turn from Africa and live?”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “wind,” “ruffling,” “tawny,” “pelt”
    • Line 2: “Africa,” “Kikuyu,” “quick”
    • Line 3: “Batten,” “upon,” “bloodstreams,” “veldt”
    • Line 4: “Corpses,” “scattered,” “through,” “paradise”
    • Line 5: “worm,” “colonel,” “carrion,” “cries”
    • Line 6: “no,” “compassion,” “on,” “separate”
    • Line 7: “Statistics,” “justify,” “scholars,” “seize”
    • Line 8: “salients,” “colonial,” “policy”
    • Line 9: “What,” “that,” “to,” “white,” “child,” “hacked,” “bed”
    • Line 10: “savages,” “Jews”
    • Line 11: “Threshed,” “by,” “beaters,” “rushes,” “break”
    • Line 12: “white,” “dust,” “ibises,” “whose,” “cries”
    • Line 13: “Have,” “since,” “civilization's”
    • Line 14: “parched,” “river,” “or,” “beast,” “teeming”
    • Line 15: “beast,” “beast,” “read”
    • Line 16: “natural,” “upright”
    • Line 17: “Seeks,” “inflicting”
    • Line 18: “Delirious,” “as,” “these,” “worried,” “beasts,” “his,” “wars”
    • Line 19: “Dance,” “to,” “tightened,” “carcass,” “drum”
    • Line 20: “calls,” “courage,” “dread”
    • Line 21: “contracted”
    • Line 22: “Again,” “necessity,” “wipes,” “its,” “hands”
    • Line 23: “Upon,” “napkin,” “again”
    • Line 24: “compassion,” “Spain”
    • Line 25: “gorilla,” “wrestles,” “superman”
    • Line 26: “blood,” “both”
    • Line 27: “Where,” “turn,” “divided,” “vein”
    • Line 28: “have,” “cursed”
    • Line 29: “drunken,” “officer,” “British,” “rule”
    • Line 30: “English,” “tongue”
    • Line 31: “Betray,” “both,” “give,” “back,” “give”
    • Line 32: “such,” “slaughter,” “cool”
    • Line 33: “can,” “turn,” “from,” “Africa”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “wind,” “is”
    • Line 2: “Africa,” “Kikuyu,” “quick”
    • Line 4: “scattered,” “paradise”
    • Line 5: “worm,” “colonel”
    • Line 7: “Statistics,” “justify”
    • Line 9: “white,” “child,” “hacked”
    • Line 10: “savages”
    • Line 12: “white,” “ibises,” “cries”
    • Line 13: “since,” “civilization's”
    • Line 14: “beast,” “teeming”
    • Line 15: “beast,” “beast”
    • Line 16: “natural,” “man”
    • Line 17: “divinity,” “inflicting”
    • Line 18: “Delirious,” “these,” “worried,” “beasts”
    • Line 21: “white,” “by”
    • Line 22: “hands”
    • Line 23: “Upon,” “napkin,” “cause”
    • Line 24: “compassion,” “as”
    • Line 27: “I,” “divided”
    • Line 28: “I”
    • Line 30: “this,” “Africa,” “English,” “tongue,” “love”
    • Line 31: “Betray,” “they”
    • Line 32: “face”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “Kikuyu,” “quick”
    • Line 3: “Batten,” “bloodstreams”
    • Line 5: “colonel,” “carrion,” “cries”
    • Line 6: “compassion,” “separate”
    • Line 7: “Statistics,” “scholars,” “seize”
    • Line 8: “salients”
    • Line 9: “What,” “white”
    • Line 11: “by,” “beaters,” “break”
    • Line 14: “parched,” “plain”
    • Line 15: “beast,” “beast”
    • Line 18: “worried,” “wars”
    • Line 19: “Dance,” “carcass,” “drum”
    • Line 20: “calls,” “courage”
    • Line 21: “contracted”
    • Line 23: “cause”
    • Line 24: “compassion,” “Spain”
    • Line 25: “superman”
    • Line 26: “blood,” “both”
    • Line 29: “British”
    • Line 30: “Between”
    • Line 31: “Betray,” “both,” “back”
    • Line 32: “such,” “slaughter”

  • Aphorismus

    

    

    

    

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    Where aphorismus appears in the poem:

    • Line 14: “beast-teeming”
    • Line 15: “beast,” “beast”
    • Line 18: “beasts”

• “A Far Cry from Africa” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Tawny
  • Pelt
  • Kikuyu
  • Quick
  • Batten
  • Veldt
  • Bloodstreams
  • Colonel
  • Carrion
  • Salients
  • Savages
  • Expendable
  • Threshed
  • Beaters
  • Ibises
  • Wheeled
  • Worried Beasts
  • Native Dread
  • Brutish
  • Gorilla
  • Superman
  • Drunken Officer
  • Cool
  • (Location in poem: Lines 1-2: “ruffling the tawny pelt / Of Africa”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Far Cry from Africa”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “A Far Cry from Africa” Speaker

• “A Far Cry from Africa” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “A Far Cry from Africa”

• More “A Far Cry from Africa” Resources

  • External Resources

    • An Overview of Négritude — A discussion of the concept of Négritude developed by writer Aimé Césare, from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Césare's concerns can be usefully studied to both contrast with, and illuminate, Walcott's themes.

    • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to Derek Walcott read "A Far Cry From Africa."

    • The Mau Mau Uprising — A history of the Mau Mau Uprising, from the BBC.

    • Frantz Fanon and the Mau Mau — Frantz Fanon's important book on colonial revolution and independence, "The Wretched of the Earth," was heavily inspired by the Mau Mau Rebellion. For Fanon, the Mau Mau represent an essential phase of independence, one whose violence is a direct result of decades of violent colonial rule.

    • Walcott's Biography — A short biography of Walcott from Emory University.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Derek Walcott

    • Love After Love

    • Nearing Forty

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