"An African Elegy" is the title poem of Nigerian-British writer Ben Okri's 1997 collection An African Elegy. In this poem, a speaker addresses all the people of Africa, telling them that—in spite of their sufferings—they are beloved, and that their glorious future will make their past troubles shine in a different light. One of Africa's greatest gifts, this poem suggests, is a culture built on a joy in life and a persistent faith that pain can transform into beauty.

• Read the full text of “An African Elegy”

• “An African Elegy” Summary

• “An African Elegy” Themes

  • 

    African Endurance, Joy, and Hope

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-30
  • 

    Transformation, Redemption, and Faith

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2
    • Lines 4-5
    • Lines 6-7
    • Lines 18-30

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “An African Elegy”

  • Lines 1-5

    We are the ...
    ... of the earth.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-10

    There are things ...
    ... dream sweet things

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-15

    And that we ...
    ... them in silence.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-20

    That is why ...
    ... the dead singing.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 21-27

    And they tell ...
    ... the unseen moves.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 28-30

    The ocean is ...
    ... is our friend.

    

    

    

    

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• “An African Elegy” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “We are the miracles that God made / To taste the bitter fruit of Time.”
    • Lines 6-7: “There are things that burn me now / Which turn golden when I am happy.”
    • Lines 17-19: “It makes the air remember. / There are secret miracles at work / That only Time will bring forth.”
    • Line 24: “With fire”
    • Lines 28-30: “The ocean is full of songs. / The sky is not an enemy. / Destiny is our friend.”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 11-13: “And that we never curse the air when it is warm / Or the fruit when it tastes so good / Or the lights that bounce gently on the waters?”

  • Rhetorical Question

    

    

    

    

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    Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:

    • Lines 8-13: “Do you see the mystery of our pain? / That we bear poverty / And are able to sing and dream sweet things / And that we never curse the air when it is warm / Or the fruit when it tastes so good / Or the lights that bounce gently on the waters?”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “made / To”
    • Lines 4-5: “suffering / Will”
    • Lines 6-7: “now / Which”
    • Lines 18-19: “work / That”
    • Lines 21-22: “that / This”

  • Parallelism

    

    

    

    

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    Where parallelism appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “We are”
    • Line 3: “We are”
    • Line 10: “And”
    • Line 11: “And”
    • Line 12: “Or the fruit”
    • Line 13: “Or the lights”
    • Line 14: “We bless things”
    • Line 15: “We bless them”
    • Line 21: “they tell me”
    • Line 23: “They tell me”
    • Line 25: “There is”
    • Line 26: “there is”
    • Line 28: “The ocean is”
    • Line 29: “The sky is”
    • Line 30: “Destiny is”

• “An African Elegy” 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.

  • Elegy
  • Bear
  • (Location in poem: )

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “An African Elegy”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “An African Elegy” Speaker

• “An African Elegy” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “An African Elegy”

• More “An African Elegy” Resources

  • External Resources

    • An Interview with Okri — Listen to a short interview with Ben Okri in which he describes how he decided to be a writer. 

    • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

    • Okri's Website — Visit Okri's website to learn more about his past and current work.

    • A Brief Biography — Visit the Poetry Foundation's website to learn about Okri's life.

    • Okri's Recent Work — Read an article in which Okri describes his most recent work: a collaborative project with the visual artist Rosemary Clunie. 

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