“Nothing's Changed” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Nothing's Changed”

“Nothing's Changed” Summary

“Nothing's Changed” Themes

• 

  The Lingering Effects of Racism

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-40
• 

  Injustice, Resistance, and Violence

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 41-48

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Nothing's Changed”

• Lines 1-8

  Small round hard ...
  ... amiable weeds.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-16

  District Six. ...
  ... of my eyes.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-21

  Brash with glass, ...
  ... Port Jackson trees:

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 22-26

  new, up-market, haute ...
  ... where we belong.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 27-32

  I press my ...
  ... the single rose.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 33-40

  Down the road, ...
  ... in the bone.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 41-44

  I back from ...
  ... small mean mouth.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 45-48

  Hands burn ...
  ... Nothing's changed.

  

  

  

  

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“Nothing's Changed” Symbols

• 

  The Inn

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 17-24: “Brash with glass, / name flaring like a flag, / it squats / in the grass and weeds, / incipient Port Jackson trees: / new, up-market, haute cuisine, / guard at the gatepost, / whites only inn.”
  • Lines 27-32: “I press my nose / to the clear panes, know, / before I see them, there will be / crushed ice white glass, / linen falls, / the single rose.”

“Nothing's Changed” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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  Where imagery appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-8: “Small round hard stones click / under my heels, / seeding grasses thrust / bearded seeds / into trouser cuffs, cans, / trodden on, crunch / in tall, purple-flowering, / amiable weeds.”
  • Lines 17-21: “Brash with glass, / name flaring like a flag, / it squats / in the grass and weeds, / incipient Port Jackson trees:”
  • Lines 27-32: “I press my nose / to the clear panes, know, / before I see them, there will be / crushed ice white glass, / linen falls, / the single rose.”
  • Lines 36-37: “eat / it at a plastic table's top,”
  • Lines 38-39: “wipe your fingers on your jeans, / spit a little on the floor:”
  • Lines 43-47: “leaving small mean O / of small mean mouth. / Hands burn / for a stone, a bomb, / to shiver down the glass.”

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “click / under”
  • Lines 3-4: “thrust / bearded”
  • Lines 4-5: “seeds / into”
  • Lines 6-7: “crunch / in”
  • Lines 15-16: “turning / anger”
  • Lines 19-20: “squats / in”
  • Lines 27-28: “nose / to”
  • Lines 29-30: “be / crushed”
  • Lines 34-35: “sells / bunny”
  • Lines 36-37: “eat / it”
  • Lines 43-44: “O / of”
  • Lines 45-46: “burn / for”

• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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  Where anaphora appears in the poem:

  • Line 12: “and”
  • Line 13: “and the”
  • Line 14: “and the”
  • Line 15: “and the”
  • Line 46: “a stone, a bomb,”

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “Small,” “stones,” “click”
  • Line 3: “seeding”
  • Line 4: “seeds”
  • Line 5: “cuffs,” “cans”
  • Line 6: “crunch”
  • Line 14: “labouring,” “lungs”
  • Line 18: “flaring,” “flag”
  • Line 23: “guard,” “gatepost”
  • Line 37: “table's,” “top”
  • Line 40: “bone”
  • Line 41: “back”
  • Line 42: “boy”
  • Line 43: “mean”
  • Line 44: “mean,” “mouth”
  • Line 45: “burn”
  • Line 46: “bomb”

• Asyndeton

  

  

  

  

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  Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

  • Lines 6-8: “crunch / in tall, purple-flowering, / amiable weeds.”
  • Lines 17-24: “Brash with glass, / name flaring like a flag, / it squats / in the grass and weeds, / incipient Port Jackson trees: / new, up-market, haute cuisine, / guard at the gatepost, / whites only inn.”
  • Lines 28-32: “to the clear panes, know, / before I see them, there will be / crushed ice white glass, / linen falls, / the single rose.”
  • Lines 36-40: “Take it with you, eat / it at a plastic table's top, / wipe your fingers on your jeans, / spit a little on the floor: / it's in the bone.”
  • Lines 45-46: “Hands burn / for a stone, a bomb,”

“Nothing's Changed” 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.

• Amiable
• District Six
• Brash
• Incipient
• Port Jackson trees
• Up-market
• Haute cuisine
• Linen falls
• Bunny chows
• Small mean O

• (Location in poem: Line 8: “amiable weeds”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Nothing's Changed”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Nothing's Changed” Speaker

“Nothing's Changed” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Nothing's Changed”

More “Nothing's Changed” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Definition and History of Apartheid — A brief overview of apartheid in South Africa.  

  • An Appreciation of Tatamkhulu Afrika — An article about Afrika's life and influence by Gus Ferguson for Poetry International. 

  • The District Six Museum — Check out the official website of the District Six museum, which memorializes the residents forcibly evicted from the area during apartheid.

  • An Interview with the Poet — Afrika discusses his childhood, experiences under apartheid, and the value of political poetry.  

  • A Reading of "Nothing's Changed" — Listen to the poem read out loud.