We Refugees - Benjamin Zephaniah (2000) Flashcards
Who was Benjamin Zephaniah?
He is a strong advocate of human rights and equality around the world
He declined an OBE in 2003 as he felt the word ‘empire’ represented oppression and the brutality of other races
What does Zephaniah’s poem discuss?
The plight of refugees around the world and how easily it can be to be displaced from the country of your birth if a regime or culture changes
What is the form and structure of the poem?
Poem is split into 10 stanzas.
Two longer stanzas which contain repetition to emphasis main messages of the poem
What is the tone of the poem?
Personal and urgent. Zephaniah directly addresses the reader and uses his own personal thoughts and experiences to ensrue that his points are made
What are some quotes in the poem?
My brother has been tortured by my brother in hand
Where they hate my shade of skin
I come from a beautiful place
What does the annotation of and my brother has been torturd by my brother in my land
gives the impression of social unrest in the country he is fleeing from. The familial tone, ‘brother’, is not a reference to someone he is related to by blood, but the idea of community.
What does the annoation of where they hate my shade of skin/I come from a beautiful place mean?
Moreover, the contrast between the ‘beautiful place’ that he remembers and the oppressive country he sees disturbs the poet.
What are some form points?
The jarring lack of rhyme falling on ‘poetry’ is difficult to read, making the flow of ‘We Refugees’ seem clunky. This rough structure is reflective of the oppressive country
What is the themes in the poem?
Belonging - to a homeland
Identity - formed by life experiences
