The poem Limbo Essay Example for Free

The poem Limbo EssayThe poem Limbo is an extended metaphor for the parallel stories of the slaves jaunt alongside the limbo dance. Throughout the poem, lines and stanzas can be interpreted in galore(postnominal) different ways due to the many meanings of the overall message. The form of address, Limbo itself has many different meanings. For example, the word stereotypically relates to the dance, made up by the slaves on board the ship in order to stay fit when attached to iron bars, in which the dancer has to go under the quiver without touching it in order to stay in the game. The title also manner a region on the border between Heaven and Hell, referring to the slaves journey on the ship as, in their eyes, India is Heaven and America is Hell, and they are in the middle of the two, journeying towards Hell. Alternatively, the word means a state of uncertainty or a state of imprisonment or confinement. The slaves were imprisoned on the ship with no means of escape, their futu re already mapped out in front of them. The poem is preparation out into 24 loose and rhythmic stanzas of varying lengths, giving the poem a beat as means to giving it backing music which the dance would involve.There are 7 repetitive choruses, qualification it seem more like a dance. These choruses are presented in italics to represent the echoing of the slaves replies to the guards. A lot of language devices have been applied in Limbo. The word stick is mentioned six times in the poem, and each(prenominal) way can be interpreted differently. In Limbo, the dance, dancers have to take turns going under the forever lowering stick without touching it. If they touch the stick they face disqualification, running parallel to the fact that many slaves couldnt last the entire journey and were so thr suffer overboard in order to produce space.The stick also represents the whip with which the guards used to hit the innocent slaves with to get them in line. Lastly, this could mean the d rumstick, which provides the beat and therefore atmosphere for the dance. Effectively, the poem is written in 1st person, as though Brathwaite was a slave and this is his own personal experience. This adds drama to the whole poem as it is presented as a first hand compute and therefore more reliable. As a reader, it also makes us more vulnerable to succumb to this belief of frustration at the way slaves were treated and what there thoughts and feelings were.