Summary
Stanza One
An unidentified, omniscient speaker recounts a story to an unspecified listener. The speaker may have witnessed the events to be described or may simply be aware of them. The speaker seems to be describing a female figure. The subject has been lying down—as indicated by the past participle, “lain.” However, as the stanza continues, it becomes clear that the speaker is actually describing Africa. The continent is personified as a beautiful woman. The sugar canes represent the actual crop grown on the continent. The deserts are like a woman’s hair, and what might be presumed to be golden fields are like a woman’s feet. The mountains are like a woman’s breasts. However, the point where the Nile River splits into two branches is described as tears. The beautiful woman that is Africa may be reposing, but not necessarily in peace. She has been lying down in this way for many years, exquisitely beautiful but always vulnerable.
Stanza Two
The speaker recounts the arrival of mysterious invaders who are never clearly identified. These “brigands,” or bandits, arrive by ship. They sail over icy cold seas, and their own demeanor is cold. When they arrive in Africa, they subject the Africans to violence. Daughters are taken from their families, and sons are sold. These bandits are most likely the white Europeans who arrived in Africa, killed many Africans, and took others back to the New World to serve as slaves. The brigands also imposed their religious beliefs on the Africans, taking away religious freedom. The speaker describes in detail the violence that has torn Africa apart. The Africans have been raped, enslaved, and killed. At the stanza’s conclusion, Africa is once again lying down. However, given the violent descriptions of the stanza, the speaker suggests that at this point in the story, Africa is no longer resting peacefully. Rather, the continent is “lying down” in pain, beaten to the ground by white oppressors.
Stanza Three
The speaker concludes the story of Africa’s past and shifts to the present. Africa is now rising—and will continue to rise—above its troubles. It will not allow its oppressors to win. The speaker then addresses the listener directly for the first time. He appeals to the listener to remember all the atrocities the continent has experienced, describing the African people’s pain and loss. The speaker also reminds the listener of the continent’s worth, emphasizing that the beauty of the African continent, its traditions, and its people have not been lost. Africa has not only stood up again, but “she” is also striding—taking big steps toward a brighter future, even though she was once lying down in pain.
Analysis
The use of the word “thus” to begin the poem sends the message that the speaker is telling a story. The speaker also uses the past tense to create a setting for the story, indicating that the story first began long ago. The ensuing description of a beautiful woman gives the first stanza the feel of a fairy tale. The woman is described as reposing peacefully, like a princess in deep slumber. However, as the second stanza later elaborates, she is to experiences a rude awakening.
Africa’s magnificent geographical features are personified as the physical characteristics of a woman. The literal sugar cane fields are sweet like a woman’s demeanor, the soft sands of the deserts are silky like a woman’s hair, and the golden fields and sun are like a woman’s feet. The mountains are also described as a woman’s breasts. This line may be interpreted as both maternal and sensual. The breasts evoke an image of a mother nursing her children. Africa is indeed the motherland of the African people and their descendants—people like Maya Angelou. The land has essentially given birth to these people, and the continent is rich with natural resources that nourish its people. The female figure is therefore a symbol for mother Africa.
However, breasts may also be interpreted sensually. A beautiful woman who is resting peacefully may be vulnerable to sexual violence. The speaker illustrates an interesting dichotomy of a woman—and a continent—as both a giver of life and a vulnerable creature that may be ravaged by oppressors. The mention of the Nile River as a symbol for tears creates a sense of foreboding, as the listener slowly realizes that the continent is not at peace. Notably, the speaker says that the continent has been “black through the years.” For a long period of time, Africa was inhabited solely by its native black people. As the speaker’s “story” progresses, the listener will find that there is sadness to come. The speaker concludes the stanza by moving the story to the present, using the words “has lain” to imply that the story of Africa is far from over. The continent has a long history, and there are more chapters to come.
The tone of the second stanza is angry and tense. The speaker describes vividly how mysterious “brigands”—a term for bandits—sail to Africa and commit violence against the natives. The white seas are depicted as cold and “rime”—bearing icy particles. While the speaker never identifies the brigands' race or ethnicity, one might say that the repetition of the word “white” to describe the seas actually insinuates the race of the brigands. These are not just invaders, but white invaders. Interestingly, the second line of the stanza—“rime white and cold”—is nestled between the mention of the seas and the brigands, creating some ambiguity regarding the subject of the description. The seas may be white, icy, and cold, or perhaps the brigands who are mentioned immediately after this line are white, icy, and cold.
In addition, the speaker uses an interesting word choice when calling the brigands “ungentled.” Rather than using an adjective such as “ungentle,” or simply “rough,” the speaker uses a verb—as if the roughness actually happened to these white people. They have been disarmed of their gentleness somehow, to the point that they are bold and cold as “icicles.” The idea of losing gentleness implies that all people, both black and white, have an innate sense of morality. Sadly, some people seem to lose it. The stanza employs several active verbs in quick succession to describe the brigands’ actions, creating a dramatic effect. The brigands “took” the daughters—suggesting that they were both taken away from their families and homeland and also "taken" in a sexual way (raped). The strong African sons were sold off into slavery. The motherland effectively lost its precious children. The African people were “churched,” or schooled, in the teachings of Jesus. Despite the fact that religion—and Christianity in particular—often provided comfort for Africans and their descendants and had already existed in Africa for generations, the speaker is noting here that religion was nonetheless imposed upon the African people and used as a way to make them obedient. They were deprived of their religious freedom, considered sinful creatures, and intimidated into being slaves with the threat of being punished by God. The poem concludes with a horrific image of Africans being killed, “bled” by the guns of their oppressors. While the last line repeats the key phrase, “thus she has lain,” this stanza transforms the phrase’s meaning within the greater context of the poem. While Africa was resting peacefully in the first stanza, she is now lying down bleeding, so to speak. The white oppressors have taken away her power and knocked the African people the ground.
The final stanza shifts to the present by employing the present continuous tense. In this manner, the speaker is saying that Africa will continue to rise, over and over again. The continent and its people are resilient and will not be weighed down or knocked to the ground. The stanza has a triumphant tone and sounds like a chant. The shift from storytelling in the first two stanzas to chanting in the last stanza makes the poem as a whole a kind of anthem for Africa. The speaker is imploring the listener three times to remember the African people’s suffering.
The speaker summarizes the story of the Africans by highlighting their “pain” and “losses”—their freedom, their dignity, and their lives. The continent is once again personified as a woman who once screamed loudly “in vain,” suggesting that despite her determination to survive, she was nonetheless harmed. Her history and heritage was effectively “slain,” or killed, just as its people were. Taking people away from their homeland is also a way of killing their souls. However, as Africa is now rising, she is finally able to take back her power—this time, her screams will not be in vain. The “riches” undoubtedly refer to the many beautiful aspects of the African continent and its people, from its geography to its rich traditions.
The last two lines represent hope for the future, as Africa is not only standing once again but “striding.” As a stride entails big steps, the speaker is suggesting that the Africans are taking big strides toward building a better future. The poem was written in the 1970s—a time of great political change in Africa. Gradually, most of the colonies in Africa became politically independent in the 1960s and 1970s, with the notable exception of South Africa, which would remain under apartheid (racial segregation) until the 1990s. The poem therefore celebrates the spirit of the African people as they took back power from European colonizers.
