Analysis W14: Black Woman
Africa is a beautiful country, but there has been a dark perception hovering over the continent of Africa and it’s cultural. It is said that Africa is a dark country full of naked savages. It was once considered uncivilized and need of European so-called sophisticated life style. Equally important, they were considered a people with no history and no culture. Leopold Sedar Senghor wanted to rehabilitate the true history of Africa by embracing the beauty of its people and culture, which he so eloquently does in the poem Black Woman.
In the first stanza the author addresses Africa as a “naked/black woman dressed in your color that is life, in your form that is beauty” (680). The author speaks of Africa being bare and unashamed of its race of people and culture. He speaks of the glory of a single day in his country. He sees and experiences beauty all around him in the land and juxtaposes the same feeling with the beauty of the African Woman. Perhaps he is speaking of the women ancestors who from above watches over him: “the softness of your hands shielded my eyes, and now at the height of summer and noon, from the crest of a charred hilltop I discover you, Promised Land”. The author understands when we know and embrace the history of our people it gives us a sense of pride. In the same way, the author describes himself standing on the hilltop, looking out into the rich beautiful plains as the sun sets allowing him to look out towards the richness of his country and her beauty (land/woman/people) strikes his heart. He provokes his readers to take a higher position and see Africa from a different perspective. Inviting us to look through the eyes of an African to see the true glory of Africa.
The sensuality of the second stanza allows one to visual the attraction of the land, culture, and people. You can see the landscape, which is rich, green, and full of vegetation: “ripe with fruit with firm flesh, dark raptures of black wine, mouth that gives music to my mouth” (680). You see a country and their women as desirable, instead of poor, deprived, and ugly. It makes one question, why would anyone need to be rescued and taken from what appears to be a paradise through the author’s eyes.
In the third stanza the author continues to elaborate on the beauty of his country and the African woman. This stanza speaks to the charm and gracefulness of the African woman’s dark and smooth complexion: “oil that no breeze can ripple, oil soothing the thighs... gazelle with celestial limbs” (681). Not to mention, that many times, women of color have been portrayed in slave narratives with their skin dry, cracked, and repulsive. Comparatively speaking, this stanza could also be speaking of the essence of a river or lake in Africa: “the reflection of red gold from your shimmering skin” (681). Perhaps, the author is reminded of when the sun sets for a night, reflecting the alluring colors as the water is sits still in its splendor under the midnight breeze.
The sensuality of the second stanza allows one to visual the attraction of the land, culture, and people. You can see the landscape, which is rich, green, and full of vegetation: “ripe with fruit with firm flesh, dark raptures of black wine, mouth that gives music to my mouth” (680). You see a country and their women as desirable, instead of poor, deprived, and ugly. It makes one question, why would anyone need to be rescued and taken from what appears to be a paradise through the author’s eyes.
In the third stanza the author continues to elaborate on the beauty of his country and the African woman. This stanza speaks to the charm and gracefulness of the African woman’s dark and smooth complexion: “oil that no breeze can ripple, oil soothing the thighs... gazelle with celestial limbs” (681). Not to mention, that many times, women of color have been portrayed in slave narratives with their skin dry, cracked, and repulsive. Comparatively speaking, this stanza could also be speaking of the essence of a river or lake in Africa: “the reflection of red gold from your shimmering skin” (681). Perhaps, the author is reminded of when the sun sets for a night, reflecting the alluring colors as the water is sits still in its splendor under the midnight breeze.
In the last stanza the author speaks of how he will continue to praise the beauty of Africa and its people through the legacy of literature. He assures that his poetry will declare the love, truth, beauty, and pride of Africa before the European colonization destroyed what it once was.
Senghor, Leopold Sedar. “Black Woman” The Norton Anthology World Literature. Martin Puchner. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012, p.680-681. Book.
I really liked reading your analysis! Isn't it crazy to think that a long time ago, different countries have been told they are "savages" and have been told they need to be more like another country. I've always thought that what makes our world (including ALL the different counties) so unique is the diversity in how people look, their way of life, what they believe in, etc. Although I may not agree with how they do things or what they believe in, I never got how other countries, races, etc. go into their country and tell them they have to change to be more European (or whatever they are trying to change them to!).
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