Introduction
Both T.S. Eliot and Christopher Okigbo are considered modernist poets. Although from very different backgrounds, both poets shared similarities in their writing styles. Modernist poets used free verse and moved away from a poetic style referred to as romanticism. Modernist poets created a poetic style that was different from Victorian poetry that many were accustomed to. Victorian poetry was formal, while modernist poetry was a mixture of styles. Modernists poets borrowed from best practices of the past while creating a new style all their own.
T.S. Eliot and Christopher Okigbo used much the same poetic techniques and subtle references to the past. Much of their writing can best be described as conversational with poetic undertones such as rhyming endings. Like any well-educated poet, both Eliot and Okigbo used repetition, figures of speech, similes, personifications, metaphors, alliterations, anaphoras, and hyperboles in their writings.
Okigbo and Eliot wrote most of their poetry in English. Okigbo wrote poetry in his native language as well (Igbo). Interestingly, these poets wrote in a language that was pretty much their second language. Okigbo spoke the language of his people (Igbo) in Nigeria, and Eliot spoke American English. Both poets were exposed to the English spoken by those living in Great Britain and the colonies. As an American expatriate, Eliot transplanted himself to England, where he lived and wrote. His writings were most probably influenced by the differences in the English he spoke as a child and the English he spoke like an adult.
Okigbo learned English in school and university as the language of the colonial government of Nigeria at that time. He was comfortable enough with speaking English that he could produce some wonderful works in his second language. Both writers wrote with a deep understanding of what was going on around them. Many of Eliot’s writings involve situations uniquely British. Okigbo’s writings reflect the Nigeria of his time.
Each poet and selected poems will be evaluated separately and then compared against each other to show the differences and similarities in their writing styles.
T.S. Eliot
Thomas S. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1888. He attended Harvard University (United States) and did graduate work at Oxford University (England). He made England his home and worked as a schoolmaster, bank clerk, and literary editor of Fabor & Faber (Nobel Prize Biography).
Eliot founded the literary journal “Criterion”. In 1927 Eliot became a British subject and joined the Anglican Church. Eliot was known to not compromise any of his writings in favour of a public view or criticism. “He has followed his belief that poetry should aim at a representation of the complexities of modern civilization in the language in that such representation necessarily leads to difficult poetry. Despite this difficulty, his influence on modern poetic diction has been immense” (Nobel Prize Biography).
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
This narrative was published in Poetry Magazine in 1915. It was originally titled “Prufrock Among the Women” but was changed to “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” just before being published. The narrative is considered a dramatic monologue because the narrative consists of a man speaking or discussing a topic with an unknown person. It has been suggested that the narrative depicts a middle-aged man who is stuck in the humdrum of daily life that from yesterday to today, and until tomorrow remains the same. The narrative takes place in an unknown city during the evening time.
There are four characters in this narrative. They are Prufrock, a listener, a woman, and a lonely man. Although it may seem that there are four characters in this narrative, it is quite possible that Prufrock is talking (either aloud or silently) to himself. The overall tone of the narrative indicates possible loneliness on the part of the speaker as well as indecision, inadequacy, and pessimism on the part of Prufrock.
As stated earlier, Eliot used different tools to create a unique narrative. Again, he chose from the best practices of the past and the current modernist poetry styles of his time. In this poem, Eliot used repetition as a way to emphasize the addition of another piece of thought in the poem. For example, in lines 23-34 he uses “and” four times:
“And indeed there will be time” line 23
“and time for all the works and days of hand” line 29
“And time yet for a hundred indecisions” line 32
“And for a hundred visions and revisions” line 33
Eliot uses simile in lines 2-3. The key to picking out simile is looking for words that indicated comparison, such as the word “like”.
“When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table” lines 2-3
Eliot used personification to give life to a street when he wrote:
“Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent” lines 8-9
Eliot uses metaphors throughout this poem. One example is in line 58, where he depicts himself as an insect on a wall:
“When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall” line 58
In lines 91-94, Eliot repeats the same word four times in the same position in each sentence. This is called Anaphora:
“To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead.” Lines 91-94
In the last two lines above (93-94), Eliot uses both hyperbole and metaphor when he alludes that the universe becomes a ball that is rolled.
Eliot uses alliteration in this poem in lines 20-21 when he writes:
“Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night.”
In this extract, there are four words that begin with the letter “s”
This poem shows all who read it the breadth of knowledge that Eliot had. He repeatedly refers to different people and situations in history such as Michaelangelo, Lazuras, and Prince Hamlet and the reference to prayer:
“I have wept, fasted, wept and prayed” line 81.
“The Hollow Man”
Eliot showed his poetic expertise in “The Hollow Man”. This poem was published in 1925 and is said to be a poem heavy with literary illusions. Eliot takes from history and stories to create a poem with deep meaning. When this poem was written, Eliot was on leave from his job as a bank clerk. It is believed that he had a nervous breakdown. Some believe that the hollowness expressed in this poem referred to how he was feeling at the time. Indeed, portions of this poem do sound as if written by someone who was deeply troubled. Eliot was an atheist who, about the same time as this poem was written, took a serious interest in Christianity. Eliot begins his poem with:
“Mistah Kurtz-he dead.
A penny for the Old Guy.”
The first clue here is the Old Guy, who is capitalized, which indicates it is someone’s name. This epigraph may refer to Guy Fawkes’ Day, celebrated on the 5th of November in England. The second line may refer to how children in Great Britain beg for “A penny for the Guy” to buy fireworks for Guy Fawkes’ Day.
In part one, lines one and two, Eliot is probably referring to the straw-stuffed dummies used on Guy Fawkes’ Day to burn traitors in effigy:
“We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men.”
It is easy to assume that the man that wrote this was deeply depressed as there are many references to death, death’s other kingdom, and death’s land.
Eliot uses repetition to emphasize the subject of each portion of this poem. In part one, the first two lines:
“We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men.”
The first words and last words are the same. The last two lines of part one end with the same word: “men”.
In each section, a similar pattern is followed. The first two lines all share at least one word. For example (part two, lines one and two), Eliot used the word “dream” once in each line:
“Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death’s dream kingdom.”
Eliot uses this pattern of words used throughout this poem. He uses repetition in other parts of this poem as well. He uses the word “between” seven times at the beginning of sentences in part five. He uses the word “and” at the beginning of seven sentences. The pattern looks like this:
Between…
And…
Between…
And…
Falls the Shadow
The word “Shadow” is capitalized as a name would be.
The poem ends with repetition as well. Lines 27-29 read:
“This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Christopher Okigbo
Christopher Okigbo was an African poet of native African descent. He was from Nigeria and came from the Ibo people of eastern Nigeria. Like Eliot, he was considered a modernist poet. His command of English (his second language) was on par with any other writer of English prose. Okigbo was a poet who created English prose with Africa as the backdrop of his work.
Okigbo was educated in catholic schools in eastern Nigeria. He later attended college and university in Nigeria. He was a product of post-colonial Nigeria, and his writings reflect his exposure to European and American poetry as well as African tribal mythology and music.
Okigbo was deeply affected by the post-colonial civil war in Nigeria and believed he needed to join the cause of the Ibo people. These people had decided to secede from Nigeria as the free nation of Biafra (Ekwa, 2004). Okigbo joined the Ibo people in the fight but was killed after only one month of service. He was just 35 years old (Ekwa, 2004).
Okigbo’s writings were often written to include African rhythms and songs. He commented during an interview that “I don’t think that I have ever set out to communicate a meaning. It’s enough that I try to communicate experience which I consider significant” (Enotes, 2008). Other African poets followed his lead and incorporated rhythms and song into their works.
“Elegy of Alto”
Okigbo uses Africa as the backdrop for this poem. Okigbo’s experience as the grandson of a priest of the river goddess Idoto plays into his writings. He considered himself the reincarnation of his grandfather (Merriam-Webster’s Biographical Dictionary, 1995). This, in combination with Igbo mythology and classical training (English literature), provides Okigbo with a unique perspective on the world. This perspective plays out in “Elegy of Alto”.
“Elegy of Alto” was the last poem written by Okigbo. The poem reflects Okigbo’s belief in the dismal outlook for Nigeria. Some believed that he was a Nigerian Nostradamus because he could predict the future of his country. “Elegy of Alto” was meant to be recited with drum accompaniment.
As stated earlier, Okigbo seemed to predict the future in this poem. This is especially evident in line 17, where he writes:
“O mother Earth, unbind me, let this be my last testament; let this be
The ram’s hidden wish to the sword the sword’s secret prayer to the scabbard.”
It is easy here to say that maybe Okigbo knew that he was going to die for The Nation of Biafra and his Ibo people. Okigbo joined the Biafran Army with the hopes of preserving the country as he remembered it. In this poem, there are several characters. They are the Eagles, Robbers, and Politicians. The Eagles are most probably the soldiers controlled by the Politicians (Maja-Pierce, 1990). The Robbers are those who will strip the people of their happiness. The Robbers and the Politicians seem to be the same people as they both work to strip the Nigerian people of their power, laughter, and heritage. The Nigeria of today is not the country that the Igbo people wanted. Of course, Okigbo had hopes and dreams for his country. He hoped that in the future, things would get better for his people (Maja-Pierce, 1990). This is evident in these lines:
“the glimpse of a dream lies smouldering in a cave, together with mortally wounded birds.”
It is evident here that his people will suffer much pain before they experience a better future. The “mortally wounded birds” are not the Eagles but the many Nigerians who lost their lives in the losing battle of secession (to include Okigbo).
In this poem, Okigbo has capitalized words to emphasize their importance. These words include Robbers, Eagles, Politicians, Beyond, Glimpse, and Old Star. Okigbo has the speaker pleading with Mother Earth to unbind him and let him be the ram’s ultimate prayer. Unfortunately for Okigbo, his time as a soldier was very short. But, his legacy lives on.
The “Politicians” are notably absent from direct conflict, as indicated in this poem. The Politicians hide behind the howitzers, detonators, mortars, and generators. This may indicate that the Politicians use money and equipment to further their cause. The Politicians send their “Eagles” (soldiers) in to do the dirty work of direct combat. The Politicians gain from the effort of the Eagles.
At the very beginning of this poem, Okigbo indicates that the people had some warning before the arrival of the soldiers and knew that it meant the beginning of the end for the Igbo people:
“And the horn may now paw the air howling goodbye….”
“On the New Year”
Okigbo uses repetition in this poem as he describes the death of the old year and the birth of the new year. This poem has an African bird (wagtail) welcoming the new year with “cheeps” while church bells ring in the year. Christ is repeated three times in part one (The New Black Magazine, 2008):
“Christ will come again; the church bell is ringing
Christ will come again, after the argument in heaven
Christ….Nicodemus…..Magdalene…”
Okigbo again uses repetition in this first part by repeating the word “And” at the beginning of five sentences. Also, in the first part, Okigbo uses a simile to describe the passage of time:
“And the age rolls on like a glassed wind flood” (The New Black Magazine, 2008).
In the second part of this poem, Okigbo again used simile when he wrote:
“Hearts that throb like a diesel engine”
There are more similes throughout this poem. There are also many occasions when rhyme is used to help emphasize the point at hand. In each part of the poem, there are rhythms or rhymes at the end of sentences. Part one includes the following:
New and pew missals and medals graves and leaves
Singing, coming, and ringing flood and void hour and power
Dry and lie sands and glands nowhere and air
There are many more rhymes and rhythms throughout the poem. In part three, Okigbo used a form sometimes found in Eliot’s poetry. He uses the same word in both the first and second sentences for emphasis:
“The roots are nowhere
There are no roots here.”
It seems that the theme of this poem is the hope for a good year, good life, and good existence that are contrasted with the hopes that never seem to appear. “Old desires and newborn hopes like bubbles burst” sums it up quite well.
Comparisons
The main differences between Christopher Okigbo’s works and Eliot’s are that Okigbo set out to convey experiences through his writing rather than meaning. Eliot set out to communicate meaning in his works. Much of Eliot’s works are illusionary and convey deep meanings, while Okigbo’s are more rhythmic and musical and convey a more recent accounting of events such as the dismal outlook for Nigeria predicted in “Elegy for Alto”.
There is a connection between these poets. T.S. Eliot and Okigbo are modernist poets. Eliot lived during an earlier period in history, and his works were read by Okigbo. Eliot’s works influenced Okigbo’s works. Okigbo used many of the same stylistic techniques used by Eliot, such as repetition, simile, and metaphors. This in no way means that Okigbo’s works are copies of Eliot’s works. What it does mean is that Okigbo learned much about style and form of poetry from studying Eliot’s works. Okigbo’s writings reflect Nigerian Africa of his time, while Eliot’s writings reflect an England of the early 20th century (with references to historical works such as Shakespeare).
Both poets experimented with different patterns and effects that would help the reader understand the meaning behind the work. As stated earlier, Okigbo read T.S. Eliot and used some of Eliot’s stylistic techniques in his own poetry. A good example of this is found first in T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men”:
“The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here.”
And, the pattern is also found in Okigbo’s poem “A New Year”:
“The roots are nowhere
There are no roots here.”
Eliot, like Okigbo, built his poetry on a foundation of poetic history and style. In the poem, J. Alfred Prufrock borrows a phrase from James Fenimore Cooper’s novel called “The Pioneers”. In this book, one of the characters (Benjamin) asks multiple questions that ended with the final “overwhelming question”. Eliot also built up toward the final question in Prufrock:
“To lead you to an overwhelming question…”
The point here is that writers build upon knowledge of stylistic techniques available to them. Their work is built upon known stylistic techniques and personal creativity.
Both Eliot and Okigbo seem to predict the future in their poetry. In “The Hollow Men”, Eliot tries to avoid the inevitable death that is to come. He has the subject in “The Hollow Men” attempt to disguise himself so as to not be recognized by death:
“Let me be no nearer
In death’s dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises Rat’s coat, crowskin, crossed staves.”
In Okigbo’s writing, death is the final subject in “A New Year Poem”. Like other beliefs around the globe, the youth begins the year and grows older until its death at the end of the year:
“Or else forever playing a zero-sum game
With fate as mate, and forever
Slaying and mating as one by one
Our tombstones rise in the void.”
Both poets use similes in their writings. In Okigbo’s “A New Year Poem”, there are several incidents that are described using simile such as:
“Soaring and sinking like dead leaves blown by a gust…”
And, in Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock”:
“When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table” lines 2-3.
Conclusion
This focus on the modernist poets T.S. Eliot and Christopher Okigbo has shown the many similarities that they share in their writing. Eliot and Okigbo borrowed poetic styles from past writers. Eliot borrowed from James Fenimore Cooper, and Okigbo borrowed from Eliot. These poets incorporated what they learned from past poets into their writings.
Interestingly, both Okigbo and Eliot learned English that was a second language to them. Eliot was from an old New England family (United States), and Okigbo was a native of the Nigerian people called the Igbo. Eliot moved to England and wrote using English references such as Guy Fawkes. Okigbo spoke Igbo and learned English as a child in the Catholic schools of colonial Nigeria (British colony).
The subjects chosen by both Okigbo and Eliot come from their surroundings or events happening at the time they wrote. For Okigbo, this was Nigeria moving into a civil war. For Eliot, the focus was England of the 1920s.
Both authors deal with persona, struggles that were reflected in their writings. At the time of the writing of “The Hollow Men”, Eliot was struggling with atheism vs Christianity. When Okigbo wrote “On the New Year”, he was struggling with the Nigerian civil war. In Okigbo’s case, he ended up joining the Biafran Army and dying shortly after.
Both authors wrote using stylistic repetition, simile, personification, and anaphora in their writings. Okigbo’s writing career was cut short in his thirties. Some wonder how Okigbo’s poetry would have developed as he grew in age and experiences. But, we do know that Eliot had a wonderful writing career.
References
Bartleby. (2008). “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. Web.
Ekwe Ekwe, Herbert. Center for Cross-Cultural Studies. 2004. The literary Encyclopedia. Web.
Merriam-Webster’s Biographical Dictionary (1995). Okigbo, Christopher. Gale General Reference Center Gold.
The New Black Magazine. (2008). “On the New Year”. Web.
Okigbo, Christopher. Biographical Information. Web.
Okigbo, Christopher. “Elegy For Alto”. The Heinemann Book of African Poetry in English. Adewale Maja-Pearce. New Hampshire: Heinemann 1990. 30-31.
The Poetry Archives. T.S. Eliot. “The Hollow Men”. Web.
Cummings Study Guides. “J. Alfred Prufrock”: Study Guide. Web.
The Nobel Foundation (1984). “T.S. Eliot, The Nobel Prize in Literature 1948”. Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
Willard, Jeff (2000). “Literary Allusion in “The Hollow Men””. Web.