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“THE BIRTH OF OUR DAUGHTER”

by Oswald Mitshali
She came unheralded
But a welcome guest
There she lay
A bundle of our jubilation
Whose soul fire
I kindled
In her mother’s womb
With my God-given sperm.

We never stopped
To ponder whether
Her coming was opportune

We to parents
Being little helpers
Of the creator,
Took on the task
Of bringing her up

Honest and moral


In a world where
Love and truth
Are sugarcoated words
Offered to Sunday school Children
THEMATIC ANALYSIS
The setting of the poem is South Africa. It is a poem that is in a first
person narration style. It explicates the attitude & feeling of a parent toward
their new baby girl, whom they should either consider an opportunity or not
due to the immoral environment the baby was born to.
The first stanza of the poem pictures the arrival of the baby which the
father described as “unheralded”. The word unheralded depicts the
segregation of the whit and the blacks in South Africa meaning the new born
baby is not recognized but the father still believes she is welcome by the
parents. The effect of the apartheid reflects in the man’s narration when he
metaphorically refers the baby as “guest” and as a bundle of jubilation.
Though the baby is not wanted by her society, yet her parents still celebrates
her. The father also affirms the authenticity of the child to be his by stating
that he “kindled” her “soul” “in her mother’s womb” with his “God-given
sperm.
The second stanza depicts the status of the parent in the sight of God.
As stated line 14 – 15, the poet believes that they are “little helpers of the
creator” by taking up the challenge of bringing the child to life. The father
now reflects back to the society the child belongs, where he believes that
“honest and moral” does not prevail and also a society where “love and
truth” is not shared but only “sugarcoated” to their children by the white
evangelists in “Sunday school”.

THEME
1. Irony of childbirth
2. Deceit of evangelism
3. Man as a creator
DICTION
The language adopted by the poet is that of a narration {first person}.
The poem is devoid of much figurative expressions, proverbs and idioms.

MOOD & TONE


The mood of the poem is that of expression while the tone is accusing
and sarcastic.

FIGURES OF SPEECH
Oxymoron: “but a welcome guest” {line 2}
Metaphor: “A welcome guest” {line 2}, “A bundle of our jubilation”
{line 3}
Alliteration: “Sunday school” {line 22}

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