Friday 30 March 2018

Once Upon a Time

Look on a Poem 'Once Upon A Time '


Once Upon A Time …
Gabriel Okara is a Nigerian writer. His poems show great sensitivity, perceptive judgments and a tremendous energy. Okara also shows a concern regarding what happens when the ancient culture of Africa is faced with modern western culture, for example in his poem, 'Once Upon a Time'.
Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.

A Poetic Person who asking to his  son .  The entire poem has the man talking to his son. There are no other voices in the poem, and the son remains mute throughout the entire poem.  The past, according to the poet, is better than the present.
Learn  -   Acquire knowledge of a subject or a skill through studying
Unlearn -  Something that you have learned, forget it or ignore it
  Relearn -  Learn again 
Change - how people change over the years and become false and untrustworthy
Influence - the influence of the white western world on African nations; countries like Nigeria were more honest before being developed by the west.
Dishonesty/hiding true intentions
Innocence/childhood.
How these process apply in poem:
So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses – homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.

And I have learned too
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’,
when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice talking to you’, after being bored.

In this material and artificial world, the poet has learnt many things – especially wearing many faces . Poet learned how to ‘laugh with teeth’ he also learned even when shaking hands with others, they are very artificial and hence mechanical. Learned all formal things. Persona unlearn the things which he learned. He expresses a desire to unlearn whatever he has forced himself to learn, in order for him to gain his sense of self back. And then he want to relearn  as before.

So show me, son,
how to laugh;
show me how I used to laugh and smile
 once upon a time when I was like you.
Effect
We sympathise with him because he recognises how he’s changed, and because he wants to return to how he was. We relate to him because we can all  understand the feeling of not wanting to be dishonest with ourselves and two faced.
Apart from above things poem also deals with these idea , like as Mannerism , Behaviorism, Change in  Human Nature, Factor of Time , Living in  the world of Illusion, effect of Urbanization and Globalization.

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