The Birth Of Our Daughter

“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}