ENG2602
Assignment
2.
, Lesego Rampolokeng’s poem Johannesburg,represents the city in its worst state, as
a place where dreams die, and the reality of life is dark. In this essay I will analyse
diction, imagery and poetic devices to explore the speaker’s attitude towards
Johannesburg.
The speaker begins by saying “johannesburg my city”, therefore claiming the city as
his own and saying that he lives in the city. Although he claims the city as his own, he
does not use a capital letter in the pronoun Johannesburg. This may indicate that he
does not feel the city is deserving of the pronoun.
The speaker then continues with “paved with Judas gold” The term “paved with gold
is an idiom which means that money is easily made in the city. However by adding
Judas, the reader begins to think about Judas metaphorically, his betrayal and
deceitful nature. The combination of the un-capitalized pronoun, idiom and metaphor
are at odds and the reader begins to see that ‘johannesburg my city’ is not being
spoken about in a very loving manner.
With the continuation of the first stanza, the last line “dreams come here to die” is
paradoxical. One has hope and dreams which do not die, however the city paved with
Judas’s gold does not offer this. The hope and dreams of the inhabitants of the city,
are not fulfilled and often die.
The second stanza describes the city of Johannesburg. The speaker uses
personification to describe the city. The activity of the traffic is personified as the “vein
of life” The human vein sends blood through the body and is a vital vessel in being
alive.
The speaker uses the vein to express his feelings about the city. He refers to the vein
as being sick which suggests that living in the city is not a healthy way of life.
By looking at the last word of each sentence in the second stanza: sick, tick, time-
bomb and extinction, the poet uses imagery. Through these words, the reader begins
to see that living in the city of Johannesburg, is like becoming sick and watching your
life tick by like a time-bomb which will lead to death. However the writer uses the
word “extinction” which implies that the city will leave no trace of the person behind.
Assignment
2.
, Lesego Rampolokeng’s poem Johannesburg,represents the city in its worst state, as
a place where dreams die, and the reality of life is dark. In this essay I will analyse
diction, imagery and poetic devices to explore the speaker’s attitude towards
Johannesburg.
The speaker begins by saying “johannesburg my city”, therefore claiming the city as
his own and saying that he lives in the city. Although he claims the city as his own, he
does not use a capital letter in the pronoun Johannesburg. This may indicate that he
does not feel the city is deserving of the pronoun.
The speaker then continues with “paved with Judas gold” The term “paved with gold
is an idiom which means that money is easily made in the city. However by adding
Judas, the reader begins to think about Judas metaphorically, his betrayal and
deceitful nature. The combination of the un-capitalized pronoun, idiom and metaphor
are at odds and the reader begins to see that ‘johannesburg my city’ is not being
spoken about in a very loving manner.
With the continuation of the first stanza, the last line “dreams come here to die” is
paradoxical. One has hope and dreams which do not die, however the city paved with
Judas’s gold does not offer this. The hope and dreams of the inhabitants of the city,
are not fulfilled and often die.
The second stanza describes the city of Johannesburg. The speaker uses
personification to describe the city. The activity of the traffic is personified as the “vein
of life” The human vein sends blood through the body and is a vital vessel in being
alive.
The speaker uses the vein to express his feelings about the city. He refers to the vein
as being sick which suggests that living in the city is not a healthy way of life.
By looking at the last word of each sentence in the second stanza: sick, tick, time-
bomb and extinction, the poet uses imagery. Through these words, the reader begins
to see that living in the city of Johannesburg, is like becoming sick and watching your
life tick by like a time-bomb which will lead to death. However the writer uses the
word “extinction” which implies that the city will leave no trace of the person behind.
