1
"Small Passing" deals with the shock of losing
SMALL PASSING
one's baby in a society where death is an
Ingrid de Kok
everyday reality. For the mother, the death
of her own child is a tragedy beyond
parallel and yet the poet gets reminded
often --mainly by males --that this is nothing
compared with the greater tragedy
happening all around her in apartheid
South Africa, where death is the norm. On
the other hand, the Black women do not
see it that way. They are able to comfort
her and see in her loss a genuine
catastrophe which is indeed comparable
with all the other tragedies happening
around them. Hers is literally no small
ABOUT THE POET passing.
Ingrid de Kok is the professional name of
Ingrid Jean Fiske. She was born in
Johannesburg in 1951 and grew up in SACAI NOV 2021
Stilfontein, a gold mining town in what is
Critically compare the introduction to
now the North-West Province of South
Africa. She studied at Queens' University the poem (in italics) and lines 53-58
in Canada before returning to South
The final lines emotionally refute the
Africa. Today she is an Associate
Professor at the University of Cape statement made in the introduction that
Town's Centre for Extra-Mural Studies. To the white woman has no right to grieve
date she has published three collections
at the death of her baby. The poet
of poetry, and her poems have
appeared in at least eleven overseas emphatically states her belief in the
anthologies. They have also been empathy of black woman in defiance
translated into several different
of the opinion of the white man. The
languages, including Turkish. She has
been the recipient of at least three man’s cynical and hateful observation
prestigious prizes for her contribution to is answered in the final stanza with the
English Literature. poet’s expression of her belief in the
universality of love.
@Juffrou_Ansie
, 2
Lines 1–14
The aspects of the tragedy which most
suggest futility and waste.
The ‘useless wires and cords’ show how
futile the fight was to save the baby. The
afterbirth in a basin. The woman’s breasts
are full of milk which will be wasted now
that the baby is not there to feed. The
baby clothes will no longer be used. SACAI
NOV 2021
Lines 15
The purpose of the use of the colon
after ‘See:’ in the context of this
stanza.
The colon introduces a list of children
who have suffered in this country.
SACAI NOV 2021
Lines 26 - 35: IMAGERY
The simile portrays the movements of the
woman as a ‘funeral rite’ which highlights
her sadness when looking at the
photographs of the white woman’s
children. She is overcome with grief at the
reminder of her own children from whom
she is separated. There is bitterness in the
accusation that she is ‘clumsy’ when the
real cause of her slowness is the powerful
feeling of loss that she experiences at the
sight of them. SACAI NOV 2021
@Juffrou_Ansie
"Small Passing" deals with the shock of losing
SMALL PASSING
one's baby in a society where death is an
Ingrid de Kok
everyday reality. For the mother, the death
of her own child is a tragedy beyond
parallel and yet the poet gets reminded
often --mainly by males --that this is nothing
compared with the greater tragedy
happening all around her in apartheid
South Africa, where death is the norm. On
the other hand, the Black women do not
see it that way. They are able to comfort
her and see in her loss a genuine
catastrophe which is indeed comparable
with all the other tragedies happening
around them. Hers is literally no small
ABOUT THE POET passing.
Ingrid de Kok is the professional name of
Ingrid Jean Fiske. She was born in
Johannesburg in 1951 and grew up in SACAI NOV 2021
Stilfontein, a gold mining town in what is
Critically compare the introduction to
now the North-West Province of South
Africa. She studied at Queens' University the poem (in italics) and lines 53-58
in Canada before returning to South
The final lines emotionally refute the
Africa. Today she is an Associate
Professor at the University of Cape statement made in the introduction that
Town's Centre for Extra-Mural Studies. To the white woman has no right to grieve
date she has published three collections
at the death of her baby. The poet
of poetry, and her poems have
appeared in at least eleven overseas emphatically states her belief in the
anthologies. They have also been empathy of black woman in defiance
translated into several different
of the opinion of the white man. The
languages, including Turkish. She has
been the recipient of at least three man’s cynical and hateful observation
prestigious prizes for her contribution to is answered in the final stanza with the
English Literature. poet’s expression of her belief in the
universality of love.
@Juffrou_Ansie
, 2
Lines 1–14
The aspects of the tragedy which most
suggest futility and waste.
The ‘useless wires and cords’ show how
futile the fight was to save the baby. The
afterbirth in a basin. The woman’s breasts
are full of milk which will be wasted now
that the baby is not there to feed. The
baby clothes will no longer be used. SACAI
NOV 2021
Lines 15
The purpose of the use of the colon
after ‘See:’ in the context of this
stanza.
The colon introduces a list of children
who have suffered in this country.
SACAI NOV 2021
Lines 26 - 35: IMAGERY
The simile portrays the movements of the
woman as a ‘funeral rite’ which highlights
her sadness when looking at the
photographs of the white woman’s
children. She is overcome with grief at the
reminder of her own children from whom
she is separated. There is bitterness in the
accusation that she is ‘clumsy’ when the
real cause of her slowness is the powerful
feeling of loss that she experiences at the
sight of them. SACAI NOV 2021
@Juffrou_Ansie
