ENG2602
ASSIGNMENT 3 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 18 AUGUST 2025
, Theory, Style and Poetics
Question 1: Poetry (“Nightsong City” by Dennis Brutus).
Essay: Juxtaposition of Rest and Anxiety in Dennis Brutus’ “Nightsong City”
Dennis Brutus’ poem “Nightsong City” offers a lyrical lullaby to a restless urban
landscape, where the desire for peace and rest collides with the persistent
undercurrents of violence, fear and social unrest. The poem is brief yet powerful,
weaving an image of the city at night as both a beloved presence and a troubled
environment. The poet calls on the city, personified as “my love,” to rest, while at the
same time evoking images of tension, unease and looming danger. In this way, Brutus
juxtaposes rest with anxiety, creating a tension that reflects both the fractured society in
which he wrote and the ambivalent relationship between the speaker and the city.
Through careful use of imagery, metaphor, personification, sound devices and tone,
Brutus crafts a poem that embodies this paradox. The city becomes a place that yearns
for rest but is constantly disturbed by violence and fear, which infiltrate even the night.
This essay argues that Brutus uses at least four poetic techniques to juxtapose rest with
anxiety, while simultaneously exposing his complex relationship with the city he lulls to
sleep.
The poem opens with the line, “sleep well, my love, sleep well,” which immediately sets
the tone of tenderness and calm. This repeated phrase mirrors the intimacy of a lullaby,
suggesting comfort and protection. Yet, almost immediately, this sense of peace is
unsettled by imagery that evokes anxiety. Brutus describes “the harbour lights glaze at
restless docks” and “police cars cockroach through the tunnel streets.” The juxtaposition
of the soothing call to sleep with imagery of restlessness and surveillance presents the
first moment of tension. The poet cannot fully embrace calmness, because the city itself
is plagued by disquiet. The tender opening line shows his affection for the city, but the
quick shift to unsettling imagery reveals his awareness of the violence and unease that
pervade it. Thus, from the start, Brutus positions rest and anxiety as inseparable
companions.
ASSIGNMENT 3 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 18 AUGUST 2025
, Theory, Style and Poetics
Question 1: Poetry (“Nightsong City” by Dennis Brutus).
Essay: Juxtaposition of Rest and Anxiety in Dennis Brutus’ “Nightsong City”
Dennis Brutus’ poem “Nightsong City” offers a lyrical lullaby to a restless urban
landscape, where the desire for peace and rest collides with the persistent
undercurrents of violence, fear and social unrest. The poem is brief yet powerful,
weaving an image of the city at night as both a beloved presence and a troubled
environment. The poet calls on the city, personified as “my love,” to rest, while at the
same time evoking images of tension, unease and looming danger. In this way, Brutus
juxtaposes rest with anxiety, creating a tension that reflects both the fractured society in
which he wrote and the ambivalent relationship between the speaker and the city.
Through careful use of imagery, metaphor, personification, sound devices and tone,
Brutus crafts a poem that embodies this paradox. The city becomes a place that yearns
for rest but is constantly disturbed by violence and fear, which infiltrate even the night.
This essay argues that Brutus uses at least four poetic techniques to juxtapose rest with
anxiety, while simultaneously exposing his complex relationship with the city he lulls to
sleep.
The poem opens with the line, “sleep well, my love, sleep well,” which immediately sets
the tone of tenderness and calm. This repeated phrase mirrors the intimacy of a lullaby,
suggesting comfort and protection. Yet, almost immediately, this sense of peace is
unsettled by imagery that evokes anxiety. Brutus describes “the harbour lights glaze at
restless docks” and “police cars cockroach through the tunnel streets.” The juxtaposition
of the soothing call to sleep with imagery of restlessness and surveillance presents the
first moment of tension. The poet cannot fully embrace calmness, because the city itself
is plagued by disquiet. The tender opening line shows his affection for the city, but the
quick shift to unsettling imagery reveals his awareness of the violence and unease that
pervade it. Thus, from the start, Brutus positions rest and anxiety as inseparable
companions.
