Vultures By: Chinua Achebe

About The poet Chinua Achebe was born in 1931 in Nigeria. His writings deal with the discrimination & social injustice faced by Africans in the 20th century. He addresses the evil in humans that creates a lack of respect & consideration for one another.

About The poet continued Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian writer who would probably be familiar with the sight of vultures. Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding on the remains of a dead animal. This is the image that he explores in the first section of his poem entitled 'Vultures'

Bodies lie unburied at Belsen Bergen Belsen was one of the many notorious Nazi Concentration Camps. Unlike the Death Camps such as Auschwitz it did not have gas chambers. Instead prisoners were worked to death on a starvation diet. Conditions were appalling and the cruelty was unspeakable. By the time the camp was liberated by Allied troops 50,000 European citizens had been killed within its fences. Many of the dead were piled into mass graves; others were incinerated in giant crematoria. One of its most famous victims was the diarist Anne Frank. Bodies lie unburied at Belsen Mass grave at Belsen

The poem Vultures 1. In the greyness 2. and drizzle of one despondent 3. dawn unstirred by harbingers 4. of sunbreak a vulture 5. perching high on broken 6. bones of a dead tree 7. nestled close to his 8. mate his smooth 9. bashed-in head, a pebble 10. on a stem rooted in 11. a dump of gross 12. feathers, inclined affectionately 13. to hers. Yesterday they picked 14. the eyes of a swollen 15. corpse in a water-logged 16. trench and ate the 17. things in its bowel. Full 18. gorged they chose their roost 19. keeping the hollowed remnant 20. in easy range of cold 21. telescopic eyes… 22. Strange 23. indeed how love in other 24. ways so particular 25. will pick a corner 26. in that charnel-house 27. tidy it and coil up there, perhaps 28. even fall asleep – her face 29. turned to the wall! 30. …Thus the Commandant at Belsen 31. Camp going home for 32. the day with fumes of 33. human roast clinging 34. rebelliously to his hairy 35. nostrils will stop 36. at the wayside sweet-shop 37. and pick up a chocolate 38. for his tender offspring 39. waiting at home for Daddy’s 40. return…

The poem Continued 41. Praise bounteous 42. providence if you will 43. that grants even an ogre 44. a tiny glow-worm 45. tenderness encapsulated 46. in icy caverns of a cruel 47. heart or else despair 48. for in the very germ 49. of that kindred love is 50. lodged the perpetuity 51. of evil.

Analysis Line 1-11 Atmosphere: dark clouds 1. In the greyness 2. and drizzle of one despondent 3. dawn unstirred by harbingers 4. of sunbreak a vulture 5. perching high on broken 6. bones of a dead tree 7. nestled close to his 8. mate his smooth 9. bashed-in head, a pebble 10. on a stem rooted in 11. a dump of gross Alliteration emphasises the depressing atmosphere messengers Present tense: Nazi’s Hopeless Metaphor Branches of a tree / mound of bones Unaffected Metaphor Emphasises ugliness

Analysis Line 12-21 12. feathers, inclined affectionately 13. to hers. Yesterday they picked 14. the eyes of a swollen 15. corpse in a water-logged 16. trench and ate the 17. things in its bowel. Full 18. gorged they chose their roost 19. keeping the hollowed remnant 20. in easy range of cold 21. telescopic eyes… No identity: Jews Diction: Disgust Satisfied Place to rest Tone: depressing Bodies=leftovers/objects Metaphor: Mechanical without emotion or thought Part 1: Description of the vultures and their behavior / predominant part of the commandants behavior

Analysis Line 22-29 Analysis Line 22-29 Indent: reader/poet pauses for thought Sees love where you normally wouldn’t contrasts the “light” of love with the “dark” of death 22. Strange 23. indeed how love in other 24. ways so particular 25. will pick a corner 26. in that charnel-house 27. tidy it and coil up there, perhaps 28. even fall asleep – her face 29. turned to the wall! Personification: suggests love as changeable and able to perpetuate evil. Belsen: Slaughter house Snake like: deceives Part 2: Comments on the nature of love love can’t stand to look at the atrocities contained within

Analysis Line 30-40 Present continuous tense: Evil is all around 30. …Thus the Commandant at Belsen 31. Camp going home for 32. the day with fumes of 33. human roast clinging 34. rebelliously to his hairy 35. nostrils will stop 36. at the wayside sweet-shop 37. and pick up a chocolate 38. for his tender offspring 39. waiting at home for Daddy’s 40. return… Mundane job Bergen Belsen Josef Kramer Killed like animals Personification Feelings of guilt Indifferent/evil Shows affection like the vultures Unaware of his deeds Gentle persona more repulsive Part 3: Description of the commandant: Capable of love and evil

Softer side seen as a curse Analysis Line 41-51 First alternative: love God 41. Praise bounteous 42. providence if you will 43. that grants even an ogre 44. a tiny glow-worm 45. tenderness encapsulated 46. in icy caverns of a cruel 47. heart or else despair 48. for in the very germ 49. of that kindred love is 50. lodged the perpetuity 51. of evil. Contrast: Evil is bigger than love Metaphor: Evil Metaphor: Spark of humanity Warmth trapped Softer side seen as a curse Potential for evil/ aspect of humanity won’t end Part 4: Choices choose to see the good (hope) or focus on the evil (despair)

Theme, structure, intention & tone Theme: Love and evil Achebe is fascinated by the fact that creatures that love can also carry out acts of great evil. Intention: He wants to show that love and evil may be more closely linked to each other than most people think. Creatures that carry out acts of great evil can also love. Structure: 51 lines, 4 sections (indicated through the use of an indent or ellipsis), 6 sentences. Free verse Use of contrast to highlight images of good and evil. Tone: Depressed, contemplative, disgust, hope and despair.