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1. Once Upon a Time Gabriel Okara
2. Gabriel Okara Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara was born on April 24th 1921 is a Nigerian poet and novelist who was born in Bomoundi in Bayelsa State,
Nigeria. In 1979, he was awarded the
common wealth poetry prize.
His most famous poem is Piano and
Drums. He is very concerned with what
happens when the ancient culture of
Africa is faced with modern Western
culture, as in his poem Once Upon a Time.
Many of his manuscripts were destroyed
during the Nigerian Civil War.
3. Once Upon a Time Once upon a time, son,
They used to laugh with their hearts
And laugh with their eyes:
But now they only laugh with their teeth,
Search behind my shadow.
There was a time indeed
They used to shake hands with their hearts:
But thats gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
While they left hands search
My empty pockets.
Feel at home! Come again:
They say, and when I come
Again and feel
At home, once, twice,
There will be no thrice
For then I fond doors shut on me.
So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
Like dresses homeface,
Officeface, streetface, hostface,
Cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
Like a fixed portrait smile.
And I have learned too
To laugh with only my teeth
And shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say, goodbye,
When I mean Good-riddance:
To say Glad to meet you,
Without being glad; and to say Its been
Nice talking to you, after being bored.
But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
When I was like you. I want
To unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
Shows only my teeth like a snakes bare
Fangs!
So show me, son,
How to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
Once upon a time when I was like you.
Gabriel Okara
4. What is the poem about? How people change.
How honest people used to be and how insincere they are now.
How the author (Gabriel Okara) wishes he could be the way he used to be. He regrets who he has become.
How adulthood can change a person and how quickly people adapt to changes.
How parenthood, moving to another country and how people treat you can change a persons views.
How children can change the way a person looks on life.
5. S M I L E Structure: length of the verse.
Mood / Tone: the mood of the poem and emotions developed.
Imagery / Ideas: similes, metaphors, personification, enjambment, pathetic fallacy.
Language: rhythm / rhyme, repetition, rhetorical questions, alliteration, onomatopoeia, enjambment, oxymoron, cyclical.
Effect: the effect on the reader, what dies the reader think about.
6. Structure By the title Once Upon a Time the reader expects a
fairytale bedtime story. The reader expects it to be light
hearted with a positive story but the reader notices the
opposite.
The structure of the poem makes the reader feel that he
is physically talking to his son.
There is no rhyme scheme used in the poem. This
makes the poem seem more conversational.
7. Mood / Tone The poem is very serious and the narrator tells his story without
using humour to lighten the mood. The reader then feels
sympathetic for the narrator as he goes to his son for help.
The reactions change form being genuine to insincere.
The poem starts positive by starting the poem with Once Upon a
Time but in line 4 the mood changes. But now they only laugh
with their teeth.
The last two stanzas show regret. The narrator regrets who he has
become. I want to be what I used to be, line 34. So show me,
son,, line 40. The title of the poem is also repeated in thee last
stanza which shows the poem is cyclical which emphasizes to the
reader how it is hard to change.
8. Imagery / Ideas Smiles:
I have learned to wear many faces like dresses, line 20/21. This shows he can
change his emotions like you can change a dress.
My teeth like a snakes bare fangs!, line 39. This shows how bad he feels by
using a poisonous snake as an example of how he feels.
Metaphors:
They used to laugh with their eyes, line 2 a cheerful and positive start to the
poem. It shows genuine laughter and it is sincere.
Ice-block cold eyes search behind my shadow, line 5/6. As the metaphor is
mentioned so early in the poem is shows that the man is going to look
into his past by searching behind his shadow.
They used to shake hands with their hearts, line 8. This shows trust and
happiness. But on line 10 the metaphor is used in reverse. Now they shake hands
without hearts. This shows that the trust is broken and there is no longer trust
]when they shake hands
9. Language Repetition:
Once upon a time, line 1 and 44. The title of the poem is repeated at the beginning
and the end of the poem.
They used to shake hands with their hearts: but thats gone, son. Now they shake
hands without hearts while their left hands search my empty pockets, lines 8 12.
This shows repetition of hands and hearts.
Like dresses homeface, officeface, streetface, hostface, cocktailface, lines 2123.
Alliteration:
They used to shake hands with their hearts: but thats gone, son. Now they shake
hands without hearts while their left hands search my empty pockets, lines 8 12.
This shows alliteration on the H.
Rhythm/Rhythm:
At home, once, twice, there will be no thrice, lines 16 and 17. Rhyme is used on
twice and thrice.
Cyclical:
Once upon a time, line 1 and 44. The title of the poem is repeated at the beginning
and the end of the poem. It is cyclical.
10.
The reader sympathises with the narrator because he is aware of how he has changed and he realises how much he want to change back to the man he used to be because he regrets his past. He is also disappointed how other people have treated him.
11. In an Exam... Point
Example
Explain
12. Thank you for watching!
Good Luck!
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