A Far Cry from Africa | Literary Criticism & Book Review

A Far Cry from Africa Critical Overview

When analyzing "A Far Cry from Africa," most critics comment on the poem's message and what it reveals about the poet, rather than the technical aspects of its creation. In an article titled "West Indies II: Walcott, Brathwaite, and Authenticity," Bruce King remarks, "The poem is remarkable for its complexity of emotions" and that it "treats of the Mau Mau uprising in terms that mock the usual justifications for and criticisms of colonialism." King notes that the narrator is stricken with "confused, irreconcilably opposed feelings: identification with black Africa, disgust with the killing of both white and black innocents, distrust of motives, love of the English language, and dislike of those who remain emotionally uninvolved." In his article "Ambiguity Without a Crisis? Twin Traditions, The Individual and Community in Derek Walcott's Essays," Fred D'Aguiar also deals with the division at the heart of the poem: "Already there is the ambivalence...
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