Men in Chains’ by Mbyiseni Oswald Mtshali

‘Men in Chains’ by Mbyiseni Oswald Mtshali Read the poem on page 229 of Seasons Come to Pass several times and then answer the following questions. You should also reflect on the four additional questions that appear on page 230 of the anthology. 1. The train stopped 2. at a country station. 3. Through sleep curtained eyes 4. I peered through the frosty window, 5. and saw six men: 6. men shorn 7. of all human honour 8. like sheep after shearing, 9. bleating at the blistering wind, 10. ‘Go away! Cold wind! Go away! 11. Can’t you see we are naked?’ 12. They hobbled into the train 13. on bare feet, 14. wrists handcuffed, 15. ankles manacled 16. with steel rings like cattle at the abattoirs 17. shying away from the trapdoor. 18. One man with a head 19. shaven clean as a potato 20. whispered to the rising sun, 21. a red eye wiped by a tattered 22. handkerchief of clouds, 23. ‘Oh! Dear Sun! 24. Won’t you warm my heart 25. with hope?’ 26. The train went on its way to nowhere. 1. What is the poem about? You should be able to describe this in simple terms (that is, what happens) and you should be able to explain if there are any broader themes that the poet might be exploring or social commentaries that he may be advancing. The speaker is observing six men (line 5) that are prisoners through his sleepy eyes. They are being transported and they were not treated as humans. He is trying to show sympathy for these men who have lost their freedom (naked and exposed) and to the harsh weather. Comparing them to cattle that has no freedom of choice. The prisoners will be transported to “nowhere”. This may implement that these prisoners may not have a future. 2. Identify the punctuation in line 5 and explain its purpose. The use of the colon is to summarize their implication that these men have. Describing the six prisoners through the “frosty windows” and through the speaker’s “sleepy curtained eyes”. (what they looked like to the poet)