Edward Kamau Brathwaite ‘LIMBO’ Edward Kamau Brathwaite

What does ‘Limbo’ mean? A dance. The place between heaven and hell. Stuck in the middle of two situations. It is believed that the dance was invented on board the slave ships by the slaves themselves as a way of keeping fit in confined conditions. In the poem, the limbo dance is used as a metaphor for slavery. The poem has a very strong rhythm / beat.

The poem has a very strong rhythm which sounds like drumming The poem has a very strong rhythm which sounds like drumming. The poet uses repetition. This mimics the sound of the music of the limbo dance. And limbo stick is the silence in front of me limbo limbo limbo like me limbo limbo like me long dark night is the silence in front of me limbo limbo like me

stick hit sound and the ship like it ready The poet used lots of one syllable words to mimic the sound of the stick hitting the slaves. stick hit sound and the ship like it ready stick hit sound and the dark still steady limbo limbo like me long dark deck and the water surrounding me long dark deck and the silence is over me Alliteration adds to the impact of the beating of the slaves. This lines suggest that he is trapped.

stick is the whip and the dark deck is slavery “stick is the whip” – shows how cruelly the slaves were treated and how they suffered. limbo limbo like me stick is the whip and the dark deck is slavery stick is the whip and the dark deck is slavery drum stick knock and the darkness is over me The darkness symbolises the despair of slavery. The “dark deck” could be an image of hell.

knees spread wide and the water is hiding This could be an image of rape. It could also suggest the movement under the limbo pole. It shows the poor conditions of the ship. Low ceilings mean there is not room to stand upright. knees spread wide and the water is hiding limbo limbo like me knees spread wide and the dark ground is under me

and the drummer is calling me limbo limbo like me down down down and the drummer is calling me limbo limbo like me sun coming up and the drummers are praising me The sun rising is a symbol of hope. The journey is coming to an end. The light is replacing the darkness.

and the dumb gods are raising me up up up out of the dark and the dumb gods are raising me up up up and the music is saving me hot slow step New hope. The speaker in the poem is finally rising up out of slavery. He is leaving the darkness of slavery.

There is a full stop at the end of the poem There is a full stop at the end of the poem. It is the only punctuation in the poem. It represents the end of the limbo dance, of the voyage and possibly his life. on the burning ground. The burning ground could symbolise hell. This could be a metaphorical hell (he is in slavery) Or, it could be literally hell.