Meet Wole Soyinka (born 1934)

Wole Soyinka (wō_lā shoi ā n_kä ) has earned an international reputation as a

distinguished and powerful voice for social change and human rights. His plays,
poetry, novels, and essays have not only brought the beautiful traditions and folklore of
Africa to the world, but they have also exposed Nigeria’s struggles with colonial rule,
dictatorship, modernization, civil war, oppression, and injustice. Between Tradition and
Modernization Born in Nigeria when it was under British rule, Soyinka is the son of
educators who supported colonial ideas. Early in his childhood, he recognized the
conflicting cultures that surrounded him: African tradition versus British modernization.
When Soyinka’s father recommended that he attend a government school, Soyinka’s
grandfather intervened. He believed that his grandson should live by the Yoruban
traditions and customs of his people, so he taught his grandson about the Yoruba gods
and folklore. These lessons greatly influenced Soyinka’s life and writing. The Voice of
Truth At the start of the Nigerian civil war in 1967, Soyinka was falselyimprisoned for
two years, spending most of that time in solitary confinement. To preserve his sanity,
Soyinka manufactured his own ink and began a diary using anything he could find to
write on—toilet paper, cigarette packages, and book pages. These notes were later
published in The Man Died: Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka, which is considered one of
the most significant works ever written about the Biafran war. Soyinka was released in
1969. Nearly three decades later, Soyinka, living in self-imposed exile, was charged
with treason and sentenced to death for criticizing the Nigerian government. He was
later granted amnesty by a new Nigerian government. In 1986, Soyinka became the first
African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. “My writing grows more and more
preoccupied with the theme of the oppressive boot, the irrelevance of the color of the
foot that wears it and the struggle for individuality.”
—Wole Soyinka

Literature and Reading Preview

Connect to the Poem
What does freedom mean to you? With a partner, discuss which aspects of freedom
you believe to be crucial.
Build Background
Since gaining independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has experienced ethnic and
religious conflict. Thousands of Ibo living in the north were massacred in 1966 during a
military revolt against the civilian government. In 1967, the Ibo declared their traditional
homeland in the eastern region to be the independent Republic of Biafra, and Nigeria
plunged into civil war. “Civilian and Soldier” belongs to a group of six poems Soyinka
wrote during the buildup to the war.
Civilian and Soldier
Wole Soyinka

My apparition rose from the fall of lead,

Declared, “I’m a civilian.” It only served
To aggravate your fright. For how could I
Have risen, a being of this world, in that hour
Of impartial death! And I thought also: nor is
Your quarrel of this world.
You stood still
For both eternities, and oh I heard the lesson
Of your training sessions, cautioning—
Scorch earth behind you, do not leave
A dubious neutral to the rear. Reiteration
Of my civilian quandary, burrowing earth
From the lead festival of your more eager friends
Worked the worse on your confusion, and when
You brought the gun to bear on me, and death
Twitched me gently in the eye, your plight
And all of you came clear to me.
I hope some day
Intent upon my trade of living, to be checked
In stride by your apparition in a trench,
Signaling, I am a soldier. No hesitation then
But I shall shoot you clean and fair
With meat and bread, a gourd of wine
A bunch of breasts from either arm, and that
Lone question—do you friend, even now, know
What it is all about?
Respond and Interpret

1. How did you feel about war after reading “Civilian and Soldier”?

2. (a)Describe the encounter between the speaker and the soldier in the poem. (b)What
is the soldier’s initial reaction to this encounter?

3. (a)What does the speaker imagine happening in a future life? (b)What does this
fantasy say about the speaker’s attitude?

Analyze and Evaluate

4. Do you think the speaker considers the soldier to be an evil person? Explain.

5. How does the title, “Civilian and Soldier,”illustrate Soyinka’s concern about “the
struggle for individuality”?

Connect

6. Big Idea

How does the conflict in the poem relate to the struggles African countries faced in the
shift to independence?

7. Connect to the Author Soyinka was raised to value both European ideas and the
beliefs of his African ancestors. How might the speaker’s relationship to the soldier
reflect Soyinka’s ability to mesh two belief systems?

Literary Element Imagery

Imagery is language an author uses to appeal to the reader’s senses.

1. What images does the speaker use to describe being shot?

2. Which image did you find most confusing or difficult in the poem? Why?

Reading Strategy Analyze Structure

When you analyze a poem’s structure, you gain insight into the poem’s meaning and
the poet’s purpose.

1. What is significant about the structure of the first sentence in the poem?

2. Do you think the structure of the last line reinforces the theme of the poem? Why or
why not?