Jordan
Once Upon A Time Review
“Once upon a time” by Gabriel Okara this poem is about a parent is talking to his/her son and telling him how things used to be. The parent tells the son that people used to be sincere, but are now superficial and seek only to take from others. The persona tells the child that he/she has learnt to be just like these people, but does not want to be like that anymore. The parent wants to be as sincere as the son. “The people's eyes are as cold as ice”. This means that there is no warmth or real feeling in the words that they say, or how they behave. This metaphor literally allows you to visualize a block of ice, cold and unwelcoming. Lines 20-21 "I have learnt to wear many faces like dresses" emphasize the constant changes in the persona's face. If you think of how often a woman changes her dress, then that is how often the persona adjusts his/her personality to suit an audience. The list of faces that follow this line emphasizes this point. "Shake hands with their heart" means to shake hands with your heart implies a strong handshake that is sincere, this is the opposite of what now occurs between people.
"Search behind my shadow" this implies that the person cannot look the persona in the eye, they are looking everywhere but there. Looking someone in the eye during a conversation implies that one is sincerely interested in what you have to say. Not being able to do so implies shiftiness. The mood of the poem is nostalgic. The persona is remembering how things used to be when he was young and innocent, like his son. The tone of the poem is sad. The poet's response to his nostalgia is sadness ."Once upon a time "is a beautiful poem it speaks to the nowaday society. It tells about the good old days when things were different, when people could go out without fear, and peace, love and respect was the order of the day. I want to live in the good old days
“Once upon a time” by Gabriel Okara this poem is about a parent is talking to his/her son and telling him how things used to be. The parent tells the son that people used to be sincere, but are now superficial and seek only to take from others. The persona tells the child that he/she has learnt to be just like these people, but does not want to be like that anymore. The parent wants to be as sincere as the son. “The people's eyes are as cold as ice”. This means that there is no warmth or real feeling in the words that they say, or how they behave. This metaphor literally allows you to visualize a block of ice, cold and unwelcoming. Lines 20-21 "I have learnt to wear many faces like dresses" emphasize the constant changes in the persona's face. If you think of how often a woman changes her dress, then that is how often the persona adjusts his/her personality to suit an audience. The list of faces that follow this line emphasizes this point. "Shake hands with their heart" means to shake hands with your heart implies a strong handshake that is sincere, this is the opposite of what now occurs between people.
"Search behind my shadow" this implies that the person cannot look the persona in the eye, they are looking everywhere but there. Looking someone in the eye during a conversation implies that one is sincerely interested in what you have to say. Not being able to do so implies shiftiness. The mood of the poem is nostalgic. The persona is remembering how things used to be when he was young and innocent, like his son. The tone of the poem is sad. The poet's response to his nostalgia is sadness ."Once upon a time "is a beautiful poem it speaks to the nowaday society. It tells about the good old days when things were different, when people could go out without fear, and peace, love and respect was the order of the day. I want to live in the good old days