DESCRIPTION OF “IN MEMORIAM” AS A POEM

UNDER THE NEGRITUDE TRADTION AND A

FORMALISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE POEM

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FEATURES OF THE NEGRITUDE MOVEMENT IN “IN MEMORIAM”
An outstanding feature of the Negritude movement is appreciation and acceptance of black culture
and history. To some extent, L.S. Senghor reflects this in “In Memoriam”. The title is suggestive
of the fact that the poet personae appears to reminisce, reflect and remember some people and
events that are dear to him. Major epochs in the history of Africa and the black race are Slave trade
and colonialism which seem to be explicated in In Memoriam. The poet persona appears to ponder
over the dreams and aspirations of Africa which he describes:

“Below them my dead are asleep and my dreams turn to ashes.

All my dreams, blood running freely down the streets

And mixing with blood from the butcher shops.”

It appears to be that the slave trade and colonialism are addressed here. The unarguable narrative
is that before blacks were transported in ships to Europe, Americas and West Indies, they existed
on their indigenous societal structure, laws and customs, religious beliefs and practices. Advanced
states like Dahomey and the Ancient Benin empire had technology with which they created master
pieces of Iron and bronze, some of which exist till today. The Oyo kingdom’s political
administration upheld rule of law, accommodating agencies that checked and balanced excesses
of monarchs. Other kingdoms had efficient legal systems that could have equaled those of the
Europeans had slave trade not come into the picture. However, the grim reality is that blacks, over
2 centuries were captured, sold and transported to different places in the world. Then colonialism
came and exploitation with it. It seems the poet is sorrowful over the dreams, desires and
aspirations of the black race that did not come to fruition as a result of slave trade but “turn to
ashes”. The heart-rending and pathetic lot by befell slaves is seemingly described in the
personification of “blood freely running down the streets”.

The poet persona’s recourse to the dead and ancient who hold esteemed positions in traditional
African religion is an attribute of the Negritude movement in appreciating African culture. He
seems to exalt them by specifically addressing them as if they were present:

“O Forefathers! You who have always refused to die,

Who knew how to resist Death from the Sine to the Seine,

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O Ancestors! Defend the roofs of Paris in this dominical fog,”
The dead – elders who lived dignified lives and were given proper burial rites by their family
members are regarded as “ancestors and fore-fathers”, venerated and prayed to, particularly by
members of their family. Though the poet seems to be writing not from his native land, yet he
seems to attribute “omni-presence” to them. According to him, they are well and alive across
continents – Sine (in Africa) and Seine (in Paris), possessing the wherewithal to guard his dreams
because they had guarded “thin-legged migrant sons”.

Negritude preaches acceptance of and pride in “blackness”- a kind of glory in one’s roots or
foundation. In essence, the black should never see himself as white because he speaks their
language and dresses like they do. Instead, he should be excited about his heritage and speak highly
of it. The poet persona appears to direct attention to his roots in his prayer to his fore-fathers:

“And now in the fragile veins of my indomitable blood,”

He seems to say the enviable qualities in his ancestors live on in him, hence the reason why they
must answer his prayers. He is not a bastard without roots as the European claims, but comes from
a lineage of splendor and has an ancestry of men of valour. Also, the poet seemingly overwhelmed
with emotions declares:

“Let me remember my dead!

And I had no dead to honor in any cemetery.”
The prevailing conditions around the poet seemingly attempt to becloud his mind and prevent any
remembrance of his roots. So forcefully, he expresses his desires for his roots, and bemoaning at
the same time the ostracization of his dead in the land where he is. The poet seems to say blacks
are not remembered or accorded any respect here, which is why he takes it upon himself to
recognize his dead.

A desire to return to Africa and feel its spiritual and physical environment pervades Negritude
literature. The poet seems to express this deep longing for Africa when he says:

“Let me leave this tower so dangerously secure

And descend to the streets, joining my brothers
Who have blue eyes and hard hands.”

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The truism “no place like home” is apt here. In spite of the privileges and opportunities the poet
seemingly enjoys referenced by “the glass tower”, his heart is with his brothers on the streets, who
obviously do not live with him in the glass tower. He desires kinship over and above the benefits
westernization has offered him.

“In Memoriam” by Leopold Sedar Senghor encapsulates many of the tenets of Negritude and
concerns of writers under that tradition. It appears that the poet with great effort remembers his
roots, values, traditions and people against the difficult odds that would not want him to do this.

A FORMALISTIC ANALYSIS OF “IN MEMORIAM”

An assessment of In Memoriam reveals what appears to be the poet personae’s pre-occupation
namely “exile”. The theme of exile seems to redound throughout the poem, the title alluding to it
to some degree. The poet persona appears to long after his native land and people, as he states in
the opening lines of the poem “his fear of fellows with faces of stone” which eventually leads to a
deep desire to join his brothers on the streets who have blue eyes and rough hands.

In this paper, concerns of a formalistic reading and analysis of “In Memoriam” will border on Title
analysis, Structure, Figures of Speech, Diction, Style, Point of view, Imagery/Symbolism – all of
which are examined presently in relation to the theme of exile.

The title translated in English as “In Memory” or “In Memorial” is syntactically a prepositional
phrase functioning as a noun. The choice of the title seems to create a grave atmosphere for the
poem through the obvious question – In memory of “who” or “what”? not stated in the title. The
choice of the phrasal structure of the title seems to foretell deep seated emotions expressed in the
poem that revolves around “exile” and those being addressed by the poet.

Structurally, the poem is written in free verse which implies that the poem is not constrained by
the musical devices of rhyme, rhythm and meter. This choice seems to bestow on the poem
freedom to describe the serious issue of “exile”. A serious matter as exile will not be adequately
expressed under the blank verse scheme. The poet persona appeals to the emotions of the readers
through the picturesque description of his thoughts about his native land and people. Furthermore,
the poem seems to be split in two parts, the first part covers the soliloquy of the poet persona while
the second is the address of the poet to his fore-fathers and ancestors. The soliloquy shows the

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perceived emotions of loneliness the poet tries to describe being in a strange land, including a
seeming frustration of being caged to do what he wants. This is seen through his declaration

“Let me remember my dead!”

The second part shows us the staunch belief of the poet persona in his roots namely “his fore-
fathers and ancestors. He calls on them to fulfil his dreams and aspirations.

Another important point to note as regards the structure of the poem is it consists of 12 sentences.
The sentences are a mixture of simple, compound, compound-complex patterns that describe
“exile” in varying degrees. Perhaps, a major pointer to exile in the poem is via the compound
sentence construction expressing a seeming frustration of the poet:

“Yesterday was All Saints’ Day, the solemn anniversary of the Sun,
And I had no dead to honor in any cemetery.”
All Saints Day is obviously not native to the poet persona who still sorrowfully bemoans his lot
concerning his roots leading that was actually preceded by “Let me remember my dead!”. The
choice of the sentence patterns permits the poet to express his thoughts without constraints of any
form. This is tied to the concept of “Hypotaxis” also relevant in this analysis. Hypotaxis refers to
the subordination of clauses to one another in expressions or sentences. In essence, one clause
sheds more light on another. This excerpt explains the hypotactic relationship of clauses in the
poem:

“O Forefathers! You who have always refused to die,

Who knew how to resist Death from the Sine to the Seine,
And now in the fragile veins of my indomitable blood,
Guard my dreams as you did your thin-legged migrant sons!”
The theme of exile seems to be foregrounded in the second line of this excerpt namely the poet’s
appeal to the resilience of the fore-fathers from Sine (a river in Africa) to Seine (a river in Paris).
The ancestry of the poet is seen through these clauses, as well as the trans-continental journey of
his fore-fathers.

Figures of speech are generously employed by the poet persona in the poem which all foreground
the theme of exile. Metaphor via “Fellows with such faces of stone” is employed by the poet
persona to describe a state of uneasiness in Paris where he resides. At a deeper level, the poet

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persona seems to describe the cold, unfriendly disposition of the “fellows” towards him through
the use of “faces of stone”. Simile occurs when the poet persona compares “his dreams lost along
the streets” to “the guides of his race”, this indirect comparison seemingly depicting a sense of
frustration with state of affairs of the poet. Anaphora calls attention to certain words and phrases
the poet persona repeated in the poem viz. “my dead”, “my dreams”, “blood”. The poet appears to
advance the woes that befell himself and his people through repeating those phrases. Apostrophe
finds a robust place in the poem – “O Ancestors! O Forefathers!” The forefathers are addressed in
what appears to be the second part of the poem after soliloquy of the poet persona. They are praised
and eulogized by the poet, before he formally prays and tenders his requests:

“Guard my dreams as you did your thin-legged migrant sons

Defend the roofs of Paris in this dominical fog,
The roofs that protect my dead.”
In addition, the poet acknowledges his link to them when he declares they are in “now in the fragile
veins of my indomitable blood”. In “Let me leave this tower so dangerously secure”, oxymoron is
employed through “dangerously secure” to draw attention to his loneliness and dissatisfaction
with the state he is. The alliterative arrangement of the /f/, /s/, /d/, /b/, phonemes deserves to be
commented on:

“I fear the crowd of my fellows with such faces of stone.

In the stillness—somber, naked chimneys.
Below them my dead are asleep and my dreams turn to ashes.
All my dreams, blood running freely down the streets
And mixing with blood from the butcher shops.
Yesterday was All Saints’ Day, the solemn anniversary of the Sun,
Who knew how to resist Death from the Sine to the Seine,”
All of these are used by the poet persona to draw attention to words that seem to carry the theme
of the poem. The poet’s diction or choice of words appear simple and understandable. Although,
they bear serious impressions in the mind of the reader.

Related to this is the first and second person points of view the poem is written. The occurrence of
“I”, “my” and “you” occur prominently in the poem. You refer to the ancestors and fore fathers

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while I and my relate to the poet himself and all what concerns him. In essence, the poem, as it
were, is a monologue that concerns two personalities. The focus seems to be on the emotional
musings of the poet that reveal his unsettled disposition to where he is “my glass tower” and where
he wants to be “the streets”.

Imagery/Symbolism are elements of formalism worthy of consideration. Through carefully chosen

words, the poet persona paints certain images and depicts symbols which all foreground his
concerns on exile. “Glass Tower” is a symbol that appears to depict privilege and opportunity a
select few have access too; it is described as “dangerously secure”- something pleasant and worth
having by all. From this vantage point, the poet is able to observe and contemplate that eventually
leads him to address his roots and appeal for their help. He seems to be held captive in the glass
tower hence his appeal to leave the tower for the streets.

“The streets/ brothers with blue eyes and rough hands” are significant in the poem. A striking
distinction between these brothers with blue eyes on the streets and the fellows in the glass tower
is the poet’s gravitation and pleasure towards the former and fear for the latter. The streets, though
not as sophisticated and expensive as the glass tower, seems to represent freedom the poet earnestly
desires while the tower is filled with “headaches and impatient ancestors”. Blue eyes and rough
hands seem to relate to the conditions these individuals live in that characterize them.

“My dreams/My dead” feature greatly in the poem. Both seem to be related in respect to the state
they are in: “I contemplate my dreams lost along the streets”, “my dreams turn to ashes” and “all
my dreams, blood running freely down the streets and mixing with blood from the butcher shops”
are obviously not palatable experiences, but the reality of the poet persona. Blood running freely
creates an imagery of death and violence the poet appears to be displeased about. My dead used
by the poet appears to refer to his ancestors who lived in Paris before him, probably as slaves. This
is because he describes them as “thin-legged migrant sons”. These are the dead he says are asleep
under the somber, naked chimneys of Paris.

All Saints Day is an anniversary of the lives of Saints in the Catholic church. An important
religious day set aside for honouring the dead. It appears that the poet is disgruntled with the lot
assigned to his own dead as he calls them – “I had no dead to honour in any cemetery”. It looks
like his people were not considered important in the scheme of affairs in Paris. On his own, he

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makes up his mind and declares “Let me remember my dead!”. All of these experiences constitute
the poet’s disillusionment with the strange land and desire to be with his brothers on the streets.