The poem “A Far Cry From Africa” shows Derek Walcott's take on the Mau Mau uprising in

Kenya in the 1950’s. The title can be analyzed to mean that Derek Walcott, in his carribean
hometown is hearing “a far cry”, or a call for help from his African ancestors due to the impact
that colonization has had on the continent. The poem gives strong prevalence to natural, and in
particular, animal imagery in order to explore its themes. For example a lion is used as a
metaphor for the continent of Africa. Furthermore the animal imagery is also used to accentuate
his belief on the futility of the conflict occurring. This can be seen through the lines
“ The violence of beast on beast is read,
As natural law, but upright man,
Seeks his divinity by inflicting pain.”.

The killing to get food and survive, is contrasted with the idea of senseless and unnecessary
violence inflicted by colonizers. It illustrates the idea that animals kill others merely for survival,
while humans do it to establish authority and display power. Additionally the phrase “upright
man” is used ironically as it refers to homo sapiens, the thinking men, who ideally should be
morally upright, but yet are engaging in meaningless conflict. This idea is further explored in the
lines
“Dance to the tightened carcass of a drum,
While he calls courage still that native dread,
Of the white peace contracted by the dead.”

Here we see Derek Walcott’s rejection of the traditional interpretations of courage and heroism,
as man’s constant need for conflict and needing to establish superiority is trivial. Moreover we
see the use of harsh satire, as the colonists are being critisized through the iteration that their
alleged peace is only achieved as a result of several deaths. The word “contracted” implies that
this peace is a sort of transaction where it cannot be achieved without the deaths occurring.

Another theme developed in this poem is the duality faced by citizens of colonies. The last
stanza has a clear tonal shift with the focus now onto the internal, mental conflict, rather than
the external, physical one. The last lines provide evidence that he sides with neither side in this
conflict, and underscores his split identity. This split identity is further highlighted by the
continuous conflict in the rhythm of the poem, with the Iambs and Trochees as well as the
repeated use of question marks to close out the poem.