The poet opens up that many people want good things, want to be respected, want to be honored, and want to live in a palace, but they don’t want to take a risk. Also, It is useful for those that want to appreciate and analyze the poem.
Daydreamer
Contents
That rotten mouth wants milk to suck
And a decayed tongue wants honey to lick
Roasted beef is delicious!
But not everybody wants the pain of the roasting process
Everybody wants pounded yam
Not everybody wants to pound it
Ready melon soup is luscious!
But not everybody wants the sweat of the cooking process
Everybody wants money
Not everybody wants to work
Paradise is a superb home!
But not everybody wants to strive
Everybody wants to get married
Not everybody wants to be responsible
The enjoyment is fantastic!
But not everybody wants to sweat
Everybody wants to pass exams
Not everybody wants to read
The pastorals are honored!
But everybody wants to fast
Everybody wants fame
Not everybody wants to labor
Politics is rewarding!
But not everybody wants to die
Everybody wants to receive
Not everybody wants to give
Respect is a welcome honor!
But not everybody wants to respect others
Everybody wants to be king
Not everybody wants to visit shrines
A cock that once crows two will soon crow one
Swing into actions
Poet: Deola Adelakun
Briefs of the Poem
The poem ‘Daydreamer’ portrays the attitude people should have for their lives, not to daydream. Daydreaming takes someone nowhere. It is not daydreaming that matters but expediting actions.
The poet opens up that many people want good things, want to be respected, want to be honored, and want to live in a palace, but they don’t want to take a risk. As you have pleasant dreams and thoughts in life, so also you should try to take action.
People want to ride cars, want to get married, want to enjoy, want to spend money, want to get famous, but don’t want to do what it takes to get them. After all, people want good things but making things work is a problem.
Politicians want to get a reward, but not everybody wants to die. Everybody wants respect, but they don’t want to respect people. Everybody wants to be king, but they don’t want to visit shrines.
The poet calls this kind of attitude daydreaming. Those involved in daydreaming are daydreamers. You are not a realist but a hypocrite.
It has been inferred in the poem that people are fond of ‘wishes’ and ‘suppositions’ instead of making the daydream in action. The poet concludes that action is what can make us achieve our goals, not only ‘wish’ or daydreaming.
Theme
The poem “Daydreamer” is metaphorically presented as the poet uses certain objects to represent dreams and goals. Some themes used have explained all these. Read the theme below.
Theme of deceit
The poet points to deceit as an act of deceiving someone or deceiving himself or herself; a trick of nothing. The poet explains how many people are deceiving themselves waiting for the second manna to drop from heaven. They don’t want to work, but they want to eat. The poem campaigns that pondering on success and achievement without being taken a step is just a deceit.
Theme nightmare
The dream is different from the nightmare. The dream or goal is accompanied with actions to accomplish the dream or goal. A dream or vision we have without a plan or action to achieve the dream or goal is just a nightmare. The poet portrays in the poem that many people have future dreams and goals but they don’t want to take the steps to achieve those dreams and goals.
Theme of action
The poet depicts that action is what we need to achieve in life. No matter how big the dreams and goals of people are, the important thing to make such dreams come true is take action. It is not “I want to do this; I want to do that without taking a step”. Action brings about success and achievements.
Theme of daydreaming
The poem “Daydreamer” is a poem that teaches and encourages us to take action to make our dreams come true. Only dreams and goals without steps taken to achieve them are just daydreaming. The person who has a goal without a step to accomplish the goal is a daydreamer.
Language and Poetic Devices
Stanzas and lines
The poem has 16 stanzas and 32 lines. Each stanza is a couplet, which is a two-rhyming line. The first line opens the dream of the poet but the second line sensitizes us that the poet does not want to take a step to achieve the dream.
Rhymes and Rhythm
The poem has a good ending correspondence as it has a metrical movement that determined between sounds and events. The rhyming schemes are aaabababababababababaaababababab. Except for lines 1, 2, 21, and 22, the other stanzas have alternative lines.
Mood/Tone
The poet is concerned about the attitude and the behavior of the people who have dreams but lack takes them to accomplish their dreams.
Ode
The poem is addressing the category of people that are deceiving themselves by their aattitude towardachieving their dreams.
Figures of Speech
Metaphor
The poet makes use of metaphor. The poet generally uses what we see, taste, he, ar and feel to explain the dreams and goals of many people.
Imagery
As explained before, many imageries imageries “Suck, Roasted beef, pounded yam, melon soup, paradise, get married, enjoyment, pass exams, pastoral calls, get famous, politics, receive in, respect, kings are dreams and goals of many people but they don’t want to take it to take to achieve them.
Repetitions
The poem makes use of some repetitions such as “wants to” (lines 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,30), “but” (lines 4,8,12,16,20,24,28), “not in everyone” (lines 4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,30)
Oxymoron
The poem portrays the use of oxymoron as the two contradictory lines of each stanza is placed side by side.
Paradox
The poem is paradoxical as the truth is conveyed under the cloak of apparent absurdity or contradiction.
Word List and Meanings
Rotten: Decayed, putrid
Luscious: Delicious
Superb: Extremely good
Fantastic: Extremely good and attractive
Shrine: A traditional place to pray and spiritual exercises
Practice Questions
1. The dominant poetic device is __________ (a) couplet (b) sestet (c) octave (d) quatrain
2. How many listeners the poet is addressing? (a) 14 (b) 15 (c) 16 (d) 17
3. How many stanzas does the poem have? (a) 14 (b) 15 (c) 16 (d) 17
4. It is inferred in the poem that the __________ (a) people are working in vain. (b) people are playing well. (c)people are sucking milk and licking honey. (d)people are daydreaming.
5. The poet advises people to ___________ (a) avoid actions (b) forget actions (c) expedite actions (d) visit actions.
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