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Question
Explain the things the poet has learnt when he grew into an adult.
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Solution
The African poet observes a marked change in the altitude of Africans. Those who were once so genuine, warm and sincere, have now suddenly turned cold and hostile towards him. He realizes that the early values in African society like sincerity, good-naturedness, simplicity, whole-heartedness, hospitality, friendliness, originality, and uniqueness have now drastically changed. The earlier warmth and heartfulness have gone. He finds himself behaving the same way as those around him. He has learned to wear different faces for different occasions. He wears faces like dresses. He says not what his heart tells often. His smiles are also fake. He smiles only to be socially accepted. He has learned to say “Goodbye”. After being bored, he brings a fake smile and says “It’s been nice talking to you” when he meant “good-riddance”.
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thanksgiving exchange glad confesses physiques zealous satisfied aims admires |
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The historical background:
The poem is an extract from William Shakespeare’s play King Richard the Second. The play is based on true events that occurred towards the end of the 14th century.
Richard II was crowned the King of England in the year 1367. He continued to be the British Monarch until 1399, when he was deposed by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who crowned himself King Henry the Fourth in the same year. Shakespeare’s play is a dramatic rendition of the last two years of King Richard II’s life. In this brief span of time, he was ousted from his royal position and sent to prison, where he died in captivity.
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War begets war
