Butterfly
by Chinua Achebe
Speed is violence
Power is violence
Weight is violence
The butterfly seeks safety in lightness
In weightless, undulating flight
But at a crossroads where mottled light
From trees falls on a brash new highway
Our convergent territories meet
I come power-packed enough for two
And the gentle butterfly offersItself in bright yellow sacrifice
Upon my hard silicon shield.
In the butterfly be Chinua Achebe it describes how weak and fragile human life because of the overwhelming power and violent that are encounter. It is important to know about the author because without know about Achebe writing this after a car accident in Africa that left him in a wheelchair. In the lines1 through 3 it begins with “Speed is violence/ Power is violence/ Weight is violence”. This explains the reason why humans are or seem so violent is because they have the ability to go fast, power and that they have a large amount o weight that they are able to control. This can have two connotations the first one can is can be about a car and The power humans have with the car they can speed, go anywhere and the can control a ton of steel and metal. More evidence of this occurs in the shift that happens right after line 4 that mentions a “crossroads” which meaning is actually the location of a business. Then the poem in that same stanza talks about trees on a highway. A fact is also brought up in the last stanza when Achebe mentions “power-packed enough for two” and “Upon my hard silicon shield. This poem can also be a connotation of that the way we are human we have an ability to do things ourselves that that can be destructive because of all the power that we have. The butterfly is the way that humans try to be and go through life trying to live safe and how fragile they are. In lines 4-5 “The butterfly seeks safety in lightness/ in weightless, undulating flight”. But then the last line it states “The gentle butterflies offers / itself in bright yellow sacrifice” this can be the light of the car that hit Achebe and that because of this power, speed and weight that humans this is what makes people die.
What do you think about this poem?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This whole poem reminds me of a scene in a movie. The camera shows kids playing ball then flashes to a speeding car. Back to the kids and the ball rolls into the street. The car rounds a corner, engine revving as the gears shift. A child runs after the ball and picks it up. Tires squeal. Someone screams. The ball continues to roll across the street. In slow motion.
ReplyDeleteIt’s pretty powerful how Achebe starts the poem off with Speed, Power, and Weight being violent, but the next stanza describes the weightlessness and innocence of the butterfly.
I’m really fond of the contrast between the airiness of the butterfly/nature and the harshness of man. It’s as though they are from two different worlds and this moment in time just happens to be where their “convergent territories meet”.
To me the poem shows the danger of both extremes. The person driving the car is "power-packed for two" while the butterfly is "weightless", showing a drastic contrast. I don't think Achebe is advocating the extreme that the butterfly goes to, not even resisting its own death. I think he is trying to show that you should fight for your life, but not go to the violent extreme that the driver goes to.
ReplyDeleteThe car was moving so fast, the butterfly didn't see it coming. Even a fly moves when you try to swat it. Violence happens so fast and so swiftly, you may not see it coming.
ReplyDelete