Folkways by Edward Braithwaite

 Background of the poet

Lawson Edward Braithwaite was born in the year 1930. He was a Caribbean poet and professor

of Comparative Literature at the New York University. Educated at Harrison College in Barbados,

he earned a PhD from the University of Sussex.

As a poet whose literary works echo globally, he was the 2006 International Winner of the

Griffin Poetry and 1994 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He adopted the name

Edward as his pen name. Braithwaite died at the age of 89 in 2020. Some of his poems are:

Folkways

Mammon

All God's Chillun

New World A - Comin'

The Cabin

The Twist

The journeys

Critical Analysis of Edward Kamau Braithwaite's Folkways

Folkways by Edward Kamau Braithwaite gains its poetic title from two words jointly put together – folk

and way. Folk refers traditionally and generally to the people. Ways on the other hand, directly points at

the behaviour or mannerism of the fofolks. In this poem, the folks that Edward Kamau Braithwaite is

distinctly referring to are particularly the blacks, otherwise known as the negro. At the initial lines of the

poem, Edward Kamau Braithwaite concedes to the fact that he is negro. But he accepts this fact in a way

which imitates how the white scorn the black.

I am a fuck –

in' negro...

He uses the swear word “fuckin’ “ to demonstrate how disgusting skin pigmentation has reduced the

black to. He is, of course, not just only black, but he has “red eyes” and “broad back”. These features are categorically what the white see about him. But he has no hot temper and consequently “not very

quick/ to take offence” at the affront meted out to him, “ but once/ offended,” his action is always

destructive as you have to “watch/ that house/ you livin' in.”

The poet admits again he is conscious of his skin pigmentation – the blackness that differentiates him

from other races. The fact that he is absolutely not oblivious of this has generated an unpleasant feeling

in him. He reveals his most inner emotion: by saying: “I feel/bad” because racial inequality has made

him to be treated similarly to a dog in the garbage.

... I feel

like the sick

dog kicked from the

garbage

He laments his experience in the society where the people have hatred for his skin which, according to

him, his skin permeates an offensive smell.

This is the hate

That makes my skin

stink, give me my body

odour.

Again, “and I feel bad” because “I feel/ like a drum with a hole/ in the belly,” so therefore “don’t touch/

me now , don’t hold me” because he is upset and can no longer tolerate this racial inequality.

Poetic devices in Edward Kamau Braithwaite’s Folkways

Theme

The themes that are prevalent in Folkways are discrimination, racial inequality, inferiority complex,

segregation and colour differential. These themes are what the poem focuses and refocused on as it

draws racial differential between the white and the black. This makes the poet – persona to “feel bad”.

Simile

The poet – persona employs the draw comparison in the poem, some of simile used in the poem are:

“Like the sick/dog” – line 50

“Like a drum with a hole” – line 59

“as hell” – line 74

Repetition

Some words in the poem are repeated to create emphasis, they are:

“negro” – lines 2 and 35

“man” – lines 3,30,36,89,91 and 131

“ feel” – lines 48,49,57,58

“mother” – lines 49 and 58

Alliteration

Alliteration can be found in lines below:

“broad back” - /b/ - lines 7

“puffy pink” /p/ - lines 19

“sake – scheme” - /s/ - line 65

Apostrophe

The literary apostrophe which occurs in the poem can be noted in the lines below:

Line 49: I feel bad, mother...

Line 58: mother, I feel like a drum with a hole.