In Detention by Chris van Wyk

Poem:              In Detention by Chris van Wyk

Question:         Discuss the effectiveness of this poem as a striking example of satire

                        In your answer you may refer to some or all of the following:

·                     The poet’ s intention in writing this poem

·                     The obvious sarcasm

·                     The tone of the poet

·                     The structure of the poem

·                     The diction (word choice)

How to answer:

Make sure that you first plan what you are going to say in each paragraph.  Stick to one or two related devices in a paragraph.

Learners need to show an understanding that this is a satirical poem written to show the patent absurdity of the reasons given by the police under apartheid for people ‘dying’ in detention. Behind the nonsensical reasons given by the police, lies the horror and brutality of what was, in reality, murder in detention.           

Learners can refer to the sarcasm/the twisting of the reasons by the poet/how the three reasons are ‘twisted’ into a whole string of patently absurd statements. Behind the humour tough the reality that people have been killed.

The structure of the poem with each line beginning with ‘He’ and then going into an explanation reinforces the absurdity.