Sesay's "The Song of the Woman of My Land" is a

Analyzing the question: The question asks you to classify the type of poem "The Song of the Woman of My Land" by Kadie Sesay (Sierra Leone) is. It appears among the African poetry texts in the JAMB Literature syllabus.

Understanding the concept: To classify a poem, look at its theme and purpose:

• A political poem deals with governance, power, or leadership.
• A geographical poem describes places or landscapes.
• A social poem deals with the life, roles, experiences, and conditions of people in society.
• A panegyric is a poem of high praise, usually for a person, such as a king or hero.

Working through the poem:

1. The poem celebrates the African woman: her strength, endurance, labour, and her role in holding family and community together.
2. It touches on her struggles and her place in society, including how she is regarded and treated.
3. It is not mainly about government or politics, so A is unlikely.
4. It does not describe a place or landscape, so B is out.
5. It does praise the woman, so D is tempting. But a panegyric is formal, ceremonial praise of a specific individual, usually a ruler or hero. Sesay's poem is a broader reflection on the woman's social position, her roles, and her challenges in society.

The poem's focus on the woman's role, burdens, and status within the community makes it a social poem.

Answer: C. social poem.

Exam tip: For "type of poem" questions, ask what the poem is mostly about. If it is about people's roles, conditions, or relationships in society, choose "social". Save "panegyric" for poems that glorify a particular person, and be careful, since praise in a poem does not automatically make it a panegyric.