Sesay's "The Song of the Women of my Land" is

Analyze the question: The question asks about the form or type of the poem "The Song of the Women of my Land" by Kadie Sesay (Sierra Leone), which appears in the African poetry section of the JAMB Literature syllabus.

Concept:

• Panegyric: a poem of high praise for a person or group.
• Free verse: poetry with no regular rhyme scheme, fixed meter, or set stanza length.
• Satirical: a poem that mocks or ridicules vices and follies.
• Blank verse: unrhymed lines in a regular iambic pentameter (as in Shakespeare's plays and Milton).

Working through the poem:

1. The poem is about the strength, endurance, suffering and resilience of African women, and it calls on them to rise. It is not a mocking piece, so it is not satirical.
2. It is built on irregular line lengths, no consistent rhyme scheme and no fixed metre. It reads like a spoken song or chant. That rules out blank verse, which needs a steady iambic pentameter.
3. Panegyric is tempting because the poem celebrates women. However, the poem's main focus is on their struggle, their voice and their call to action, not on formal praise of them. The most reliable thing you can say about it is its structure, which is free verse.

Answer: The poem is written in free verse, which is option B.

Tip: For modern African poems, ask yourself, "Is there a regular rhyme or metre?" If not, it is almost always free verse. Blank verse is mostly for older English dramatic or epic poetry. Use "panegyric" only when the poem is clearly a praise-song for one subject, such as an elegy or tribute.