Language: The choice of words is simple. The language is rooted in the culture of its setting. Words like ‘‘dereliction,’’ ‘‘decapitate,’’ ‘‘wriggle,’’ ‘‘holler’’ are used to convey the story of oppression and lamentation.

Imagery: It is the creation of mental and audio vision in the mind of a reader. The imagery of slavery and servitude that existed throughout African history is created. The poet piles images of sorrow to evoke sympathy of the reader.

Repetition: This is when a word, phrase or sentence is used more than once in poem. The poet repeated some words, phrases and stanzas. ‘‘Forlorn fields,’’ ‘‘servitude,’’ ‘‘ploughed,’’ ‘‘women of my land’’ etc. were repeated to emphasize the pains the women passed through.

Alliteration: It is the repetition of same sound in poems. The alliterated words are: ‘‘forlorn fields (f,f) lyrics, lost (l, l ), vast, voil (v,v).The used alliteration to enhance the musical feature of this poem based on mental and emotional torture of the women.

Simile: The poet compared the ways in which the wood-carver works in the designing of his wood with the memory of the women in Africa. ‘‘Like a sculpture clipping away at bits of wood’’. Another one is ‘‘like the women who died long ago’’ which means the death of good composers of African songs is the disappearance of good songs.

Personification: The words “time”, “song,” “tune” and “pen” were personified by engaging in human activities. ‘‘The stuttering lips of my pen’’ which means he has a speech impediment with its two lips.