Analysis of Rainbow in the Dark

Ken Efeh 1984 (Agbor)



The promising sun has set in the east
and despair accompanies her to bed
her pleasant past has turned a bloody feast
and the world around her a crimson red.
Did ignorance make her forfeit her right?
Is this a home where she is an outcast?
Perhaps the treasure is not worth a fight
as her possession is priceless and vast.
They call her second-class and a mere thing
even when her wisdom outshines their grey hair.
Her offence: she raises her voice to sing
that those that sit at table be just and fair.
In her sleep, Ngozi heaves a gentle sigh
as clouds unveil a rainbow in the sky.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Poetic Form Shakespearean sonnet 
Metre 0100111001 0010100011 0101110101 0010100101 1100101001 110111111 0101011101 1001011001 1101010011 1010101111 011100111 11111101101 001110101 110101001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 586
Words 120
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 462
Words per stanza (avg) 111

About this poem

*Rainbow in the Dark* depicts the challenges faced by the African woman in a male-dominated society. She is silenced. Despite her qualifications, she is not allowed to have a say in family matters. However, with the campaign for women's emancipation, the African woman's hope for liberation seems imminent.

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Written on February 11, 2022

Submitted by kennethefeh on February 11, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
2

Ken Efeh

Ken Efeh is a Nigerian poet and short story writer. He is the author of "Some Radiance at Nightfall" which appeared in Speaking for the Generations: An Anthology of Contemporary African Short Stories, Trenton, NJ, Africa World Press, 2010; "A Drop of Rain" published in Libations for Nigeria, Naija Do Good, 2018. He is currently working on a collection of short stories. more…

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