Post Colonial Revision

Buffalo Dusk

·      Carl Sandburg – born in Illinois in 1878 – master of small poems.

·      Buffalo Dusk – a poem that ends so abruptly, that you can read it many times and yet be in awe.

·      Talks about the Native Americans – 1920s – The “Indians” of the country that was colonized.

·      The poem is self explanatory – the buffaloes are gone – those who saw them (Indians) are also gone – the death of colonized.

·      Makes us visualize a scene where thousands of buffaloes are grazing – and then suddenly takes it away.

·      The scene is easily visualized by readers but the abrupt end of the poem doesn’t let it remain for long.

·      Through this technique, Sandburg wants to show how the colonized were wiped away – blink of an eye – peaceful scenery is gone – life is terrorized – and death comes.

·      One of the key points is the way he begins and ends the poem – it is called reverse-repeat technique – a website I referred during mid sem gave this analysis that is stuck in my mind – first two and final two lines echo in our ears – just like the thousand “hoofs” did on the great terrain.

·      Europeans came to America – Buffaloes coming to the grassland.

·      They wiped away the Natives – Buffaloes eats away the pasture.

·      The title of the poem – “Buffalo Dusk” – gradual death – dusk is a sign of death – but also the hope of a rebirth.

·      Buffalo soldiers – troops in the US army who were Native Americans or black – mainly blacks or people from Africa.

THE POEM

Buffalo Dusk

The buffaloes are gone.

And those who saw the buffaloes are gone.

Those who saw the buffaloes by thousands and how they pawed the prairie sod into dust with their hoofs, their great heads down pawing on in a great pageant of dusk,

Those who saw the buffaloes are gone.
And the buffaloes are gone.