A Prayer for all my countrymen

1. A Prayer for all my countrymen GUY BUTLER MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

2. A Prayer for all my countrymen Though now few eyes Can see beyond Our tragic times complexities Dear God ordain Such deeds be done Such words be said MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

3. That men will praise Your image yet When all these terrors And hates are dead MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

4. Through rotting days Beaten, broken, Some stayed pure; Others learnt how To grin and endure And here and there A heart stayed warm A head grew clear. MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

5. Guy Butler (full name Frederick Guy Butler, b. 21 January 1918 in Cradock, Eastern Cape South Africa - 26 April 2001, Grahamstown, South Africa) was a South African poet and writer. He was born and educated in the Eastern Cape town of Cradock. He attended Rhodes University and received his MA in 1938. After marrying Jean Satchwell in 1940 he left South Africa to fight in the Second World War. After the war, he read English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford University, graduating in 1947. He returned to South Africa, lecturing in English at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1951, he returned to Rhodes University in Grahamstown to take up a post as Senior Lecturer, and a year later was made Professor and Head of English. He remained there until his retirement in 1987, when he was appointed Emeritus Professor and Honourary Research Fellow. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Natal, the University of the Witwatersrand and Rhodes University. Butler promoted the culture of English-speaking South Africans, which led to the charge of separatism from some critics, although he argued for integration rather than exclusivity. He was influential in achieving the recognition of South African English Literature as an accepted discipline. In his poetry he strove for the synthesis of European and African elements into a single voice MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

6. A Prayer for all my countrymenThe title • A prayer to God at a time when there was political intolerance and injustice. • The prayer is meant for all his countrymen – people of all race, colour and creed. • My countrymen- implies that they are more than just people living in the same country – this suggests a sense of belonging – they all belong here. • The fact that the poet expresses his thoughts in the form of a prayer tells us that he is asserting his own faith, his belief and his trust in God. MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

7. A Prayer for all my countrymenThe theme Praying to God, on behalf of all South Africans, to remove all ideological tension and all injustice in South Africa by creating a better understanding between all people. MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

8. A Prayer for all my countrymenCompare this poem to our National Anthem • Lord, bless AfricaMay her spirit rise high upHear thou our prayersLord bless us. • Lord, bless AfricaBanish wars and strifeLord, bless our nationOf South Africa. Nkosisikelel' iAfrikaMaluphakanyisw' uphondolwayo,Yizwaimithandazoyethu,Nkosisikelela, thinalusapholwayo. Morenabolokasetjhabasaheso,O fedisedintwa le matshwenyeho,O se boloke, O se bolokesetjhabasaheso,Setjhabasa South Afrika – South Afrika. MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

9. What is implied by these words? They express the hope that there will be change for the better somewhere in the future Metaphor Though now few eyes Can see beyond Our tragic times complexities The poet accuses the majority of his countrymen of not being able to envisage the consequences of their actions. Further than past • A time filled with tragedy and complicated and intricate problems. MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

10. The poet addresses God directly Dear God ordain Apostrophe Order Decree Proclaim Command MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH The word suggests a tone of reverence A close bond with God

11. Such deeds be done • Such words be said • That men will praise • Your image yet The tone of reverence is sustained treating one another with kindness, consideration and justice Showing mutual respect and Christian charity which will eventually lead to reconciliation. Our actions and words should reflect God’s image MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

12. This refers to deeds causing great fear, death and destruction Political and social frustration lead to senseless violence and terror When all these terrors And hates are dead There is a positive tone in these words The words imply that there is hope and things will change MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

13. Allusion Through rotting days Beaten, broken, Some stayed pure; This word alludes to the proverb: “To rot in jail” Not only physically harassed and tortured Alliteration This is reinforced by the But also mentally dispirited Not many remained true MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

14. Some people became conditioned not to react when they were treated badly Just to accept it with patience Others learnt how To grin and endure Allusion This phrase alludes to the idiom: “To grin and bear” MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

15. This line links with the word “some” in line 14 meaning scattered thinly And here and there A heart stayed warm A head grew clear. Even amidst the anguish and the madness there are still signs of human dignity and goodness MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

16. A head grew clear. Somewhere somebody thought about The situation with clarity MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

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