The Lonely Soul by Raphael Armattoe

1. THE LONELY SOUL RAPHAEL ERNEST GRAIL ARMATTOE

2. Background of the Author Born: August 12, 1913, Keta, Ghana Nationality: Ghanian Education: University of Paris Died: December 21, 1953, Hamburg Germany 

3. Who is Raphael Armattoe? He was a Ghanaian doctor, poet, and politician. He is a well-known for his medical practice as for his writing. His first collection of poems was Between and the Sea. He was nominated for the 1949 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology and was a campaigner for unification of British and French Togoland. Dr. Armattoe spent over a decade working in Northern Ireland, and he wrote a book on The Golden Age of West African Civilization and issued numerous pamphlets. He spoke at the 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England and the Scientific and Cultural Conference for World Peace in New York.

4. Overview of the Poem Raphael Armattoe's poem "The Lonely Soul" explores loneliness, a feeling that almost everyone on earth has experienced at some point. By doing this, the poet makes it possible for the readers to identify with himself and the two characters. The unity of these two characters is experiencing common loneliness provides them with comfort in knowing that they are not alone in their feelings of loneliness. The desire for companionship is inherent in human nature, and the absence of companionship results in the deeply felt void that is loneliness.

5. Vocabulary  Shower of sorrows- a series of problems pouring on you. Arrows- the arrows are sharp, it hurts to fall down to you. It seems that when problem arise, you will have to stand up even with some arrows of problems. Wayfarer- a traveler especially on foot or someone travels on foot. Babble- to talk enthusiastically or excessively to utter meaningless or unintelligible sounds.

6. The Lonely Soul I met an old woman Talking by herself Down a lonely road. Talking to herself, Laughing all the time, Talking to herself Down a country road. Child, you cannot know Why folks talk alone. If the road be long And travellers none, A man talks to himself. If showers of sorrows Fall down like arrows The lone wayfarer May talk by himself. So an old woman On lone country roads, Laughing all the time, May babble to herself To keep the tears away. Woman, you are sad! 'Tis the same with me.

7. Poem Analysis Theme: The poem revolves around loneliness and alone. Literature: Ghanaian Literature Genre: Narrative Poetry  Structure: Free Verse Tone: Sentimental  Mood: Hopeful 

8. I met an old woman Talking by herself Down a lonely road. Talking to herself, Laughing all the time,  He describes an old woman he met. She receives no name from him. He might not even aware of her name. He does nothing but listen as she speaks to herself. The speaker then describes the scene, which is a country road. The opening of "The Lonely Soul" immediately conveys a feeling of loneliness to the readers. The old woman demonstrates how lonely she is. It seems that the last time this old woman spoke to someone other than herself was possibly a very long time ago. The fact that the setting is a road and that it is described as a country road is repeated several times, emphasizing the woman's physical isolation.

9. Talking to herself Down a country road. Child, you cannot know Why folks talk alone. With these lines, the speaker directs his attention to the readers, addressing each as "child." This gives the readers the impression that the speaker is of a certain age and thus has the authority to speak on matters of life and death. He refers to all of his readers as "children," implying that he has lived long enough to regard himself as a parental figure.

10. If the road be long And travelers none, A man talks to himself The speaker introduces another character here, referring to him simply as "a man." The introduction of another character provides the readers with two specific insights. First, the speaker does not address the man by name, implying that he did not ask the man his name. Similarly, he never asked the old woman her name. He notices these two people and realizes they are lonely, but he never asks them their names. This provides readers with some insight into the issue of loneliness. The speaker says after introducing the man that he "walks to himself." This could imply that he was walking or carrying himself in a way that discouraged others from approaching him. The speaker appears to believe that the man, being lonely, did not approach anyone and preferred to walk alone. He describes the man as experiencing "showers of sorrows" that fell on him "like arrows." Something about the man's sorrows gave the speaker the impression that he had been through a lot.

11. So an old woman On lone country roads, Laughing all the time, May babble to herself To keep the tears away. Woman, you are sad! 'Tis the same with me If showers of sorrows Fall down like arrows The lone wayfarer May talk by himself. The speaker mentions all of the characters he has introduced thus far in the final lines of 'The Lonely Soul.' He refers to the man as a "lone wayfarer," and he emphasizes that he "may speak by himself." Similarly, he allows the old woman to "babble to herself" as she walks down the lonely country road. The speaker then explains why he forgives the man and the old woman for their strange behavior. He implies that they are walking alone and talking to themselves "to keep the tear away." Then he addresses the old woman specifically, saying, "Woman, you are sad! " as if to force her to confront her own emotions, which she had kept by laughing and babbling to herself. Then he admits to himself that he is sad too. In this way, he creates a connection between himself and the two characters in his poem. 

12. In an ironic way, he finds comfort in the fact that he is not alone in his loneliness. These final lines also imply that loneliness may be only part of the reason for these people's sadness. While loneliness may add to their sadness, the speaker suggests that they are lonely for other reasons, and that they may be lonely on purpose to keep the tears away. This implies that these people have gone through sorrows that would only cause them to cry out to others. This explains why the man is uncomfortable around other travelers and walks alone. The woman also laughs and starts talking to herself for this reason.  She can decide on every topic brought up by having a conversation with herself rather than with another person, and she can keep laughing to avoid tragedies she has been through. The lonely man similarly avoids having to talk about the sorrows that have been descending upon him by walking alone. Thus, the speaker makes it clear that coping mechanisms play a role in loneliness. Sadly, their approach to dealing with sadness has only increased loneliness, which feeds more sadness. As a result, the speaker is able to convey to his readers a life fact, that loneliness is not a solution for sadness—through both his own experience and his observations of others.

13. Prepared by:  Dumulag, Karen Kate N.  BSED 3A