In Exile (Arthur Nortje
English 101D First Assignment Unique Nr: 826883
Dedre Immelman Student nr 5012-960-0
In Exile (Arthur Nortje) Question 1 The poem “In Exile” was written by Arthur Nortje in the 1960 – 1970 period. There could be different interpretations to the meaning of the title “In Exile”. Arthur Nortje won a scholarship to study at the Jesus College at Oxford University. Arthur became one of the privileged few “chosen” to further their education outside the borders of South Africa. Can he be seen as truly in exile? I will argue that the title of the poem is relevant and is a reference to the personal feelings and experiences of Arthur Nortje during his time spent in England and Kanada. This poem was written during the time period 1960 to 1970 – during this time South Africa had a volatile political situation and many a young activists fled the country. As mentioned, the poet did not flee the country but this title can be seen as an identification with those fellow South Africans in exile as well as a emotional reference to the feelings one experiences when you leave your country of birth and need to settle new roots in the soil of a new country. “In Exile” indicates that something or someone is unsettled and not in their place of true origin. They have moved away – either voluntarily or by force. The title does not indicate whether this exile is a positive or negative experience. It does however refer to an action because exile indicates motion. One other aspect worth considering is the fact that the poet was born from a mixed couple and classified as colored. This could have left him with a feeling of alienation and the social implications could have left him with a feeling of being in “exile”. Question 2 The poem could be seen as a lyric description of the poet’s feelings. The poet is writing about 2 things – his country of origin and his feelings of desolation and possibly anger towards his birth country. Secondly, he is painting a picture of a landscape in his new
Dedre Immelman Student nr 5012-960-0
In Exile (Arthur Nortje) Question 1 The poem “In Exile” was written by Arthur Nortje in the 1960 – 1970 period. There could be different interpretations to the meaning of the title “In Exile”. Arthur Nortje won a scholarship to study at the Jesus College at Oxford University. Arthur became one of the privileged few “chosen” to further their education outside the borders of South Africa. Can he be seen as truly in exile? I will argue that the title of the poem is relevant and is a reference to the personal feelings and experiences of Arthur Nortje during his time spent in England and Kanada. This poem was written during the time period 1960 to 1970 – during this time South Africa had a volatile political situation and many a young activists fled the country. As mentioned, the poet did not flee the country but this title can be seen as an identification with those fellow South Africans in exile as well as a emotional reference to the feelings one experiences when you leave your country of birth and need to settle new roots in the soil of a new country. “In Exile” indicates that something or someone is unsettled and not in their place of true origin. They have moved away – either voluntarily or by force. The title does not indicate whether this exile is a positive or negative experience. It does however refer to an action because exile indicates motion. One other aspect worth considering is the fact that the poet was born from a mixed couple and classified as colored. This could have left him with a feeling of alienation and the social implications could have left him with a feeling of being in “exile”. Question 2 The poem could be seen as a lyric description of the poet’s feelings. The poet is writing about 2 things – his country of origin and his feelings of desolation and possibly anger towards his birth country. Secondly, he is painting a picture of a landscape in his new