SHANTYTOWN

Anonymous
Shantytown

1 High on the veld upon that plain

2 And far from streets and lights and cars

3 And bare of trees and bare of grass

4 Jabavu sleeps beneath the stars.

5 Jabavu sleeps.

6 The children cough.

7 Cold creeps up, the hard night cold,

8 The earth is tight within its grasp.

9 The Highveld cold without soft rain,

10 Dry as sand, rough as rasp

11 The frost-rimmed night invades the shacks.

12 Through dusty ground

13 Through rocky ground

14 Through freezing ground, the night cold creeps.

15 In cotton blankets, rags and sacks

16 Beneath the stars Jabavu sleeps.

17 One day Jabavu will awake

18 To greet a new and shining day;

19 The sound of coughing will become

20 The children’s laughter as they play

21 In parks with flowers where dust now swirls,

22 In strong-walled homes with warmth and light.

23 But for tonight Jabavu sleeps.

24 Jabavu sleeps. The stars are bright.

Shantytown

1 High on the veld upon that plain

Let’s look at the poem’s structure.
2 And far from streets and lights and cars

3 And bare of trees and bare of grass • Title and Poet: Anonymous, in other words, we do not know who the poet is. He/she has chosen to remain anonymous. Why do you
think this is? Maybe the poet was black and did not have freedom of speech? Maybe he/she knew that they would possibly not even
4 Jabavu sleeps beneath the stars.
have their poem published? A shantytown is a deprived (poverty/hardship/suffering/lack of basic resources) area on the outskirts (end
of) a town. It consists of a large number of poorly built houses. Shacks = Township. There are many words that can be
5 Jabavu sleeps. associated with the idea of a shantytown e.g. underprivileged, poor, neglected, angry, dirty, forgotten, ignored etc.

6 The children cough. • Structure: Stanzas vary in length

7 Cold creeps up, the hard night cold,
• Rhythm:
8 The earth is tight within its grasp.

9 The Highveld cold without soft rain, • Rhyme pattern: free verse – no fixed rhyme pattern
10 Dry as sand, rough as rasp
• Rhyme scheme: NO particular rhyme scheme, varying lengths of stanzas. Again, why do you think this is? Maybe because the poet
11 The frost-rimmed night invades the shacks. decided to write his own poem, without following the normal rules of poetry. Maybe he did this because he was forced to follow the
strict rules of apartheid in his every day life. His poetry might have been an escape for him.
12 Through dusty ground

13 Through rocky ground • Summary of content: This poem was written during apartheid where black and white people were forced to live in segregated areas.
14 Through freezing ground, the night cold creeps.
Black people mostly lived on the outskirts of the city, in townships. Even though this poem was written many years ago, the universal
theme is still relevant today. (Universal = can relate to many people). There are still many townships in South Africa today and many
15 In cotton blankets, rags and sacks
people live in these townships. Cape Town = Khayelitsha,
16 Beneath the stars Jabavu sleeps.
• Pretoria = Mamelodi, Johannesburg = Soweto. Soweto has a population of over 2 million people. Therefore, it is divided into many
sub-sections. Jabavu is one of these sections.
17 One day Jabavu will awake

18 To greet a new and shining day; • Theme(THE MEssage): The poet makes a value judgment that it is immoral to let or make people live in shacks where they are
19 The sound of coughing will become
exposed to the elements.
20 The children’s laughter as they play • Tone/Mood/Emotion: The mood of hopelessness changes to one of hope in line 17 – One day…
21 In parks with flowers where dust now swirls,

22 In strong-walled homes with warmth and light.

23 But for tonight Jabavu sleeps.

24 Jabavu sleeps. The stars are bright.

 STANZA 1
Line 1
“High on the veld” refers to the Highveld. Gauteng, and specifically Johannesburg form
part of the highveld. Soweto/Jabavu is in Johannesburg. Plain = Flat area of land.
Line 2
Jabavu is in the highveld and on the outskirts of the city of JHB. It does not have tarred streets and roads but
dusty, dirt roads. There is no electricity so there are no street lights. People here also do not own their own
personal cars. They have to make use of public transport. They are far from city life, progress and luxury.

1 High on the veld upon that plain

2 And far from streets and lights and cars
3 And bare of trees and bare of grass
4 Jabavu sleeps beneath the stars.

Line 3
Bare = empty. The township is exposed to natural elements. There are no trees
and there is no grass. Dusty, dry, bleak.

Line 4
Personification [NOTE the amount of personification. It is almost as if the poet is referring to
Jabavu as a living being.] The township sleeps (people of the township) beneath the stars. Why
can one see the stars so clearly? There is no electricity thus no lights blocking out the stars.
 STANZA 2
Line 5: Short sentence indicates a description of what it is like when Jabavu sleeps.

5 Jabavu sleeps. Line 6: The people in the township live under difficult circumstances. Many people in one shack. Illness and poverty. The children get sick easily. They cough. We can
assume that it is winter on the highveld. People also make use of fires to keep warm. The children might be coughing due to illness (flu) or because of the smoke caused
6 The children cough. by the fires to keep warm.
Line 7: Personification = The cold is compared to a living being sneaking up on the sleeping people. There is no warmth or comfort.
7 Cold creeps up, the hard night cold, Hard, cold, tough circumstances.

8 The earth is tight within its grasp. Line 8: Personification = The cold winter night has the township in its tight grip, holding onto it. There is no release or relief from the cold.

Line 9: The highveld/JHB/Jabavu is cold and dry. It doesn’t rain on the highveld during winter so it’s dry and dusty. Very bleak and
9 The Highveld cold without soft rain, sad to look at.
Line 10: Simile = The township is being compared to dusty sand because it is so dry there. And when one walks on the dry sand, it makes a scratchy sound Rasp =
10Dry as sand, rough as rasp Scratchy. “Rough as rasp” - alliteration
Line 11: Personification = “frost-rimmed” means very cold, the windows are covered in frost/ice. The night is referred to as someone,
11The frost-rimmed night invades the shacks. very cold and icy, invading the shacks. The word ‘invade’ tells us that the night is not welcome. It is uninvited and yet it invades their
space. Creeps up on them and enters their shacks without warning. Like a thief.
12Through dusty ground Line 12: The night invades through dusty ground,

13Through rocky ground Line 13: through rocky ground,

14Through freezing ground, the night cold creeps. Line 14: and through freezing cold ground. It keeps creeping and sneaking into the shacks, unwelcome.
Line 15: The people of Jabavu do not have the necessary “luxuries” to keep them warm at night. No heaters or warm blankets. They use
15In cotton blankets, rags and sacks whatever they can to try to keep warm, thin cotton blankets, rags or pieces of material and sacks (material bags) as protection from the
cold.
16Beneath the stars Jabavu sleeps.
Line 16: Repetition to emphasise the fact that he is sleeping in an open sky – when ironically he shouldn’t be able to see the stars from the
inside of his house.
 STANZA 3

17One day Jabavu will awake Line 17: “One day Jabavu will awake” Personification = The people will awake, not only meaning Jabavu, but the people of South Africa
Line 18: The township will wake up from the cold, harsh night to meet a new and shining day. Think of Dreaming of Light. What
18To greet a new and shining day; connotations are associated with a “new day”? To light? Hope, happiness, relief, a new beginning.
Line 19: Circumstances in the township will improve. The children’s coughing will become the sound of children laughing. Pain,
19The sound of coughing will become suffering = Joy, innocence

20The children’s laughter as they play Line 20: The children will have space to play. Children will be able to be children.

21In parks with flowers where dust now swirls, Line 21: They will play in parks with green grass and flowers and colours and swings etc., at the moment,
unfortunately there is only dust blowing there now.
22In strong-walled homes with warmth and light. Line 22: They will live in brick homes, sturdy and warm with electricity and light.

23But for tonight Jabavu sleeps. Line 23: But currently, at the present moment, Jabavu still sleeps. Personification.
It is still dark and cold BUT, there is a glimmer of hope in the final line…
24Jabavu sleeps. The stars are bright. Line 24: “The stars are bright.” There is the promise of a brighter future. At the moment it is dark but, there is light. The stars are
bright. The future looks bright for the people of Jabavu.
Questions

1. What does the first stanza tell the reader about the physical location of the township, Jabavu? (1)
2. In your own words, explain lines 2 and 3. (4)
3. What is the effect of the alliteration “rough as rasp” in describing the ground in stanza 2? (2)
4. What “silver lining” (little bit of good) can be found in lines 4 and 16? (1)
5. Name two possible reasons why the children cough? (2)
6. In your own words, explain lines 7, 11 and 14. (2)
7. Name the above figure of speech. (1)
8. Contrast the lack of basic needs, to what the people wish for in the future. (3)
9. Do you think there is hope for Jabavu? Prove your answer with evidence from the poem? (2)
Answers
1. Jabavu is on the highveld.
2. Jabavu is situated far from tarred roads, it has no electricity, or trees or grass. The people who live here do not have their own
cars. They rely on public transport. [Be sure to use your own words. Give your own answer. Read between the lines e.g “far
from lights”. Light = electricity thus, far from electricity, thus no electricity].
3. The alliteration imitates the sound of a person walking on dry, rocky ground. “RRRRRR”-sound.
4. At least the beauty of the night sky can be seen. No city lights to block out the natural beauty of the stars.
5. Sick, no medical resources OR because of the fire which is used to keep warm.
6. The cold slowly moves into the shacks like an unwanted thief or entity sneaking around, up to no good.
7. Personification
8. They wish for children’s laughter vs coughing
They wish for parks vs dusty plains
They wish for strong, brick homes vs shacks
They wish for warmth vs freezing cold
They wish for light vs no electricity [NOTE: CONTRAST. You have to point out what the have in contrast to what they want.
This vs That.]
9. Yes, “The stars are bright”. It might not be better yet but, there is hope for a better future.