At A Funeral

At a Funeral
by Dennis Brutus
Imagined Worlds, pp. 59 – 62
(Transition and Revolution)
Dennis Brutus
• Born in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in 1924.
• Taught in South Africa and became an anti-apartheid activist.
• Shot and imprisoned by apartheid regime and left South Africa
in in the 1960s.
• Lectured at UK and US universities.
• Passed away in 2009.
• For a time, Brutus was a banned person and his work was also
banned in apartheid South Africa.
Black, green and gold at sunset; pageantry 1
And stubbled graves Expectant, of eternity, 2
In bride’s-white, nun’s-white veils the nurses gush their bounty 3
Of red-wine cloaks, frothing the bugled dirging slopes 4
Salute! Then ponder all this hollow panoply 5
At a Funeral For one whose gift the mud devours, with our hopes. 6
(for Valencia
Majombozi, who
died shortly after
qualifying as a Oh all you frustrate ones, powers tombed in dirt, 7
doctor)
Aborted, not by Death but carrion books of birth 8
Arise! The brassy shout of Freedom stirs our earth: 9
Not Death but death’s-head tyrrany scythes our ground 10
And plots our narrow cells of pain defeat and dearth: 11
Better that we should die, than that we should lie down. 12
‘Black, green and gold
at sunset:’ (line 1)
• Colours of the ANC – at that

time a banned organzation at
the centre of the struggle.
• The colours are used along

with the word ‘pageantry’ (line
1) in a romanticized manner.
However, a cruel contrast is
created in line 5, by the word
‘hollow’.
• Pageantry: elaborate display

or ceremony.
There is no pomp and splendor here. Moreover, this is not a
neat and tidy cemetery. The grass around the grave is roughly
cut (‘stubbled ”), and is, perhaps, in the veld. There is no glory,
just the thought of death.
‘stubbled graves’
(line 2)
‘
‘bride’s-white, nun’s-
white’ (line 3)
Black, red and white
• Black, red and white are the colours of the

Nazi party. The speaker uses these colours to
foreshadow the death and destruction of his
people in line 10. The Nazi party was
notorious for ruling autocratically, with fear,
violence and discrimination.
‘Salute!’ (line 5)
Traditionally, a salute is a formal, military

greeting. By including a military reference, the
poet suggests that a battle or a war is taking
place. This ties in with the fact that the young
doctor, was shot. This is the way we expect a
soldier, and not a doctor should die.
Other examples of military diction or jargon
are ‘bugled’ (line 4) and ‘brassy (line 9).
The Last Post
• The Last Post is a piece of music that is usually played on a

bugle at military funerals. Its tone is sombre and respectful.
• https://youtu.be/McCDWYgVyps
• However, the poet says that all this ‘pageantry’ (line1) is

‘hollow’ (line 5).
• The speaker says that this impressive collection of tributes,

this ‘panoply’ / showy parade (line 5) is meaningless and lacking
in substance.
Like a starved animal, the mud eats up or ‘devours’
the wonderful gift of healing, life and hope
represented by the talents of the young doctor.
The tone of the first stanza is defeated, hopeless

and despondent
‘For one whose gifts the mud devours’ (line 6)

‘Oh all you … Arise!’ (lines 7 – 9)
The speaker uses apostrophe to address

the reader directly. The call to action in
the verb ‘Arise!’ calls upon the oppressed
‘frustrate ones’ (line 7) to rise up from
their political deaths. They should not be
like dead flesh ‘aborted’ or ‘carrion’
because the system of the pass book has
dehumanized them. The word ‘arise’ also
has spiritual connotations.
‘Not death but death’s head tyranny
scythes our ground’ (line 10)
‘And plots our narrow cell of pain
defeat and dearth:’ (line 11)
‘Better that we should die,
than that we should lie
down.’ (line 12)
The speaker concludes by
expressing the idea that he would
rather die than ‘lie down’ and
accept the injustices with which he
is forces to live.
The tone is defiant, rebellious and

confrontational.
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4

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At a Funeral

• Colours of the ANC – at that

• The colours are used along

• Pageantry: elaborate display

• Black, red and white are the colours of the

Traditionally, a salute is a formal, military

• The Last Post is a piece of music that is usually played on a

• However, the poet says that all this ‘pageantry’ (line1) is

• The speaker says that this impressive collection of tributes,

The tone of the first stanza is defeated, hopeless

‘For one whose gifts the mud devours’ (line 6)

The speaker uses apostrophe to address

The tone is defiant, rebellious and

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