Examine the form and language of the poem.
POETIC FORM OF AMBUSH
The poem, “Ambush” is more of a narrative poem that embodies in its metaphor, the political and social insecurity that confront the land. In all, the poem has four stanzas of unequal length. There is however twenty-one lines in the poem. The third stanza of the poem is the shortest, having only three lines. These lines are compact and also flow ideas from one line to another.
LANGUAGE
The use of language is apt and metaphoric. Generally, the diction is characterized by metaphors that deepen the meaning of the poem. For instance, “the land is a giant whale”
“the land is a sabre- toothed tiger”
“the land is a giant hawk etc.”
These are emphatic metaphoric and full of deep meaning.
Besides, the language is simple and narrative although certain words may need further explanation They include: “sabre” a cued Sword, “bayonet” sharp knife mostly used by military, “glade” deep part of the forest, “shudder” – to tremble with fear “tribulation” great suffering or trouble, “venturous” — to venture or attempt to do something “whale”— a large sea mammal.
Other words are day-to-day expressions whose meanings can easily be understood. In all, the Poem is deep in meaning because of its metaphoric language.