Night
Wole Soyinka · African poetry — Nigeria · WAEC set text 2026–2030
What it is doing
Night as presence, not just darkness: a force that comes down on the land, the body, the mind. Soyinka’s night is alive, sometimes gentle, sometimes a storm.
What to listen for
Personification of night; dense imagery; the feel of a West African night rather than a European one.
In the exam
Imagery and atmosphere. Do not reduce it to “the poet likes night”. Say what night does, line by line.