“A Song of a Navajo Weaver” –
Analysis
Introduction
Bertrand N. O. Walker- About a Navajo person reminiscing about her/his people used to walk these lands and what they saw and felt.
For ages long, my people have been
Dwellers in this land;
For ages viewed these mountains,
Loved these mesas and these sands,
That stretch afar and glisten,
Glimmering in the sun
As it lights the mighty canons
Ere the weary day is done..
Shall I, a patient dweller in this
Land of fair blue skies,
Tell something of their story while
My shuttle swiftly flies?
As I weave I’ll trace their journey
Devious, rough and wandering,
Ere they reached the silent region
Where the night stars seem to sing.
When the myriads of them glitter
Over peak and desert waste,
Crossing which the silent runner and
The gaunt of co-yo-tees haste
Shall I weave the zig-zag pathway
Whence the sacred fire was born;
And interweave the symbol of the God
Who brought the corn—
Of the Rain-god whose fierce anger
Was appeased by sacred meal,
And the trust that my brave people
In him evermore shall feel?
All this perhaps I might weave
As the woof goes to and fro,
Wafting as my shuttle passes,
Humble hopes, and joys and care,
Weaving closely, weaving slowly,
While I watch the pattern grow;
Showing something of my life:
To the Spirit God a prayer.
Grateful that he brought my people
To the land of silence vast
Taught them arts of peace and ended
All their wanderings of the past.
Deftly now I trace the figures,
This of joy and that of woe;
And I leave an open gate-way
For the Dau to come and go.
Text Dependent Questions: Please highlight or color code your answers.
1. What is the setting of this poem? How does the setting add meaning to the poem?
2. Read lines 29-34. How does the description of weaving contribute to the mood of the poem? (What is the mood?)
3. What is the universal theme of this poem? How is the theme developed in the story?
4. Read lines 37-40. What mood is created in this section?
5. What is the speaker’s tone of the poem? (Author’s attitude towards the subject.)
6. Read lines 39-40. How do the bolded words bring meaning to the poem? (What do these words mean?)
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