You laughed and

laughed and
laughed
by Gabriel Okara
ABOUT THE POET
• Gabriel Jibaba Okara was a Nigerian poet and novelist. He was born on 24 April 1921,
in Bomoundi State in Nigeria. He was well known for his Novel, ‘The Voice’. He won an
award at the Nigerian Festival of Arts in 1953.

• In 1979, he was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. He died on 25 March 2019,
in Federal Medical Centre, Nigeria.

• The title of the poem: You laughed and laughed and laughed uses alliteration and
assonance which makes it easy to hear and the reader can choose how to say it once
the content of the poem is read – understanding the humiliation Africans felt when
being laughed at /mocked by others / colonists. This laughter stems from a lack of
understanding by others, who do not understand the meaning behind dance and
singing for other cultures.

© Optimi
THE POEM And then I opened my mystic My laughter is the fire
inside wide like of the eye of the sky, the fire
In your ears my song
the sky, instead you entered your of the earth, the fire of the air,
is motor car misfiring
car and laughed and laughed and laughed the fire of the seas and the
stopping with a choking cough;
rivers fishes animals trees
and you laughed and laughed and laughed.
You laughed at my dance, and it thawed your inside,
you laughed at my inside. thawed your voice, thawed your
In your eyes my ante-
natal walk was inhuman, passing ears, thawed your eyes and
You laughed and laughed and laughed. thawed your tongue.
your ‘omnivorous understanding’
and you laughed and laughed and laughed But your laughter was ice-block
laughter and it froze your inside froze So a meek wonder held
You laughed at my song, your voice froze your ears your shadow and you whispered;
you laughed at my walk. froze your eyes and froze your tongue. ‘Why so?’
And I answered:
Then I danced my magic dance And now it’s my turn to laugh; ‘Because my fathers and I
to the rhythm of talking drums pleading, but my laughter is not are owned by the living
but you shut your eyes ice-block laughter. For I warmth of the earth
and laughed and laughed and laughed know not cars, know not ice-blocks. through our naked feet.’

© Optimi
 Referring directly to white people / colonists

1st person used – refers to the oppressed / black people and he

In your ears my song lays claim to the song. It is part of him. The songs were of pain
and oppression.

is motor car misfiring

Alliteration The song is compared to a misfiring car engine that is
spewing out pollution / filth and is unpleasant by others.

stopping with a choking cough;

Personification

Repetition emphasizes the racial discrimination

and you laughed and laughed and laughed. shown to them – they see no value in what they
are hearing – it is simply noise to them.

Imagine how this word would be said – with emphasis?

© Optimi
 Note the constant reference
In your eyes my ante- to YOU / YOUR
Ante-natal: image of a pregnant
woman walking uncomfortably
natal walk was inhuman, passing
Even their way of walking was judged to be non-
human – demeaning / mocking attitude.

your ‘omnivorous understanding’ Note the quotation marks – said by speaker in mocking
tone? Commenting on how colonisers said they were
open to understanding all people but were not really…
and you laughed and laughed and laughed
Think about the effect of this REPETITION… what is our
opinion of the colonisers / others?

You laughed at my song,

Poet highlights how the laughter was directed at their
songs AND their body language – the feeling of ridicule
you laughed at my walk. is made clear.

© Optimi
 Indicates the speaker’s response to their laughter…

Their traditional dances are so

different that they appear almost
Then I danced my magic dance magical / fantastical.

The dance is in tune with

to the rhythm of talking drums pleading, the beat of the drum – as if
Personification emphasizing their plea for
the colonisers to be more
understanding of their
culture.
Source: www.freepik.com. ‘Close up hands playing drum.
but you shut your eyes Instead, they simply close their eyes to [online]. Available from Freepik: https://bit.ly/3woSpUI

avoid seeing it / turn away and refuse to

try to understand or appreciate it.

and laughed and laughed and laughed The constant repetition of these
lines emphasizes how much
ridicule or discrimination was
endured by them.

© Optimi
 In contrast to the colonizer, the speaker makes an attempt to open his
And then I opened my mystic soul / inner self to try to understand where the other person comes from
hoping that this would encourage them to do the same…

inside wide like Note the SIMILE: compares the vastness of the sky to how big
his soul is open (also great example of HYPERBOLE)

the sky, instead you entered your Despite the speaker trying to open up to
them, they simply … drive off laughing.
Shows a lack of interest and understanding.
car and laughed and laughed and laughed

You laughed at my dance,

Take note of the simple sentences used – poet keeps it simple so
that they can understand… just how offensive they have been.

you laughed at my inside.

© Optimi
You laughed and laughed and laughed. The REPETITION continues – emphasises how persistent it was.
Introduces a shift in tone… turns the idea around …
But your laughter was ice-block

Very effective run-on line that contains the EXTENDED METAPHOR:

laughter and it froze your inside froze their laughter is compared to an ice block that lacks empathy and
warmth.
It suggests that their choice to deny understanding has left them cold –
your voice froze your ears stifled their emotions; silenced their own voice; immobilized their ability
to empathise and never find a home in Africa…

froze your eyes and froze your tongue.

Confirms the change in speaker’s mind – that he has made a conscious

decision to not let the laughter affect him any longer.
And now it’s my turn to laugh;

but my laughter is not

ice-block laughter. For I

Points out that materialistic things are not part of their culture – things
like cars are foreign to them but are not needed to identify themselves.
know not cars, know not ice-blocks.

© Optimi
 My laughter is the fire
Like the sun
of the eye of the sky, the fire

Lightning
of the earth, the fire of the air,
Metaphor runs throughout

the fire of the seas and the

The lava within the earth
rivers fishes animals trees
Note the lack of commas: mirrors his thoughts running
along as he lists everything…
and it thawed your inside,
A transformation has taken place: Other people / colonisers
have finally ‘thawed’ – they are finally seeing each other!
thawed your voice, thawed your

ears, thawed your eyes and thaw – to become a liquid or soften as a result of warming up.

thawed your tongue.

© Optimi
So a meek wonder held Said in a gentle tone – the speaker has managed to get through
to them. They finally see the wonder of their culture.

your shadow and you whispered; Punctuation mark allows for a more dramatic pause before the
words of the white people are said…

‘Why so?’ Finally asking for an explanation – showing a willingness to

learn and understand the culture.

And I answered: Punctuation mark introduces the explanation.

‘Because my fathers and I

are owned by the living He explains that they have a connection with nature – This
created a fire within them with which they can melt the ice-
block laughter of whites – Black people are deeply connected
with natural elements – it seeps into them from the ground up.
warmth of the earth

through our naked feet.’

© Optimi
Themes Tone and mood
Contrast
Racism
The poet uses contrast • The tone of the poem is
The speaker highlights the disgrace humiliating and offensive.
between the black
of racial intolerance with special • The mood is of strength and
reference to how people mocked indigenous African culture
resilience.
African people for their music, dance. and the white colonialist
tradition.
Culture
African culture is mocked and
ridiculed by people who
misunderstood their songs and
You laughed and Extended metaphor
dance. No empathy was shown with laughed and Laughter – The image of ice and how
the culture of Africans and how they frozen the listeners were runs
connect with Nature. laughed through stanza 7 and 8. In line 38 the
fire thawed them.

Type and form

The poem ‘You laughed and laughed and laughed’ consists of 10 stanzas, that are not equal in length.
It has no defined meter, no consistent rhyme scheme, and no specified length or formal requirements.
The only consistent form it takes is that of repetition of the title at the end of the first four stanzas and
again in stanza 7.

© Optimi