Season by Wole Soyinka

The word “loved” is in the past tense thus indicating a time gone by.  This suggests that the first stanza deals with the person’s memory of seasons past.  This is in contrast with the second stanza that begins with the word “now” thus firmly situating the stanza in the present.  The first stanza is a celebration of nature in which his mind wanders back to spring with references to “pollen” and “mating.” suggesting a time of conception, the beginning of something.  This is a time of hope that is reflected in the metaphorical depiction of the swallows that “weave a dance of feathered arrows.”  Dancing usually has happy connotations and is often a form of celebration.  Arrows fly through the air with great speed.  The effect is compounded by the “streaks” of light, once again emphasizing speed, movement and life.  The visual beauty of spring is evident in this interplay of light and movement.  

“We loved to hear” indicates a sense of pleasure that not only applies to the actual sound but to the implications of that sound, the knowledge that something is growing.  The “winged streaks of light” capture the attention of the persona who is clearly tuned in to nature.  He observes the movement and the sounds of nature.  This sense if heightened by the onomatopoeic quality of the word “streak.”  One can almost hear the birds cut through the air.  The word “rasp” is also onomatopoeic.  It also traditionally has negative connotations, often suggesting an irritating, grating noise.  Here however it is connected to the corn leaves that bear the promise of food and continuation of life.  We also usually associate the colour “rust” with something negative, the process of ageing but Soyinka to some extent also redefines beauty by equating rust with “ripeness” and thus the source of life.  Even the “phrases of the wind” are spliced.  This joining of sounds evokes a mood of harmony.

In the second stanza the mood of “Season” shifts to one of anticipation as time seems to move slowly.  This is suggested by the “long shadows” and the germ’s “decay” and is made more explicit by the words, “we await / The promise of the rust.”  The quick movement of the swallows that are metaphorically described as “arrows” that “streak” is in contrast with the humans that watch and wait, now passive observers.  The beauty in the first stanza is active whilst he later moves into a more pensive appreciation of beauty, reflected in the slower shadows and smoke.