There is a lot implied in the poem, for example in the first stanza there is never said literally that she is actually alone or feeling lonely. The third verse “A Maid whom there were none to praise” show how she got no one to care about nor anyone that cares for her how she cannot ask to be religious because religion needs more than one person that share her believes. “And very few to love” show again her lack of anyone that she could relate directly with. There is a comparison between her and a violet, both of them been implied to be in the wrong place were their beauty cannot be appreciated and “half hidden from the eye” is showing her as shy. “But she is in her grave, and, oh,” that verse implied that even though that through the poem has been say that she is all alone someone has bothered enough to bury her which shows how in the most insolated place and circumstances we still got people that cares about us.
He did not said that Lucy died but she “ceased to be” which has the propose to demonstrate how we think that death is a normal process but we do not always think of it as the actual end for us in, so he use it in order to prevent us for taking it too easy.
This poem relates to before the sun where the different process of life are been showed. The poem before the sun written by Charles Mungoshi emphasizes the theme of the life cycle as he describe how a child is going into adulthood and how important it is for him as this is like a ritual.
The author implies with the words “early heat” and heavy rain” that this change to adulthood will not be easy as the boy will have to meet various problems. In stanza 2 the author describes that changing into adulthood requires a greater responsibility which means that the boy will have to perform more arduous tasks such as chopping wood. Stanza 3-4 explains how the boy has dreams and ambitions of becoming a man as this means he is able to gain more knowledge of life “And when the sun finally shows up in the East like some latecomer to a feast”, the author explains the slow sunrise as being the time period taken for the boy to become a man and this moment has finally come reality for the boy so he is cheering in happiness. Stanza 8-9, verses 34-35 “I tell the sun to come share with me the roasted maize” the sun is personified as a god who will guide and help the boy to obtain the things he needs to become a man.
Through the poem Mungoshi implies many things. In stanza 2 “and eternities later, settle down in showers” the author implies that it has taken a long time for the boy to be ready to change from a child to a boy. In stanza 3 “It is a big log: but when you are fourteen big logs are what you want.” The author illustrates that the boy has an ambition to become a man so he sets himself more challenging goals to prove to himself that he is worth of becoming a man.
Before sun is a poem which is written based on images. An example of this is stanza 2 as it is shaped into the form of an arc to portray an image in which the boy is putting a lot on effort on his task to prove that he is worthy of being a man. The mood of the poem is positive as it describes the effort the boy has put in to become a man although the author uses some words such as “heavy rain” to imply that becoming a man can be uncertain as many problems will come ahead.
