Night by Wole Soyinka- A Simplified Analysis by Folahan Oyelekan

“Night” is one of the selected African poems in the WAEC Literature-in-English 2026–2030 Syllabus.

It is a poem of nature where the poet expresses his feelings about night.

He fears night because of its complexity and his inability to decipher what happens in the darkness which is the product of night.

The poem is explained in a simplified form in the book, “Simplified Poetry” written by Folahan Oyelekan.

African Poetry

These are the Poems:
Once Upon a Time by Gabriel Okara
New Tongue by Elizabeth L.A Kamara
Night by Wole Soyinka
Not My Business by Niyi Osundare
Hearty Garlands by S.O.H Afriyie-Vidza
The Breast of the Sea by Syl Cheney-Coker

Non-African Poetry

She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron
The Nun's Priest's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer
Digging by Seamus Heany
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
The Telephone Call by Fleur Adcock
The Stone by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson

The book also contains the other poems in the syllabus. They are all reviewed stanza by stanza with the themes and the poetic devices identified.

The difficult words and expressions in the poems are also identified and the poetic meanings are given.

You can also connect with the author on his YouTube channel for further discussions on Literature.