The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Full Poem
The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down
Gabriel Okara
The snow flakes sail gently
down from the misty eye of the sky
and fall lightly lightly on the
winter-weary elms. And the branches,
winter-striped and nude, slowly
with the weight of the weightless snow
bow like grief-stricken mourners
as white funeral cloth is slowly
unrolled over deathless earth.
And dead sleep stealthily from the
heater rose and clo...
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Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Key Facts
Full Title: Snowflakes Sail Gently Down
Author: Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara
Life Duration: (1921–2019)
Written Date: Around the 1960s
Published Date: Exact date not clearly recorded; published during the post-independence period of African literature
First Collected In: Collected Poems of Gabriel Okara (2016)
Publisher: Various Nigerian and international anthologies of African poetry
Genre...
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Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Themes
Nature and Peace: The poem opens with the image of snow falling “gently down from the misty eye of the sky.” This shows nature’s calm beauty and quiet peace. The snow covers the elm trees and the earth in a soft, white stillness. Nature gives rest and healing through its silence. Even in winter, when life seems asleep, nature holds purity and renewal. Okara presents nature as alive and feeling. Th...
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Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Characters
The Speaker: The poet is the main person in the poem. He watches the snow falling and thinks about life, peace, and the passing of time.
The Snowflakes: The snowflakes are quiet and gentle. They make the world look clean and calm. They also mean life, death, and a new beginning.
The Elms: The elm trees bend under the snow. They show tiredness and pain, just like people who suffer in silence.
The D...
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Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Summary
Peaceful Scene of Falling Snow: Gabriel Okara describes a quiet and peaceful scene of snowfall. The snowflakes come down slowly from the misty sky. They are so light that they make no sound when they fall, as if nature has stopped breathing. The snow falls on the tired elm trees of winter and covers them with a soft white layer. The bare branches bend slowly under the light snow. The poet compares...
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Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Literary Devices
Figures of Speech
Simile (Comparison using like or as)
Examples:
“And the branches… bow like grief-stricken mourners.” “bent-backed elms bowing and swaying to the winter wind like white-robed Moslems salaaming at evening prayer.”
Explanation: The elm trees are compared to mourners and to Muslims praying at evening time. Both comparisons show humility, sadness, and peace.Definition: A simile co...
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Snowflakes Sail Gently Down quotations
1. “The snow flakes sail gently down from the misty eye of the sky.”
Explanation: This line shows the calm and soft beauty of nature. The “misty eye of the sky” makes the sky seem alive and emotional, as if nature is quietly watching over the earth.
2. “The branches... bow like grief-stricken mourners.”
Explanation: The bending branches are compared to mourners, showing sorrow and heavin...
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Notes (20)
- Evaluate the theme of man’s relationship with nature in the poem.
- How does the poem reflect African sensibility and universal spirituality?
- The earth lying inscrutable like the face of a god in a shrine.
- What does the poet dream about?
- What do the “oil palms bearing suns for fruits” symbolize?
- Discuss the theme of life, death, and renewal in “Snowflakes Sail Gently Down.”
- Discuss the symbolic meaning of the dream sequence in “Snowflakes Sail Gently Down.”
- Analyse the use of symbolism and imagery in Gabriel Okara’s poem “Snowflakes Sail Gently Down.”
- The snow flakes sail gently down from the misty eye of the sky.
- White funeral cloth is slowly unrolled over deathless earth.
- Snowflakes
- Elm Trees
- White Funeral Cloth
- Black Birds
- Oil Palm Trees
- What is the role of religion or spirituality in the poem?
- What is the position of the poet ‘The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down’?
- What is the tone of the poem ‘The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down’?
- What is the central theme of the poem ‘The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down’?
- Write the figures of speech of "The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down".