Dis al

Celliers, Jan F.E

Context
Imagine that you have to go far; that you might have to move to another country.
Imagine then that you are coming back and that your loved ones are no longer
here. How do you think you would feel?

This is exactly the feeling that Jan F. Celliers expresses in the poem. He tells of an
exile who returns to his land, but all he gets is “a grave in the grass” (line 9). Jan
Celliers was born on 12 January 1865 near Wellington in the Western Cape. He
lived in Stellenbosch, Wellington, and attended school in Pretoria. In 1899 he
joined the Boer Commandos and fought in the second South African war (also
known as Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902). He is a “bitter end” (die hard), which
means that he fought until the end of the war and did not want to surrender to the
British power. After the war he went to live in Switzerland and the Netherlands,
where he started poetry. He returned to South Africa in 1907. Here he worked as a
translator until he became a professor at the University of Stellenbosch. He died
on June 1, 1940.

When you read the poem you become aware of the very melancholic (sad) mood
of the poem. The narrator describes to the reader what is seen: there is the wide
openness of the blue sky, birds flying freely in the sky and the warrior flying along
the grave standing and crying. There is nothing more to say because what has
been said is sad enough. The reader experiences the sadness of the exile who
has returned to his country, but it is too late for a last meeting with his loved ones.

Analysis:
assonansie Repetition of vowel sounds shortly after each other e.g.
(assonance) “dis ‘n graf in die gras”
alliterasie Repetition of consonants shortly after each other. In this
(alliteration) poem, alliteration is used to tie/bind the poem together:
“Dis die”
herhaling Repetition in a poem can be used to bind the poem
(repetition) together so that it becomes a unit. It can also be used to
emphasize a thought/idea
ironie The use of words that are the opposite of what you
(irony) mean.
progressie Related to development and change. For example,
(progression) there may be development in the course of time and in
the course of events.
Tema The return from exile and the consequences of exile.
(Theme)
Stemming Narrative
(appearance)
Bou The poem consists of two sections. The first stanza is
(Structure) the first section. It describes the environment. The
second stanza (second section) describes the people
within his environment, as well as their feelings.

Outer structure: Two stanzas with an uneven number of

lines. Stanza 1 has six lines and stanza 2 has 5 lines.
The lines are short apart from line 5.

Inner structure: There is progression because the

speaker first describes the outer and then the inner.
Titel The title tells us what the poem is about. We know that
(title) the speaker has little to say because the title is short
and descriptive.
Strofe 1 Stanza 1 tells us about the environment: the field is
(stanza 1) “blond” (yellow) and it is winter. The air is blue and there
is a bird in the sky. There is nothing left. The lines are
short, besides line 5 that describes the flight of the bird:
“and a bird turns upside down in solitude flight”. It
contrasts with the exile, who does not consider himself
free. This is why he left his country. But even though the
bird is free, it is also lonely, just like exile. The narrator
projects the exile’s loneliness on the flight of the bird.

The long line helps to describe the idea of the bird in the
air.
The long e-sound (“lonely”) supports the image of the
bird’s flight.
The dash at the end of line 5 emphasizes the fact that
what follows is important.
The whole first stanza is a single sentence that begins
with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It adds to
the simplicity of the poem.
There is no fixed rhyming pattern. The alliteration in line
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 helps to bind the poem. Only line 4
and 5 rhyme (end rhyme) with each other.
Strofe 2 In stanza 2 the narrator further describes: there is a
(stanza 2) man in the field, there is a grave in the grass and there
is someone crying (“falling tear”). It is therefore not “all”
but tells of a sad event. The words “that’s all” is ironic,
because here something different is said from what is
meant. Once again, there is no fixed rhyming pattern.
The repetition of the word “it” (lines 7, 9, 10 and 11) and
the g-alliteration in verse 9 helps to bind the poem
together. Only lines 8 and 10 rhyme with each other.
Vrae:

1. Beskryf kortliks waaroor strofe 1 handel. (Shortly explain what stanza 1 is about.)
2. Beskryf kortliks waaroor strofe 2 handel. (Shortly explain what stanza 2 is about.)
3. Watter kontras of teenstelling is daar tussen strofe 1 en strofe 2? (What contrast is
there between stanza 1 and stanza 2?)
4. Wat is die funksie van die aandagstreep in hierdie gedig? (What is the function of
the attention line in this poem?)
5. Stem jy saam met die volgende stelling? Gee ‘n rede vir jou antwoord.
Die gedig bestaan uit twee sinne. (The poem is made up of two sections.)
(Do you agree with the following statement? Give a reason for your answer.)
6. Wie is die person/verteller in hierdie gedig? (Who is the narrator of this poem?)
7. Waarom word daar na hierdie person as ‘n “balling” verwys? Why is the person
referred to as an exile?
8. Waar, dink jy, was hierdie person ‘n banneling? Gee ‘n rede. (Where do you think
this person was an exile? Give a reason.)
9. Waarom huil hierdie person? (Why is this person crying?)
10. Waar is hierdie person? (Where is this person?)
11. Verduidelik waarom die lang versreël 5 as beskrywend van die voël se vlug
beskou kan word. (Explain why the long line 5 can be considered as descriptive of
the bird’s flight.)
12. Die digter het sy eie ervaring gebruik om hierdie om hierdie gedig te skryf.
Verduidelik hierdie stelling. (The poet used his own experience to write this poem.
Explain this statement.)
13. Gee ‘n sinoniem vir “blond”. (Give the synonym for blond.)
14. Vul die leesteken in:
a. Die voël is eensaam _________________ want hy vlieg alleen.
(The bird is lonely ____________for he flies alone.)
b. Daar is niks meer om te sê nie______________dis al.
(There is nothing more to say ________________ that’s all.)
15. Gebruik ‘n voegwoord om die volgende twee sinne as een sin te skryf: (Use a
conjunction to write the following two sentences as one.)
Die balling staan by die graf. Sy geliefde is dood. (The exile stands at the
grave. His beloved is dead.)