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LESSON PLAN FORMAT

1. Lesson Plan Information

Subject: Literature Name: Ms. Ezeobika Chiemeka Anastasia

Class: SS 1 Date: 08/05/2023

Topic: Analysis of the poem: The Black Woman by Leopold Length of Period: 40 mins
Senghor Sedar
No. in class: 6 Boys= 3 Girls = 3

Learning Skills (Where applicable): Imagination and creativity, Collaborating and communication,
Critical thinking and problem solving, Citizenship and student leadership, Digital literacy.

Collaboration, Critical thinking, Imagination and Creativity.

3. Previous Knowledge
A. The Learners can recite the poem.

4. Learning Objectives/WALT  
The learners will know how many stanzas makes up the poem.
They will analyze the poem used the Literary and Poetic devices.
They will explore every symbols and motifs.

All learners should list the themes.

Most learners should discuss the themes with citations from the poem.
Some learners could explore the subject matter.

5. Keywords
Beauty
Black
Africa
Beloved
Gazelle
Contralto
Mali

SUCCESS CRITERIA/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES (WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR -WILF)

i. All learners will identify each themes
ii.Most learners will analyze each line of the poem in their own understanding.
iii.Some learners will relate the poem to present day Africa.

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B. Learning Environment: Class, outdoors, excursion, IT based
Class

C. Resources, Programs & Materials:

Literature Exam Focus, A copy of the poem

D. Reference Materials
Online Materials

STARTER:
The teacher mentions the themes from the poem.

INTRODUCTION:
The teacher listens to each student analyze the themes based on the poem learnt.

GUIDED PRACTICE:
ACTIVITY (FIRST STEP)
The teacher allows the students to identify the motifs.
ACTIVITY (SECOND STEP)
The teacher guides the learners on how to relate each theme to situations around us.
ACTIVITY (THIRD STEP)
The teacher leads the students to discuss the subject matter.

Differentiated Independent practice:

1. What is the major theme in the poem?
2. What poetic devices is predominantly used in the poem?
3. Using the style of writing by the author, how does it depicts our daily lives?
Plenary:
The teacher asks the students to describe how the poet personified Africa as a black woman.

CONCLUSION: How will I conclude/reinforce the lesson?

The children are asked to state the rhyming scheme.

TEACHER’S NOTE

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WEEK: 2
DATE: 8th May, 2023
SUBJECT: LITERATURE
CLASS: YEAR 10
TOPIC: ANALYSIS OF THE POEM: "Black Woman" by Leopold Senghor Sedar
SUB TOPIC: SUMMARY, THEMES AND SUBJECT MATTER

Naked woman, black woman

Clothed with your colour which is life

with your form which is beauty!

In your shadow I have grown up; the

gentleness of your hands was laid over my eyes.

And now, high up on the sun-baked

pass, at the heart of summer, at the heart of noon,
I come upon you, my Promised Land,
And your beauty strikes me to heart
like the flash of an eagle.

Naked woman, dark woman

Firm-fleshed ripe fruit, sombre raptures

of black wine, mouth making lyrical my mouth
Savannah stretching to clear horizons,
savannah shuddering beneath the East Wind's
eager caresses.

Carved tom-tom, taut tom-tom, muttering

under the Conqueror's fingers.

Your solemn contralto voice is the

spiritual song of the Beloved.

Naked woman, dark woman

Oil that no breath ruffles, calm oil on the

athlete's flanks of the Princes of Mali
Gazelle limbed in Paradise, pearls are stars on the
night of your skin.

Delights of the mind, the glinting of red

gold against your watered skin.

Under the shadow of your hair, my care

is lightened by the neighbouring suns of your eyes.

Naked woman, black woman,

I sing your beauty that passes, the form
that I fix in the Eternal,
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Before jealous fate turn you to ashes to
feed the roots of life.

— Leopold Sedar Senghor

SUMMARY
The poet persona in "Black Woman" praises the African black woman as a person and symbol of the richness of
African culture. It elevates the beauty, purity, strategic location, cultural heritage, and personality of Africa, which
has been personified as a woman that offers enormous comfort to the persona.
When the poet persona says: "in your shadow have grown up", it creates the image of a mother who dutifully
nurtures a child from infant to
heritage, and personality of Africa, which has been personified as a woman that offers enormous
comfort to the persona.

When the poet persona says: "in your shadow have grown up", it creates the image of a mother who
dutifully nurtures a child from infant to adulthood, " the gentleness of your hands was laid over my
eyes" depict the soothing comfort of a mother's caress.

In the poem, the black woman is seen as a mother, daughter, sister whose beauty is natural and
perfect.

In the last stanza, line 30—33, I Sing your beauty that passes, the form that I fix in the eternal, /
Before jealous fate turn you to ashes to feed the roots of life.",

Here, the poet says as one boasts of his possessions, so should one also be aware of attracting envious
eyes, even from 'fate' and as the persona is well aware of this fact, he ends his praise by hinting at the
impending demise of the ”woman" by "her" detractor, 'fate'. This impending destruction is what
propels the urgency and necessity needed by the persona to sing the "woman's" praises while she still
can appreciate them. The poet also uses the poem to, stress the need to accord the black woman her
rightful place in the scheme of things in African society.

THEMES
1.African Beauty
The poem gives prominence to the admiration and glorification of the beauty of the black woman; hence the
whole of the poem is devoted to the beauty of the black woman. The poet admires the beautiful smooth skin
of the African woman, which strikes his heart" like the lighting of the eagle" he appreciates the powerful
black presence of the natural black woman around him right from his childhood. The African woman's body
is then compared to the of a ripened fruit, and whose resonant contralto voice is regarded as the spiritual
anthem of the nation. The poet describes the African woman as elegant, graceful, and pure in all her physical
attributes. This, the poet achieved by evoking elements of beauty in the poem, such as: " sun-baked pass",
the "heart of summer" "the heart of noon", " firm-fleshed ripe fruit", somber raptures of black wine" to
refer to African that is personified as a Naked woman, a Black woman in the poem.

2. The Nurturing Quality of a Black Woman.

In the poem, the poet does not cease to express the unbeatable qualities of a black woman as the source and
sustainer of the growing child. The poet expresses his affection and appreciation to the black woman who
had care tenderly in the gentleness of her hands until he enters the "promised land" of adulthood (Lines 1-
10). The ability of a black woman to give birth and sustain the life of the infant child is applauded. Also, the
role of the African woman as the first teacher of the child is uncovered by the poet, as he remembers his
mother's tutelage at the various stages of childhood that sustained his growth into adulthood. (Line 4—5)

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3. The Theme of Praises of the Africa Culture.
The theme of the praises of the Africa culture cannot be overlooked in the poem. The poet's choice of words
to enchant the praises of the black woman is extraordinary. In lines 1-2, the poet made a direct call of a
naked woman, a black woman who is "clothed" with her color which is life. The poet showers praise on the
natural black color of the African woman's skin, and everything about the black woman. Her smooth skin is
compared to that of an athletel The poet further praises the African woman as graceful and elegant as a
gazelle. The natural beauty of the black woman in the poem is the richness of the African culture before the
colonization.

SUBJECT MATTER
This poem was originally written in French as “femme notr”, and later translated to English. It is a hymn of
praise to the African black woman as a person and symbol of the richness of African culture. The black
woman is seen as a mother, daughter, sister and indeed the poet’s home country, Senegal. Senghor’s
experiences while living abroad influenced his writing of this ode to the black woman, whose beauty is
natural and perfect. He also uses the poem to ,stress the need to accord the black woman her rightful place in
the scheme of things in the African society.

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