Discuss Louis Bennett’s “Bans a killing “as a satirical poem written in Jamaican Creole or Patios. Unlike Derek Walcott in “A Far Cry from Africa”, how does she confront the colonizers by defending her choice to write in Jamaican Creole?
Louise Bennett Coverley was a
Jamaican poetess and a folklore artist who emphasized much on using Jamaican
Creole and appreciating the dialect instead of using and copying the ways of
the colonizers. Miss Lou, according to many critics is considered as the “first
female” who wrote poetry in Jamaican patois and Creole instead of
Standard English.
Louise Bennett unlike Derek
Walcott confronts the colonizers. Derek Walcott in his poem “A
Far Cry from Africa” uses a speaker who is torn
between his love for Africa and the English tongue. Bennett, on the other hand,
emphasizes much on the importance of dialect in her poem, “Bans a
Killing”.
Read also, “Bans a Killin” by Louise Bennett Summary and Analysis
In her poem, “Bans a Killing”
Louise Bennett not only lays stress upon the importance of dialect but also
writes the poem in Jamaican Creole. In the poem, the speaker meets “Mas
Charlie” i.e. Mr. Charlie who wants to kill the dialect. The speaker
firstly asks Me. Charlie: “Yuhgwine kill dialect”? The speaker
then again questions him and asks whether he wants to kill all the dialects or
just the Jamaican one:
“Yuhgwine
kill all English dialects jus Jamaican….?”
The speakers, again and again,
questions Mr. Charlie asking him why does he feels inferior whenever the
dialects are mentioned. Through these questions, Louise Bennett highlights the
actuality i.e. the reason why the dialects are not appreciated is due to the
inferiority complex of the natives and the thinking of the colonizers that
presents them on the top of the Great Chain of Being.
According to Bennett’s speaker,
the English language itself had “spring from dialect”.
The speaker highlights the unjust treatment given to Jamaican dialects when
compared to other dialects. The English language consists of many dialects such
as Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cockney, Broad Scotch, etc. but Mr. Charlie is only
adamant about killing the Jamaican one. The speaker presents the notion that
before killing the Jamaican dialect, Mr. Charlie must first eliminate other
dialects. He must tear down the works of Chaucer, Burns, Lady Grizzle, and
Shakespeare who presented a new style of writing. Mr. Charlie must kill humor,
wit, and irony. He must kill originality to kill variety.
The speaker says that the dialect
is an important constituent of a language and if Mr. Charlie accidentally drops
“h” (an alphabet) he might then have to kill himself as he won’t be following
the Standard English: “might chaff kill yourself”.
In short, one can say that Louise
Bennett in her writings defends her choice to write in Jamaican Creole as it
tells them about their roots. Unlike Walcott who feels a sense of belonging to
both Africa and English, Bennett in her writings only emphasizes not forgetting
the roots and the prejudice the English had against the colonized.
Read also, Why did Louise Bennet’s “Bans a Killing” Choose to Write in Jamaican Creole?
