Abiku: Poem by Wole Soyinka: Summary and Theme: Class 12 Major English Note
The poem Abiku by Wole Soyinka is set in Nigeria. The poem is about the child who gets rebirth after dying to die again. The Yoruba community names the child ‘Abiku’. This belief is prevalent in Africa.
To prove the same child’s rebirth, people make a cut on the child’s body. When the child is born, people find the same cut mark on the child’s body. This activity proves the existence of rebirth in the community. This proves the supreme power of Abiku. The child can reborn again and again.
As a result, the child starts boasting about his/her supremacy. The child becomes arrogant. He becomes carefree. He doesn’t care his mother’s suffering after his death. He continues his action of coming and dying again and again.
No one can stop the cycle. Abiku’s mother suffers a lot for the loss of her child but Abiku becomes arrogant for his supremacy. She becomes helpless because she can’t stop the process.
In the same way, the poem also shows the existence of supernatural power. It proves the existence of metaphysical world.