During the period it was written, there was
practically no poem that confidently eulogised the black beauty. All works of
literature at the time were mostly about the white people and their “wonders”. This
is not surprising because of the influence of colonialism on the blacks, who
were taught to see everything about the White as superior.
Suggested: Analysis of "The Dining Table" by Gbanabom Hallowell
Therefore, as a form of response to white writers or
poets painting very attractive pictures of the white woman in most of their
literature, Leopold Sedar Senghor, having been influenced by Aimé Césaire
Negritude, wrote the poem, “Black Woman” to show that the black woman is as (if
not more than) beautiful.
In terms of setting, the poem centers around the African people, of course, since it is describing the African woman. Though the poem talks about the beauty of the African woman, the scope is not restricted to African women on the African continent alone, it reflects the exceptional beauty of the African woman wherever they may be.
Read more great posts: Themes of Ambush
