1. IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP
SYNOPSIS
In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn
after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo.
They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life
of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk
while preparing to relax with a smoke.
SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)
STANZA 1
They returned home at dawn and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and
tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any
signs of being worried.
STANZA 2
They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and
parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son‟s
albino buffalo but were unable to find it.
STANZA 3
They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead,
they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.
SETTING
Place
• Setting the poem is in the village where the flood took place. The villages live in poverty
and hardship
• (stanza 2, line 2)

2. • The second setting is in the couple‟s home. The stove in the kitchen keeps the couple
warm. The house is simple without any luxury but the atmosphere in the house is happy
and contented
• (stanza 3, line 17)
Time
• Set in the past. The scene could also be in the present in the more remote areas of the
country.
• The poem opens with dawn when the family returns home and is now relaxing in the
kitchen (stanza 3, line 17)They have spent the entire previous day and night in the
floodwaters searching for a buffalo.
POINT OF VIEW
• The poet uses the third person point of view by using “they”
• (stanza 1, line 1)
• The poem describes a family returning returning to their home after a bad flood
• (stanza 2, line 8-12)
• The persona is amazed by the strenght, courage and determination of the family
experiencing hardship.
THEMES
• Never allow hardship to effect your happiness
• Acceptance of way of life
• Having the right attitude

3. MORAL VALUES
• Don‟t give up easily when faced up with hardship
• We must not complain when things do not favour us
• Love your family
• Be contented with what we have
LITERARY DEVICES
IMAGERY
• „soaky clothes torn‟ (stanza 1, line 2)
• Sense of touch and sight
• „legs full of wounds‟ (stanza 1, line 5)
• Sense of touch
• „bloated carcasses‟ (stanza 2, line 11)
• Sense of smell and sight
• „rolling cigarette leaves (stanza 3, line 18)
• Sense of sight and smell
SYMBOLISM
• „horrendous flood‟ (stanza 2, line 9)
• Represent sufferings
• „bloating carcasses‟ (stanza 2, line 11)
• Represent death and decay
• „albino‟s buffalo‟ (stanza 2, line 14)

4. • Represents something rare and treasured
• „the stove‟ (stanza 1, line 3)
• Represents food and warmth
METAPHORS
• „and approached the stove‟ (stanza 1, line 3)
• „desperately looking for their son‟s albino buffalo‟ (stanza 2, line 13)
REPETITIONS
• At dawn they return home
• They had to brave the horrendous flood
• They were born amidst hardship
• Now they are in the kitchen, making
• Their soaky cloths torn
• Their limbs marked by scratches
• Their legs full of wounds
• But on their brows