Raider of the Treasure Trove Analyzed: Subject Matter, Themes and Poetic Devices

In this WASSCE Literature-in-English tutorial,you will find a complete summary and analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove by the Ghanaian poet, Lade Wosornu.

Trust me to lead you to the subject matter and the meaning of Raider of the Treasure Trove.

We shall also do a detailed analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove, bearing in mind the themes and poetic devices on display.

However, let’s begin with the full text of the poem Raider of the Treasure Trove.

Just a reminder: In the WAEC/WASSCE 2021 – 2025 Literature-in-English syllabus, Raider of the Treasure Trove is one of the six poems every candidate is supposed to study under the African Poetry Section.

Note, also, that both school candidates (MAY/JUNE WASSCE) and private candidates (NOV/DEC WASSCE) are required to answer one essay question on any one of the set poems in this section of the WASSCE Literature paper.

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF THE LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH TEXTS FOR THE 2021 – 2025 WASSCE

Full Text

But what can be worthy of your life?

What dearer than the gems of your dreams.

The reason you are here? Always strive

To fly flags of joy, and, sail up streams

Powered by the breeze of love, your course

Chattered in the ink of compassion

And fling roses wherever you pause

Heavens-on-earth your destination.

---

Of things which would blot out that brief

Or breach your sail with arrow unseen

No. Rob you of your life. Rage is chief.

Rage drags rags after you, of charity

Enemy of equanimity

Rage spreads toxic fumes on every scene

In essence, Rage spells calamity.

---

Its sole cause? Your perception of storms.

As you think, so you feel. Watch your mind.

Rage sets sail. Can ruin lag far behind?

I’ll fling roses wherever I berth

My destination is heaven-on-earth.

Subject Matter Summary

Let’s begin with the subject matter of the poem, Raider of the Treasure Trove.

Raider of the Treasure Trove speaks to the reader about two important human emotions – love and hate.

We can divide this poem into four major parts.

Pay close attention to the explanations of the four main parts of the poem. These are what constitute the subject matter of Raider of the Treasure Trove.

Part One

Man’s pursuit of happiness

The poem begins with the persona stating in very clear terms what should be the worthiest pursuit of every living person. To him, that which one must focus on in this life are dreams.

The poet emphasizes the emotions that must drive the dreams for any life worth living. These are joy, love and compassion.

He admonishes his audience to make these qualities take centre stage in all their endeavours.

To the poet, man must strive for happiness (the treasure trove) in this life. Thus, he is apparently suggesting that it is not good enough for one to just hang around, while still alive, hoping and waiting for a certain heaven or happiness in the hereafter.

But at the same time, this heaven-on-earth destination can only be attained when one lives by the higher and purer emotions of love, joy and compassion.

Part Two

Rage is the worst enemy of man’s desire for fulfilment and happiness

In the second part of Raider of the Treasure Trove, the poet calls for a rejection of all tendencies that undermine one’s happiness here on earth.

Of things which would blot out that brief

Or, breach your sails with arrow unseen

No. Rob you of your life …

What follows from here is a stark warning from the poet to the effect that negative emotions, particularly rage, are the number one enemy of man’s quest to find happiness.

Rage, anger or hatred only serve to deprive the individual of the things he most desires. Rage is like a raider. It will steal the laughter, the peace and calmness, sweetness and, indeed, all light from you if you allow it a place in your heart and mind.

In other words, rage is the thief or “raider” always lurking around the corner to rob us of our dreams for a life of contentment.

Like corrosive acid, rage is toxic. It eats away the treasures of happiness that all humans work so hard to achieve.

In effect, all human suffering can be attributed to man’s inability to rid himself of dark emotions like anger, jealousy and hatred and to replace them with love.

Rage brings nothing other than trouble.

Enemy of equanimity

Rage spreads toxic fumes on every scene

In essence, Rage spells calamity …

Part Three

The source of rage

The next part of the poem, Raider of the Treasure Trove throws light upon what it is that causes rage, anger or hatred in the individual.

The only source of rage and other negative human emotions is how one perceives the challenges that inevitably come one’s way.

It’s sole cause? Your perception of storms

Breaking around, not upon, your head

There are either snakes, deviants or norms

As you think, so you feel. Watch your mind …

The nature of the thoughts that you form in your mind produces like effects on your actions and results.

Consequently, when one only thinks negatively, one must expect unpleasant situations in one’s life. In other words, only the individual has the power to decide what emotions rule his life – rage or love.

The persona admonishes his audience to watch what they think of life’s circumstances.

He advocates positive thinking in all life’s situations. Because negative emotions like rage have the capacity to ruin one’s life if allowed to dominate the mind and the heart.

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Part Four

CONCLUSION

Concluding, the poet asserts his readiness to choose love in place of rage in order to realize his own heaven here on earth.

Analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove

Now that we’re done with the meaning or subject matter (summary) of Raider of the Treasure Trove, let’s quickly turn our attention to a proper analysis or appreciation of this poem by Lade Wosornu.

In this analysis, we will take a close look at the following aspects of Raider of the Treasure Trove

• The themes of the poem
• Poetic devices or techniques

We will then add these other equally important points. You definitely need them in your complete study of this poem.

• How appropriate is the title of the poem?
• What are the likely essay (and objective) questions to expect?
• Why Raider of the Treasure Trove is a piece of didactic poetry.

No more time to waste. Let’s get going.

Key Themes of Raider of the Treasure Trove

As you may well know, no serious analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove (just like any other poetic analysis) will be complete without a commentary on the themes of the poem.

If you are a student, you will need these to get a much better understanding of this poem.

And if you happen to be a teacher, you already know how important identifying the themes in Raider of the Treasure Trove is in assisting you to adequately prepare your Literature students for that examination.

Below are the major themes in Raider of the Treasure Trove.

• THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF RAGE

To the poet persona, rage or anger is the main cause of man’s troubles on earth.

This is why he cautions strongly against the tendency to allow strong negative emotions like rage to rule one’s life.

Rage is a destructive force. It acts like a thief to deprive anyone who entertains it of their happiness.

Further, rage is a toxic emotion which only spreads discord and eats away happiness and joy.

• THE THEME OF LOVE AND JOY

Lade Wosornu contrasts the unhelpful emotion of rage with that of love, compassion and joy.

In a didactic tone, the poet persona advocates love. He sees it as the best way for any living person to attain their dream for a better life – the heavenly bliss that we all seek.

While rage only brings disaster, positive emotions such as love, compassion and joy, on the other hand, are the agents of all things positive.

So these are the desirable emotions the individual must cultivate and propagate (spread) wherever he goes.

… Always strive
To fly flags of joy, and, sail up streams
Powered by the breeze of love, your course
Chattered in the ink of compassion
And flling roses wherever you pause.

• THE THEME OF DREAMS AS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE (OR THE THEME OF DESTINY)

There is a reason why we are here. And it is left to every individual to work to attain it or to let it go. This is our next major theme of Raider of the Treasure Trove.

The poet tells us what should matter most in the life of every individual. These are the goals that the individual aspires to.

Dreams are the things that are of paramount importance in one’s life. In other words, each one of us is born for a purpose; to fulfil our destiny. It is the reason we are here.

The opening lines of the poem attest to this.

But what can be worthy of your life?
What dearer than the gems of your dreams,
The reason you are here?

In effect, one comes into this life for one primary purpose. To fulfil one’s destiny.

And the ultimate goal of one’s struggles through life is to achieve happiness when those dreams come to reality.

“Heaven-on-earth your destination”

But, sadly, for many people, it is impossible to realize this. The reason is that they allow anger and other negative emotions to destroy any chances they might have to achieve their goals in life.

• THEME OF THE POWER OF THE MIND TO INFLUENCE ONE’S SITUATION IN LIFE

Another important theme in the poem, Raider of the Treasure Trove is that everyone has the power to bring into existence whatever they want.

The source of this power is the human mind. Just as negative thoughts bring about a lack of progress, so do positive thoughts have the power to produce the most desired results.

“As you think, so you feel. Watch your mind.”

To the poet, the way we think about the things that happen to us determines our feelings and, for that matter, our actions.

To put it differently, the mind is the most powerful mover of our emotions, and by extension, our actions and their results.

Positive thinking brings the right feeling and the right outcomes. Therefore, rage becomes the inevitable outcome of how we see (our perception of) the happenings in our lives.

The poet argues that many people tend to focus on only the negative aspects of life’s events. They fail to see the possibilities even in the darkest moments.

And this is what drives them to the negative emotions that end up destroying their happiness here on earth.

In essence, Rage spells calamity
Its sole cause? Your perception of storms
Breaking around, not upon, your head.

• THEME OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL CHOICES

Closely linked to the theme of the power of the mind to lead one to a certain destination is the theme of how the daily choices we make affect what we ultimately become.

This is why the poet places before the reader the choice between rage and love. But he goes beyond that. In fact, in his concluding couple of lines, he tells us where he personally stands on this matter.

I’ll fling roses wherever I berth
My destination is Heaven-on-earth.

Clearly, he is saying he knows which one is the better choice. We must choose love over rage.

• THE THEME OF HEAVEN-O-EARTH

Raider of the Treasure Trove appears to kick against the conventional notion that man goes to a place called heaven only after departing from his earthly life.

The poet maintains that we are born to come into this life and live it to the full. Heaven is here on earth to reach out for and experience. And that the bliss or happiness that we seek in the afterlife is realizable while we live.

“Heaven-on-earth your destination”

In essence, there is no other heaven elsewhere to expect after we die.

To the poet persona, people, unfortunately, allow uncontrolled negative emotions to rob them of heavenly life right here on earth.

By making himself an example, the poet shows the way.

Poetic Devices in Raider of the Treasure Trove

Next, we will take a close look at the use of poetic devices or techniques as part of our analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove by Lade Wosornu.

• DICTION AND IMAGERY

As usual, the twin poetic devices of diction and imagery run through the lines of Raider of the Treasure Trove.

See below, the examples of diction and the images that they evoke in Lade Wosornu’s poem.

As always, bear in mind this all-important point. It is the poet’s careful selection of words (diction) and the images they evoke that help to develop the various themes and attitudes in the poem.

• Imagery of value

Worthy

Dearer,

Gems

Put together, the above words as found in the opening lines of the first stanza of the poem, have a connection with the idea of great value, goodness, positivity and desirability.

In effect, they evoke images of the lofty goals that every human holds dear.

Paramount among these human aspirations is the quest for happiness here on earth.

Thus, the poet has largely succeeded in choosing the appropriate words that speak to the theme of dreams and the essence of human existence.

• Imagery of purposeful living

Dreams

Reason

Destination

In furtherance of the theme of dreams and the essence of life (or destiny), the poet continues to select words that have something to do with goals, purpose or destiny.

“Dreams”, “reason” and “destination”, therefore, constitute another set of words that are appropriate to the themes of the poem.

• Travel or navigation imagery

Fly

flags

Sail

Pause

Streams

Powered

Breeze

Course

berth

The above words make it possible for the poet to present life as a journey or sea voyage. It can go smoothly like a breeze or turn into a disaster.

These words are very much associated with sea travel or voyage. Thus, the tools needed to carry man to his destination have all been provided. It is up to each one of us to choose which course to take.

It is significant to note that these words all point to a positive direction in this journey of dreams and destiny. This is why they are associated with the positive emotions of love and joy that, unlike rage, will take a person to a worthy end – heaven-on-earth.

• Imagery of happiness

Joy

Love

Roses

fling

The above reinforces the sense of happiness we stand to enjoy when we choose love instead of uncontrolled anger and hatred.

• Imagery of the dark emotions

Rage

Drags

Rags

“rage”, “drags” and “rags” do not paint a positive picture of life. On the contrary, they are used to depict the sense of ruin and destruction that follows man’s choice of rage over love.

• Imagery of destruction

Blot out

Breach

Arrow

Rob

ruin

Toxic fumes

Calamity

The imagery in all the above words combined is one of destruction and failure. The poet, therefore, employs this imagery to develop the theme of the negative consequences of rage. A life that knows no love, and that feeds on anger is bound to come to ruin.

• Imagery of the power of the mind

Perception

Think

Feel

Mind

It is around words like the above that the poet is able to build his theme of the power of the mind to determine where man eventually ends up in life.

How we choose to use our minds to think and perceive life’s circumstances will determine how we feel and what comes of that.

Thus, the mind is a powerful tool that man can employ for his own good or for his own damnation.

• METAPHOR

Lade Wosornu makes extensive use of the figure of speech known as metaphor in the poem, Raider of the Treasure Trove. Below are notable examples.

Fly flags of joy

Breeze of love

Ink of compassion

Wherever I berth

Heaven-on-earth

The gems of your dreams

Just like the diction, metaphor in the poem creates pointed images that go to reinforce the various themes.

For instance, the examples of metaphor in Raider of the Treasure Trove above paint a positive image of the kind of life that one is bound to experience when one chooses love over rage.

Other literary devices to note

INVERSION

• Heaven-on-earth your destination

• of Charity

Laughter, sweetness and light, Rage is thief

SOUND DEVICES: Three notable sound devices in Raider of the Treasure Trove are alliteration, assonance and rhyme.

ALLITERATION

• Fly flags

• Sail up streams

• Rage drags rags

ASSONANCE

• drags rags after

RHYME

“I’ll fling roses wherever I berth

My destination is heaven on earth

ALTERNATE RHYME

• No. Rob you of your life Rage is chief

Rage drags rags after you, of Charity

Laughter, sweetness and light, Rage is thief

Enemy of equanimity

HYPERBOLE

• My destination is heaven-on-earth

RHETORICAL QUESTION

• But what can be worthy of your life?

What dearer than the gems of your dreams

PERSONIFICATION

“Rage” is personified throughout the poem. It is possible that the poet does this deliberately to underline this fact: Rage is the “chief” architect of man’s troubles on this earth.

And, by extension, negative emotions constitute a powerful force in our lives. This is why they must be avoided at all costs before they destroy us.

REPETITION

• Rage

• You

• Your

• Fling roses as in: “And fling roses wherever you pause” (FIRST STANZA) and “I’ll fling roses wherever I berth” (LAST BUT ONE LINE).

The Use of Contrast in Raider of the Treasure Trove

First of all, the structure of the poem Raider of the Treasure Trove is built around the literary device known as contrast. For example, there is a contrast between the subject matter of the first stanza and the second stanza.

While stanza one dwells largely on the importance of dreams and how to achieve them with the right positive steps, stanza two moves away from this theme.

The poet persona in the second stanza warns the audience about powerful but destructive negative emotions like rage. Anger, if allowed to fester, can lead to the most devastating consequences.

Secondly, there are aspects of diction (words and expressions) that, in a way, juxtapose the two contrasting emotions and situations presented in the poem.

For example, such expressions as Fly, flags, Sail, Streams, Powered, Breeze, berth and Course constitute travel or navigation imagery that create the desired positive images of progress toward a lofty destination.

On the opposite side are expressions like Blot out, Breach, Arrow, Rob, Toxic fumes, and Calamity. These create an atmosphere of destruction, gloom and doom.

In sum, by carefully presenting the two opposite scenarios to the audience, the poet emphasizes the fact that personal choice plays a vital role in determining our condition in life.

The Poet’s Attitude in Raider of the Treasure Trove

Clearly, the poet persona is critical of the way people allow their negative emotions to destroy their otherwise promising lives.

A careful analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove reveals the poet’s show of deep concern for the wrong direction his compatriots appear to be headed.

The poet is making a clarion call for all to make the right choices that will guarantee contentment, not after death, but here on earth.

Personal Interest Vs Public Interest

As noted in the preceding section, the poet goes beyond the personal to address members of the public as a whole.

It is for the above reason that one must look at Raider of the Treasure Trove as a poem that goes beyond what appears to be the personal declaration of an individual to make what he considers to be the right choice in order to achieve his dream of “heaven-on-earth”.

Indeed, the poem is, more importantly, one of serious public concern. It speaks to an issue that has the potential to either improve or destroy the destiny of not only a particular community but humanity as a whole. Hence his admonition to all.

Appropriateness of the Title of the Poem

Surely, the poem’s title cannot escape scrutiny in any analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove.

So, here we go.

To a very large extent, the title falls in line with the subject matter and theme of the poem. Here are some pointers to this observation.

To begin with, “Raider” refers to someone or something that deprives an individual of their valuables or “treasure”.

In the poem, the poet makes use of other words that are synonymous with these words. We have words like “rob” and “thief” on the one hand, and “worthy”, “dearer” and “gems” on the other.

Thus, the subject of the body of the poem is very much in line with the meaning of the title, Raider of the Treasure Trove.

Secondly, the title adequately summarizes what are arguably the two primary themes of the poem namely,

• Dreams as the essence of life or the theme of destiny
• The power of the mind and emotions to influence one’s situation in life

Is Raider of the Treasure Trove Didactic Poetry?

This is yet another significant stage in our analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove. Let’s consider the extent to which the poem can be viewed as an example of didactic poetry.

The poem Raider of the Treasure Trove can be regarded as a piece of didactic literature. The simple reason is that its tone sounds very much instructional.

The poet is using the medium of poetry to teach his audience a moral lesson. The lesson is this.

RAGE WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE IF YOU ALLOW IT TO RULE YOUR LIFE.

The poet teaches that we each have the capacity to live a life of happiness and achievement here on earth. But we also have the power to choose a direction that will set us on the path to either personal glory or calamity.

This choice will forever be yours to make.

The choice is between negative emotions or positive ones. Both of these are hidden within us, ready to come to the fore depending on our thoughts and actions.

Apart from being present in the subject matter, this instructional tone of the poem can also be seen through the poet’s repetition of such words as “you” and “your”, The line below is an example

As you think, so you feel.

In other words, be careful about what you feed your mind with and what you allow your mind to focus on. Because they are the things that determine your emotions, your actions and, ultimately, your destination in life.

We must also not lose sight of such imperative expressions as “always strive” and “watch your mind”. They tell the reader exactly which choice to make thereby giving further evidence of the didactic nature of the poem.

Likely Questions on Raider of the Treasure Trove

Wow! Congratulations for coming this far. Let’s end our detailed analysis of Raider of the Treasure Trove with a list of likely examination questions on this poem.

Remember that the extensive notes I’ve given you in this post should enable you to do justice to a good number of these possible essay questions on the poem.

Are you a teacher of Literature? I will urge you to use these questions to prepare your students for the WASSCE or any similar examination.

You can now take a look at the likely questions

• Comment on the theme of choices in Lade Wosornu’s Raider of the Treasure Trove

• Comment on the appropriateness of the title of Raider of the Treasure Trove by Lade Wosornu

• Discuss the poet’s use of diction and imagery in Raider of the Treasure Trove

• What makes Raider of the Treasure Trove an instructional poem?

• What lessons have you deduced from your study of Lade Wosornu’s Raider of the Treasure Trove?

• Comment on the poet’s use of contrast in Raider of the Treasure Trove.

• Examine the significance of metaphor in the poem, Raider of the Treasure Trove

• Describe the poet’s attitude in Raider of the Treasure Trove

• What does the poet hold dear in the poem Raider of the Treasure Trove?

• Consider Lade Wosornu’s Raider of the Treasure Trove as a guide to personal development.

• Imagery is at the core of Lade Wosornu’s Raider of the Treasure Trove. Comment.

• What two poetic techniques have helped in your understanding of the poem, Raider of the Treasure Trove?

So, there you have it.

What are your thoughts? You can leave a quick comment below.

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