WAEC Literature in English 2025 Theory — Question 10

Model answer

The poem demonstrates that human beings have the capacity to store lived experiences through song, but as memory fades with time, so does the song, though poetry remains for posterity what is left of it. Time is presented as an active, almost malevolent force constantly eroding and reshaping their past. The most prominent effect is the gradual loss of detail; time is personified as a 'sculptor chipping away at bits of wood', meticulously 'chiseling away' bits of memory, implying a slow, deliberate process of decay; the 'lyrics of the song' are stripped away, leaving only a 'fading tune', implying that while the essence of the past remains, the specific words, narratives and nuances are lost. The 'vast void of time' swallows the 'memories of lyrics lost', highlighting how time deprives their memories of richness and particularity — what was once a vibrant and detailed 'song' that 'beheld their lives', 'sponge off their anguish' and 'celebrate their gains' becomes a mere whisper lacking the full expressive and communicative power of the original song.