In the Midst of Hardship

Elements of the Poem

Setting

Place : A village where a flood has recently occured

Time : The present

Persona

• The persona is probably a visitor or a person who has lived with the villagers

Themes

• Poverty and hardship
• Resilience and perseverance

Message

• Hardship and suffering build character.
• Positive thinking is important when faced with life's challenges.
• We must carry on and persevere despite hardship.

Moral values

• Be thankful for the comforts you have
• Emphatize with the poor and do all you can to help them

Tone & Mood

• Sympathetic
• Impressed by how villagers accept hardship

Languange & Style

• 3 stanzas
• Free verse
• Literally devices: contrast,diction,imagery.

The Poet: Latiff Mohidin

• Born in 1941
• A celebrated artist and poet
• Studied art in Germany,France and america
• Received Malaysia's National Literaly Prize and Southeast Asian's Writer's Award in 1984

Overview of 'In the Midst of Hardship'

• This poem paints a realistic picture of life in a Malaysian/Indonesian/rural setting.
• The villagers live in hardship and poverty,made more difficult by natural disasters like floods and storms.However,they accept their fate and make the best of their situation.

Meaning of Verses

Verse 1

The occupants of the house have just returned home at daybreak.Their wet clothes are torn and their arms and legs are covered with scratches and wounds.They walk to the stove in the kitchen.Though it has been a rough day,they do not appear unhappy.

Verse2

The people of the house had been out in the floodwaters for the past 24 hours.They were looking son's albino buffalo,which they never found.As they waded in the foodwaters,they saw signs of destruction,such as dead animals and parts of trees.

Verse3

The persona observes that though these people were born into hardship,they never complained nor were they letting it get them down.Instead they took the situation in their sride and even had time to sit around the kitchen making jokes and enjoying a smoke.