Gabriel Okara's 'Once Upon a Time' - Unlocking the Poem's Meaning

This poem deals with the changes that occur as people transition from childhood to adulthood.

The phrase “once upon a time” refers to the past when people’s actions used to be better. The speaker is now bemoaning the fact that people, in particular adults, have changed.

As they mature, the way adults behave towards others becomes different. They no longer shake hands or laugh with their hearts. Now, everything is a show with people smiling or shaking hands because it is expected. Here, the writer uses contrast to highlight the pretentious nature of some adults. They say one thing but mean a completely different thing in their heart and mind. The speaker uses contrast to show how people behaved as children and how they behave as adults.

Unfortunately, for the speaker, he, too, has become like them. He has turned into the very thing he hates – a hypocrite.  Now, he “wear faces like dresses” and hide behind these facades when he is to take part in specific events. This is why the speaker refers to ‘homeface’, ‘officeface’, ‘streetface’ and ‘cocktail face’.  All these different faces are masks he uses  for special occasions. They cover what truly lies beneath.  He has also learnt to say ‘goodbye’ when he means ‘good riddance’ and ‘glad to meet you without being glad’. All this points to how much the speaker has been impacted by societal norms.

The speaker does not like how fake adulthood has made him and wishes that he can be like he he used to be as a child. He states that he wants to ‘unlearn all these muting things’, things that are clearly suppressing his genuine nature or taking away his happiness. He makes an appeal to his son to teach him how to laugh and smile like he used to do during his childhood.  He hates the fact that his laugh shows his teeth like ‘a snake’s bare fangs’ which creates a frightening image/impression. It is evident that he is frustrated with the type of person he has become and wants back the purity and authenticity that defines childhood.

LITERARY DEVICES

Simile - (‘shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs, I have learned to wear many faces like dresses’ and ‘with all their conforming smiles like a fixed portrait smile’)

Irony – The parent is appealing to his son to teach him when the norm is for the adult to teach the child.

Contrast–There is the difference between how people behaved during childhood and how they behave now; there is also a contrast between what the speaker says and what he means as captured in stanza 4. Another contrast is evident in the parent's attitude to what he has become. He is dissatisfied with the fact that he has turned into a hypocrite and desires to change, to be the kind of person who expresses genuine feelings.

Allusion – The use of ‘once upon a time’ alludes to a fairy tale like past where people were genuine.

Repetition – There is the repetition of ‘show me’ ‘once upon a time’ and 'I want...'

DICTION

Specific words/expressions are used to create a conversational tone. Consider the speaker’s use of the following: ‘once upon time, son’, ‘so I have learned many things, son’, ‘but believe me, son, ‘so show me, son’. These expressions are used create the impression of a conversation between a parent and son and the reader has gained access to it.  It indicates that the speaker is trying to establish a closeness with the son and to treat him as a confidante who can relieve him from his dilemma. The speaker clearly wants his son to empathize with him.

Tone: reflective, nostalgic, regretful

Themes: childhood vs adulthood, childhood experiences, parent-child relationship

Written by: M. McKenzie