Walls by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali — Summary & Analysis Cheat Sheet
📄 1. Poem Overview
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Poem Title: Walls
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Poet: Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali
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Country: South Africa 🇿🇦
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Theme: Isolation, racism, fear, oppression
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Style: Short, sharp, free verse
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Tone: Cold, distant, haunting
Mtshali was a South African poet during apartheid, and this poem reflects the emotional and physical walls that separated people—especially Black South Africans—from freedom and connection.
📘 2. Full Poem (for context)
The building rises
like a sombre prison
towering over the streetits walls
without a smile or a smirk
are made of glassbut it’s not
the see-through kindit’s the kind
that reflects
your own face
and shuts out
the other faces
of the world
✏️ 3. Summary (Simple English)
The poet describes a tall building that looks like a prison. The building is made of glass, but not the kind you can see through.
Instead, it reflects your own face back at you, keeping the outside world invisible. It shows how people are cut off from others, even though they live in the same city.
The poem is really about invisible walls — the ones that keep people alone, afraid, and separated, especially under racist or unequal systems.
🎯 4. Themes
🚷 a. Isolation & Loneliness
The glass walls reflect you back at yourself. You see no one else, even though others are there. That shows deep loneliness.
🪟 b. Division (Physical & Emotional)
The poem talks about literal walls, but really it's about how society divides people — through class, race, fear, or power.
🏛️ c. Apartheid & Social Barriers
In apartheid South Africa, buildings and systems were designed to separate Black and white people. The poem reflects that system — walls that look clean and modern but hide injustice.
🪞 d. Identity & Self-Reflection
You see only your own face. That could mean you’re stuck with your own thoughts, fears, and pain, unable to connect with others.
🔍 5. Poetic Devices & Techniques
| Technique | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Metaphor | Building = prison | Suggests emotional and social confinement |
| Imagery | “walls without a smile” | Cold, lifeless atmosphere |
| Symbolism | Glass walls | Represent hidden barriers and emotional distance |
| Irony | Glass should be see-through | Here it reflects instead of connecting |
| Personification | Walls "without a smile or smirk" | Makes the building feel cold and unfriendly |
| Tone | Sombre, reflective | Matches the feeling of isolation and quiet pain |
🧠 6. Structure & Form
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Free verse: No rhyme or rhythm — fits the theme of chaos and broken connection
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Short lines: Emphasize the stark, cold mood and make each idea hit harder
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Simple language: Easy to understand, but full of meaning
📚 7. Context (South African Lens)
Mtshali was one of the first Black poets in apartheid South Africa to write about the Black experience in English for mainstream audiences.
During apartheid:
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People were segregated
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Black people lived in townships, often far from city centers
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They worked in cities but were treated like outsiders
This poem reflects that feeling of being present but not included, visible but ignored.
💭 8. Important Lines
“walls / without a smile or a smirk”
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Makes the building feel soulless, like it doesn't care.
“the kind / that reflects / your own face”
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Suggests self-confinement or being trapped in your own world.
“shuts out / the other faces / of the world”
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Total emotional isolation. You are alone with no one to connect with.
🗣️ 9. Sample Questions & Answers
Q: What does the building symbolize?
A: It symbolizes barriers in society, especially emotional and racial ones, that separate people from one another.
Q: Why is the glass important?
A: Because it shows the illusion of openness—you think you can see through it, but all you get is your own reflection.
Q: How does the poet use tone?
A: The cold and distant tone reflects the loneliness and lack of connection caused by social divisions.
🌟 10. Final Takeaway
This poem is not just about buildings—it’s about how society keeps people apart, even when they seem close. Mtshali uses the image of glass walls to show how isolation can be invisible but powerful.
🧠 Quote to Remember
“It’s the kind / that reflects / your own face / and shuts out / the other faces / of the world.”
🔥 Deep, chilling, and true.
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