Where The Rainbow Ends

By Richard Rive

Where the rainbow ends

There's going to be a place, brother,

Where the world can sing all sorts of songs,

And we're going to sing together, brother,

You and I, though you're white, and I'm not.

It's going to be a sad song, brother,

Because we don't know the tune,

And it's a difficult tune to learn.

But we can learn, brother, you and I.

There's no such tune as a black tune.

There's no such tune as a white tune.

There's only music, brother,

And it's music we're going to sing

Where the rainbow ends.

 Richard Moore Rive
(March 1, 1931 - June 4, 1989)

Writer, literary critic, and teacher

Rive was born in Cape Town and grew up in the "Coloured" and mixed-race area,
District Six. He studied at Hewat Training College, where he also spent a large part of his
working life as an English lecturer, and at the University of Cape Town, and then at
Columbia University. He completed his doctorate on Olive Schreiner at Magdalen
College, Oxford.

He was a champion hurdler in his youth and was active in sport coaching and
organisation throughout his life.

In the late 1950s he started writing short stories about the iniquities of the
apartheid system and produced his first novel, Emergency, about the Sharpville massacre,
in 1963, and an autobiographical Writing Black, in 1981.

His short stories, which were dominated by the ironies and oppression of
apartheid and by the degradation of slum life, have been extensively anthologized and
translated into more than a dozen languages. He was considered to be one of South
Africa's most important short-story writers. While he was one of the prominent black
voices of literary protest, he never alluded in his work to his own homosexuality or to gay
and lesbian issues.

He was stabbed to death by a pair of "rent boys" in his house in Cape Town, just
when an adaptation of his novel "Buckingham Palace", District Six (1986) was being
staged to much acclaim at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, and just after his finishing
another novel, Emergency Continued.
Definition/Discussion of the classification
The poem, “Where The Rainbow Ends”, is sample of a lyric poem. It is
considered to be a lyric poem because it does not tell a story. This lyric poem is a kind of
ode. It is an ode because the poem is all about the people of Africa during the time of
apartheid system in their country.

Subject Matter
“Where the Rainbow Ends” is all about the people of Africa, both black and white
people.

Theme
The theme of this poem is universal. It shows that there is hope in overcoming
racial discrimination and separation through brotherhood.

Interpretation
At that time where this poem was written, Africa suffers from apartheid system
implemented by their government. White Africans were given more opportunity and
rights than those black Africans. For others, especially the black Africans still see some
hope that one day; they will be given equal rights and treatment. The process of
eliminating racism will be a difficult task and it will take time to be achieved. But
through the process, white Africans will learn that black Africans can also do what they
are capable to do, and then they will recognize the importance of other people in their
country.

Imagery
The first image that the reader would perceive while reading this poem is the
colors of the people in Africa.
Rhythm, foot and meter
Rhythm – au – trochaic
Foot – iambic
Meter – this poem has an irregular recurrence of accented and unaccented
syllables.
Rhyme
Rhyme – abcbdbefgeebha, feminine

Mood
The mood in this poem is mixed emotions of sorrow and hope.

Stanzaic Form
The poem consists of 14 lines which is a sonnet type

Poetic devices
The following are the poetic devices used in this poem:
Run on line
Where the rainbow ends
There’s going to be a place, brother,
Where the world can sing all sorts of songs,
And we’re going to sing together, brother,
You and I, though you’re white, and I’m not.

It’s going to be a sad song, brother,

Because we don’t know the tune,
And it’s a difficult tune to learn,
But we can learn brother, you and I.

There’s only music brother,

And it’s music we’re going to sing,
Where the rainbow ends.
 POEM ANALYSIS
OF
GROUP 2

LUIS JORGE ESTRELLADO

DULCE CARNEO
HILBERT CIAS
ERICSON DUERO