Before the Sun is written in free verse and provides a contemplative voice of a boy who is on the threshold of maturity and is trying to come to terms with adolescence and its problems.He thus communes with nature ,mainly the sun and intuits an understanding of life.Charles Mungoshi was the son of a farmer and helped his parents out in the field which clearly indicates his secret relationship with nature.Often he would walk alone ,herding cattle and pondered on the complexities of life.Through this poem he explains the difficulties of growing up and the phase of puberty.
The poems begins by setting up a bright healthy atmosphere by the use of words ÃÂIntense blue morningÃÂ.Its morning, a time when all things come to life and there is activity ,all processes start and there is a new existence marked in this world. The words ÃÂmorning,afternoon,rainÃÂ all suggest the changing weather pattern...
The weather forecast given can also be read as a metaphor for stages of life ,morning being childhood, middle age as afternoon and rain might be symbolic of old age. The word ÃÂintenseÃÂ suggests the excitement about entering a new phase of life,his overflowing emotions . ÃÂIntense blue morning promising early heatÃÂ gives us the idea about youth and adolescence where one is at the brink of childhood and finds the next stage of life very promising, bright and intense. He is very passionate and is looking forward to what life has to offer to him in the form of heat and warmth associated with youth. But ÃÂlater in the afternoonÃÂ gives us a picture of the waning youth where one is viewed as an adult. The intense blue morning has given way to the ÃÂafternoon and heavy rainÃÂ.The life is now taking a turn...