Analysis of Kenneth Maswabi Smith's poem 'Fake News'

Kenneth Maswabi Smith is a citizen of Botswana, Africa, and is a practicing medical doctor who also writes poems. Maswabi’s poem “Fake News” is about how in today's society fake news is completely normal, and it can be difficult to distinguish between what is right and wrong. Parents play a big role in helping their children in a world where fake news and misinformation are spread like wildfire. In the poem “Fake News” Maswabi raises awareness about the concerns many parents have when their children use social media, where they are constantly filled with fake news. The focus points in this analytical essay will be composition, language, theme, and message.

The composition in the poem “Fake News” is built on simple but effective messages. Maswabi's poem consists of five stanzas with either one consisting of 5 to 6 lines and therefore it is cinquain and sestet. All the stanzas are either ABCDEF or ABCDE rhymes because none of the end words rhyme. An example is in the first stanza the end words are nonsense, soul, mind, doubt, process, and children and none of those words rhyme. The author uses short but precise sentences for example when he writes “They fed me with nonsense” (p.2 , l. 1) this sentence is both short but it is also very clear what he says. The meaning that the use of short sentences gives the readers is that the message of the poem seems important and urgent. The author wants to tell his worries about the misinformation and the fake news that is spread.