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In this two-part online class, we examined Gabriel Okara’s “Once Upon a Time,” one of the six African poems recommended for the 2026–2030 SSCE Literature-in-English syllabus.
With a focus on poem reading, summary, themes, and poetic devices, this class recreates a real-time classroom experience to help students and teachers engage deeply with the text.
“Once Upon a Time” by Gabriel Imomotimi Okara explores the loss of genuine human emotions—such as laughter, warmth, and sincerity—in modern interactions. The speaker nostalgically recalls a time when people’s smiles and handshakes were real, contrasting it with the artificial politeness of the present day. He expresses a heartfelt desire to unlearn these learned pretences and relearn the natural innocence of childhood honesty.
Watch the full class in two parts below:
🎥 Part 1: Poem Reading and Summary
🎥 Part 2: Themes and Poetic Devices
This video lesson aims to make African poetry learning more interactive and relatable, and to bridge classroom teaching and digital accessibility for all literature students.
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