Reflecting on ageing through selected Zimbabwean Shona poems

The article is a comparative literary analysis of ageing through selected, Zimbabwean Shona poems. It engaged the following literary sources: Mbuya Vangu Rava Basa, Mbuya Mazviore and Hari Dzofanzirofa, which are in the Shona language. A realisation that has been made from the three poems is that the inter-generational gap between the young (grandchildren) and aged adults (grandmothers/grandfathers) generates perceptions and attitudes towards comprehending the concept of ageing. Furthermore, the article holds that in the selected verses, there are related stereotypes invoked by the younger generation as they interact with older adults. Such stereotypical characterisation, as cast in the selected verses, is directed towards both aged males and females. Ageing and its associated traits are depicted as strange, with the poetic personae adopting a bystander attitude toward old age. Against this backdrop, this article argues that exuding such a perspective through the prism of literature is very limiting because it fosters a lack of care and welfare towards this ageing group. The implications are that victimhood and pessimism are set into the young generation, as they are exposed to such literature. Analytic Afrocentricity has been opted for in this exegesis because it gives pre-eminence to language, attitude, and direction.