Rooikappie - Philip de Vos | Poem Analysis
This is an English translation and explanation of the poem - Rooikappie
Afrikaans Version
"Klein Rooikappie stap na die woud
na Ouma toe, maar skrik haar koud,
en sy wou flou val, ja, gewis,
toe ‘n BMW haar net-net mis.
En by die stuurwiel, dik en vet,
vol Old Spice en ‘n sigaret
sit Hendrik Janse van der Colff,
bekend as padvark, én as wolf.
“Wil jy ‘n lift hê, liewe diertjie?
Dan gee ek jou ‘n koue biertjie.”
Maar darie goeie kind Rooikappie
dink aan woorde van haar pappie:
Pas tog op vir vreemdelinge,
met hul lollipops en dinge …
Gedagtig daaraan sê sy NEE!
en hoor net motorbande skree.
Maar toe sy by haar ouma kom,
was sy geskok en skoon verstom,
want naas haar in die dubbelbed
lê Hendrik Janse, breed en vet.
Haar ouma sug: “My nood was groot,
want Oupa is so lankal dood …”
Toe sluk die tweetjies aan ‘n Carling,
en sê die wolf: “Nou’s jy my Darling.”
Hier’s ‘n les: Wees nés Rooikappie.
Luister áltyd na jou pappie.
Maar beslis nie na jou ouma.
Anders wag verdriet en trouma …"
- Philip de Vos
Terminology
Toutologie: Tortolgy - To say the same thing twice
Contrast: Contrast a she is an innocent, small deer and he is a large, fat, smoking man.
Assonasie: The repetition of vowel sound
Alliterasie: The religion of consonant sounds
Parrym: Rhyme pair (AABB CCDD EEFF)
English Translation
Little red riding hood walks in the forest
On the way to her grandmother, but she got such a big fright,
and she nearly fainted because BMW barely missed her.
And behind the the steering wheel, fat,
full of Old Spice and a cigeratte
sits Hendrik Janse van der Colff
known as road hog, and a wolf.
"Do you want a lift, dear girl?
Then I can give you a cold beer"
But this good child Red Riding Hood
thinks about the words from her dad:
Beware of strangers,
with their lollipops and things...
Thinking of this, she says, "No!"
And she only hears car tires screaming.
But when she arrives at her Gradnmothers house,
she was shocked and astonished,
because next to her grandmother, in the double bed,
lay Hendrik Janse, wide and fat.
Her grandmother sighs: "My yearning was great,
because grandfather has been dead so long..." (She wants sex)
Then the two of them sip on a Carling ,
And the wolf says: "Now you are my Darling." (He is speaking to the grandmother)
Here is a lesson: Be just like Red Riding Hood.
Always listen to your dad.
But definitely don't believe your grandmother (or be like her).
Otherwise sorrow and trauma awaits you...
Vocabulary
Woud: forest
Skrik: got a fright
Flou Val: fainted
Net-net: barely
Stuurwiel: steering wheel
Bankend: known
Padvark: Road hog
Darie: daardie
Waarskuwing: warning
Gedagtig: thinking of p
Motorbande: car tires
Verstom: Astonished
Naas: next to
Nood was groom: Great was my yearning
Sluk: swallow
Nes (net soos): just like
Beslis: Deninitely
Anders: otherwise
Verdriet: sorrow
Geleentheid: opportunity
Pedofiel/pervert: Pervert