Grief is a prominent theme in the poem. The word “grieved” is repeated several times in the poem to drive home the sorrow and anguish Africa undergoes after years of being exploited of her human and natural resources. Africa is debased by years of being cheated, afflicted pain, and exploited by people “of other seas”.

Apart from stanzas four and five, there is hardly a stanza in the poem where “grieved” is not used. This underlines the pain and sorrow slavery and colonialism afflicted Africa with.