Abstract: The themes and issues discussed in Post-colonial poetry are much the same as in fiction. After the withdrawal of colonialism the Caribbean islands were fragmented as they had no unified history or identity. Walcott, as a Caribbean poet, created a great poetry that highlighted the themes of memory, displacement, loss of history, exile, brutality and tried to celebrate the rejected or little known aspects. Walcott as a poet represented through his poetic forms the unfortunate encounters of people and islands with alien, hostile forces. He had used iconography in his poetry and sensitively mark each aspect of his natural world from stones, rocks, trees, flowers, birds, animals, climatic changes and even the blowing of the wind and tried …show more content…
He won the 1992 Nobel Prize in literature and was the first Caribbean writer to receive it for his epic poem Omeros, which many critics take as the poet’s major achievement. In addition to it, Walcott has won many other literary awards over the course of his long career, including an Obie Award in 1971 for his play Dream on the Monkey Mountain, a Mac Arthur Foundation “genius” award, Royal society of Literature Award, the Queen's Medal for poetry, the inaugural OCM Bocas prize for Caribbean Literature and the 2011 T.S. Eliot prize for his book of poetry White …show more content…
His works reflect his attitude to history and colonialism. This is so among others, in The Arkansas Testament, particularly ‘St. Lucia's First communion’, 'White Magic', 'Oceano Nox', 'Steam', etc. One cannot of course forget to refer to Omeros, his great epic poem in which he has merged a profound reverie upon his remote birth place (St. Lucia) – its people, landscape and its history. Walcott doesn't disown the past and the torture of the colonizers is still fresh in his mind. Walcott as a poet can be called ‘Hybrid’ because of his mixed parentage, his religious upbringing and his choice of the English language as his medium. His both grandmothers were African and grandfathers were European. Although he hated the British culture yet he thought there is something good in it and it should be accepted. He considered English language as superior, has written both in Standard English and in West Indian dialect. He belonged to Methodist community which was later overshadowed by the Christian community and his father christened him. He uses his genetic and cultural hybridity with great subtlety. These things reveal the uniqueness of Walcott's art, the way he deliberately 'exploits' and uses his mixed
He suffers a certain paranoia around Antoinette and her 'family', and this paranoia can only be truly revealed using his thoughts. Rochester, as a white male, does not connect with his surroundings, he sees it as alien, and to overcome this infamiliarity, he asserts his power and regains control over his wife. For Antoinette, her first person narrative account of her story is a key way of the reader being able to understand her pains as a lonely Creole woman. Both Wide Sargasso Sea and The FBW’s poems give a strong voice to otherwise marginalized women and transforms them both from original tragic demise into a kind of triumphant heroism.
From the very beginning of the poem “XIV”, it is clear the author is describing an experience that has left a lasting impression on him. Walcott vividly details his childhood visit with the elderly storyteller, and his journey there. Throughout the poem the author uses poetic devices to convey how this experience was a defining moment in his transformation from childhood to adulthood, and contributed to his identity and newfound wisdom.
In conclusion, the poem was used as a key to unlock some of the thoughts the negro had concerning Africa. The negro in this poem was a representative of all negroes during this time; their thoughts and the their feelings toward Africa. Cullen’s usage of the literary devices allow for an effective expression of the meaning of this poem. Poems are intensified language of experience, so the devices assured the connection of the reader to the poem and the experience. This applies to many issues in society today because as beautiful as our country is there are still dark clouds that cover the very essence of what the states once stood
The mood of this poem is very soothing and is a sense of relaxation and security. Grace Nichols is showing that the island mans first home is the Caribbean. “the steady breaking and wombing.” The word “wombing” is a made up word by the writer. It has many associations but it makes us the readers imagine a place of comfort and security but more importantly a sense of home and belonging. The reason why this image is put in to the readers mind is because babies grow in the mothers’ womb, so we could say that the womb is everyone’s “first home”. The word ‘wombing’ can also mean his mother land.
All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh
From a personal, yet natural perspective, Tretheway chose to form the portrait of the Gulfport district over the years by mixing poets, prose, handwritten letters and a few childhood photographs. Without a doubt, poems, coupe with prose, have successfully flesh out this tragic anecdote, though requiring individual interpretations and a deep understanding of the author’s perception. In this sense, my own analysis allows me to pick three poems, which altogether hold an ultimately general theme: the powerful return of Gulf Coast society – through memorization, reflection and above all, recovery.
PEN/Hemingway Award, the Stephen Crane Prize, and the Whiting Writers Award. He is also a
The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) is history’s only successful slave revolt, and African enslaved persons managed a monumental feat on a largely insignificant island in the Caribbean under French control. Naturally, numerous persons were and are inspired by the Haitian Revolution in facets of life from aggravating social change to creating high art. The story even remains impactful without racial influence; considering, the dominated persons were long subjugated and unprepared for battle, yet they defeated a world power for their freedom. Concentrating on elevated art forms, Langston Hughes (1902-1967) wrote the libretto Troubled Island grounded in the Haitian Revolution’s aftermath and Haiti coming into its own as a nation. By following the revolution’s leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Troubled Island stresses Haiti’s need to cope with the tribulations of banding together and organizing an emerging nation. Moreover, the libretto highlights intraracism among the Haitians following independence, including France’s cultural influence continuing to divide Haitians. Nevertheless, Troubled Island is not a total retelling of actual, historical events, for persons creating a show often alter or add events to fit the operatic stage and emphasizes significant themes.
In this essay I will be comparing two poems which show connections between people and the places in which they live. The two poems I will be comparing and contrasting are “Blessing” by imtiaz Dharker and “Island Man” by Grace Nichols. Both of these poets express their feelings through these poems. Grace Nichols allocates her experiences of how people feel when separated from the environment and place they lived in for such a long period of time. On the contrary Imtiaz Dharker uses the poem “Blessing” to convey the importance of water for less fortunate people. From both of the poems I have chosen I can see that the poets have written about something they feel is important. The reason why I have chosen these two poems is because both of the
In “Godwin's Caleb Williams: ‘A Half-Told and Mangled Tale,’” Rodden writes that “according to George Woodcock, the ‘principle theme’ is ‘the crushing of the individual by the forces of civilized society…’” (3). This theme can be viewed within the realms of how Falkland
At the beginning of her collection of poems, she describes the history and lore of the Marshallese people. She dedicates the first five poems to stories that she has heard from her ancestors, giving us unique insight into the culture of the Marshallese. It shows how they have grown the Marshall Islands and how they are a seafaring people. In the poem Loktanur, there is mention of how the sail was brought to them, and how it allowed for them to travel across and unite the islands. There is a seemingly divine “mother” who says, “Behold my Son. This is what shall be called the Sail”(Kijiner 7). They are people who are deeply familial, and are completely reliant on the lagoon and on their sails. The spiritual side of their culture is revealed with the poem Ettolok Ilikin Lometo(Kijiner 10) where the speaker longs to be back home even though they are travelling the world. It is the place most sacred to them, the place that they have lived for millennia, but even that is taken away by colonialism. These are their islands and they are the indigenous people of this region, with a history and culture that is wrapped completely around the geography of this area. By building up the background of the Marshallese people, there is more of an impact when we find out about imperialism and the nuclear tests that follow. After seeing how big of a part their islands and culture play in their life, having a dying culture where the children “bury [their] native
Under a “blazing tropic sky,” which adds extra colours now that the portrait of a sunset has been painted in the minds of the readers, the beauty of the foliage of the island is commented on, as she was “All a-glittering in her verdue.” So sacred and mythical is the place for her that she even says it “Must have been part of Eden, it’s so full of peace and rest.” Like Cameo, this poem puts heavy emphasis on the calmness and quietude of Jamaica. Imagers of a sanctuary or refuge are constructed where one can forget their predicaments and worries. Una Marson, as stated before, suffered from mental issues and Jamaica stood tall and towering as her safe
Derek Walcott, born on January 23, 1930 in St. Lucia, became a well renowned African-American author, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1972 for his substantial work in poetry. Many of his poems deal with the idea of race and British imperialism in the 19th century and the poem “Ruins of a Great House” is no different. Walcott reflects on the effects of slavery and British colonization in the Caribbean, continually referring to England as the “empire”. “Ruins of a Great House” is written from Walcott’s perspective in the 19th century Caribbean and tackles the destruction of the Caribbean culture using vivid imagery, allusion, word choice, and metaphors. Derek Walcott eloquently conveys the frustration of the native peoples, in the Caribbean, when he portrays the deterioration and disarray of post British rule throughout this work.
All five poets in this essay have experience some form of personal, psychological or physical conflict in their lives. Poet Laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson was one of the most celebrated and respected poets during the Victorian era. He was hugely influenced by Romantic poets and created powerful and vivid images throughout his poems. Tennyson is also considered to be a master of poetic rhythm. Unlike Tennyson, Simon Armitage a poet of the modern era, studied the effects of television violence on young offenders, and later worked as a probation officer. This was a job in which had great influence on many of the poems from his first collection. In a similar way Stevie Smith whose father abandoned his family and mother died at a young age, expresses her own personal experiences through her writing, which consisted of a mix of deep sadness and sardonic amusement to illustrate her feelings about being oppressed by a patriarchal society. Very similarly, Gillian Clarke a modern day poet, born and raised in Wales recognises the contribution made by women to society and would like to see the work done by women valued as much as the work done by men. Her subjects are often about domestic matters and her work frequently reflects this. In contrast, William Butler Yeats, who is doubtlessly the most celebrated of all Irish poets, was deeply affected by the developing conflicts between the Irish rebels and English troops, later using his memories of conflict to create his own poetry.
The thing which fascinated me towards his work was that the novels were mainly inspired by the social discrimination in the form of apartheid, and disintegration of the human life by authoritarians and people who were powerful.