Derek Walcott Derek Alton Walcott was born in St. Lucia, a small island in the West Indies, in 1930. His parents were middle-class Protestants in a society of predominantly poor Catholics. He studied literature at St. Mary’s College in St. Lucia and at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. A man of two distinct and opposite bloodlines; English and African, he often writes of the struggle within. At the age of eighteen, he financed the publication of his first collection of poetry titled Twenty-Five Poems. He writes plays as well as poetry and has been awarded an Obie for his play Dream on Monkey Mountain.
In 1992, after years of waiting, Derek Walcott won the Nobel Prize for literature, and has been cited as the first great poet of West Indian culture (Anderson 73).
His mother, being actively involved in the local theatre during his early years, strongly influenced his artistic development. Walcotts father, a painter with some degree of talent, also helped influence his work. The self-portrait of his father gave him motivation and he felt a sense of continuity while practicing his art. This combined parental support, at a very early age, gave him the confidence to start painting. Often, in his youth, he imitated his favorite writers and tried to follow in their footsteps. Walcott’s strongest influences came from English born writers like Dylan Thomas and Hart Crane.
He still loves the ringing line and the musical quality that some poets have within their verse (Baugh 49-50).
The Essay on Hybridity in the poetry of Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott is a Caribbean writer, playwright and Nobel Laureate from Castries, St. Lucia. On both the maternal and paternal sides of his family, he was descended from a white grandfather and black grandmother. As a young man he trained as a painter, mentored by Harold Simmons whose life as a professional artist provided an inspiring example for Walcott. Walcott started his career at the age of ...
As he has grown, however, one can clearly see that Derek Walcott has developed his own unique style of writing. Most of his works reflect the spirit of the West Indies and the cultural division among the peoples within this region. In his poetry, Walcott also deals with the anger, hurt and resentment associated with colonialism. His individual experience has become part of what it means to be West Indian. He brings to light that, not only is there a cultural separation between the peoples of the Caribbean, but there is also a certain amount of inner conflict within each resident of these islands. Walcott exposes the rift within himself in almost every poem in some way.
This division inside Derek Walcott is found where his own beliefs and those of his ancestors collide. This conflict causes much of the pain that he expresses in his poems. Walcott’s A Far Cry From Africa is a prime example of his writings. This poem definitely shows his inner feelings and allows the reader to experience them (Matuz 340-41).
One of the major devices that Walcott uses in A Far Cry From Africa is the division of man. In his poetry, he declares, “I who am poisoned with the blood of both / Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?”(Walcott 2359).
Walcott reveals how torn he is between the two worlds of his ancestry, just as the majority of West Indians. He is emotionally confused and cannot come to terms with his predicament. He cannot bring himself to condone the terrorism of the Kikuyu during the Mau Mau rebellion, even though he condemns the British colonialism against which the Kikuyu fight. His identifies with black Africa, but is disgusted with the killing of both white and black innocents. At times, he does not believe that the actions taken were truly justified. Moreover he dislikes people who are aware of all the injustices taking place, and yet choose to remain emotionally uninvolved.
He is obsessed with Africa, yet afraid to go against his English heritage. His poetry continually expresses this fact and shows how his obsession changes to a symbolism (Dickey 44).
Later on, Walcott questions himself when he says, “How do I choose between Africa and the English tongue that I love?” This further shows that the writer’s conscience wreaking havoc with his soul. As a result, he cannot commit totally to either. His English and African roots both appeal to him and he has trouble in coming to terms with his divided ancestry. Walcott struggles with the dilemma of where to put his loyalty.
The Essay on Sun Moon Poem People Reader
anyone lived in a pretty how town by e. e. cummings 'anyone lived in a pretty how town' is about how commonplace language and commonplace lives can be intimate and profound. It is a technically innovative poem which designed so that the reader cannot know what is going on from a 'distant', perfunctory viewpoint. Repetition, strange grammatical usages, and impersonal nouns demand very close reading ...
His poems tell us that he wants desperately to be simply African, but he cannot because he is not. There is the blood of the Anglo-Saxon within him and he feels a certain amount of loyalty to that blood, even though the people of white decent have treated him like trash. Although his separation causes him much anxiety, he is not so prejudiced that he becomes bitter with his words (Matuz 341).
It is obvious when reading this poem that Walcott hates, yet admires the English. His division leads to, and goes hand in hand with, his personal isolation. Walcott seems to say, that he is alone and can only be alone. The black community does not totally accept him, neither does the white.
He is lost and is desperately trying to find a place to call home. Walcott shows the solitude that he feels and draws his readers into sharing it with him. He is in a middle state: historic loss at one extreme, and responsibility to his feelings; their validity and measure at the other. His words, “Again brutish necessity wipes its hands / Upon the napkin of a dirty cause,” tell how he despises those that subjugated his people and himself (Baugh 51).
Because of the fact that his ancestors left Africa to settle in St. Lucia, they have suffered a great cultural loss and must now cultivate and embrace a new culture (West Indian) for themselves.
Metaphor is another device that Walcott seems to appreciate. He uses this device to create symbols that his readers can vividly picture in their minds. In Walcott’s poetry there is a tension between the ideas of simplicity, lucidity, directness and those of complexity, opacity, and obliquity. These two sets of ideas are inseparable, since the truth that Walcott seeks is at once simple and complex. The use of metaphor allows him the powerful means of expressing this tension. Walcott also shows the importance of place and background by packed, complex and profusely metaphorical verse.
It is almost as if he is painting on the canvas of his readers’ imagination (Baugh 54).
The Term Paper on Poems "Island Man" And "The Fringe Of The Sea".
I recently read two poems, entitled “Island Man” and “The Fringe of the Sea”. These two poems are similar in many ways, but also have conflicting ideas. They both have connections to the sea, through the content of the poems, but also through the authors. Grace Nichols is the author of “Island Man”, and she was born in Ghana, and now living in Britain. A.L. ...
They walk away with something new each time they read the poem. His readers can see the use of metaphor from the very first line in the poem “A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt of Africa.” One interpretation could be that an evil wind is sweeping over the plains of Africa. Walcott sets the stage for his readers to follow his thoughts that seem to be numerous and extremely varied (King 120-22).
He combines metaphor with irony and imagery to achieve dramatic and complex results. Through these devices, Walcott creates a world more alive than the one we live in and more emotionally vivid than any we could imagine (Bryfonski 556).
For example, in the poem, he talks about the corpses being scattered through a paradise.
He suggests that Africa is a paradise and maybe all the bloodshed could have been avoided. Man has filled his paradise with corpses and this pitiful sight must be viewed with shame and as a disgrace to mankind. Walcott does not stop with this single thought. He carries it further and shows his poetic power when he talks about the worms as being the supreme master over the corpses. They waste no compassion on the separate dead. It does not matter to the worms if the dead is black or white.
They do not discriminate one race from the another; man is made equal in death. History shows the statistics of war, but these cannot be used to determine a winner or loser. Walcott seems to be saying that in war, everyone loses. When we look at the overall picture, black as well as white, both suffer devastating losses. Religious imagery is yet another device of Walcott. He says in his poem, that the violence of beast on beast is natural and understandable.
Animals live by instinct and do not have any morality. To avenge his dead, man kills more and more of his fellowman. This action perpetuates the vicious cycle. What is even more troublesome is that he inflicts pain and suffering on his enemies and still believes that this is divine behavior (Asein 60).
One other aspect of Walcotts poem, although maybe not a device, is the lack of division among the races. He suggests that respect for all life is essential for man to achieve true divinity. This poem A Far Cry From Africa is one of Walcott’s first published works.
The Essay on Out Of America A Black Man Confronts Africa By Keith Richburg
Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa by Keith Richburg During many years Africa was associated with evergreen forests, unique flora, fauna, sun and diamonds. Keith Richburgs book Out of America disclosed a terrible truth to millions of readers about African continent. After reading this book Africa is no longer associated with safari, lions and wild nature. It is neither about ecological ...
He points out the danger of getting caught up in historic sentimentality. His solution is to accept the past, not nurse it, and get on with life. Throughout the poem he displays his outstanding objectivity and morality. He seems to tell us that all life is sacred and not just one color or the other. The lack of militancy within it is refreshing and beautiful. The importance of Walcott’s work amounts to a poetic statement of man’s struggle for self fulfillment and his attempt to attain harmony with nature (Asein 62).
His objectivity adds flavor to the poem and leaves the readers to make their own judgments. This makes the poem unprejudiced and all the more enjoyable to read.
Bibliography: Anderson, William, ed. Conversations with Derek Walcott. Oxford: U of Mississippi P, 1996. Baugh, Gregson, ed. The Poetics of Derek Walcott: Intertextual Perspectives. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1997. Matuz, Robert D.
ed. Critical Perspectives on Derek Walcott. Washington: Three Continents P, 1993. Asein, Rei. Derek Walcotts Poetry: American Mimicry. Boston: Northeastern UP, 1992..
