Poems from Other Cultures and Traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Poems from Other Cultures and Traditions - Essay Example For both poets, nature plays a deceptive role in the landscape. In Roach's "Love Overgrows a Rock," the water's complement to the horizon creates tranquil scenery. The poet's vivid description of the landscape in the first three lines "Only the foreground's green/waves break in the middle distance/and to horizon the Atlantic spread," shows that he is captivated by the landscape (127). Though waves peacefully crash in the distance, shore water engulfs dreams. One area of the water performs one function, while another part of the water performs a different task that is completely unrelated to its counterpart's. Thus, the dual function of the water contributes to deception in the poem. The theme of deception continues in Roach's "The Curse of her Beauty" (145). In the midst of disarrayed and wind-battened trees, a beautiful woman appears. The woman's beauty seduces and blinds the poet from the realism of the less-desired landscape. The poet's intense attraction to the woman leads him to become better acquainted with her. Through greater acquaintance, the poet realizes that the woman does in fact resemble the land. However, that deferred realization results in a subsequent and dramatic heartbreak for the poet. Like Roach, Walcott includes nature's deceptive r... Night and its accompanying elements seem to aid the harbour's deceptive ploy. Walcott renames night as "an urger of old lies" (5)-one that covers truth. Moreover, the stars signal their part in the plot by winking at the night. With no need to question the conveniences of the harbour, fishermen continue rowing towards home. Unsuspectingly and calmly, the traveler takes advantage of the harbour's connection to further exploration. Though he hears small whispers of casualties, the deceptive surroundings continue to provide the traveler with a false sense of security that provides him with enough courage to continue his journey. Nature's deception represents struggles imposed upon Roach and Walcott. Both West Indian poets strained to come to terms with the crippling effects that post-colonialism had on their Caribbean countries. Being under the yoke of the English, French, and Spanish took a great toll on the Caribbean people (Breiner 113). In first eight lines of his poem "A Far Cry from Africa," Walcott uses nature to establish the brutal and deadly rule of the colonial authority, as it is opposed on the Mau Mau of Kenya (Trueblood 3): A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt Of Africa. Kikuyu, quick as flies, Batten upon the bloodstreams of the veldt. Corpses are scattered through a paradise. Only the worm, colonel of carrion, cries: 'Waste no compassion on these separate dead!' Statistics justify and scholars seize The salients of colonial policy. (7) The first couple of lines refer to Africa as a dead animal lying in the wind. The next couple of lines show Africa's inner death-its people being bloodily fastened to the open grassy fields (veldts) by insensitive killers