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- His work is conceived on an oceanic scale and one of its fundamental concerns is to give an account of the simultaneous unity and division created by the ocean and by human dealings with it.” Many readers and critics point to Omeros (1990), an epic poem reimagining the Trojan War as a Caribbean fishermen’s fight, as Walcott’s major achievement.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/derek-walcott
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Derek Walcott was a poet from Saint Lucia. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. His work often explores themes of Caribbean culture and history. He wrote both poetry and plays. Walcott is known for his vivid imagery and deep emotional expression.
- Form and Tone
- ‘A Far Cry from Africa’ Title
- Detailed Analysis
- About Derek Walcott
‘A Far Cry from Africa‘ is written in free verse. It is presented in two stanzas one consisting of twenty-one lines and the other consisting of eleven. It does not follow a strict rhyming pattern, although end rhymes feature prominently throughout the poem. The effect of this is that the poem has a stilted, disjointed feel which mirrors the feeling...
The title is in itself fairly interesting. It certainly has a double meaning. The obvious meaning is that it is using the phrase which means that the events are “far removed” from what you expect in Africa, but actually, I think the title is subversive and is supposed to be taken very literally. Meaning that in Africa there are people crying.
Lines 1-4
The first two lines reference the Kikuyu. This is one of the biggest tribes in Kenya. There is an interesting use of imagery here as they are described as being “as quick as flies”. The poet talks of them being massacred, and in the fourth line, he makes a really striking comparison between the Veldt area which he considers a paradise, and the fact it is littered with corpses. Rhyme is used in the opening section with an ABABpattern. This might make you come to expect that to be a reoccurring...
Lines 5-9
In the fifth line, we see the use of alliteration. Worms are “picked on” here, being referred to as the colonel of Carrion. The suggestion being that where you find rotting flesh, you find worms. He personifies them though and gives them an almost militant voice as they exclaim ‘Waste no compassion on these separate dead!’ this gives them a villainous quality. In the 8th line, he refers to the locals as salient, this is a clever piece of imagery it gives the impression that these people are i...
Lines 10-13
In the tenth line, we see a very powerful metaphor as Walcott draws on a comparison between the atrocities being committed here and the ones committed by the Nazis during the Second World War. At least that’s what one would assume by referring to Jews as expendable. Once again ‘A Far Cry from Africa’ turns to imagery and the use of nature. Here Ibises are used and their cries referenced. According to the narratorthese cries: I feel this is probably a metaphor for the repeatedslaughter and gen...
Derek Walcottwas a St Lucian poet who among his many accolades received a Nobel prize for literature. Given the fact that he is of South American descent, it seems strange that Walcott wrote about events in Africa, although you could make the assumption that it was due to an interest in a fellow colonial country.
- Male
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
In the seventh stanza of Derek Walcott’s poem ‘The Light of the World,’ the speaker’s yearning for continuity, intimacy, and belonging becomes poignantly clear. Through vivid sensory details and introspection, the stanza explores themes of impermanence, desire, and the fleeting nature of human connections.
Sir Derek Alton Walcott KCSL OBE OM OCC (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. [1] His works include the Homeric epic poem Omeros (1990), which many critics view "as Walcott's major achievement." [2]
Derek Walcott (1930-2017) was awarded the Nobel prize for Literature in 1992, two years after the publication of his most ambitious and celebrated work, Omeros, an epic poem which draws on the Homeric tradition and relocates it in the voices and lives of the people of the Caribbean.
Derek Walcott - The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. Born in 1930, in the West Indies, Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992.
