Goats and Monkeys (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Derek Walcott
- First Published: 1965
- Type of Work: Narrative
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Colonialism, Love or romance, Race, Sex or sexuality, Gender roles, Adultery, Animals, Shakespeare, William, or Shakespearean plays, Monkeys
The Poem
“Goats and Monkeys” provides an excellent example of intertextuality—that is, it relies on an earlier text but in itself becomes an altogether new work, sometimes called the “echo-text.” The epigraph from William Shakespeare’s Othello (1604) announces Derek Walcott’s source, one he expects the reader to know. The lines come from act 1, scene 1, of the play and are spoken by Othello’s jealous ensign, Iago, as he reveals to Brabantio that his daughter, Desdemona, has run away with the “blackamoor” Othello. In these charged lines, the “black...
[The entire page is 1493 words long]
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