Discussion Topic
Themes and imagery in Derek Walcott's "The Walk."
Summary:
Derek Walcott's "The Walk" explores themes of memory, passage of time, and the connection between nature and human experience. The poem utilizes vivid imagery of a coastal walk, with descriptions of the sea, sky, and landscape reflecting the speaker's introspective journey. The natural elements serve as metaphors for the ephemeral nature of life and the enduring impact of past experiences.
What are some themes in Derek Walcott's "The Walk"?
"The Walk" describes a poet's struggle to reconcile himself with the pain and difficulty of the creative process. This is one of the poem's main themes. The speaker describes a "brain that tires," and when he writes a poem "each phrase (is) peeled from the flesh in bandages." This metaphor suggests that the creative process has become a painful one for the speaker. Each phrase reveals a wound, and the fact that the "bandages" need to be "peeled from the flesh" suggests that the wounds remain open, and raw. The process of writing a poem seems to expose the poet's wounds.
Another theme in the poem is the theme of home. The poet laments his "fidelity" to his own home, which he is unable or unwilling to stray too far from. He seems to compare himself to "the cats yawn(ing) behind their window frames," who he in turn compares to...
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"lions in cages of their choice." The implication is that the poet too is, metaphorically, a lion who has willingly imprisoned himself within the confines of his own home. The lion here could be a symbol for the power and potential of the speaker's creativity, which he has unwittingly repressed by not venturing away from the comfort and familiarity of his own home.
Another theme in the poem is the speaker's feeling of melancholy, which seems to be a consequence of his frustrated and painful creative process. Walcott uses pathetic fallacy throughout the poem by using the weather to reflect this melancholy. There are, for example, repeated references to the rain. In the opening line of the poem the speaker describes a "hard rain," and later he describes "a sky sodden" and a "rain-drenched / grove." The repeated references to the rain create an oppressive, miserable atmosphere, suggesting that the speaker feels trapped and hopeless.
What are the main themes in Derek Walcott's poem "The Walk," and how is imagery used to develop them?
In "The Walk," Walcott explores the creative process of a writer. This is one of the main themes of the poem. Indeed, the poem reads like a poet's anguished cry for inspiration. The poet is addressed to a "you," but this "you" seems to be the poet himself. The poem is thus a poet's conversation with himself. He is trying to push himself to do more, and trying to become more creative. In the second stanza, he implores himself to "pray for this brain that tires." He describes the process of writing as "haemorrhaging poems." The verb "haemorrhaging" implies violence and loss, implying that the process of writing a poem has become a draining, violent process. This idea is extended in the third stanza, when Walcott writes that "each phrase [is] peeled from the flesh in bandages." This metaphor is visceral, vivid, and painful. The implication is that each phrase is like a wound inflicted upon the poet, or like a piece of his body that is taken away. The word "peeled" also suggests that this is a slow and agonizing process.
Another main theme in the poem is domesticity and comfort. Walcott uses lots of domestic images, such as "kitchen laundry," "cats yawn[ing] behind their window frames," and the "neighbour's gates." These domestic images suggest that the poet's home is familiar, comfortable and secure. However, it is this familiarity, comfort and security which seems to be restricting the poet's creative process. He longs for his mind to journey further outwards, away from the domestic comforts of his home. But he says, speaking to himself, "you move; / your house, a lion rising, paws you back." The poet's home here is described metaphorically as a dominating lion. It refuses to let the poet leave. If the poet makes a move to leave and venture further afield, his home simply "paws [him] back." In other words, the poet finds it too difficult to leave his home comforts behind, even though he is aware that he must do so if he is to reawaken his creativity.