Derek Walcott

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What is the impact of the rhyme scheme in Derek Walcott's "Lampfall"?

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The impact of the rhyme scheme in Derek Walcott's "Lampfall" is variable, as there is no set rhyme scheme. There are, however, several end rhymes that draw attention to particular points in the poem. For example, the rhyme of "voice" and "rejoice" at the end of the first stanza helps shift the poem from the events of reality to those of imagination or dreams.

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"Lampfall" is, like so many of Derek Walcott's poems, about the fluidity of memories and daydreams. There is not much rhyme in the poem, and likewise there is no regular syllabic meter, meaning that the tone of the poem is prosaic and digressive, and suggestive of a stream-of-consciousness, spontaneous monologue—or, indeed, a daydream.

There is, however, some rhyme in the poem. At the end of the first stanza, for example, lines 8 and 10 rhyme with the words "voice" and "rejoice," respectively. This rhyme at the end of the first stanza suggests closure and signals the shift in focus between the first and second stanzas, from the speaker's observations and reflections in the present to the beginning of the speaker's introspective, figurative daydream.

A second rhyme can be found towards the end of the fifth stanza, with the word "bread" at the end of the sixth line of...

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the stanza rhyming with the word "dread" at the end of the seventh. At this point in the poem, the tone takes a darker, more ominous turn, and the speaker, hereafter, begins to speak of fear, "loss," and "drowning." The rhymingcouplet of "bread" and "dread" helps to place emphasis on the word "dread" and thus helps to signal the tonal shift at this point of the poem. The emphasis on the word "dread" is also aided by the blunt, heavy d sound at the end of the word.

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What is the impact of the rhyme scheme in Derek Walcott's poem "The Walk"?

Derek Walcott's poem "The Walk" is about a writer's search for inspiration. Throughout the poem, the writer is frustrated that he cannot escape the comfort and familiarity of what he is used to and, therefore, cannot rekindle his creative inspiration.

There is not much rhyme in the poem, which perhaps reflects the writer's aforementioned inability to find creative inspiration. Indeed, the absence of any rhythmic fluency in the poem seems to reflect the writer's inability to find any creative fluency or rhythm.

The first instance of a conventional rhyme occurs in the sixth and penultimate stanza, in which the second and fourth lines conclude with the words "clenched" and "drenched" respectively. At this point in the poem, the writer acknowledges that "the pain is real" and that the comforts and familiarity of home might constitute his "life's end." In other words, at this point in the poem there is a sense that the writer has arrived at a moment of acceptance and closure. He seems to have accepted that the creative inspiration has, as it were, dried up, and with this sense of acceptance or closure, the writer is perhaps able to find some new sort of fluency or rhythm.

Before this point in the poem, there are some half-rhymes, such as "tapers" and "wires" in the first stanza, and "sky" and "laundry" in the third stanza. These half-rhymes suggest a writer who is grasping for fluency and rhythm but never quite achieving it. There are also some rhymes and half-rhymes which straddle different stanzas, such as "wires" and "tires" in the first and second stanzas respectively, and "gates" and "gets" in the fourth and fifth stanzas respectively. These scattered rhymes emphasize the impression of a writer grasping for, but never quite achieving, the elusive rhythm of creative inspiration.

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What is the impact of the rhyme scheme and structure in "The Walk" by Derek Walcott?

Sometimes, when we talk about poems, we tend to discuss them as if they were mere documents. We get caught up in trying to figure out what they're saying or trying to teach us that we forgot that poems have multiple dimensions. They have line break, rhymes, and rhythms.

With that being said, let's get into the impact of the rhyme scheme and poetic structure in Derek Walcott's poem "The Walk."

One thing I notice is that the lines are of varying length. Look at these two lines:

each phrase peeled from the flesh in bandages,
arise, stroll on under a sky

What does the fluctuating length do to the poem? How might it reinforce the emotion and pain of the poem? After all, emotions are rarely constant. They are often moving, shrinking, or expanding.

The rhymes, too, seem to lack a constant scheme.

Look at the second-to-last stanza. The end words are: "end," "clenched," "track," and "rain-drenched." So three out of the four lines end in rhymes or near-rhymes. These rhymes are rather obvious.

Elsewhere, the rhymes are more subtle. In the second stanza, the last two lines end with "read" and "poems." While these don't rhyme, there is a certain degree of assonance with the e sounds in the middle of the words.

It's interesting how these bursts of rhyme connect to the sudden emotion in the poem. "O heart, O rose of iron!" declares Walcott. We could say that this is a passionate, jolting poem. Its seesaw structure and unpredictable rhymes seem to be impacted by the strong, sudden feelings of our narrator.

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