What happens in Martin Carter's poem "This is the Dark Time, My Love"? What effect does the repeated reference to "my love" have?
Let's begin by taking the poem piece by piece in order to figure out what it means:
"This is the Dark Time, My Love" --we can learn a lot by looking at the titles to poems. "Dark Time" has the implication of danger, or trouble. "My love" lets us know that the poem is addressing someone.
This is the dark time, my love,
All round the land brown beetles crawl about
The shining sun is hidden in the sky
Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow
--Okay, the narrator is addressing someone he (or she) loves, letting that person know that times are difficult. The images given are probably not meant to be taken literally. Brown Beetles crawling about (could be a reference to crop eating bugs...symbolic of destruction) and the sun his hidden in the sky (the sun being a sign of light and hope, its being hidden can imply that evil or danger is at hand.) Lastly, the red flowers bend their heads toward the ground (another sign of sadness, of despair.)
This is the dark time, my love,
It is the season of oppression, dark metal, and tears.
It is the festival of guns, the carnival of misery
Everywhere the faces of men are strained and anxious
--Here the phrase is repeated about "dark time, my love." This is probably done for rhythmic appeal and to reinforce the idea that the narrator is speaking to someone in particular. The second line alludes to great hostility, with being "oppressed." "Dark metal" probably is a reference to weaponry, and tears, well, you know what they are. Line four contrasts "festival" with "guns" and "carnival" with "misery." These comparisons are the opposite of what most people would think of when thinking about a carnival or festival. That's what makes them stand out. The last line shows the strain that the times are putting on people.
Who comes walking in the dark night time?
Whose boot of steel tramps down the slender grass
It is the man of death, my love, the stranger invader
Watching you sleep and aiming at your dream.
What is the structure of Martin Carter's poem "This is a Dark Time my Love"?
While there isn't a specific structure to the poem, there are lots of literary devices that help to create the very powerful meaning in this poem. The "Dark Time" spoken of by Carter is war. In the second line, there are "beetles crawl[ing] about" which are a metaphor representing soldiers. The red flowers take on human qualities by "bend[ing] their heads in awful sorrow," which is personification. In this sense, meaning is added to the poem by illustrating that humans are not the only beings impacted by the war.
The "festival of guns" and the "carnival of misery" are also ironic metaphors. They use "fun" words to describe misery and guns. In the last part of the poem, the "man of death" comes:
Who comes walking in the dark night time?
Whose boot of steel tramps down the slender grass
It is the man of death, my love, the stranger invader
Watching you sleep and aiming at your dream.
The man of death isn't actually one man, but many. It's a figurative way to describe an invasion, or a war in general.
Notice that each of the elements described contributes to the meaning of the overall poem. That is a key piece whenever you're discussing literary elements and techniques.
Who is the persona and what is their attitude in Martin Carter's poem "This is the dark time, my love"?
Martin Carter (1927-1997) was a poet of mixed European, East Indian, and African descent who lived in British Guyana, a country in S. America that was a colony of Great Britain until 1966. Many of his poems deal with themes of politics, resistance, and protest against colonialism (see first link below).
"This is the dark time, my love" fits into this category of poem.
The narrator of the poem seems to be a man who is addressing his "love"; whether this person is his lover or his child is debatable.
The poem begins with a simple description of nightfall:
This is the dark time, my love,
All round the land brown beetles crawl about
The shining sun is hidden in the sky.
The description quickly turns to a metaphorical darkness of oppression and misery:
Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow
This is the dark time, my love,
It is the season of oppression, dark metal, and tears.
It is the festival of guns, the carnival of misery.
Based on the general themes of Carter's poetry, and on his political activism, it can be safely assumed that he is referring to the misery of colonial oppression. This view is strengthened by the reference near the end of the poem to "the stranger invader"--the British colonizers who have invaded from a "strange," foreign land.
As its title indicates, this is a "dark," pessimistic poem. As the poem concludes, the "stranger invader" is so powerful that he is "Watching you sleep and aiming at your dream."
How would you describe the mood and tone of Martin Carter's poem "This is the Dark Time, My Love"?
The poem’s tone is despairing and gloomy. The mood of the poem is somber and morose.
Tone is the author’s attitude toward a subject. It is conveyed through careful word choice, especially in poetry. Mood is the emotional effect on the reader. Basically, by using a certain tone, the author creates a related mood.
The poet’s word choice demonstrates a gloomy state. The word “dark” is used repeatedly. There are also other words such as “oppression,” “misery,” and “death.” Using these words tells us what the poet is thinking, or at least the poet’s attitude. The despairing and gloomy tone contributes to how the reader feels when reading the poem, or the somber and morose mood.
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