Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "She Returns to Her Role as a Seagull. The Wind," Derek Walcott crafts a poetic meditation on memory, regret, and the lingering impact of personal and artistic roles. The poem explores the tension between the past and present, using the image of a woman returning to her "role as a seagull" to evoke a sense of nostalgia and unresolved emotions. Walcott draws heavily on the imagery of the stage, blending theatrical elements with the natural world to reflect on the fragility of human relationships and the passage of time. The poem is imbued with a wistful tone, capturing the way memories and past roles continue to haunt the present.

The opening lines set the stage by stating, "She returns to her role as a seagull." This immediate reference to the seagull conjures images of flight, freedom, and fragility. The woman, once tied to the "open-air theater," has left behind this role for another one, presumably in her personal life. The "shredded wings" of the theater signify the deterioration of her past, the way the passage of time has torn at the fabric of what was once a vibrant, creative space. The return to the seagull suggests a yearning to reconnect with an identity or freedom she once had but had to abandon. However, there is a sense of loss here—her "shredded wings" are not whole, indicating that what has been left behind cannot fully be reclaimed.

The lake, which "shines with vanished voices," introduces a layer of reflection and remembrance. The image of the lake captures the way memory works—still and reflective on the surface but filled with echoes of the past. The phrase "vanished voices" hints at the absence of people or events that were once significant, further emphasizing the theme of loss. As the poem progresses, it becomes clear that the woman, Nina, is revisiting a period in her life that was formative but is now distant. She is no longer the "small white body trembling for balance," a metaphor for her younger, more uncertain self. Now, she has "calmed her fright," suggesting that she has come to terms with the instability of her early years, particularly the "small storm of her hands"—perhaps referencing her initial struggles with self-control, emotion, or performance.

Walcott introduces a deeply emotional moment when Nina "wrings your heart like a gull’s neck" as she asks, "Remember how it was, Kostia?" This question captures the heart of the poem’s meditation on memory and regret. "Kostia" likely refers to Konstantin (Kostya) from Chekhov’s "The Seagull," one of the most famous plays about art, love, and failure. This allusion places the poem in the context of Chekhov’s themes of unfulfilled dreams, artistic ambition, and the complicated nature of human relationships. Nina's question to Kostia suggests an effort to reconnect with the past, to revive the shared memories that once defined their relationship.

The setting of the poem shifts to a "cottage on a wet day," where everything is marked by decay and age. The "salt-rusted bolts" and the plants "trying to peer through the windows" symbolize the inevitable passage of time and the persistence of nature. The "black cortege" of funeral ants evokes a funereal mood, as though the past is constantly being mourned. The mention of "cyrillics on the thin, translucent page" suggests that Nina is holding onto the language and symbols of a past that may no longer be fully accessible or meaningful. These "remembered lines" are fragile, like "the shallows," symbolizing the ephemeral nature of memory and the inevitable distance between past and present.

Walcott continues to emphasize the theme of memory with "the stage with its buried sound of the lake’s polite applause." This line evokes a sense of irony—while the lake might still reflect the past, its applause is muted, almost superficial, as if the glory of the past has been buried and reduced to a mere echo. The seagull, returning "like a tilted, balancing N," becomes a symbol of both memory and fragility, as it tries to maintain its balance in a world that has shifted. The seagull remembers something, but it is unclear whether that memory brings solace or further pain.

As the poem progresses, Nina’s return to her past becomes more ominous. She remembers "the laughter as his demon burns behind the wings with its eyes like growing embers." This image of the "demon" suggests that there were darker forces at play in her past—perhaps a toxic relationship or the destructive nature of artistic ambition. The "growing embers" indicate that these forces are still smoldering, still capable of causing harm. Walcott’s imagery here reflects the complexity of Nina’s relationship with Kostia and with her own artistic and personal journey.

The poem concludes with a haunting scene in which the wind rattles the cottage door, and Kostia opens it to see Nina. His whisper of "Nina?" suggests both recognition and disbelief, as though he is surprised to see her return after all these years. The image of "a flock of white papers" rising from the dusty desk evokes a sense of lost time, of words and emotions that were never fully realized. These papers, like Nina’s wings, are fragile and scattered, symbolic of the unfulfilled potential of their shared past. As Kostia looks at Nina, he sees her not as the young woman she once was but as someone who has been marked by time, her "light-heaving back" now a "widow’s." This transformation from the vibrant, youthful Nina to a figure associated with loss and mourning reflects the inevitability of change and the weight of time.

The final lines of the poem leave the reader with a sense of both resignation and awe at the power of memory. The "tides" that drag and "haul the heart by hawsers" represent the overwhelming force of the past, which cannot be escaped. These tides, like the sea in many of Walcott’s works, symbolize the relentless pull of memory and the way it shapes the present. The reference to "monsters" suggests that the emotional and psychological forces that drive people—whether love, ambition, or regret—are as powerful and destructive as the mythical creatures that "pulled god-settled heroes from their houses."

In "She Returns to Her Role as a Seagull. The Wind," Derek Walcott captures the delicate balance between memory, time, and the roles we play in life. Through the lens of Nina’s return, the poem explores how the past continues to influence the present, even as it fades into the distance. Walcott’s use of theatrical and natural imagery emphasizes the fragility of memory and the inevitability of change, leaving the reader with a profound reflection on the ways in which we are shaped by the roles we once played and the relationships we have left behind.

Copyright (c) 2024 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...