Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Derek Walcott’s "Midsummer: 33" is a richly allusive meditation on war, language, and the interconnections between myth and history. Dedicated to Robert Fitzgerald, the renowned translator of Homer’s "Iliad" and "Odyssey", the poem delves into themes of ancient battles, personal experience, and the creative power of words. By drawing parallels between Homeric epics and the act of writing, Walcott blurs the lines between past and present, myth and reality, while addressing the cyclical nature of conflict and the enduring impact of war.

The poem opens with a striking image of a forehead, its "grooves" compared to the "declining keels" of ships. The mention of "sand-coloured flesh" suggests a connection between the body and the earth, particularly the war-torn landscapes of the past. These grooves could be interpreted as the marks left by the passage of time and the physical scars of life, which mirror the literal scars left on ancient battlefields. The "crow’s foot" marking an "asterisk by unburied men" evokes both the physical signs of aging and the tragic reminder of those who died in war, left unburied like the fallen warriors by the Scamander River, the site of many battles in the Trojan War. This allusion to the "Iliad" introduces the theme of fate, as these men "lie waiting for their second fate," implying that even in death, they await some further resolution or remembrance.

The next lines pose a question about who will "pull his sword free of its mesh / of weeds and hammer at the shield / of language." This metaphor connects the act of battle with the act of writing, suggesting that the poet’s task is to wage a kind of war with language, to strike at the "shield" of words until the "wound and the word fit." The sword entangled in weeds symbolizes the challenges of writing and the struggle to convey meaning through language. The poet must free his words from the tangle of history and emotion to give voice to the wounds of the past. The phrase "till the wound and the word fit" suggests that the poet’s role is to find a way to reconcile the violence and suffering of war with the language that seeks to represent it.

Walcott then asserts that "A whole war is fought backwards to its cause," a line that encapsulates the cyclical nature of conflict. The idea that war moves in reverse suggests that each battle contains within it the seeds of its origin, and that understanding war requires tracing it back to its fundamental causes. This concept mirrors the way myth and history are often revisited and reinterpreted, with each generation looking back to find meaning in the past. The next image, in which the "Trojan and the Greek commanders / stood up like dogs" in response to the speaker’s "strange-smelling shadow," further blurs the boundaries between past and present. These mythic figures seem startled by the speaker’s presence, as though he has intruded upon their ancient world, bringing with him the unfamiliar scent of modernity.

As the poem shifts to "sunrise," the dead "begin to cough," and their "crabwise hand" reaches for its lance, mirroring the speaker’s own hand reaching for his pen. This image connects the warriors of the past with the poet in the present, suggesting that the act of writing is itself a form of battle, a way of grappling with history and memory. The dead warriors, brought to life by the poet’s imagination, prepare for battle just as the poet prepares to write. The comparison of a "helmsman" drowning "in an inkblot" reinforces this connection between writing and warfare, as the ink becomes both the medium through which history is recorded and a metaphorical sea in which the figures of the past are submerged.

Walcott continues this exploration of the relationship between myth and writing with the image of "an old man" wandering "a pine-gripped islet where his wound was made." This figure recalls Odysseus, the hero of the "Odyssey", who wanders the seas after the Trojan War, burdened by his wounds—both physical and emotional. The old man’s journey through a "door-huge dictionary" suggests that language itself is a vast, labyrinthine space, filled with meanings and histories that must be navigated. As the old man searches for "that clause / that stopped the war yesterday," Walcott highlights the power of language to shape reality. A single word or phrase can change the course of events, just as a well-crafted poem can capture the essence of an entire experience.

The poem’s final lines return to the theme of time and the cyclical nature of history. The "pulse" of the old man "starts the gavel / of hexametrical time," referring to the poetic meter used in epic poetry, such as Homer’s "Iliad". This metrical rhythm connects the ancient past to the present, as the speaker pulls from his modern-day environment—"Connecticut"—the same epic traditions that once recounted the deeds of Achilles and Odysseus. The image of the "hammers of a piano / without the sound" evokes a silent, rhythmic action, suggesting that the forces of history and language are always at work, even when they are not immediately perceptible.

The closing line, "Arma virumque cano," is the opening phrase of Virgil’s "Aeneid", which translates to "I sing of arms and the man." This famous line introduces Virgil’s epic about the aftermath of the Trojan War and the founding of Rome. By ending the poem with this Latin phrase, Walcott draws a direct connection between the ancient tradition of epic poetry and his own work, suggesting that the poet’s role is to continue the task of singing about war, heroism, and the human condition. However, in this context, the line is spoken in "American," reflecting the modern, transatlantic nature of the speaker’s identity and the ongoing relevance of these ancient stories in the contemporary world.

In "Midsummer: 33," Walcott masterfully weaves together myth, history, and personal reflection to explore the enduring impact of war and the power of language. By linking the act of writing to the battles of the past, the poem suggests that the poet’s task is to confront the wounds of history and to give voice to those who have been silenced. Through its rich imagery and allusions, the poem meditates on the cyclical nature of conflict, the complexities of memory, and the timeless struggle to make sense of human suffering through art.

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