Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Derek Walcott's "Oceano Nox" is a richly layered meditation on the interaction between nature, memory, history, and human consciousness. The poem employs the recurring image of the moon, contrasting it with both the vastness of the ocean and the finite details of personal reflection. Throughout the poem, Walcott weaves together symbols of colonial history, natural cycles, and the intricacies of human perception, creating a tapestry of thoughts on loss, the passage of time, and the haunting remnants of empire.

The opening lines introduce the moon as a central motif, a "bobbing marker" that floats up through the almonds, hinting at the moon’s constant presence over the natural world. Walcott playfully questions the nature of the moon, whether it is "like an Iranian dagger" or "a capitol with wide spheres of influence." This speculation reflects the idea that the moon, like history, can take on different meanings depending on how one views it. The moon also becomes emblematic of colonial power, its shifting identity mirroring the impositions of empire on different regions. In referencing the moon as "a local moon, full of its own importance," Walcott suggests that, like the colonial powers that once dominated the Caribbean, the moon looms over the landscape with an exaggerated sense of authority.

The moon’s influence extends beyond the natural world, affecting the human realm. The moon’s light, "calm as a kitchen clock without the hands," is fixed yet mysterious, an omnipresent force that casts its gaze over the mundane—reprinting the "shadow of a mouse" on a tablecloth, offering a quiet observation of life’s everyday moments. This fusion of the cosmic and the domestic reveals how the moon’s light, much like history, can illuminate both the grandeur and the triviality of existence.

Walcott then delves into historical allusions, where the moon evokes memories of empire, as seen in lines like "then islands were the gems of an Infanta," a reference to Spain’s colonial possessions in the Caribbean. The metaphor of the moon as the Virgin Queen or an infanta draws attention to the colonial past, in which European powers viewed the islands as prized possessions. The mention of "horned galleons with their silvery slime" further underscores the colonial narrative, suggesting that the moon’s presence brings to mind the ships of conquest and the lingering legacy of imperialism.

Yet, the moon is also "beyond all that now, and way past her prime," as her mind wanders into "another tense." This shifting temporal focus suggests that the moon, once associated with the grandeur of empires and historical conquests, has now aged and lost its former significance. The line "she hears the cannon's surf, the palm frond's gales, / and sees, through the erasures of her face, / those wrecks she christened: Invincible, Revenge" refers to the colonial past as a fading memory, with the moon bearing witness to the decline of the once-powerful forces that shaped the Caribbean’s history. The names of ships like "Invincible" and "Revenge" further emphasize the imperial legacy that has left a lasting imprint on the landscape.

Walcott’s use of "Oceano Nox"—a phrase meaning "night of the ocean"—evokes a sense of the sea as an eternal witness to human history. The ocean, like the moon, becomes a symbol of the vastness of time, absorbing the echoes of empire and human activity. The watchman patrolling the hotel's wire boundary with his flashlight is a symbolic figure, representing authority and vigilance. His flashlight "swivels through a spume of salt," linking the present moment with the remnants of the past, as the "old hill of skulls made by husked coconut shells" becomes a reminder of both natural and human histories.

As the poem progresses, the speaker reflects on personal memories, invoking the theater of his youth and the "high Marlovian clouds" that shaped his intellectual heritage. The reference to "that great globe herself" and the speaker’s memories of reading literature at school suggest that history, literature, and personal experience are all intertwined in the speaker’s consciousness. The image of the surf "reopening the wet pores of sand" mirrors the way in which memories and history are constantly being revisited and reshaped by the forces of time.

Walcott then introduces a meditation on race and beauty, focusing on the women he admired: "Anne Daniels's, Lauretta Etienne's, their bow-carved mouths, their half-globed eyes serene." These women, "wrapped in sea cotton, intact from Benin," are presented as icons of beauty and resilience, rooted in the African diaspora. Their "bow-carved mouths" and "laughter white as breakers" evoke the natural imagery of the sea, suggesting that their beauty is intertwined with the landscape and the history of the Caribbean. The mention of Benin, a significant kingdom in West Africa, underscores the historical connection between the Caribbean and the African continent, particularly in the context of the transatlantic slave trade.

The poem’s conclusion returns to the moon and the ocean, as the "clocks resume their motion" and the moon is led "gently into a cloud's grave." This image of the moon’s descent into a grave suggests the finality of time and the inevitability of change. The moon, which once "gaped at a loss for words," now fades into obscurity, just as the remnants of history are absorbed by the passage of time. The mention of "new rainflies" and the "masts of wooden matches" evokes the small, fleeting details of life that persist even as larger forces fade away.

In "Oceano Nox," Derek Walcott masterfully weaves together themes of history, nature, and memory, using the moon as a central metaphor for the passage of time and the enduring legacies of empire. The poem reflects on the complexities of colonialism and its impact on the Caribbean landscape, while also exploring personal reflections on beauty, identity, and the persistent cycles of nature. Through his evocative imagery and rich allusions, Walcott invites the reader to consider how history, like the moon and the ocean, both illuminates and obscures, leaving behind traces of the past in the present.

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