Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Sabbaths, W.I.", Derek Walcott presents a rich and atmospheric meditation on the quiet, melancholy rhythms of life in a Caribbean village on Sundays. The poem unfolds as a series of vivid snapshots that collectively evoke a sense of stillness, poverty, and forgotten history, blending the natural world with human experience. As with much of Walcott’s work, "Sabbaths, W.I." explores themes of cultural isolation, the passage of time, and the haunting presence of colonialism, all while suffusing the imagery with a sense of personal memory and introspection.

The poem begins by painting a picture of the villages, describing them as “stricken with the melancholia of Sunday.” This line captures the oppressive quietness of the Sabbath, a day traditionally associated with rest and reflection but, here, imbued with a heaviness that seems to weigh down the entire community. The “ochre streets” emphasize the dusty, parched environment, and the image of a solitary sleeping dog underscores the inactivity that dominates the day. This immediate stillness sets the tone of the poem as one of stagnation and resignation, where life has slowed to an almost painful halt.

Walcott juxtaposes this sleepy village scene with more potent images of poverty and decay. The “volcanoes like ashen roses” suggest both beauty and destruction, with the “incurable sore of poverty” looming large over the village. The comparison of the volcanoes to “ashen roses” links the natural environment to human suffering, while the “puckered mouth” of poverty implies a wound that refuses to heal. Around this sore, “thin boys are selling yellow sulphur stone,” emphasizing both the physical and economic barrenness of the place. The sulphur stones, products of volcanic activity, are symbolic of the island's exploited natural resources, sold off by boys whose lives are shaped by poverty from an early age.

Walcott continues to weave together images of nature and human struggle with the description of the “burnt banana leaves that used to dance” and “the river whose bed is made of broken bottles.” The banana leaves, once lively, are now “burnt,” signifying both environmental degradation and the fading vitality of the village. The river, traditionally a symbol of life and continuity, has become a site of desolation, littered with broken glass. The river’s bed of “broken bottles” may also allude to the destructive forces of colonization and modernity, which have left a trail of waste and ruin in their wake.

Throughout the poem, Walcott evokes a deep sense of loss, as though the village and its natural surroundings are haunted by a past that can never be fully recovered. The “cocoa grove” where a bird once sang “green and yellow” has now become a place where the bird has “forgotten its flute.” This loss of music—both literal and metaphorical—symbolizes the forgetting of traditions and the erosion of cultural identity. The bird, once vibrant, is now mute, its song silenced by time and change.

The image of the “gommiers peeling from sunburn still wrestling to escape the sea” continues the theme of struggle. The gommiers, native trees, are portrayed as scarred and sunburnt, their peeling bark mirroring the harsh conditions of the land and the people. Despite their injuries, the trees are still “wrestling,” a word that conveys resistance and endurance. However, their struggle to escape the sea suggests a futile effort to avoid the forces that threaten to consume them—a metaphor for the villagers' own entrapment within the cycles of poverty and colonial exploitation.

As the poem progresses, Walcott shifts from natural imagery to focus on the human inhabitants of the village, particularly the older generation. The “dry, brief esplanade” and “the dry old men” create a tableau of withered life, where time seems to have slowed to a crawl. The old men, “watching a white schooner stuck in the branches,” evoke a sense of passivity and resignation, as though they are watching life drift past them, unable or unwilling to intervene. The schooner, a relic of colonial times, is “stuck,” symbolizing the lingering impact of the colonial past on the present, immobilized in both time and space.

Walcott also introduces an element of surrealism with the image of the old men “playing draughts with the moving frigate birds.” This juxtaposition of the game of draughts—a symbol of human intellect and strategy—with the movements of wild birds suggests the futility of human actions in the face of the uncontrollable forces of nature and time. The frigate birds, moving effortlessly through the air, contrast with the grounded, aged men, further emphasizing their powerlessness.

The poem culminates in a series of personal and communal memories, particularly focused on Sundays, which serve as a symbol of both continuity and change. The repetition of “those Sundays” underscores the ritualistic nature of the day, while the specific memories evoke a sense of longing and loss. The image of the speaker’s mother lying on her back and the sisters gathering “like white moths” around a street lantern suggests a quiet domestic scene, but one that is overshadowed by the larger forces of history and displacement. The mention of “cities passed us by on the horizon” reinforces the sense of isolation, as the village remains cut off from the broader world, forgotten by time and progress.

In "Sabbaths, W.I.", Walcott captures the complex interplay between personal memory, cultural history, and the natural environment. The poem is suffused with a sense of melancholy, as the speaker reflects on the erosion of both the land and the people who inhabit it. The recurring imagery of decay—whether in the form of burnt banana leaves, silent birds, or dry old men—speaks to a broader theme of cultural disintegration, as the village struggles to hold onto its identity in the face of modernity and historical trauma. Yet, within this desolation, there is also a sense of endurance, as the land and its people continue to wrestle with their circumstances, even as they are worn down by time.

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