Poetry+1+Rewrite

In “XIV” from MIDSUMMER by Derek Walcott, the speaker recollects one of his childhood experiences about visiting a mystical storyteller who would dazzle his brother and him with fairy tales but who also taught him knowledge of his culture and origin. Through the juxtaposition of light/dark imagery, mystical language, and natural imagery, Walcott creates a realm of childhood wonder and innocence that shields against the darkness of reality and the fears of growing up. Furthermore, the changing mood accompanied with metaphors and similes convey how the old storyteller taught the speaker about the importance of his own Caribbean culture and how it still affects him.

Walcott portrays the environment as being dark and obscure until the introduction of the old storyteller who symbolizes light and warmth. At first, the reality around the speaker “smell[s] of mold and twist[s] un itself” (2-3). The world round him appears frightening, resembling the dark forces that linger in fairytales. The reality appears to be twisted which echos the brothers who are traveling on their own journey through a fairytale. The brothers are unable to see through the dark forest and farther down the path: symbolizing the unforeseen future ahead of them both. Walcott uses a metaphors to describe the road as “an old snake shedding its skin”(1). Through the symbolism, Walcott compares this meandering path as an object of danger to a child. It represents stereotypical children’s fears of the dark and the hideous monsters that await them. However, the speaker enters a new realm full of myth and legend created by the storyteller where “folk stories begin” (3). At first, the mood of this realm is depicted as dark and frightening, even the “sunset would threaten” the two brothers by relinquishing any light still available” (5). Walcott’s capitalization of Sunset demonstrates his use of personification to add mysticism to the entire passage. However, the mood of the poem changes with the introduction of the storyteller. Light begins to flood into the boys realm, saving them from the swallowing darkness around them. The storyteller provides this warmth and light; she is associated with “lamplight, “paper lanterns” and a light “at the black twist of the path” (9-11). The older woman resembles a guardian and an archetypal figure for the boys; she is protection and safety from the world around them but also the source of knowledge and culture.

Walcott demonstrates the importance of the storyteller as a mother earth archetype through natural imagery. All of Walcott’s natural imagery is composed of plants unique and important to the Caribbean. Both the “dasheen” and “mimosa” plants are representative of the landscape of the Caribbean”(4 & 8). The speaker demonstrates that the old storyteller helped shape his perception of the importance of his heritage. Furthermore, the old woman’s “leaves were the libraries of the Caribbean” (16). Again, the natural imagery is focused on the aspects of Caribbean culture; the women symbolizes Mother Earth as exemplified by describing her physical state as leaves. The old storyteller connects the boys to their culture; she was their teacher and mentor. Through Walcott’s use of an exclamation point, he re-emphasizes the importance of their “fragrant origins!” (17). Furthermore, Walcott demonstrates the old storyteller as a universal mother. She is associated with connotational words focusing on light and mysticism. Her voices symbolizes a “gully’ which is deep, vast and powerful (18). Walcott characterizes her as another creature of myth: [h]er head was magnificent” (18). This archetypal imagery invokes the fantasy and wonder of a child’s imagination. She, too, is enhanced by the speaker’s imagination as a fantastic figure who is capable of teaching them all the knowledge in their world which is their home in the Caribbean. Not only does she offer them comfort, resembling the “lamplight in the [boys’] stare[s]” but also she connects the boys to the mystic nature of her stories (20.) The boys feel as if they will always be connected to their culture and history through her teachings. Walcott demonstrates that although the unknown future may be frightening, the speaker acknowledges that he will remain connected to his brother through their mystical explorations and knowledge of their origins; forever “joined in one shadow [as] indivisible twins” (20-21). Through the storyteller’s fables about Caribbean culture, the boys’ realize that they will always share their Caribbean identity, and it will be something that will define their lives, even if they separate in the future.

Through metaphors, archetypal imagery, and an emphasis of Caribbean culture, Walcott demonstrates the solace that the speaker found through fables and knowledge of his culture. Although the future is obscure to the speaker, he realizes that he will always have the warmth and protection of the storyteller, along with a connection to his brother through their shared heritage and identities.