Caribbean Pastoral Imagery - Essay Example

Within the simpli of the word Caribbean lies a complexity and even contradiction. Nicholas Laughlin contends that, "Caribbean is not a simple word; it means so much about history and landscape, freedom and despair, language and silence, home and exile, power and love." Hence, the voice of Caribbean or West Indian poetry often reflects anguish which resulted from past oppression. One West Indian poet, Eric Roach, experienced a life of confusion, which is shown in his poetry. In his poem, "Love Overgrows a Rock," Roach shows an absolute internal conflict between his pride or love for his country and the struggle with its history. Despite the magnitude of his struggle, however, Roach resigns himself to his natural feelings; the love for his country conquers the obstacles of the past. Much like the Caribbean people who struggle with their national identities after enduring European brutality, West Indian poets found it difficult to find their own poetic voice (Breiner, 113). Instead of producing works that reflected their true feelings, West Indian poets found their poetry succumbing to the traditional British verse and subject matters. It was not until later that West Indian poets were permitted to liberally express themselves in the poetic form. When they ventured to write parallel to their true feelings and beliefs, West Indian poets often did so apologetically. Poets were left to question their poetic boundaries. Likely questions of the poets were whether or not they should engage in "social commentary, protests," or seek to find a balance between "protest poetry and high art" (Jennings 23). As a result, much of the West Indian poetry, including Eric Roach's, conveyed uncertainty and confusion. Known for Caribbean pastoral imagery in his writing (Jennings 4), Roach paints vivid pictures that show beauty of the land. In each stanza of the poem, the poet conveys his adoration of the land. The poem opens with sensual imagery which allows the reader to picture lush green vegetation and hear waves breaking amid the expansive blue waters. Roach further enjoys what the land has to offer by accompanying others on a jubilant banana boat tour. Roach's imaginative perception of the landscape serves a dual purpose; it captures the essence of Caribbean beauty and showcases the delight that the author takes in his land. Amid the beauty in each stanza, however, resides negativity and inner turmoil. Roach reveals that the internal conflict interrupts his ability to fully appreciate his surroundings. In the first stanza, the beauty and brilliance of the landscape intrudes upon his desires. Though pleasing to the eye, Roach's surroundings hold his dreams and aspirations hostage. From there, the poem digresses into an explanation of the role of restriction and how it ultimately tainted his view of the land. With songs in his heart, Roach once again optimistically attempts to enjoy what the land has to offer in the following stanza. However, the enjoyable excursion is short-lived as the sun turns to snow and they encounter "hostile and exploding zones." Thus, inner turmoil and confusion taints the joys and hopes presented in the poem. Each stanza of the poem conveys an absolute contrast between the land and the Roach's state of mind. In the beginning of the poem, the distant beautiful and crashing waves are empty, yet they engulf all of his dreams. It seems that the water represents a destructive force. Roach comments on the burial of his friend and his sister's beauty being tainted. Obviously, the vicious experiences take a toll on the people of the land. In spite of it all, however, the people remain steadfast in their desire to survive. Once again, hope is presented in the people's perseverance to regenerate their confidence. Moreover, the people's perseverance encourages Roach to proclaim that love (the pride in their heritage and nation) defeats the oppressive struggle. In the end, the Roach finally admits the struggle in coming to terms with the tainted precedence before him and the will to purify it with his original experience. Roach further seeks affirmation and comfort from his own words. In fact, the precedence clouds the avenues of his mind and further exasperates the task of perseverance past the struggle to a desired place. Somehow, Roach finds the strength, audacity, and hope to beckon the reader to embrace the land as a love. The obvious separation of land and water serve the same purpose as the contrasts. They both illustrate the Roach's love for the land but regret and confusion about the historical precedence. Normally, Roach uses the land as a metaphor for the struggle between Eurocentric hegemony and Caribbean independence (Jennings 25). In this poem, however, Roach seems to use the water as a culprit that devastates enjoyable moments. In the first stanza, the shore water swallows all of his dreams. What begins as an enjoyable banana-boat ride for tourist in the third stanza becomes an exploration of less-desired zones. Each troublesome experience appears to be complements of the water. Thus, the aqueous experiences compel the poet to neglect or "scorn" the water and find rapture with the land. Undoubtedly, the Roach harbors a great loves for his land. The tumultuous and remarkable journey is symbolic of his love for the land. He endures several obstacles but never cease to proclaim pride for his land throughout and at the poem's end. The love is his sustainability. Moreover, it is a metaphor for his pride for his nation; whereas, the rock is a literary equivalent to his struggle. Undoubtedly, Roach declares that love for his land conquers the struggles. However, the constant contrasts in the poem leave the reader to question whether or not the narrator has truly resolved his conflicts and can fully embrace the land in all of its capacity. Despite the love for the land, Roach abandoned the land and sought refuge in the water when he completed suicide in 1974. Jennings notes the details of Roach's death: His suicide was accomplished by drinking insecticide and then swimming out to sea at Quinam's Bay in Trinidad where he presumed Christopher Columbus has landed. By deliberately staging his death at Columbus' supposed landing point, Roach inscribes his body as his final text. (31) Not only did Roach struggle to come to terms with the past of his land and people, but he shared his struggles. The result of that sharing was an art. Though poets of his time thought they had to choose one (voices of protest) or the other (social commentary) (Jennings 23-25), an unintentional combination of both produced an art that is continually admired and currently studied. Confusion and struggles plagued Eric Roach's life and were undeniably evident in his works. By analyzing his poems and studying the chronicles of his life, readers not only encounter the contrasting beauty that resulted from anguish and turmoil, but they gain a true understanding of a prolific writer's fervent desires and limitations to overcome struggles. Works Cited Breiner, Laurence A. An Introduction to West Indian Poetry. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Jennings, Lisa Gay. "Renaissance Models for Caribbean Poets: Identity, Authencity and the Early Modern Lyric Revisited." MS Thesis. Florida State University, 2005. Laughlin, Nicholas. "What the Leaves Hear." The Caribbean Review of Books. 11 February 2007 . Roach, Eric. "Love Overgrows a Rock." The Flowering Rock: Collected Poems 1938-1974. Yorkshire : Peepal Tree Books, 1992. Read More