In the epic poem Omeros by Derek Walcott is a literary piece that calls for a lot of attention. This poem can be dangerously confusing at time because it is written in a universe that has so many different things going on. Omeros is a racial, ethnic, and political poem that captivates the reader for a couple of reasons. Wolcott intentionally doesn’t put the poem in anytime of chronological order. He uses many different cultures/religions such as African gods, Greek gods, Caribbean gods, and the Christian God. Wolcott talks about complexity of being both Afrocentric, Eurocentric and shows how these principles/ideologies distract us as human beings. His characters show signs of displacement in society trying to assimilate between culture and race. The poem also in some instances rejects or hides the characters’ race and culture as they try to find an identity in the world. Omeros is unlike any traditional epic poem and it deviates from the conventional genre of an epic poem. Jay for instance says,” the epic element in Omeros threatens to reopen an old debate over Walcott’s relationship to the European and African elements in his personal heritage and in the culture of West Indies as a whole” (Jay 546). Walcott uses wounds as way to open up this long debate and show us how these cultures work against and with us. The wound is a symbol symbol is apparent and prevalent towards every character both physically as well as psychological. The wound is the gash of history the connects us all.
Omeros is a literary piece that continues to draw mass controversy and raises many questions about its legitimacy as an epic poem. One reason for this is because no wants to really admit or discuss what Wolcott’s truly proposing. This is precisely the ...
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...the cultural, racial, a national values each characters has since there’s no one protagonist but multiple very different characters less than one universe dealing with very different problems. . Wolcott’s lack of traditional Epic elements distracts the readers from focusing on the real issue of the wounds history has caused in our various cultures. By understanding how Walcott links the races with the characters issues of their wound; one can realize that each character had something another was lacking. . Wolcott deviates from the norms of Epic writing because he’s importing all African, European, and Caribbean culture to show unity amongst everyone. This is why he uses contradictions from the very beginning to show how no one character is from one specific region. However, we all are multi-cultural or multi-racial because of the wounds that history has created.
In Tolkien’s lecture, “Beowulf: The monsters and the Critics,” he argues that Beowulf has been over analyzed for its historical content, and it is not being studied as a piece of art as it should be. He discusses what he perceives the poet of Beowulf intended to do, and why he wrote the poem the way he did. Tolkien’s main proposition, “it was plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held” (Tolkien). He evaluates why the author centers the monsters throughout the entire poem, why the poem has a non-harmonic structure, why and how the author fusses together Christianity and Paganism, and how the author uses time to make his fictional poem seem real. He also discusses the overall theme of Beowulf and other assumptions of the text. To support his viewpoints, Tolkien uses quotations and examples from the poem, quotations from other critics, and compares Beowulf to other works of art. Tolkien discusses several statements in interpreting Beowulf as a poem.
Other species. Different people. Different others. Something that I almost missed while reading this book was the theme of diversity. Diversity in looks, thoughts, and mainly opinions. The Taker and Leaver culture was presented to guide humans to the right way, yet it did much more than that. The two different cultures were brought out because they were basically different. If I were to press the button and go back to pre revolutionary times, would I ever have met man when he wasn’t in control? The Taker culture wouldn’t have existed and I wouldn’t have a button to press. These different perspectives of how to live are defined by the laws of nature. For example, in chapter 10, when the narrator was explaining the myths of his people, he got onto the topic of Hammurabi’s laws. “And Hammurabi says, ‘Laws are things that tell you the one right way to live” (Quinn
Damrosch, David, and David L. Pike. “Beowulf.” The Longman Anthology of World Literature, Compact Edition. New York: Pearson, Longman, 2008. 929-970. Print.
In contrast with Beowulf’s concrete depictions of good versus evil, The Odyssey focuses more on the gray areas of punishment and revenge. A main theme throughout the poe...
Guin, Ursula K Le. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Literature and Ourselves. Sixth
In the the epic poem Beowulf, several contrasting symbols and pieces of imagery contribute to the overarching theme of the fight between good and evil. Whether comparing the characters in Beowulf, their respective environments, or their motives, it becomes very clear that an immense separation between the worlds of good and evil characterizes the story.
The brawl experienced by the epics central character Beowulf test his ethics his aptitude to prevail over sinister forces. All the way through its authoritative use of metaphors and illustration, Beowulf sketches a transparent difference between good and evil. Moreover good always prevails over evil. The ...
Wright, David. “The Digressions in Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.
The central ideas of: Racial tensions, racial identity, and systemic oppression, all assist in revealing the author’s purpose. As Malcolm changes throughout the story, his wordhoard and usage of various terms changes as well as the structure of sentences. From half-sentences to long blocks of text, Malcolm’s status also affected the style and structure of his writing; If Malcolm was in a party, the structure would consist of small half sentences as opposed to if Malcolm was telling scenery of a bar in which he would use long descriptive sentences of the setting. Throughout all the chapters, the author was capable of placing vivid images and allowing the reader to experience all the problems and threats Malcolm had to deal
The oldest epic poem of the Anglo-Saxon period is the tale of good and evil. The crusade of heaven and hell, the bloody war that waged between our hero Beowulf and the infamous Grendel and his mother. But there seem to be two sides to this heroic and yet tragic story of these troubled and arrogant souls.
While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other” (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’” (Orchard, 29). While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the “monsters” within the poem with a degree of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.
Structurally, Walcott creolizes the epic genre and makes it his own. Homeric epics deal with battles and honor, which reflects the culture of the Ancient Greeks. Walcott is doing the same; he is reflecting the experience of the new empowered people of the receding empire and telling the struggle of his own tribe. The reader often comes across a reference that resonates with something read in the classic epics, and it would be unfair for Walcott to expect the reader to refrain from these associations and allusions made in the text. By Walcott expressing the struggles for identity in the Caribbean in Omeros, he is also expressing the hybridity of the islands by these associations. The names Walcott decides to use in his epic does not only draw from Homeric works, but it represents the colonial space where slave owners would give their slaves names from their homelands. This mirrors the Caribbean, as it too is a collection of associations rather than a completely whole culture. Walcott is among many others, such as Virgil and James Joyce, who have adapted the classic epics. Classically, an epic is usually a long narrative poem, on a serious subject, and centers on a hero who takes on a larger than life persona. There are also some other indications such as an opening in media res, an invocation to the Muse, concerns with the fate of a nation, extended similes, divine intervention, and at times a visit to the underworld. Walcott’s Omeros has some of these elements and is separated into seven books containing sixty-four chapters. The two opening and closing books are set in St. Lucia, books three through five encompass African, European, and North American influences that fuse in the Caribbean and island of St. Lucia. Each ...
Frank, Roberta. 1982. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” in Beowulf: Critical Interpretation. Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.
...ed by its culture just as it affects its culture, but its underlying worldview contains patriarchal and racist dimensions. In addition, the portrayal of Scar and the hyenas as having a dark mane and dark coats in the Lion King seems to be a symbolic coding. Our society has associated it darkness and evil and it has become an issue that is very offensive to AfricanAmericans. In addition to sending conflict messages about valuing all races, Disney implies that in Pocahontas, certain personality types are not considered and valued. Similarly in Hercules, the one and only Muse who is not beautiful stereotypically is the one muse who is the comic. What this means is that only the extremely beautiful and fun loving people are valued in our society (Booker 38). The mixed message brought out is that all people are valued, but really only fun and lively people are valued.
...a woman trying to find an identity through her heritage. All of these stories give us examples and show us what life in this period would be like for the characters. They give details that show the readers the world around them.