Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Derek Walcott's "Midsummer: 4" offers a powerful exploration of colonial history, cultural transformation, and the lingering effects of imperialism. Set in a Spanish port that gradually becomes more "African," the poem navigates the intersections of past and present, civilization and decay, and the uncomfortable coexistence of different worlds. Walcott’s rich imagery and allusions, particularly to Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness", frame a critique of colonialism and its enduring impact on both the colonizers and the colonized.

The poem opens with a description of the port as "piratical in diverseness," evoking a sense of lawlessness and chaotic blending of cultures. The "one-eyed lighthouse" watching over the "damned sea of noise" suggests a place that is both surveilled and out of control, where the chaos of the port reflects deeper, historical turmoil. The port is described as "mantled by its own scum," indicating a layer of filth or corruption that covers its surface. This description of the harbor, once likely a symbol of trade and power, now presents a decaying façade, suggesting the decline of empire and the ways in which its remnants are left to rot.

From "white wrought-iron balconies," the speaker observes the scene, noting that the view offered is a "nineteenth-century view." This evokes a colonial gaze, a perspective rooted in the time when European powers dominated much of the world, particularly Africa and Latin America. The transformation of the port to something "more African hourly" reflects both the demographic shifts in the postcolonial world and the way in which Africa, as a symbol, looms larger in the consciousness of the observer. The roofs, "hot as skillets peppered with cries," underscore the intensity of the heat and the tension in the air, as if the very buildings are reacting to the human activity below.

The mention of "seraphic Muslims" who "cannot make it hush" adds a layer of spiritual complexity to the scene, suggesting that even religion or divine figures are unable to quiet the chaotic transformation of the port. The city, with its "fast-fry wagons" and "crusted roofs," teems with life, noise, and movement, emphasizing the contrast between old colonial order and the new, uncontainable energy of the postcolonial world.

By "the pitch of noon," the speaker suggests that the port reaches a critical moment, invoking the image of a "paddle-wheeler with its rusty parrot's scream." The paddle-wheeler, a remnant of nineteenth-century imperial trade, evokes the industrial age, when empires were built on the exploitation of distant lands. The reference to "Mr. Kurtz on the landing" is a direct allusion to Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness", where Kurtz represents the moral decay and madness that arise from unchecked imperial power. This allusion deepens the poem’s critique of colonialism, suggesting that the shadows of empire continue to haunt the modern world.

The speaker advises, "Stay on the right bank in the imperial dream—the Thames, not the Congo." This line presents a sharp contrast between the civilized world of Europe, symbolized by the Thames, and the dark, chaotic world of Africa, symbolized by the Congo. The suggestion to remain on the "right bank" of empire implies an attempt to maintain control and avoid the dangers associated with the colonial frontier. However, the line also reveals the impossibility of fully escaping the consequences of colonialism, as the "imperial dream" has left lasting scars on both colonizers and the colonized.

The transition from the "small-island masts of the schooner basin" to the "plate-glass fronts of the Holiday Inn" highlights the commercialization and modernization that have overtaken the old colonial world. The "Holiday Inn" represents the creeping global capitalism that has replaced traditional forms of imperialism, where profit and tourism now dominate. The shift from "need to greed" underscores the moral degradation that accompanies this transformation, as the river of "clogged, circling traffic" symbolizes the stagnation and congestion of modern life, replacing the earlier flow of trade and exploration.

Walcott critiques the rapid changes wrought by imperialism, noting, "The world had no time to change to a doorman's braid from the loincloths of Africa." This line emphasizes the violence and speed of colonialism’s impact, suggesting that the colonized peoples were forced into modernity without time to adapt or reconcile their traditional ways of life with the new imperial order. The juxtaposition of "doorman's braid" (a symbol of servitude in the imperial system) and "loincloths" (a traditional African garment) highlights the imposition of European norms on colonized cultures, erasing or distorting indigenous identities.

As the day draws to a close, the "stores draw their blinds, like an empire's ending," and the fading banks evoke the decline of imperial power. The "peaks of the Hindu Kush" suggest the far-reaching influence of empire, from Africa to South Asia, where the colonial powers imposed their will on distant lands. The "cloaked wind, bent like a scavenger," symbolizes the aftermath of empire, where only remnants remain to be picked over. The scavenger wind raking "the trash in the gutters" reflects the detritus left behind by imperialism—both the literal waste and the figurative moral and cultural ruin.

In the final lines, the speaker reflects on the past: "It is hard not to see the past's vision of lampposts branching over streets of bush, the plazas cracked by the jungle's furious seed." This image suggests the collapse of the colonial infrastructure, as the natural world reclaims the artificial constructs of empire. The "lampposts" and "plazas" symbolize the imposition of European civilization on the colonized world, but the "bush" and the "jungle’s furious seed" represent the inevitable return of the land to its natural state. The "furious seed" is a powerful metaphor for the resilience of indigenous cultures and the forces of nature, which, despite centuries of suppression, continue to grow and resist.

In "Midsummer: 4," Walcott critiques the legacy of imperialism, showing how the remnants of colonial power persist in the modern world, even as they decay and transform. The poem’s vivid imagery and allusions to both European and African history highlight the complexity of postcolonial identity, where past and present, colonizer and colonized, exist in an uneasy tension. Through the metaphor of the port, Walcott explores how the scars of empire continue to shape the landscapes and lives of those who inhabit them, leaving a legacy of both destruction and survival.

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