The first five lines of the pome create an atmosphere that is tinged with much anguish.

Line 1, which is the title

of the poem, is pregnant with emotion as the speaker states candidly that he is haunted or constantly reminded
of the face of an individual. Why would the image of a person’s face keep flashing through the speaker’s mind?
What wrong has he done that he is disturbed by this memory?
In line 2, the speaker states that he remembers sitting in his chair, holding a face in his hand. The speaker does
not know if the face belongs to a woman, a child or even an animal. The individual is kneeling before the
speaker, as opposed to sitting beside him.
The speaker admits that over the years he has experienced a great deal of emotional pain because of what he
saw in those eyes.
One could picture a man sitting in his chair with a female, kneeling before him. Her “…face framed in my
hands,” conveys an image of a portrait, confined in a picture frame, bordered on two sides. It is as if the
speaker has the individual’s life in his hands.

SOUTH BY KAMAU BRATHWAITE

Kamau Brathwaite is a Barbadian poet, playwright and scholar who has been described as ‘the most important
poet within the English-Speaking Caribbean. He is known for using non-standard dialect and ‘linguistic and
typographic innovations’ in his work. The themes in Brathwaite’s poetry focus on dislocation, exile and the
historical and contemporary experiences of people of African ancestry.

TITLE:
South if one of the four cardinal directions and is the direct opposite of north. South also refers to the southern
hemisphere which includes the islands of the Caribbean, the continents of South America, Antarctica, Australia
and the southern part of Africa. The southern states of the United States of America are called the ‘South’ and
have historically been associated with centuries of racial oppression of black people.

North on the other hand, refers to the northern hemisphere and includes Asia, Europe and North America where
the climate and terrain are different from the south. The northern hemisphere reportedly has more land than the
south, and the southern hemisphere has more water than the south.
The title of the poem gives nothing away of the poet’s intention. As one reads the poem, there is movement
form the south to the north and back to the south, which appears to the paradise on earth.

SPEAKER:
The poem takes place in the mind of the speaker. He longs to return to his homeland and the sea. He craves the
familiar setting of his youth, and is insightful and creative in his descriptions. He is well-travelled and
adventurous and possesses cosmopolitan sensibilities. He is unabashedly biased in his feelings for his island
and is intent on showcasing his respect and love for the sea.

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MOOD:
The atmosphere changes throughout the poem. There is a sense of nostalgia that is almost mournful as it
depicts feelings of longing, dissatisfication and deprivation. In other parts of the poem the mood is upbeat and
cheerful, uplifting, exuberant and celebratory.

DICTION:
The language used is sophisticated, creative and deliberative. The speaker presents a well structure narrative
that displays his imaginative use of metaphor, allusions and vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses of sight
and sound, The poem is both a person odyssey (journey) and a presentation of historical events in a unique
way.
THEME:
The themes include the river as a metaphor for life; the dislocation of people due to oppression or social unrest;
the aftermath of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; the idealization of childhood; and the longing for home.

CONTENT:
The first two words of line 1 bring a feeling of immediacy to the poem and place the reader in the middle of a
discourse that is evolving. The speaker appears to be proffering a counterpoint to an argument or repositioning
an opinion that is different from the one he has held before. Whatever has been stated in the past, today the
speaker is reminiscing about the islands’ beaches and the lovely scenery that accompanies them.
The reader does not know specifically where these islands are located. Are they the Caribbean islands,
Hawaiian islands or islands in the Indian Ocean? The poet is from the Caribbean so one could infer that the
speaker is referring to the islands of the Caribbean region.
In the first stanza, one sees and hears “the…bright beaches: blue mist… the fishermen’s
houses…shores…sound of the sea…life heaved and breathed…the turbulent soil,” where the speaker was born.
The descriptive language creates images of idyllic landscapes of flowing water, dazzling sunlight and blue seas.
This is a world that is alive with sound and colour. Although it is a picturesque scene of a tropical landscape,
all has not been peaceful. The ‘turbulent soil’ speaks to a history of racial and political struggle.
In stanza two, the word ‘then; is used again in line 5 to refer to a period of time, an era, that has long gone.
Since leave the island the speaker has travelled widely. In the northern hemisphere he endured old climates and
wintery precipitation ‘far from the beaches.’ The landscapes on the continent of Africa , he regarded as ‘saltless
savannahs.’ If the speaker were dissatisfied in all the places he lived, why didn’t he return home? He his exile
from his country been voluntary or forced?
In lines 11-12, after making sojourns to several parts of the world, the speaker has settled in a place that is
clustered with trees. Symbolically, woods or forested areas represent a state of confusion or the lack of clarity.
In this dreary, gloomy place where the speaker now loves, he feels oppressed.
Everywhere he has travelled, the speaker has missed the distinctive taste of salt water and has measured all
water against its unique flavor. To him, rain water is ordinary and the river water is unappealing and bland.
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In stanza three, he switches from the pronoun “I” to ‘we’; including himself in a community of special people
who are ‘born of the ocean’. For these individuals, no comfort can be found in rivers. Rivers, like oceans, are
bodies of water, but to him that is where the similarities end. Like the continuous movements of the rivers the
speaker’s ‘longing’ for his homeland never stops.

An image is created of the slow, methodical flow of a river on its journey to the sea. Unlike the sea that ebbs
and flows, the river moves in one direction.
In lines 15-17, the river is attributed with showcasing people’s lack of ambition and their inability to bring
about meaningful change. In essence, the river is disliked because it brings into stark focus, lives devoid of
purpose. The speaker personifies the rivers, making them wise and discerning. They are free and not caught
up in the existential angst of humanity to make their lives meaningful. The speaker speaks for himself and
others when he states ‘we resent them this wisdom.’
In lines 17-18, there is an image of people strewn along the banks of rivers engaged in all manner of menial
activities, hoping from improvement in their condition. They watch the rivers pass by, but the rivers for their
part, are unconcerned by humanity’s plight. The phrase ‘cunning declensions’ creates the impression that the
rivers are sly. They never reveal anything about themselves as they maintain their circuitous course to the sea.
In stanza 4, the speaker begins with the repetition of the phrase used in line l – “But today”—making the
declaration that there will be a deviation from what has occurred previously. The speaker says he ‘would join’
the river; which differs from he ‘will join’ the river. He has decided not to be a passive spectator; however, he
cannot physically join the river on its journey.
In lines 20-22, the speaker stresses the letter ‘s’ in these lines creating the sound of flowing water. The river has
human qualities. It is patient and it takes its time. The river seems to be a conduit of a people’s history, and
from this stand point as a repository of past events; the speaker can join the river in reflecting on what has
transpired over time.
The speaker can go with the flow, as he negotiates the negatives that would be encountered on this journey.
The river sometimes breaches its banks and ‘washes us up on the flats.’ Nevertheless, it mvoes forward in a
world where human relations are fraught with pain, catastrophe, hurt and hatred. This could be an allusion of
the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and to a history of colonialism and dislocation of Africans in the Diaspora.
In line 23, there is an image of a peaceful, pastoral setting where one is welcomed and allowed to have a respite,
an opportunity to regroup. There is a reprieve from the hazards of a disinterested river. However, as in line 24
states, the journey must continue, like a procession, moving from under perilous conditions, until it reaches the
sea.
In stanza 5, the speaker returns to his musings about his boyhood on a tropical island. In line 25, he has made
the journey with the river to the sea and is welcomed by the waves. He has made the journey in his minds, and
is describing the exaggerated and highly idealized images retained from his childhood.
The speaker’s observations are made from the sky, and he has a panoramic view. His arrival at the ocean is
sudden and the scene jumps out at him.
His tone is at once upbeat, inspired and happy. He is home! He is rejuvenated as the waves ‘splash up from the
rocks to refreshen us’ The river is no more. He and it have found their rightful place in the ocean. The

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landscape is a wonderful, idyllic scene of bright, splashing waves, blue sea shells, paths made of pebbles and
fishermen’s thatched-roof houses. It is a glorious setting!
The tableau is fixed in time. Children playing and setting traps on the sea shores speak to the intruders and
‘remember us just as we left them.’ The speaker and his companions, these exiles, have been away from home.
Now they are not strangers or aliens; they are readily embraced because they belong.
The speaker’s fantasy continues in the final stanza. Not only do the children remember the speaker, but a
fisherman takes time from his catch to greet them in lines 32-34.
It is no accident that a starfish, often referred to as the ‘star of the sea,’ lies in its pool, undeterred. It is a
symbol of rebirth and regeneration; as well as a talisman (charm/good luck) that creates safe travel over
troubled water. It is also regarded as an emblem of salvation during trying times.

The creates that populate this part of the world: starfish and sea gulls and humanity welcome them home. The
arrival at the ocean brings the journey to an end and is akin to heaven or paradise. The morning, which speaks
to a new beginning, is described as ‘limitless’ - - infinite - - and filled with possibilities. To arrive at the sea is
the completion of a cycle filled with new experiences and a future waiting to be forged.

WEST INDIES, U.S.A.

Title:
The title seems to assert that the West Indies is a state in the United States of America, the same way there is
New Jersey, U.S.A. or California, USA. Once can contend that since the United States has not physically
appropriated the West indies in the same manner it has Puerto Rico and Hawaii, the title must allude to a
cultural or economic fusing of the West Indies to the USA.
The title seem mocking or even insulting as it infers that the West Indies, as a region has been subsumed into
the United States.

SPEAKER:
The speaker is cosmopolitan, well-travelled, imaginative and observant. He is discerning and candid. He sees
the American influence on the Caribbean and does not believe it is positive. The speaker is aware of the USA’s
double-standards in its immigration policies towards Caribbean people.
MOOD:
The mood of the poem changes at several points. At the beginning there is a feeling of jaded indifferences.
There is also an underlining tension born out of deprivation and despondency. There are feelings of unfairness,
exclusion and disenfranchisement. The poem ends with an atmosphere charged with foreboding and imminent
danger.