"Omeros" by Derek Walcott
In the following passage, Derek Walcott uses the chopping down of trees as an allegory for how things change over time.
Examining a passage from Omeros by Derek Walcott
Around him, other ships/ were shaping from the saw. With his cutlass he made/ a swift sign of the cross, his thumb touching his lips/ while the height rang with axes. He swayed back the blade,/ and hacked the limbs from the dead god, knot after knot,/ wrenching the severed veins from the trunk as he prayed:/ "Tree! You can be a canoe! or else you cannot!"/ The bearded elders endured the decimation/ of their tribe without uttering a syllable/ of that language they had uttered as one nation,/ the speech taught their saplings: from the towering babble/ of the cedar to green vowels of bois-campeche./ The bois-flot held its tongue with the laurier-cannelle,/ the red-skinned logwood endured the thorns in its flesh,/ while the Aruac's patois crackled in the smell/ of a resinous bonfire that turn the leaves brown/ with curling tongues, then ash, and their language was lost./ Like barbarians striding columns they have brought down,/ the fisherman shouted. The gods were down at last. (Walcott 6)
Symbolism and Allegory
The first chapter of Omeros uses the process of cutting down trees and making them into canoes as a way to introduce both the character and the setting of the poem. The passage I chose from it appears to be an allegory of something deeper. Religious symbols are used through the passage, such as the Achilles making the sign of the cross with his cutlass or referring to the trees as "gods". Walcott , stating "The bearded elders endured the decimation of their tribe", likens the trees to an indigenous tribe of people whose way of life was being lost or destroyed. This leads to me to believe that Walcott is using the process of turning the trees into canoes as an allegory for what happened when the island was first settled. This allegory indicates that a native tribe had lived on the island that were driven from their land or culture when people from other countries settled on the island. As Achilles prepares the timber, hes tell it "Tree! You can be a canoe! Or else you cannot!"(Walcott 6). To me, this symbolizes the dilemma the settlers imposed upon the indigenous tribes. The tribe could either adapt to the settler's way of life, or they could die out. I see this as Walcott's way of giving history to the setting without having to use droll exposition.
Theme
The passage weaves multiple themes of religion, culture and work ethic. On a deeper level, it conveys the theme of losing one's identity or culture.
Figures of Speech
The most important figure of speech that Walcott uses is personification. He uses is it as a way to breathe life into various objects or actions. Walcott uses multiple symbols as a way to personify the trees, even going to far as to likening them to gods. As the character Achilles prepares the fallen trees, he refers to them as "dead gods" and even describes removing the branches as "wrenching the severed veins from the trunk" (Walcott 6). This personification shows that the relationship between Achilles and the trees is more than just man vs. resource. It indicates a respect that Achilles has for the trees and what they provided, as the way he describes the process hints that Achilles might feel a sense of remorse for tearing down the trees. Walcott further personifies the trees by describing the sound the trees make as a language, mentioning the "towering babble of the cedar to green vowels of bois-campeche".
