Summary of the poem ruins of a great house by derek walcott
Answers
Ruins of a Great House focuses on history, colonialism, literature and corruption through power.
It's a poem that reveals Walcott's ambivalence towards the culture of Great Britain, at its most dominant in the 18th and 19th centuries when slavery was a hugely profitable business.
The British colonised much of the Caribbean during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, setting up vast plantations worked by black slaves who were subjected to abominable cruelties.
He is quite naturally repelled by the actions of the British towards native African peoples yet has to reconcile the fact that he writes in and is heavily influenced by the English language.
So it is that throughout the poem various quotes and paraphrases from English writers are inserted, the effect of which is to both heighten awareness and sharpen contrast.
The poem also explores the inevitable tensions arising between master and slave, perpetrator and victim, history and legacy, writer and conscience. Walcott uses:
Metaphor. The metaphorical use of a ruined plantation house as the former empire underpins the narrative.
Metonym. The lime fruit is a metonym for the British Empire. Lime plantations were particularly profitable and useful because lime fruits helped combat the scourge of scurvy aboard British naval ships.
Allusion. The English language and culture as expressed by notable writers such as Donne, Blake and Kipling and explorers Hawkins, Raleigh and Drake, is used to create a sense of irony and antipathy.
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