Dark August by Derek Walcott

Extended Metaphor

Tone

Contrasts

The poem is an extended metaphor comparing his sister to the sun. When she is having a bad day, when she won't come out of her room, it is like the rain and the storm won't stop. (Third stanza - she is in her own world, even if something big happens). However, when she is having a good day she is bright, happy, loving ["forehead of flowers and eyes of forgiveness"], she ends the rain (why she is compared to the sun).

The extended metaphor is used to compare the "dark days" to the good ones ("When everything goes to hell" to "parting the beads of rain"). After the shift, Walcott contrasts "the black rain, the white hills" to show that he has learned to love his sister at any point.

The sharp contrasts between the two in the first half of the poem prior to the shift helps to isolate Walcott's miserable experience from the joy and happiness he once experienced.

Sound is also contrasted within the poem, when Walcott talks about his experience on Earth, he uses sound descriptions like, "Mountains fume like a kettle" and "Thunder falls like a crash of plates from the sky." Though when Walcott mentions the sun, he uses sound descriptors like "turning her album". This softer sound suggests the care he has for his sister despite the bad days.

The tone before the shift (after the 4th stanza) can be described as melancholy, and even somewhat frustrated.

• "Everything goes to Hell"
• "hopeless"
• "Rivers overrun"

The tone after the shift can be described more hopeful, as Walcott is more optimistic and accepting about his sister's condition.

• "All will not be as it was, but it will be true"
• "learn to love the black days like bright ones"

Thesis Statement

Notable words

Speaker

In Dark August, Walcott uses a shift in tone, descriptive images, and an extended metaphor to describe the impact his manic sister has had on his life and his love for her.

Black (Stanza 1, line 2)- Black is typically associated with fear, pain, and unhappiness. With August being black, Walcott is surrounded by the pain and worry caused by his sister's condition.

Yellow (Stanza 1, line 3)- yellow is the color of the sun, but it is also associated with happiness. She is in her yellow room, meaning any possible happiness is isolated from anything outside of the room.

"old things" (Stanza 3, line 1)- representative of old memories, these memories are presumably happy, considering the sun is fondling them in her old room.

The speaker is Derek Walcott, who is speaking to his sister who is manic about how her condition has influenced his life but not his feelings (his love) for her. Despite the difficulty, he has learned "to love the dark days".

"So much rain"

"Everything goes to hell"

"I love you but am hopeless at fixing the rain."

Dark August

We typically think of August as bright, sunny, and summer because that's how it is in Texas. However August is very different in St. Lucia. While the days are warm (upper 80's), there is an 80% chance of rain, and last year there were 21 rainy days.

Descriptive images

Sound and Structure

Descriptive images pt. 2

When Walcott describes Earth without the sun as violent, miserable, and hellish. "Everything goes to hell; the mountains fume like kettle, rivers overrun." and "Thunder falls like a crash of plates from the sky."

The beginning of the poem is also full of sound imagery, ("Mountains fume like a kettle." and "crash of plates from the sky.")

When Walcott describes the Sun's life without the Earth, her experience is described as being pleasant and peaceful. (Fondling old things, my poems, turning her album.") The imagery is pleasant ("turning her album") compared to the imagery Walcott uses to describe Earth.

The Sun herself is described as being godly ("Parting the beads of the rain, with your forehead of flowers and eyes of forgiveness.")

There is sibilance throughout the first part of the poem, before the shift. The repeated harsh 's' sound evokes an image of snake, which represent violent imagery as suggested by the language of the poem.

Walcott also uses alliteration (swollen sky, flowers of forgiveness), allowing for the poem to read smoothly. This creates the sense that Walcott has dealt with this before, that it is a normal part of his life.

Two significant parts of the structure of this poem are that the poem is free verse, with no set rhyme patter or rhythm, and that the poem is written with enjambment (sentences carry on over stanzas). Combined, these two structural choices made by Walcott signify that this mix of dark and bright days are normal, he has spent his life wondering which type of day it will be.

Before the shift in the first half of the poem, there is a sharp contrast between the description of the Earth without the sun. The intense descriptions of his life without the sun expresses Walcott's desire for the sun to "turn off the rain" and for his sister to be in a good mood.

After the shift, when Walcott decides to accept his sister as she is, mood swings and all, the descriptions become less violent. The cynical connotation associated with the words "black rain" is significantly less cynical than if it would be if the words were placed in the first half of the poem. This is due to the fact that Walcott no longer harbors significantly pessimistic feelings towards his sister's manic behaviors, and has decided to love the black days as he had loved the bright ones.

Dark August by Derek Walcott