Close Reading 1 – “The Sea Is History” by Derek Walcott
In Derek Walcott’s poem “The Sea Is History”, he questions the western definition of history and what qualifies something as being “real history”. Walcott uses similes and imagery to compare the culture of colonialists with the culture of the Carribeans. In lines 43 – 44, Walcott writes “and these groined caves with barnacles / pitted like stone / are our cathedrals,” which compares the different holy places of colonialists versus Carribeans. Comparing the caves and cathedrals demonstrates the most drastic difference between the way history is viewed by colonialists versus the Carribeans. The cathedral is man-made and represents the “civilized society” that colonialists believed they were compared to the “uncivilized” caves valued by Carribean natives. Both places represent a holy place to their respective cultures, yet the caves are not seen as valuable or as “real history”. Walcott also uses imagery to further contrast the caves and the cathedral by describing the caves as “groined caves with barnacles / pitted like stone”, which accentuates the natural values of the Carribeans and their interpretation of history. The word stone in particular suggests a primitive mindset because stone is reminiscent of barbaric cavemen. In an earlier line of the poem, Walcott changes the voice of the poem, going from a narrative style to directly saying “I’ll guide you there myself”; this makes the description of the caves seem like Walcott is being derisive towards the “uncivilized” view of the Carribean from colonialists and sarcastically echoing them.