University:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Course:
21L.315 | Prizewinners
Academic year:

2019
Views:

187

Pages:

2
Author:

Rhianna Osborne

21L.315, Prizewinners Prof. Mary Fuller Lecture 12: Derek Walcott, Omeros, Books III-V • Book V o The point of view seems abstract, moving among the European capitals of the Old World o Things are divided into two halves of the world, stitched together by travels back and forth. o Caribbean ÅÆEuropean. These connections between European history and Caribbean history is a kind of trope of the Caribbean. o Critical scrutiny of art and of these locations Art can absolve you of political guilt o At the end of Book V the narrator tries to trace his path back to where he got Homer’s real name • Names in Book III o Achille and Afolabe consider the true meaning of names o What do you make of this passage? Like you’re not anything without a name Names connect you to your roots How can you lose a name? Achille and his father have forgotten his original name Accept the sound you were given Achille doesn’t really understand what his father means o This is one of the book’s central problems – you leave Africa and forget the language of where you came from o God has intervened personally to let Achille go back to Africa and get his name – you hope that he’s going to be given the magical apple in some way, but he isn’t. He gets an unbridgeable gap. Then again, you can’t really expect the poem to change history Achille gets to see what happened, and say, “well, I have this name now” • Another passage later on: o Trees become these godlike, colossal figures They can turn back into gods at any time o What does the waiter have to do with those powerful tree trunks washing up on the shore? “Remember us” You’re struck by the incongruity – it seems sarcastic But at the same time, this guy is also struggling to survive. It gives him the message of his history. o What’s the perspective on this waiter character in general? Remember the “Lawrence of St. Lucia” passage from earlier on, where he kicks the bucket of champagne That earlier passage is clearly comical, but what else is going on? The black waiter is bringing a bill, and it’s not just a bill for drinks. It is something bigger and more nebulous, and it is too big to be paid, as he demands payment for history. • Think about the Polish waitress who pops up in Book IV. Not all oppression and opposition is colonial. A passage from the end of Book III o Achille is raking the yard for Seven Seas o Achille digs up history o He finds a carved stone and throws it away in horror Why does he do that? o Does this passage remind you of anything else? He removes the stone from its context, angering the archaeologists o What do we understand about Achille’s fear of the past? He knows that the ancestors will be mad to have lost their history. They will be mad because of his invasion. He doesn’t belong there. o Remember when Achille was listening to Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier.” It creates an opposition.

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