Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Derek Walcott's "Midsummer: 51" is a profound meditation on identity, race, and the legacy of art and creativity. The poem reflects on the struggle to reconcile personal history with artistic ambition, while critiquing the notion of a "raceless" or universally accepted critic. Through a series of vivid, surreal images, Walcott confronts the complexities of cultural inheritance and the challenges faced by marginalized voices in the world of literature and criticism.

The poem opens with a direct address: "Since all of your work was really an effort to appease / the past, a need to be admitted among your peers." This line suggests that the speaker's lifelong artistic endeavor has been driven by a desire for acceptance and recognition within a community—likely the literary or artistic world. The reference to "appease the past" implies that the speaker's work is shaped by a deep engagement with history, perhaps personal or ancestral, and a need to reconcile that past with the present. This sense of working to be "admitted" among peers highlights the tension between individual identity and collective acceptance, particularly in a world where racial and cultural differences can serve as barriers to inclusion.

Walcott then invites "the inheritors"—the future generations or the readers of the speaker's work—to "question the sibyl and the Sphinx," ancient symbols of wisdom and mystery. These figures represent the timeless questions of identity and knowledge, and by invoking them, Walcott suggests that the search for meaning and understanding is an ongoing, difficult process. The following line, "a raceless critic is a primate's dream," critiques the notion of a completely objective or neutral critic, one who can evaluate art without considering the artist's race or cultural background. By likening this idea to a "primate's dream," Walcott implies that it is a naive, perhaps even regressive, notion, one that ignores the reality of how race shapes both the creation and reception of art.

The next section of the poem addresses the speaker's internal conflict: "You were distressed by your habitat, you shall not find peace / till you and your origins reconcile." This suggests that the speaker feels a sense of displacement or discomfort in their surroundings, a feeling that will persist until they can come to terms with their "origins"—their cultural, racial, or personal history. The image of the speaker’s "jaw droop[ing]" and "knuckles scrap[ing] the ground of your native place" evokes a return to a primal or elemental state, suggesting that reconciliation with one's origins involves a humbling return to the basics of identity and place. The speaker is invited to "squat on a damp rock round which white lilies stiffen," a scene that evokes both isolation and a connection to nature, where the speaker must reflect and observe.

Walcott’s language in this section evokes a sense of ritual, as the speaker is told to "count as the syllables drop / like dew from primeval ferns." Here, language is likened to something natural, ancient, and essential, as if the words themselves emerge from the earth, carrying the weight of history and race. The line "the earth drinks language as precious, depending upon the race" suggests that language and meaning are deeply tied to cultural and racial identity, and that the value of words may vary based on the speaker’s background. This underscores the poem’s theme of racial and cultural tension, as it implies that not all language is received equally, and that some voices are marginalized or devalued.

The speaker is then urged to "write Genesis and watch the Word begin," an allusion to the biblical story of creation. This act of writing becomes a metaphor for the speaker’s own creative process, where they must return to the origins of language and creation in order to find a new beginning. The image of "elephants mill[ing] at their water hole to trumpet a / new style" introduces a sense of celebration and renewal, as the speaker’s return to their origins inspires a fresh, original voice that resonates with the natural world.

Walcott continues to weave surreal, animal imagery throughout the poem. "Mongoose, arrested in rut, / and saucer-eyed mandrills" become part of the scene, observing as a "dew-lapped lizard discourses on 'Lives of the Black Poets.'" This image of the lizard delivering a lecture evokes the absurdity and complexity of racial identity in the literary world, where discussions of black poets and their contributions are sometimes reduced to academic exercises. The lizard, gripping "a branch like a lectern for better delivery," highlights the tension between the natural, lived experiences of black poets and the way their work is often dissected in intellectual, detached environments.

The poem culminates in the image of a "chimp in bifocals" sitting in the "simian Academe," a humorous but pointed critique of the academic and literary institutions that evaluate and canonize artistic work. The chimp, with "tears misting the lenses," turns the pages of the speaker’s "Oeuvres Completes," suggesting that the speaker’s body of work has been subject to scrutiny and judgment, perhaps even sentimentalized or misunderstood. The absurdity of this image—an emotional chimpanzee reading a complete collection of works—serves as a satirical commentary on the limitations of critical interpretation, especially when it comes to understanding the depth and complexity of marginalized voices.

In "Midsummer: 51," Walcott addresses the struggles of the artist—particularly the black artist—working to reconcile personal identity with the expectations of a broader, often exclusionary literary world. Through rich, surreal imagery and biting satire, the poem critiques the notion of raceless criticism and highlights the ways in which race and cultural heritage shape both the creation and reception of art. Walcott’s exploration of the intersections of identity, language, and creative expression invites readers to reflect on the complexities of belonging, recognition, and the lasting impact of cultural inheritance.

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