Island Man
By Grace Nichols
(for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakes up to the sound of the sea)
Morning and island man wakes up
to the sound of blue surf
in his head
the steady breaking and wombing
wild seabirds
and fishermen pushing out to sea
the sun surfacing defiantly
from the east; of his small emerald island
he always comes back groggily groggily
Comes back to sands
of a grey metallic soar
to a surge of wheels
to dull North Circular roar
muffling muffling
his crumpled pillow waves
island man heaves himself
Another London day
Summary of Island Man
- Popularity of “Island Man”: Written by Grace Nicholas, a female poet of Georgetown, this short, free verse poem first appeared in 1984. She published it in her second collection of poetry, The Fat Black Woman’s Poems. Presenting her own experience of living in a diasporic environment, Grace Nicholas shows an old man feeling odd in London after having arrived from a Caribbean Island. His experience of the coastal area still resonates in the urban lifestyle of London, making him an odd man out. Herein lies the reason behind the popularity of this poetic output.
- “Island Man” As a Representative of Alienation of an Immigrant: Although it seems a contradictory concept that a woman presents the experience of an old man, after all, the alienation a person experiences as an immigrant is universal. The old man wakes up in the morning as if he is on the same island, experiencing the sound of the sea, hearts the voice of the surf, the sounds of the wild seabirds, and almost experiencing the same departure and arrival of the fishermen. His memories of the rising of the sun, of his coming back to the island, walking on sand, and hearing the purr of the motorcars on the North Circular Road stay with him. Moving his pillow and jerking these random thoughts, the old man tries to pass another day in the metropolis of the world.
- Major Themes in “Island Man”: The alienation of an immigrant, solitude, and old habits die hard are some of the major themes of this short poem “Island Man.” Although the old man has reached London, a dream place for several people, he has not fit into that society and its routine. He still feels that he lives on the Caribbean Island in his home town where he experiences the coastal activities of seeing the seabirds, walking on the sand, and meeting the roar of the cars. As he is alone in London, this solitude goes out through the memories of his hometown and his own activities. That is why he still feels all of these old activities in his bones, as if they stay with him and make up his routine.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Island Man
Grace Nichols demonstrated her skill in using literary devices in her poem. Some of the major literary devices are as follows.
- Allusion: It is a reference to a literary, historical, and social event, incident, or figure to show its importance in the existing context. The poet used geographical allusions, such as the North Circular Road in Georgetown and London, the city of England.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Morning and island man wakes up” and the sound of /o/ in “he always comes back groggily groggily.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /m/ in “sun surfacing” and /m/ and /g/ in “groggily” and “muffling” each repeated once.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “from the east; of his small emerald island” and the sound of /w/ in “his crumpled pillow waves.”
- Enjambment: It is a device in which the meanings of verse roll over to the next without having any pause or punctuation mark. The sonnet shows the use of enjambment, such as;
Comes back to sands
of a grey metallic soar
to a surge of wheels
to dull North Circular roar
muffling muffling
his crumpled pillow waves
island man heaves himself
Another London day
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Grace Nichols used imagery in this poem, such as “and fishermen pushing out to sea”, “the sun surfacing defiantly” and “he always comes back groggily groggily.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet presents the sun as demonstrating defiance like an angry man, showing its metaphorical representation.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as morning, island, breaking, seabirds, and sun surfacing, show the life of an island man.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Island Man
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal and precise, and concise diction.
- Free Verse: It means using verses without patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem.
- Repetition: It means to use repeated words or phrases for impact. The poem shows the use of repetition, such as groggily or muffling.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a single-stanza poem having seventeen verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a nostalgic tone at the beginning and a memory-based tone at the end.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when describing the routine of an island man.
Morning and island man wakes up
to the sound of blue surf
in his head
the steady breaking and wombing
wild seabirds
