Ol’ Higue
By Mark McWatt
You think I like all this stupidness
gallivanting all night without skin
burning myself out like cane –fire
To frighten the foolish?
And for what? A few drops of baby blood?
You think I wouldn’t rather
take my blood seasoned in fat
black-pudding, like everyone else?
And don’t even talk ‘bout the pain of salt
And having to bend these old bones down
To count a thousand grains of rice!If only babies didn’t smell so nice!
And if I could only stop
Hearing the soft, soft call
Of that pure blood running in new veins,
Singing the sweet song of life
Tempting an old, dry-up woman who been
Holding her final note for years,
Afraid of the dying hum…Then again, if I didn’t fly and come
to that fresh pulse in the middle of the night,
how would you, mother,
name your ancient dread,
And who to blame
for the murder inside your head…?
Believe me –
As long as it have women giving birth
A poor ol’ higue like me can never dead.
Summary of Ol’ Higue
- Popularity of “Ol’ Higue”: The poem ‘Ol’ Higue’ was written by Mark McWatt, a West Indian poet and professor of English. This interesting piece of poem first appeared in his collection, The Language of Eldorado, in 1994. While there are many reasons for its popularity, the universality of the folklore characters, like Ol’ Higue, is a major factor.
- “Ol’ Higue” As a Representative of Folklore Poetry: At the beginning of the poem, Ol’ Higue, a character from Caribbean folklore known as a soucouyant, makes a powerful entrance by asking the readers a series of rhetorical questions. These questions emphasize her strong disapproval of the foolish act of wandering at night in search of a small amount of baby blood or to gain weight during this particular time of year. Actually, she is quite old and does not want to get a few grains after such a nocturnal toil. The challenge lies in the irresistible aroma emanating from newborns, attributed to their untainted and revitalizing blood that she must consume to survive. That is what attracts this Ol’ Higue for which she seeks the young blood. Furthermore, the fact is evident in the maternal voices that induce fear of Ol’ Higue in their children. If she does not come, as she says, then the mothers would not have anybody to blame for the death of their children. Therefore, in situations where women give birth to children and feel that their survival is in question, she is present to assist them in resolving the dilemma of assigning blame.
- Major Themes in “Ol’ Higue”: Significance of folklore characters, creating a scapegoat in life, and making somebody a butt of all accusations are some of the major themes of the poem. Although the scapegoat in this poem is the folklore character of a shapeshifting creature, soucouyant, yet it represents all such characters that the people used to make their children fearful of them. Such characters transform into cultural entities that the people always make scapegoats to blame when they face such ills. They feel it is easy to blame others for their mistakes and shift the blame to such nocturnal ramblers.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Ol’ Higue
literary devices are integral elements of poetry or prose writing. The analysis of the devices in the poem is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “You think I like all this stupidness” and “gallivanting all night without skin”.
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /s/ in “soft, soft” and “sweet song”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /g/ and /l/ in “gallivanting al night without skin”, /f/ and /s/ in “Hearing the soft, soft call,” and the sound of /w/ in “Tempting an old, dry-up woman who have been”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
Believe me –
As long as it have women giving birth
A poor ol’ higue like me can never dead.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Then again, if I didn’t fly and”, “Singing the sweet song of life”, and “Holding her final note for years”.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of dread to compare with somebody and old bones to compare with some old thing.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of old bones and dread as if they have life and emotions of their own.
- Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. The poem shows the use of a rhetorical question such as,
To frighten the foolish?
And for what? A few drops of baby blood?
You think I wouldn’t rather
take my blood seasoned in fat
black-pudding, like everyone else?
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of blood, night, and song to represent death, fear, and life.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Ol’ Higue
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas, each comprising a different number of verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Ol’ Higue” are relevant to use when motivating the young generating referring to yourself as an old sage.
And don’t even talk ‘bout the pain of salt
And having to bend these old bones down
To count a thousand grains of rice!