The poem is made up of many similes and metaphors like “When yu say half-caste yu mean when Picasso mix red and green” The author compares being half-caste to mixing two contrasting things. The poem is poorly punctuated due to the fact Agard intended it to be read aloud. He finishes the poem by suggesting he has parts the finishes the poem and will complete it by telling “ The other half of the story” (which in his mind it is a half-caste poem).
The author of “Hurricane Hits England” Grace Nichols was born in British Guiana in 1950; but she came to England in 1977. The poem is about a storm, which occurred in 1987. In the first line of the poem she said she didn’t feel welcome until the storm hit England.
The poem is written in eight stanzas of different lengths. The lines are also of different lengths, which perhaps this helps us to see how unpredictable the hurricane really is. The first stanza of the poem is in the third person; the reader is introduced to the woman. However, most of the poem is written in the first person, we hear the voice of the woman experiencing the hurricane.
In the first stanza of “Hurricane Hits England” the author writes about how the hurricane made her feel welcome to her new country. “It took a hurricane to bring her closer to the landscape”. The hurricane brought her closer to the landscape because when she lived in the Caribbean hurricanes were very regular occurrences, but in England hurricanes were quite rare. It was as if the Caribbean had come to England. The poem is made up of lots of rhetorical questions like “Tell me why you visit an English coast”.
In the poem “Hurricane Hits England” the author says, “Talk to me Huracan, Talk to me Oya, Talk to me Shango.” These are all mythological gods and goddesses from the Yoruba mythology, which is based in Africa but they are also known to be associated with the Caribbean. Oya is the goddess of the river Niger, which is in Africa, this fact and the Yoruba mythology figures hints to us that the person traveling by boat has maybe originated from Africa. The author could be related to slaves, which could have been brought over from Africa to work in the rice fields of British Guiana.
The author uses the phrase “Tell me why you visit an English coast? What is the meaning of old tongues reaping havoc in new places” When the author was in British Guiana it was ruled by Britain until it came independent in 1966. The phrase “old tongues” could be referring to the British, and the author is basically saying what is the point of moving to Britain when British Guiana has just become independent from the British? But she could equally be saying hurricanes from her childhood are almost following her and “reaping havoc” on new landscapes she visits.
Later on in the poem the author says, “Tropical Oya of the weather, I am aligning myself to you. I am following the movement of your winds. I am riding the mystery of your storm.” The goddess Oya in mythology creates hurricanes and tornadoes and this quote shows that the traveling woman is putting her trust in this goddess to guide her safely to England.
The author uses the metaphor “What is the meaning of trees falling heavy as whales” This shows us the true damage the hurricane is causing to the landscape. The phrase “Come to break the frozen lake in me” could mean the poet has been frozen by being away from her own country, but the arrival of the hurricane could help to “break the ice” and allow her to live more comfortably in her new home.
Conclusion
The “Hurricane hits England” is mainly talking about a woman travelling by boat to England from British Guiana. The hurricane that woman witnessed was very violent and destructive, yet it has created something positive inside the woman and given her hope of being accepted in her new homeland. She finds the hurricane liberating as well as disturbing: she “rides the mystery” of the storm, and feels that a “frozen lake” inside her is being broken up. The author is very effective in explaining how worried she is moving to a completely strange country.
The “Half-Caste” poem talks about what does half-caste mean? John Agard tries to get the point across that half-castes are perceived as half a person, but later in the poem the author says they are in fact a whole person. The poem relies on comparisons to make us see how wrong it is to judge things that are in contrasting colours as only “half” worthy. He uses examples of great and famous artists like Picasso and Tchaikovsky. The author is effective in describing that half-castes are not “half a person” and how he dislikes the phrase half-caste.
