Sample Essay 2

Language is the only means by which Senior may be distinguished as a Caribbean poet.

Diction plays a large role in any poet’s craft. Through the manipulation of the elements and features of the genre interwoven between concepts and ideologies a poet is capable of alluring their reader[FA1] , be the poet colonial or Caribbean. What truly distinguishes Olive Senior in her capacity, as a Caribbean poet, is not only through the use of language, but also through the manner in which she discusses traditional Caribbean concepts such as slavery, genocide, segregation and downright disagreement [FA2] as it regards the colonial binary as may be seen in the poems, “Seeing the Light”, “Knot Garden” and “Tree of Life”.[FA3] 

“Seeing the Light” goes through shifts in time, beginning with the present as the colonials have erased the indigenous people and have exploited the land, claiming to bring light while their machines in turn causes smoke that obscures the sun. Then time shifts to the past as the speaker through his or her discourse recounts the indigenous and how they revered the land, never taking more than what was necessary, leaving “the tiniest of marks on the earth”. After exploring both discourses of past and present the speaker goes on to speak of the continued exploitation of the land, and the ironic nature of the colonial binary as the same way the savior of the colonials was persecuted, so too were the indigenous the colonials set out to “save and enlighten”. Through her diction, Senior has deployed the garden motif as a space of identity a space through which the contemporary reader may identify not only with themselves but also with those before them. Before Caribbean poetry the discourse was mainly colonial that viewed the events of the past in a favouring light similarly to within the poem, to where the speaker makes mention of the conquistadors as if the colonials viewed the mass murder and disruption of native lifestyles as a necessary evil, but the reason as to why Senior may be identified as a Caribbean poet is through her ability to “give a voice to the voiceless” and challenge the colonial binary. The poems title is a pun in itself, the same people who came to literally bring light to the indigenous by clearing the trees and letting in sunlight were the ones that robbed the natives of their light through smoke and the light that could not be rekindled, their life. And these very same colonials who sought to enlighten the indigenous and to make them privy of the “Christo”, who was persecuted in order to save the world, are the ones who murdered and persecuted the innocent land-loving indigenous people. Senior also, further challenged the colonial binary through the use of rhetorical questions, questioning the actions of the Europeans, what they viewed as righteous and necessary, those who identify with the Caribbean would view as evil.

Senior’s use of language, though not the only method, is key in distinguishing her as a Caribbean poet. Her method of storytelling as in the case of “Tree of Life”, makes use of her cultural retentions while also building a bond with her reader through the conversational tone. [FA4] Once again, the colonial binary is challenged by exploring mythological events of the past. Senior makes use of the folklore of once upon a time there was one tree, and antraphomorphs worshipped the God who made the tree as they partook of its content, but God ordered them to cut the tree down. After eventually cutting the tree several trees came into being, therein establishing the poem’s theme of mono-cropping versus multi-cropping. According to Jordan Stouck, “Gardening and cultivation are ambivalent acts in contemporary literature”, [FA5] especially as it relates to Caribbean poetry. The people of old, weary of their traditions and culture practiced subsistence farming, rearing multiple crops and providing for their family and community in order to survive. But similarly [FA6] to the unseasoned young men from Caribbean Basin Initiative”, the younger generation has forgotten the ways of old and like limpets they cling to the colonial ideology of mono-cropping, mass producing one crop for export in order to make money. Senior’s use of language reprimands the young men for forgetting the methods of their ancestors [FA7] as “the garden is a space of colonial exclusion and post-colonial hybridity”, the youngsters can no longer identify with their roots and now in times of plight they lose their only means of living, such is the colonial mono-cropping garden.

In conclusion, language is not the only means by which Senior may be distinguished as a Caribbean poet. It is through her ability to explore and rebuff the alien binary, identify with her roots and maintain her cultural retentions. Similar to those who have paved the way of a Caribbean poet before her, such as Jean Rhys[FA8] , in their discourse that one may truly distinguish Olive Senior as a poet[FA9] .[FA10] 

Knowledge and Understanding   8/14

Application of Knowledge           7/16

Organisation of Information         7/10

TOTAL: 22/40

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 [FA1]Notes what is important in interesting the reader.

 [FA2]States that language is not all

 [FA3]All three poems are listed in the introduction.

 [FA4]Good point but needs examples to support this argument.

 [FA5]Use of extra-textual

 [FA6]Comparison

 [FA7]Needs examples from the text to support argument.

 [FA8]This is the first time she is mentioned in the essay.

 [FA9]Essay is short. A paragraph could have been dedicated to “Caribbean Basin Initiative” instead of just a sentence.

More info could have been garnered from each poem as it relates to the various elements.

 [FA10]Sums up the entire argument of the essay.

Essay written by Phillip Drummond