Poetry "Hurricane Hits England"

685 Words3 Pages
“Hurricane hits England” The first stanza tells us about her feelings of fear during the storm, particularly in lines four and five. In line four Nichols uses the metaphor "The howling ship of the wind," showing that the storm is riding the raging wind which creates fear within her. Also in line five she expresses how the storm becomes stronger as it causes increasing devastation. Line six is where she first realises how it is linked to her past. She thinks the storm is "like some dark ancestral spectre," which has come to remind her Caribbean past. The poet draws attention to the fact that it’s like a ghost from her previous Caribbean life has come to visit her making her think about the storms she has experienced before. Furthermore the first stanza is written in third person. This is where the woman introduces herself to the reader and explores her initial feelings of the storm. The rest of the poem in written in first person, this is used to describe how the hurricane changes her emotions throughout the duration of the storm. The third stanza links to the second stanza; she asks why the West African gods visit her in England. She asks the question "Tell me why you visit an English coast?" This is written in non-standard English, which reflects her Caribbean accent. Non-standard English is often used in Caribbean speech and writing and Nichols uses this to express how she used to live in Guyana. She also asks another question, "What is the meaning of old tongues reaping havoc in new places?' This is another rhetorical question, a good technique to make the reader think about the actual meaning of the poem The fourth stanza begins with the juxtaposition, ' The blinding illumination'. Two contrasting ideas have been placed next to each other to accentuate one or both of them. This describes the radiant lightning, which cannot be seen because of its
Open Document