Compare and Contrast The Two Poems "Island Man" and "The Fringe Of The Sea"
Compare and Contrast The Two Poems
"Island Man" and "The Fringe Of The Sea"
I recently read two poems entitled "Island Man" and "The Fringe Of The Sea". They are both similar in theme, but they also have many differences. Both poems are based on the emotions of people who live near the sea and their feelings towards it. This theme relates to both of the authors, and connects them; the author of "The Fringe Of The Sea", A.L. Hendricks, was born in Jamaica and later in life moved to Britain. Grace Nichols, author of "Island Man", was born in Ghana and then also immigrated to the UK.
Grace Nichols' poem "Island Man" is about a Caribbean man who lives in London, but still longs for his home and the sea. The poem follows the man as he wakes in the morning to the memories of his home in the Caribbean and the sound of the sea in his head.
I believe that the main theme of the poem is that home is important and it will always be with you no matter what. There is also a strong theme of reluctance coming from "Island Man" to move on with his life and leave his past behind. His unwillingness to get up in the morning can also be viewed as a strong metaphor of his reluctance to leave his past behind. An interesting concept played on in the poem is that it takes place when "Island Man" wakes up - leaving him in the state of being half asleep and half awake. This gives the author the ability to let you guess which parts of the poem are the reality, dreams and memories of his life - using this the author can entangle them together. A good example of this is the line "his crumpled pillow waves" - it shows the reality (his crumpled pillow) and as he is half awake and half asleep his dreams and memories view the crumples in the pillow as "waves".
The theme of identity is also strong in the poem. "Island Man" is never given a name so that he can also be seen as a symbol of the people who have moved from their home countries and felt like they have lost part of themselves; their
"Island Man" and "The Fringe Of The Sea"
I recently read two poems entitled "Island Man" and "The Fringe Of The Sea". They are both similar in theme, but they also have many differences. Both poems are based on the emotions of people who live near the sea and their feelings towards it. This theme relates to both of the authors, and connects them; the author of "The Fringe Of The Sea", A.L. Hendricks, was born in Jamaica and later in life moved to Britain. Grace Nichols, author of "Island Man", was born in Ghana and then also immigrated to the UK.
Grace Nichols' poem "Island Man" is about a Caribbean man who lives in London, but still longs for his home and the sea. The poem follows the man as he wakes in the morning to the memories of his home in the Caribbean and the sound of the sea in his head.
I believe that the main theme of the poem is that home is important and it will always be with you no matter what. There is also a strong theme of reluctance coming from "Island Man" to move on with his life and leave his past behind. His unwillingness to get up in the morning can also be viewed as a strong metaphor of his reluctance to leave his past behind. An interesting concept played on in the poem is that it takes place when "Island Man" wakes up - leaving him in the state of being half asleep and half awake. This gives the author the ability to let you guess which parts of the poem are the reality, dreams and memories of his life - using this the author can entangle them together. A good example of this is the line "his crumpled pillow waves" - it shows the reality (his crumpled pillow) and as he is half awake and half asleep his dreams and memories view the crumples in the pillow as "waves".
The theme of identity is also strong in the poem. "Island Man" is never given a name so that he can also be seen as a symbol of the people who have moved from their home countries and felt like they have lost part of themselves; their