Island Man Analysis- Grace Nichols

Island Man Analysis

Island man is a poem written by Grace Nichols; she was born in 1950 in Guyana and is still alive today. In 1977 she migrated to England. Just like John Agard the author of the poem “half-caste” they both are of mixed cultures, and they try to show this mixture on the language in their poems.

The themes explored in Island man by Grace Nichols are Cultural identity, the difficulty of belonging to 2 cultures, feeling separated from home and not being able to distinguish dream from reality. Cultural Identity is shown when she describes the island and London, emphasising her description of beauty on the island, to show she would never forget her identity. The phrases, “comes back to sand” and “dull North circular roar” describe both setting in which the poem is set, and shows both cultures in which the man lives.

The difficulty of belonging to 2 cultures is shown when the author writes at the start “morning” showing how she does not use “the”, maybe showing how her dialect removes the articles from sentences, and how she just starts the whole stanza with one word, states her seriousness and maybe confusion. At the end of the poem, when she uses “Another London day”, shows us how difficult her life and her day is, since she just sees it as another extra thing which is not important to her.

Feeling separated from home is shown on the first stanza in the last line when it says, “the steady breaking and wombing” this could be referring to his island, where his was born which is shown through the use of motherhood imagery. This positive image shows us how he “in his head” stills keeps the memories about his island, and how now he feels his day is just “another London day”.

Not being able to distinguish between dream and reality is shown at the start of the poem when the author says, “and island man wakes up/ to the sound of blue surf/ in his head”. “In his head” shows us how it is all a dream the man is having. Also the line “an island man wakes up” suggests how he is not native to the place he is in, since he could’ve just been described as “a man”, this shows us the feeling and images the man keeps in his head about the “island” he is from.

Nichols helps us picture the island, and London trough visual imagery. The author at the start of the poem starts by telling us what time of day it is by using the word “morning”. The use of sensorial language lets us visualize the island itself. We can visualize and imagine to the sound of the sea when it says, “sound of blue surf”.  

Natural imagery is also used to describe the island. Nichols in the second stanza describes the animals, people and atmosphere of the island. She uses sibilance in the phrase “and fishermen pushing out to sea”, we can relate the “sh” to the sound of the sea, and imagine the waves crashing against the shore and the overall peacefulness. We can see how the poet tries to emphasize the beauty in the island by saying “the sun defiantly”, by using personification it lets us imagine how hot it might be, and how radiant the sun’s rays are. We can see how the island is precious and valuable to Nichols because she describes the island as an “emerald island”, we can see the comparison between such an expensive object like a gemstone and an island lets us focus on how maybe the island is rich in culture and nature and memories for the author.  

In the third stanza the author says, “comes back to sands/ of a grey metallic soar”, this is a metaphor that could be comparing London to a grey and unattractive beach, which people won’t want to go there. Also the word “grey” shows sadness and depression, which could show how the author feels about London. The use of juxtaposition between the colour “grey”, which is a dull and opaque one, creates a contrast between the “blue” description of the ocean, and its brightness, making us realize the completely different life style the man was having. We can see how the use of juxtaposition between the “emerald island” and the “north circular roar” shows us the total differences between both places. The “metallic soar” can be related to factories and industries which shows a harsh environment comparing it to the nature of the Caribbean. Also the line “to surge of wheels/ to dull North Circular roar” is a juxtaposition that describes a busy London road and shows the contrast between the island and London, and the calmness against chaos.

The poet uses different literary techniques to describe what she feels about London and the Island. The words “muffling muffling” are an alliteration to show the hesitance he has about his new home, “London”.  When the poet says, “island man heaves himself” she is using the verb “heaves” to show how unwilling the man is to get out of bed. Both repetitions of the words “muffling muffling” and “groggily groggily” could have been written by the author to show the change in mood of the island man as he moves from his dream to reality, it is turning point. This could relate as well to the change he had to face of moving from the island to London.

Enjambment is used in the poem to give the poem flow, and make it seem like a dream which flows in your head. Also at the end of the poem, the author does not end with a full stop to show how his life seems endless, and how the same feeling of unhappiness towards London would keep going on forever. It also shows how the Caribbean language is not standard English or formal, showing her cultural dialect.