Allusions and Perspective in Derek Walcott’s Midsummer

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

Their thick skulls bled with rancor
when the riot police and the skinheads exchanged quips
you could trace to the Sonnets, or the Moor’s eclipse.

Which factors most influence the speaker’s perspective

race and culture

A person’s way of thinking about and seeing a situation is a(n)

perspective

Allusions can help reveal a person’s

perspective

Which quotation from Derek Walcott’s Midsummer contains an allusion?

Not With the stampeding hiss Not race to extinction like the roar

Based on the speaker’s allusions in Midsummer to Shakespeare and sonnets, readers can infer that the speaker

is deeply familiar with Shakespeare and his works

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

With the stampeding hiss and scurry of green lemmings,
midsummer’s leaves race to extinction like the roar
of a Brixton riot tunneled by water hoses;
they seethe toward autumn’s fire—it is in their nature,
being men as well as leaves, to die for the sun.

Based on the excerpt, what is the speaker’s perspective on the riot?

The speaker thinks that the riot was somewhat inevitable.

Based on the information in the poem Midsummer, what is the speaker’s perspective on England?

The speaker thinks that England has serious racial equality issues

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

Praise had bled my lines white of any more anger,
and snow had inducted me into white fellowships,
while Calibans howled down the barred streets of an empire

This excerpt makes an allusion to the Shakespearean character Caliban, who was forced into servitude and suffered harsh treatment. What is the effect of alluding to this character?

Not It provides an explanation of what occurred in the streets. Not It draws a comparison between the author and the character.

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

Praise had bled my lines white of any more anger,
and snow had inducted me into white fellowships,

Which factor most influences the speaker’s perspective?

race

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

With the stampeding hiss and scurry of green lemmings,
midsummer’s leaves race to extinction like the roar
of a Brixton riot tunneled by water hoses;
they seethe toward autumn’s fire—it is in their nature,
being men as well as leaves, to die for the sun.

Based on the excerpt, what is the speaker’s perspective on the riot?

The speaker thinks that the riot was somewhat inevitable.

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

the child’s fairy tale of an antic England—fairy rings,
thatched cottages fenced with dog roses,
a green gale lifting the hair of Warwickshire.

The allusion to the country province of Warwickshire

not explains the popularity of fairytales in England.

Read the excerpt from Midsummer by Derek Walcott.

Praise had bled my lines white of any more anger,
and snow had inducted me into white fellowships,
while Calibans howled down the barred streets of an empire

Based on the allusion to Calibans, readers can infer that the speaker

feels that the rioters are similar to this Shakespearean character.