Evaluate Derek Walcott's poems as an expression of his love for his own identity with reference to at least one of his poems.

 Derek Walcott is a painter, poet, and playwright born in Castries, Saint Lucia in 1930. Though his father, an artist, died when Walcott and his twin brother were very young, the brothers and their older sister were able to stay with their mother in Saint Lucia (Sture). Walcott’s experience of life in the formerly-colonized islands, his racially mixed heritage, and the history of abuse the island and it’s people had taken over the years greatly impacted his identity and work.

Walcott’s poems focuses heavily on just the theme of identity, which is why it is worth addressing here but not in an analysis of home. His poem “Love After Love”, where he tells -

And say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

It is clear that the message of “Love After Love” is to take the time to love yourself, by yourself, instead of forever chasing after the love of others.

Many individuals have struggled to see themselves, and have instead loved the experiences of the West and the things that westerners love as a result of assimilation and post-colonialism. In his poem, Walcott illustrates the prodigal return to the self, encouraging readers that one day they will eventually ” love again the stranger who was yourself.”

In “As John to Patmos” he glorifies the allures and blessings of his dearest island hyperbolically.

“The island is heaven

For beauty has surrounded

It’s black children, and freed them of homeless ditties.”

 

He says this out of his inexpressible love for Santa Lucia which likely to have blessed all her homeless people with accommodation. “As John to Patmos” is a bright example of his exuberant love for the sea, the hooks, flora and fauna, the sky of his dearest island and black islanders that are, as it were Celestial blessing to him.

He says in his 'As John to Patmos' poems-

“This island is heaven-away from the dustblown blood of cities;

 See the curve of bay, watch the straggling flower, pretty is

 The wing'd sound of trees, the sparse-powdered sky, when lit is

 The Night”

 

This is one of the earliest examples of Walcott's engagement with the natural world and proof of his love of it. Describing his island as 'heaven' has clear Biblical connotations, and he juxtaposes this paradise of a place with the 'dustblown blood of cities', referring to the violence that often takes place in urban areas ('blood') and the pollution of the natural world through human activity ('dustblown').  

The poet again mention his own identity in his poem 'A Far Cry from Africa' from 'In a Green Night' -

“I who am poisoned with the blood of both,

Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?”

 

This quote is one of the most famous in all of Derek Walcott's literary oeuvre.  He is describing how he has both African and European blood as he mixed-race and is not sure where he goes from here.  He is not only divided in terms of skin colour or outward appearance but internally as well. The use of the verb 'divided' conjures in the mind of the reader the phrase 'Divide and Rule' which was used by imperialists to show them how they could expand their empires.

 

So for Walcott, the heart that has always loved and known him is the Caribbean, and he has love for the stranger who was himself. For others, the path to finding that heart continues, but “Love After Love” promises that true identity will eventually be revealed and embraced

Therefore, in the light of above analysis it can be said that Derek Walcott explores in his writing the processes of identity-making in the colonial and postcolonial Caribbean and the complex connections between Caribbean identities and the Caribbean Sea and landscape.   His poetic posture shows that he is not restricted in the boundary of criticizing imperialism rather he shows his strong desire to celebrate both in their own way.  He tries to express of his love for his own identity his every poem.