Landfall Grenada Flashcards
(14 cards)
Q1: What does the title Landfall, Grenada symbolise in the context of the poem?
A: The title symbolises death as the final destination after life’s voyage. “Landfall” suggests the end of a journey, and “Grenada” represents both a real island and a metaphorical homecoming or spiritual conclusion.
Q2: Who is the poem dedicated to, and how is he portrayed?
A: The poem is dedicated to Robert Head, a mariner. He is portrayed as dignified, private, and practical—someone who faced death with calm acceptance and without sentimentality.
Q3: What is the significance of the image “Where you are rigidly anchored”?
A: It describes death as a fixed state, contrasting the speaker’s stillness in death with the ongoing movement of life and nature around him. The anchor is both literal (mariner imagery) and metaphorical (final rest)
Q4: How is nature represented in contrast to death?
A: Nature is dynamic and full of movement—“groundswell of blue foothills,” “blown canes”—while death is quiet, still, and removed. This contrast highlights the indifferent continuity of life after death.
Q5: What role does the sea play in the poem?
A: The sea is both literal and symbolic. For Robert, it is not mythical or romantic—it is his “working place,” representing his pragmatic approach to life and death. The sea also symbolises the vast unknown and the final journey.
Q6: What does the phrase “held no mythology” imply about Robert’s relationship with the sea?
A: It means Robert did not idealise or mystify the sea. Unlike poetic traditions that romanticise it, he saw it as a practical, navigable space—part of his profession, not a source of awe.
Q7: How does Walcott describe Robert’s approach to death?
A: With calmness and certainty—“you chose your landfall with a mariner’s casual certainty.” This shows Robert facing death as he would any other leg of a journey, with steady acceptance.
Q8: What does Walcott criticise in “neat gravestone elegies / that rhyme our end”?
A: He critiques formulaic or overly sentimental ways of memorialising death. Such elegies seem artificial or inadequate compared to Robert’s authentic and quiet dignity.
Q9: What is meant by “strenuous reticence”?
A: It describes Robert’s reserved and stoic nature, especially in the face of illness or suffering. He did not complain or seek sympathy, embodying quiet strength.
Q10: Why does the speaker say, “Deep friend, teach me to learn / such ease”?
A: He admires Robert’s peaceful acceptance of death and wishes to learn the same composure and grace when facing his own mortality.
Q11: How would you describe the overall tone of the poem
A: The tone is elegiac, contemplative, and restrained. It reflects respect, grief, and admiration without sentimentality or dramatics.
Q12: What is the message Walcott conveys about death in the poem?
A: That death is a natural, inevitable landfall, and facing it with quiet dignity—without fear or fanfare—is an act of great strength and grace.
Q13: How does Walcott’s language reflect the personality of the man he is mourning?
A: The language is measured, sparse, and calm, mirroring Robert’s own personality—his simplicity, reticence, and quiet endurance.
Q14: How does Landfall, Grenada fit within Walcott’s wider themes as a poet?
A: It continues his exploration of the sea, identity, colonial inheritance, and the individual’s relationship to nature and mortality.
