Ambivalence in Derek Walcott’s Selected Poetry

Abstract

Walcott has been a melting pot of ambivalence, hybridity and identity crisis. Walcott's ambivalence is evident in his themes, choice of language and rhetorical devices etc. As he is the son of both Anglo-European and the Afro-Caribbean heritage he is divided in his own identity. We find bothattraction and revulsion towards the English culture and language all through his poems.His dedicated love for Caribbean land, its people and language has been frequently expressed through his emotional voice in his poems. At the same time, he possesses a divided societal position living overseas with appreciation for Western society and love for universal appeal of English language. However, he criticizes the brutality of the colonizers for their imperialistic attitude and torture. This has thrown him into ambivalence of choice and disapproval, acceptance and rejection, and love and hatred. Ambivalence is, thus, ever-present a spectra in his poems as well as in his divided self. This thesis aims at exploring Walcott's expression of ambivalence, duality, and hybridity.