The discovery

the dragons book of verse

1. THE DISCOVERY STUDY

2. POEM

3. There was an Indian, who had known no change, Who strayed content along a sunlit beach Gathering shells. He heard a sudden strange Commingled noise: looked up; and gasped for speech.

4. For in the bay, where nothing was before, Moved on the sea, by magic, huge canoes With bellying cloths on poles, and not one oar, And fluttering coloured signs and clambering crews

5. And he, in fear, this naked man alone, His fallen hands forgetting all their shells, His lips gone pale, knelt low behind a stone, And stared, and saw, and did not understand Columbus’s doom-burdened caravels Slant to the shore, and all their seaman land.

6. SUMMARY

7. The poet introduces us to an idyllic setting, where peace, innocence and nature prevail. This unspoilt landscape is suddenly shattered and polluted by senseless noises ad sights beyond proportions .

8. Where lay the silent and gentle sea and clear horizons, came enormous and noisy vessels which broke the harmony and calm upon the waves and skies. The sight of the ships seems to come from a science fiction film for the Indian, who unconsciously senses that from this point onwards life will never be the same.

9. The arrival of the sleek, neat and brightly coloured ships is in deep contrast to the doom, loss of peace and innocence, and the destruction which was to follow once the foreigners (invaders) established themselves on land.

10. THEME AND DEVELOPMENT

11. The theme of the poem is very straightforward: it deals with Columbus's discovery of the American continent and the subsequent (FOLLOWING) terror of an on-watching native Indian.

12. The poem starts with the native American walking along the shore in great serenity and peace of mind. The phrase who had known no change is a foreshadowing (PREDICTION) that something drastic is about to happen that will indeed cause change in his life. The Indian’s very act of gathering shells emphasizes the simple life he leads. Unfortunately for him, all of this changes when he hear[s] a sudden strange / commingled noise.

13. What the Indian sees next is what sends him in a frenzy of terror. On the same bay, where nothing was before, the Indian sees Columbus's ships, which are perceived (SEEN) from the Indian’s point of view as huge canoes. The bellying cloths on poles is an obvious reference to the sails, whereas the fluttering coloured signs are suggestive of flags.

14. Terrorised, the Indian forgets his shells (ALMOST AS A SIGN OF RENOUNCING HIS SIMPLICITY) and seeks refuge behind a stone. He is also described as naked man alone suggesting that up to this point the native is not ashamed of his nakedness (or his primitiveness). The native watches on as Columbus and his shipmates disembark on the shore. Columbus’s caravels (TYPE OF SHIP) are described as doom-burdened because, although Columbus's arrival in America brought about subsequent progress, to the native Americans, his arrival meant the loss of their simple and unhampered (UNPROBLEMATIC) life.

15. FIGURES OF SPEECH

16. Metaphor with bellying cloths on poles (sails) Fluttering coloured signs (flags) Doom-burdened caravels (ships carrying bad news)

17. RHYTHM AND RHYME

18. Initially, the rhythm is a slow one, communicating the serenity of the place and the tranquillity of the native himself. However, from the third verse onwards, there is an increase in rhythm, which is achieved through an increase in punctuation marks, which suggests the chaos that is about to be witnessed once Colombus’s men land. Furthermore, the increase in rhythm is also evocative (suggestive) of an increase in fear in the Indian himself, almost to replicate the increased heartbeat.

19. As regards rhyme, the poem follows a fixed pattern: • 1st stanza – ABABCDCD • 2nd stanza – EFEGFG

20. NOTES

21. The poem, “The Discovery”, written by J.C. Squire, is a modern sonnet which has been adapted. However, as in all traditional sonnets, the main point/concept of the poem is conveyed to us at the end. The poem in itself is about the discovery of America (the New World) in 1492 by Christopher Colombus (1451-1506). At that particular period in time most powers, namely navigators, had invested their energies in acquiring strategic and resourceful territories worldwide. The language used is quite straightforward and direct, although it is evident that the ideas are rather profound and serious.

22. In the first stanza, the poet introduces the main protagonist who is an Indian from South America (the Caribbean actually). The Indian is seen wandering aimlessly along a beach. However, he is satisfied with his environment and with the simplicity of things. The adjectives the poet makes use of in this particular stanza are all linked to warmth, life and happiness. Yet the poet also prepares the reader for a change of scenario which will come about in the following stanza. The Indian holds his breath because he cannot put into words what he is seeing. As the Indian stops, we as readers are also made to pause. The punctuation also forces the reader to stop just as the Indian did.

23. It is clear that with each change of stanza, there is also a change of place and focus. In the middle stanza we see the world and the arrival of Colombus through the eyes of the Indian. The poet claims that through the eyes of the Indian, canoes “moved on the sea by magic”. This is because he had never seen anything similar to that before or anything of that nature. The term “magic” makes us think that the Indian is rather superstitious.

24. In fact, throughout the poem, we find a contrast of superstition and scientific knowledge as well as Religion (Catholicism) and the contrast of primitive to modern man. The poem thus emits a sense of rivalry between the clash of cultures. The lack of knowledge of certain terms shown by the Indian conveys to us how some countries had still not progressed and developed as much as others. For instance, the Indian does not know the language to say ‘sail’ and instead refers to it as “bellying cloths on poles” (because he has no knowledge of sails).

25. In the same way, he refers to flags as “fluttering coloured signs”. We also find an example of the use of alliteration of the letter “c”( [‘k’] sound) in the words “coloured signs of clambering crews” (rather hard sound). The Indian is alone in contrast to the clambering crews.

26. In the third stanza, the poet makes use of the metaphor of the Garden of Eden: “And he, in fear, this naked man alone”. The Indian seemed entirely defenceless as his paradise was being taken away. Thus, before there was perfection and now it is full of life and noise. We immediately realise that the adjectives being used in the third stanza are different from those in the first stanza. This is because the tone and mood of the poem have changed. The Indian gazes at the caravels getting closer to shore. In his shock, he dropped all the shells he had gathered. The shells represent his way of life. They are fragile just like the Indian himself seems to be.

27. In him we find an element of fear, particularly when he hides behind a stone. He is losing his shells (way of life) as well as his paradise.

28. He cannot quite understand what is happening. His innocence prevents him from doing so. He had not realised that it was the beginning of the end of his culture. It is here that we find another contrast, this time in the innocence and simplicity of the Indian as opposed to the sophistication of the sailors. In the last two lines the persona is the poet, who is stressing the real theme of the poem. He describes Colombus’s arrival onto shore as a tragedy to the nation. His arrival is “doom-burdened”.

29. At this point we can imagine the end of a self-governing country and the initiation of continuous exploitation by the colonialists. We can already tell by the reaction of the Indian, the fear and vulnerability that the natives had to new conquerors. In fact, due to colonialism, many countries were under-developed and in a state of utter poverty.

30. This sonnet by Squire (1884-1958) is very realistic as it describes the situation many countries were faced with in the past. If one reads between the lines, one can notice that the deeper meaning of the poem is hidden. It describes the loss of pride of a nation as well as a change in culture, which is very hard to accept by most people.

31. MODEL ESSAY Write about the theme of discovery as it is reflected in the thematic and technical aspects of the poem “The Discovery” by J.C. Squire In the beginning of the poem “The Discovery” by J.C. Squire, we can see a native American “who had known no change” and this shows a prediction that some change is going to occur. He “strayed content along a sunlit beach / Gathering shells”. The fact that the native American is gathering shells shows that he inhabits a simple life which he is happy about. So before Colombus discovered America there was peace, harmony and mostly there was innocence amongst the native Americans. The Indian thus represents the unspoilt landscape and the simple nature. Till now the rhythm is slow to show the serenity of the place and the tranquillity of the native man. This all changes when the Indian hears “a sudden strange / Commingled noise” and to this noise he “gasped for speech”, which shows that he was surprised and thus lost for words. After he heard the “Commingled noise” “in the bay, where nothing was before” (he was used to looking out towards the empty bay), he sees Colombus’s ships which are seen from his perspective as “huge canoes” since that was all he knew. He did not know they were huge ships, and he saw them moving “on the sea, by magic” since this was strange to him and completely new. He also refers to the sails as “bellying cloths on poles” which is a metaphor, since the sails are being compared to “bellying cloths”; this is because the wind makes them look like bellies and he refers to the flags as “fluttering coloured signs” which is also a metaphor, since the flags are being compared to colourful signs. This complete scenario terrorises the native American making his “fallen hands forgetting all their shells” which is a personification (since hands cannot forget) showing that he lost his simplicity. He also “knelt down behind a stone” since now he is ashamed of being naked, which differs from the way he was feeling before “ Colombus’s doom-burdened caravels / Slant to the shore, and all their seaman land”. Colombus’s caravels are described as “doom-burdened” because although he brought America to complete progress and civilization, he took away from the native Americans their simplicity and their unhampered life. From the moment the Indian hears the confusion, the rhythm increase is caused by the increase of punctuation marks. This suggests the chaos caused by Colombus and his men. It also suggests the fear all over the Indian, and thus the increase in the rhythm is to replicate the increased heartbeat too. In essence, this poem reflects the destruction of nature brought about by Colombus when he discovered the continent of America.