1
Theme: The poet is reminded of her 1. Nothing but a name, and a sea-flash of blue
home in the Caribbean and longs to go
back home. She is homesick and thinks 2. pulling me from a stranger’s brooding
deeply of the meaning of the word
‘home’. 3. Berwyck-Upon-Tweed, a sudden blue reminding
4. that these are British ISLES, and beautiful, too.
This poem as a sonnet: “a sea-flash of blue” and “a sudden blue”.
Both of these point to the sight of the sea as
It has 14 lines, consists of three quatrains and 5. A fleeting look that feeds some need being brief, and yet it takes so little to remind
a rhyming couplet. her of home.
6. for sea, for mountain dew laughter
The rhyme scheme of the three quatrains is
ABBA 7. for dust, for sky, for woods and water
8. for Caribbean Berwyck-Upon-Tweed
Tone:
The poem has a sad tone, as she yearns to
9. To escape pursuing spirits, cross water go back to her hometown
10. they say, for spirits cannot follow
11. but these have left the tang of mango
METAPHOR–STANZA 3: in this stanza her longing
12. have crossed and mean to linger become like spirits that haunt her
CONTRASTING JOURNEYS –traveling by
13. From a train in England, on a journey home
train and her journey in her mind/
dreams are described so that the 14. fleeting seascape, recalling dreams of home
difference between the journeys are Background:
emphasised. This is called the The poet comes from either work or a holiday
@Juffrou_Ansie
JUXTAPOSITION and is on her way home which is in England.
, TITLE: 'Home' is a very EMOTIVE word and means different things to different people. The CONNOTATIONS 2
of the word 'home' for Merle Collins are bound up in her experience of the physical landscape of her home in
Grenada and the landscape of England before her, which was her home at that time.
Line 2: Both ‘pulling’ and ‘brooding’ are strong verbs
1. Nothing but a name, and a sea-flash of blue
which emphasise the overwhelming feeling of
2. pulling me from a stranger’s brooding homesickness of the poet. She is being pulled back
from her deep, unhappy thoughts when she
Line 2: 3. Berwyck-Upon-Tweed, a sudden blue reminding suddenly sees the sea.
“pulling me from a stranger’s brooding” is the 4. that these are British ISLES, and beautiful, too.
mention of her birthplace while the mention
of “Berwyck-Upon-Tweed”, “these” and
“ISLES” is where she lives now.
5. A fleeting look that feeds some need
6. for sea, for mountain dew laughter Senses
Why the poet regards herself as a stranger:
She is not from England and is not familiar 7. for dust, for sky, for woods and water
with their culture and because she misses her
8. for Caribbean Berwyck-Upon-Tweed
hometown so much, she feels as though she
doesn’t belong 9. To escape pursuing spirits, cross water
10. they say, for spirits cannot follow
FORM/STRUCTURE OF THE POEM: a 11. but these have left the tang of mango The word ‘home’ in the rhyming couplet:
fourteen-line poem in the style of the
Shakespearean sonnet. It has three 12. have crossed and mean to linger Home is used at the end of each line. The first
quatrains and a rhyming couplet that line refers to her home in England that she is
rounds off the thoughts expressed and travelling to on the train.
summarises them. Because it is similar
13. From a train in England, on a journey home Home in the second line is her home in the
to a sonnet it could be linked with love.
Caribbean that she carries with her in her
The three stanzas are separated: the
14. fleeting seascape, recalling dreams of home memories
memory is triggered, then the longing
and memories are described, and
thirdly the memories become 'spirits'
@Juffrou_Ansie
that haunt the speaker.
Theme: The poet is reminded of her 1. Nothing but a name, and a sea-flash of blue
home in the Caribbean and longs to go
back home. She is homesick and thinks 2. pulling me from a stranger’s brooding
deeply of the meaning of the word
‘home’. 3. Berwyck-Upon-Tweed, a sudden blue reminding
4. that these are British ISLES, and beautiful, too.
This poem as a sonnet: “a sea-flash of blue” and “a sudden blue”.
Both of these point to the sight of the sea as
It has 14 lines, consists of three quatrains and 5. A fleeting look that feeds some need being brief, and yet it takes so little to remind
a rhyming couplet. her of home.
6. for sea, for mountain dew laughter
The rhyme scheme of the three quatrains is
ABBA 7. for dust, for sky, for woods and water
8. for Caribbean Berwyck-Upon-Tweed
Tone:
The poem has a sad tone, as she yearns to
9. To escape pursuing spirits, cross water go back to her hometown
10. they say, for spirits cannot follow
11. but these have left the tang of mango
METAPHOR–STANZA 3: in this stanza her longing
12. have crossed and mean to linger become like spirits that haunt her
CONTRASTING JOURNEYS –traveling by
13. From a train in England, on a journey home
train and her journey in her mind/
dreams are described so that the 14. fleeting seascape, recalling dreams of home
difference between the journeys are Background:
emphasised. This is called the The poet comes from either work or a holiday
@Juffrou_Ansie
JUXTAPOSITION and is on her way home which is in England.
, TITLE: 'Home' is a very EMOTIVE word and means different things to different people. The CONNOTATIONS 2
of the word 'home' for Merle Collins are bound up in her experience of the physical landscape of her home in
Grenada and the landscape of England before her, which was her home at that time.
Line 2: Both ‘pulling’ and ‘brooding’ are strong verbs
1. Nothing but a name, and a sea-flash of blue
which emphasise the overwhelming feeling of
2. pulling me from a stranger’s brooding homesickness of the poet. She is being pulled back
from her deep, unhappy thoughts when she
Line 2: 3. Berwyck-Upon-Tweed, a sudden blue reminding suddenly sees the sea.
“pulling me from a stranger’s brooding” is the 4. that these are British ISLES, and beautiful, too.
mention of her birthplace while the mention
of “Berwyck-Upon-Tweed”, “these” and
“ISLES” is where she lives now.
5. A fleeting look that feeds some need
6. for sea, for mountain dew laughter Senses
Why the poet regards herself as a stranger:
She is not from England and is not familiar 7. for dust, for sky, for woods and water
with their culture and because she misses her
8. for Caribbean Berwyck-Upon-Tweed
hometown so much, she feels as though she
doesn’t belong 9. To escape pursuing spirits, cross water
10. they say, for spirits cannot follow
FORM/STRUCTURE OF THE POEM: a 11. but these have left the tang of mango The word ‘home’ in the rhyming couplet:
fourteen-line poem in the style of the
Shakespearean sonnet. It has three 12. have crossed and mean to linger Home is used at the end of each line. The first
quatrains and a rhyming couplet that line refers to her home in England that she is
rounds off the thoughts expressed and travelling to on the train.
summarises them. Because it is similar
13. From a train in England, on a journey home Home in the second line is her home in the
to a sonnet it could be linked with love.
Caribbean that she carries with her in her
The three stanzas are separated: the
14. fleeting seascape, recalling dreams of home memories
memory is triggered, then the longing
and memories are described, and
thirdly the memories become 'spirits'
@Juffrou_Ansie
that haunt the speaker.
