ENGLISH FORM 5LITERATURE

NATUREBy:H.D Carberry

Biodata of H. D. Carberry, 1921-1989

Hugh Doston (“Dossie”) Carberry was born July 12, 1921.

the son of sir John Carberry, a former Chief Justice of Jamaica, and Lady Georgina Carberry, in Montreal, Canada.

He came to Jamaica in infancy and spent most of his life there.

He had his primary education at Decarteret school in Mandeville, Jamaica and then attended Jamaica College.

After working with the Civil Service, to which he qualified as second out of over 100 applicants,

Carberry went to St. Catherrine College, Oxford University, where he obtained his B. A. and B. C. L..

He read Law at Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in 1951, then returning to Jamaica to engage in private practice.

In 1954, Carberry married Dorothea, and they had two sons, Martin and John, and a daughter, Christine.

In addition to his career in law, Carberry was a poet and gave outstanding service in the cultural field, being a member of the Managing Committee of the Little Theatre since 1951.

A devout Christian, he was also a pillar of the Providence Methodist church as Class Co-leader.

Carberry was Clerk to the Houses of Parliament from 1969-1978 and a member of the commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

He was appointed Judge of the Jamaican court of appeal in 1978 and served for a decade.

H. D. Carberry died on June 28, 1989.

NATURE – H.D CARBERRYWe have neither Summer nor WinterNeither Autumn nor Spring.We have instead the daysWhen the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-Magnificently.The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofsAnd there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gulliesAnd trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango

trees’And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,

When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

Line 1 - 10 The poet is telling us what he has in

Jamaica:a) He does not have the regular four

seasons-Summer, Winter, Autumn or Spring.

b) They have days where the sun shines brightly and the rain falls down noisily.

c) The only sound that can be heard –water gushing down the steep valleys.

Lines 11 - 15The poet now tells us that the days which

he cherishes the most are when:a) The mango and logwood trees are floweringb) The low bushes are visited by buzzing bees busy

collecting nectarc) The tall grass sways gently to the soft breezed) The buttercups cover the land like yellow starse) The freshness of nature’s beauty is seen after a

bout of heavy rain

CHARACTERISTICSSYNOPSIS The poem tells of the weather conditions in Jamaica

although it does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather conditions of golden sunny days and wet rainy days are just as good and are almost equivalent to the four seasons.

THEMES Beauty of nature Appreciation of one owns country Differences in appearances but similar in effects

MORAL VALUES We should appreciate what we have in our own

country We should not long for what we do not have. We should be aware that different people have

different skills or beauty.

TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE Appreciative and happy Carefree and light-hearted Sense of beauty

POINT OF VIEW Third person point of view –the poet uses ‘we’ to

include all those who are affected by the changes in the weather.

LANGUAGE AND STYLE Consists of eighteen lines in free verse of varying

length. Simple and easy to understand the language Clear and descriptive Simple style with no rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES Imagery – e.g. ‘gold sun’, ‘lush green fields’, ‘trees

struggling’ Alliteration – e.g. ‘sways and shivers to the slightest

breath of air’ –creates a special sound effect Symbols – e.g. ‘gold sun’ – symbol of summer, ‘rains’

– symbol of winter Contrast – e.g. ‘beauty’ or summer is compared with

‘rains’ or winter Figurative Language  – Simile – ‘rain beats like bullets’ Metaphor – e.g. ‘the buttercups paved the earth with

yellow stars’ Personification – The tall grass sways and shivers to

the slightest breath of air-enables us to see the graceful movement of the grass in the gentle breeze.

Exercise!!! Read the extract below and answer

the questions that follow.We have instead the daysWhen the gold sun shines on the lush

green canefields-MagnificentlyThe days when the rain beats like

bullets on the roofsAnd there is no sound but the swish

of water in the gulliesAnd trees struggling in the high

Jamaica winds.

1) What are the good days mentioned in the extract?

2) What are the bad days mentioned in the extracts?

3) What literary device is used in the extract and why it is used?

4) What is the poet trying to tell us about the weather in his country?