Having read Brathwaites’ Middle Passages with a keen eye that tries to grasp a firm hold of what he was trying to communicate, I have missed a lot. It was only when I relaxed and read it in its own context that I, somehow and to a certain extent, understood it. (if at all) The identity, whether personal or collective, is so crucial in this week’s reading. Knowing more about the people, their identity, their history, the discrimination and prejudices they were forced to go through, and above all their invented language is the key to that of understanding the text.

We all can speak of our own sufferings. We all have certain linguistic codes which can only be decoded by those to whom we belong and with whom we share commonalities. So What distinguishes Brathwaite’s writings from the almost unreadable, undecidable notes we write to our closest friends, for instance? Is it the form that is so special ? or the content ? or the way both collaborate to create a certain effect !

Much the same way the beauty of the Caribbean’s landscape is brought into ruins by the cruel colonization, Brathwaite blends together the beauty and musicality of poetry in talking about seriously brutal and critical topics. Leaving aside the form and content a bit, the speaking voice Brathwaite employs is astonishingly revealing. Those people, the poems are talking about, are the slaves, the waged workers, the sort of people who gets the least amount of education, if any. Bearing this idea in mind, Brathwaite have made a legitimately good call by employing the speaking voice as a means of getting this sect’s identity, voices and demands heard !