Middle Passages consists of a new kind of differential texts in their forms and contents. Kamau Brathwaite sometimes uses the Jamaican Creole and that is what he calls “nation language.” So, this time, Brathwaite uses the spoken language in the Caribbean mixed with English in a way that the Caribbean identity and their nation language appear very clear in the work. A diversity of topics appears among the poems; he discusses war, conflict, history, politics, social commentaries, race, and ethnicity. In these texts, Brathwaite exploits the form and controls the content in order to achieve his intended purpose and deliver a clear message. He clearly challenges the way things are understood through the way he presents many topics, using a new form. Middle Passages texts are different from the previous ones that we have studied in a way that they convey messages that hold prominent issues whether social or political.
The use of the Caribbean languages, precisely the Jamaican Creole in the writing and mixing it with English, confirms Brathwaite’s attempt to create a new national identity at least in literature, and that affirms the Caribbean identity. Then Brathwaite turns to the issues troubling him, the issues that carry with them the sense and worries of the nation and the nation’s aspirations towards a bright future. His poetry seems as if it is not written for the aesthetic taste, so the form is not his main concern. Moreover, the use of the English language symbolizes his interest in delivering his thoughts and inspirations globally; on the other hand, the use of the Caribbean language, not dialects, symbolizes addressing his nation in their own language in order to emphasize getting the message, believing that the real history of the Caribbean is in its language.
Wow, that’s a really good post. It brought up a lot of things that I wasn’t thinking about when reading Middle Passages. I especially like the idea you bring up about the collective memory living in the shared regional language of a people.
The one thing I would disagree with is you saying that the poetry downplays the aesthetics. I thought the opposite, that Brathwaite’s poetry was some of the most pleasing and enjoyable that we have read so far. He emphasizes sound and rhythm and rhyme a lot more than Soliloquy, for example.
Jed, you are right; the poems in “Middle Passages” are different from the previous ones that most of them have rhyme, rhythm not like the poems for the previous class. Maybe I felt the lack of aesthetic element only because I excessively focused on the political, social, and other issues that the poems try to convey.
Tariq, as what you have done, I also focused on the writer’s language more than anything else. Such a mixed language make it challenging for me to understand a bunch of ideas. I do respect his tendency in introducing the real language that addressed island speaks, however, I am wondering as secondary English speaker, what if he used the standard English language- specially it is considered the country official language according to Wikipedia. May be he wonted to reflect the real surrounding culture at that land, and that will be difficult to express without using the nation language, do you think so?
Nourah, yes, the language matters. In linguistics, what he does is called “Code-switching.” In code-switching, an author uses two or more languages whether in his talk or writing. Sometimes that happens unconsciously; however, Brathwaite intentionally employs the Jamaican creole in his poems for political and social purposes to emphasize or to create a national identity.