Adam's Song

Best known for his theatrical works and his 1990 Homeric epic Omeros, Derek Walcott is a major voice of postcolonial Caribbean literature. Walcott has been awarded both a Nobel prize and an OBE from the British Government for his literary and theatrical contributions. Like many contemporary poets, Walcott writes in a postmodernist tradition. The postmodern period is difficult to define, but one of its main traits, particularly in poetry, is the use of antiquated discourses, forms, and voices to comment on the present. Walcott’s poetry uses this technique to infuse the literary canon with a Caribbean identity.

Because of the postmodern play of forms and discourses, Walcott’s poetic style is wide-ranging and evokes comparisons to Homer, John Milton, and Biblical texts. “Adam’s Song,” part of his 1976 poetry collection Sea Grapes, engages with the Biblical story of Genesis and humanity’s fall. The poem makes connections between contemporary religious practice and the treatment of women, with Eve’s interpreted place as a temptress and cause of original sin. Rather than feed into the religious dichotomy of man and woman, however, “Adam’s Song” instead champions human connection.