Hurricane Hits England - Grace Nicholls

Question 1

Themes? (3)

Answer 1

Identity, culture, displacement,

Question 2

Tones? (2)

Answer 2

Reflective, contemplative

Question 3

Context? (4)

Answer 3

• Nichols was born in Guyana, and
  Caribbean culture, folklore, and
  oral traditions inform her work.
• Although Nichols herself came to
  England slightly later (in 1977),
  the poem can be read within the
  larger context of the Caribbean
  diaspora who emigrated from
  former British colonies to the
  United Kingdom.
• Hattie—the name of a massive hurricane that hit the Caribbean in 1961.
• Huracan, Oya, and Shango (Line
  8, Line 9, Line 10, Line 28) -
  Natural gods of weather, storms,
  and chaos in Yoruba and some
  West Indian cultures.

Question 4

Meaning and purpose?

Answer 4

• The speaker says that a hurricane was the one thing that helped her feel more connected to
  her new country.
• The sweet mystery of the
  storm has arrived to break the speaker’s frozen inner self, to shake up the roots of the trees
  within her.
• The purpose to evoke the
  disconnection and homesickness people can feel when living in a different country.

Question 5

Language? ()

Answer 5

• Third person, as “her” and “she.” This thirdperson point of view suggests that the speaker
  is still somewhat alienated from herself and her surroundings; she describes herself as though from the outside. As the storm unfolds
  over the course of the poem, though, this point of view will shift, demonstrating the sense of belonging and self- identity that the
  speaker finds through the storm.
• Metaphor and allusion: The speaker
  compares the hurricane to “old tongues,”, The hurricane helps the speaker feel newly connected to England, as she finds comfort in
  the knowledge that the natural gods of her homeland exist even in this unfamiliar place.
• The metaphor of trees being uprooted is symbolic, representing the speaker’s own
  heritage—the way her sense of self and belonging has been totally “uprooted” by the arrival of the storm.
• The “frozen lake” in the
  poem symbolizes the speaker’s past sense of disconnection and alienation from England
  -Oxymoron: “blinding illumination” The storm disrupts the speaker’s vision of the world and
  reveals something new to her.

Question 6

Form? (1)

Answer 6

• Rhetorical question: The speaker
  questions what place these parts
  of her identity could have in
  England.

Question 7

Structure? (4)

Answer 7

• 37 lines broken up into seven
  stanzas of varying length.
• There’s no standard or
  predictable form to the poem,
  which instead feels fluid and
  organic.
• a free verse poem, meaning that
  it has no set meter. Instead, the
  rhythm of the poem is natural and
  unpredictable, evoking the
  wildness and unpredictability of
  the storm itself. The lack of a
  strict meter also makes the poem
  sound immediate and intimate.
• the poem does have some
  distinctly rhythmic moments that
  create momentum and emphasis.
  For example, the anaphoric
  repetition of “Talk to me” in
  stanza two and “I am” in stanza 6
  create a distinct, powerful rhythm.
  This rhythm propels the poem
  forward, demonstrating the
  hurricane’s energy.