‘The Fist’ is written
by Derek Walcott. The poem seems to be a lament and is full of emotions. The
poem is full of meaning and associations. The title itself gives an aura of
violence or suffocation. We will analyze the poem from various perspectives.
If we look upon the poem from existentialism, it is the right of a person to pave the path of his/her life. Existential philosophy is based on the choice of individuals. Yet we can see in the poem, the story is something else. The fist in the first line of the poem is grasping the heart full of love. We can imply that society breaks the free will of a person and constrains the life of a free-spirited person. It gives the room just for breathing but the stereotypical standards of society again clasp the heart. The breathing space is given for the benefit as well. The poet affirms that he has gone past the time of fear from this pain. It is his drug now and it keeps him alive.
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We can imply that he has become numb and all his desires have died. Now the soothing ache of the pain lets him realize that he is alive at least. Society has petty norms for everyone. Playing the part, many people have to kill their freedom and bid farewell to their sanity.
Leading this debate towards colonialism, we can say that the
colonized slaves were humans with hearts full of love. Before colonialism, they
had their families, clans, and tribes. They had aspirations and desires. They
loved their land and the resources nature bestowed upon them. But these
resources and blessings became a curse for them. The colonizers looted and
plundered their lands and reduced the natives to nothingness. This humiliation
and abuse are like a fist clenching on their hearts. The 'fist' is of the
so-called mighty colonizers. The heart of colonized people were full of love
for their brothers and sisters, for their land. But this love was used to give
them pain. Their close ones were killed and tortured. They lived in constant
anxiety and pain counting days till their turn of getting murdered came. The
ways of colonizers seemed to be like that of a madman, they used every form of
punishment they could to lead the natives towards submission. We can say that
the pain of natives was also so unbearable, that it leads them towards
insanity. The tortures that were inflicted on colonized did not have any logic
and reasoning. It was a game of power and brutality only. The colonizers made
the poor natives so barren emotionally that they had no choice but to submit
themselves to the pain. This pain allowed them to feel that they were alive and
nothing else. They were made to work for ungodly hours without any food and
water, their bodies became accustomed to this treatment. They did not feel
anything in the end, no love, no dignity, and no desire for anything. All they
felt 24/7 was constant pain and it made them feel, alive.
Another perspective of the poem is from the autobiographical
introspection of the writer's life. Dereck Walcott was the offspring of a
British father and an African Mother. He was the descendent of the victims and
the violators. He always felt this hybridity crisis. He found it difficult to
take sides. He may have been recounting his woeful tale in this poem. His heart
feels like, it is in a fist, whenever he has to choose between supporting the
persecutors or the abused. This love that he has for both his background brings
him pain. We feel the element of an identity crisis is strongly prevalent in
this poem. This detachment from his identity has made him a madman. He cannot
be selfish enough to denounce the existence of his African ancestors nor can he
be selfless enough to reject his British heritage. He is in limbo and does not
seem to come up with a valid reason. Yet we find in most of his poems, he has
honored the tragedy of African slaves. He took the step towards getting his
writings banned or denounced but he at least feels alive to do so.
These are some of the interpretations, I have come across in
this beautiful poem. The poem tells the tale of woeful love in such terms, that
it leaves one in awe. The love that you cannot reject or denounce is like a
tight grasp, it slowly churns one away yet the pain feels like a solace. And
what can one do, if the love is your remedy and your poison both. Hence, the
only option is to accept it.
The poem is interpreted by Umm-e-Rumman Syed, one of the team members at the School of Literature.
