ABOUT THE WRITER

Hugh Doston (Dossie) Carberry was born July 12, 1921, the son of sir John Carberry, a former
Chief Justice of Jamaica, and Lady Georgina Carberry, in Montreal, Canada. He came to Jamaica in
infancy and spent most of his life there. He had his primary education at Decarteret school in
Mandeville, Jamaica and then attended Jamaica College. After working with the Civil Service, to
which he qualified as second out of over 100 applicants, Carberry went to St. Catherrine College,
Oxford University, where he obtained his B. A. and B. C. L.. He read Law at Middle Temple and was
called to the Bar in 1951, then returning to Jamaica to engage in private practice.
In 1954, Carberry married Dorothea, and they had two sons, Martin and John, and a daughter,
Christine. In addition to his career in law, Carberry was a poet and gave outstanding service in the
cultural field, being a member of the Managing Committee of the Little Theatre since 1951. A devout
Christian, he was also a pillar of the Providence Methodist church as Class Co-leader. Carberry was
Clerk to the Houses of Parliament from 1969-1978 and a member of the commonwealth
Parliamentary Association. He was appointed Judge of the Jamaican court of appeal in 1978 and
served for a decade. H. D. Carberry died on June 28, 1989.
SYNOPSIS
The poem tells of the weather conditions in Jamaica although it does not have the four seasons of
spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather conditions of golden sunny days and wet rainy days
are just as good and are almost equivalent to the four seasons.
UNDERSTANDING THE POEM
Lines 1 to 10
The poet tells about his homeland, Jamaica and rejoices the beauty of this island. Jamaica has no
seasonal changes. It has a tropical climate which is hot and wet throughout the year. The days of
golden sunshine are glorious and magnificent. The are many canefields in Jamaica as sugar is one of
the main exports in this country.
Lines 11 to 15
In the ending of the poem, the poet tells us his favourite time days when the flowers of mango trees
and logwood blossom. He uses imagery of sound and smell to illustrate abundant life and activity in
the bushes when the sound of bees and the scent of honey add to the charm and beauty if Jamaica.
He describes the fields filled with lovely yellow buttercups. All this happens when the rains have
stopped and the beauty if nature emerges once again.

THEMES

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

Beauty of nature
Appreciation of one own country

Appreciate nature

Simple and easy to understand the

language
Clear and descriptive

Simple style with no rhyming scheme

MORAL VALUES
POETIC DEVICES

We should appreciate what we have in

our own country
We should not long for what we do not
have.

We should appreciate our homeland.

We should appreciate the beauty of

nature.

Symbols e.g. gold sun symbol of

summer, rains symbol of winter

Contrast e.g. beauty or summer is

compared with rains or winter

Figurative Language Simile rain

beats like bullets

Metaphor e.g. the buttercups paved

the earth with yellow stars

Personafication buttercups have

paved the earth buttercups have
been personified as having laid tiles

Onomatopeia eg swish

TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

Appreciative and happy

Carefree and light-hearted

Sense of beauty

POINT OF VIEW

Imagery e.g. gold sun, lush green

fields, trees struggling
Alliteration e.g. sways and shivers
to the slightest breath of air

Third person point of view

SYNONYMS AND EXPLANATIONS

1. Instead: as an
alternative/substitute/replacement
2. Lush: green, abundant, fertile, blossoming
3. Magnificently: wonderfully, superbly, well
4. Beat: hit, strike, bang, hammer, pound,
punch
5. Swish: to move quickly into the air
6. Gully: channel, ditch, culvert
7. Struggle: move violently, great fight, fight
back
8. Fade: die away, darken, become paler
9. Reap: harvest
10. Ripe: mature, ready, full-grown, ripen
11. Cane: sugarcane
12. Lie: stretch out

13. Bear: naked, nude, exposed, uncovered

14. High: soaring
15. Bush: shrub, plant
16. Sway: bend, wave, swing
17. Scent: smell, odor, aroma, fragrance
18. Slightest: smallest amount, least
19. Buttercups: A type of flower in Jamaica
that is yellow in colour
20. Pave: cover, floor, tile
21. wood: timber, forest,
22: logwood: a tree which has been cut into
pieces which are meant to make fire. Also
called firewood. Logwood can be in many
sizes. Some are left in the forest.
23. blossom: flourish, grow healthily

Literature Practices
Poem: Nature by H.D Carberry
Practice 1
Write the lines that describe occurrences in Jamaica similar to four seasons of summer, autumn,
winter and spring.
1. Occurrences similar to summer
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2. Occurrences similar to autumn.
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3. Occurrences similar to winter.
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4. Occurrences similar to spring.
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Practice 2
Answer the question with appropriate answer from the poem nature.
1.

Why do you think the poet write this poem?

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2.

Which phrase evokes our sense of smell?

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3.

What does the phrase reaped canefields lie bare and fallow indicate?
___________________________________________________________________________
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4.

What are the good days mentioned in the poem?

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5.

What the bad days mentioned in the poem?

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6.

What is the poet trying to tell us about the weather in his country?
___________________________________________________________________________

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7.

What does the phrase lush green canefields tell us about the land?
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8.

Which line in the poem indicates that Jamaica suffers from strong winds?
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9.
Where can we hear the sound of water during the heavy rain?
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10. When do the leaves fall off the guango trees?
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11. What do you understand by the phrase paved the earth?
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12.

13.

Which line indicates that there are bright sunny days and the sun shines on fertile fields of
cane?
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How do you know that the rains come down in torrential showers?
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14. Why do you think the poet mentions the regular English seasons of summer, winter, autumn and
spring?
___________________________________________________________________________
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15.

When it rains, where to the rain water usually flow into?

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Practice 3