Critical analysis of the poem ‘electricity

comes to Cocoa Bottom’ by Marcia Douglas

By: Husain Necklace

Al Jamea Saifiyah Arabic Academy
 Introduction

The poem ‘electricity comes to cocoa bottom’ is written by Marcia Douglas. She was born in the
U.K but grew up in Jamaica. She is the author of books such as: ‘The marvellous equations of the
dread’ (2016), ‘Madam Fate’ (1999) as well as a collection of poetry ‘Electricity comes to cocoa
bottom’.

Marcia Douglas’s work has appeared internationally in various journals and anthologies
including London exams – IGCSE – text book as well as the Edexcel textbook. She is also a
proud holder of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship award along with a U.K Poetry
Book Society Recommendation.

For the following poem, June Owens writes in ‘The Caribbean Writer’: '1Some writers leave
their creative handprints in dark caves where only later happenstance may, perhaps, discover
them. Some writers stamp their entire selves upon the language, upon a culture, upon literature
and upon our consciousness in so intimate, singular, well-illumined and indelible a manner that
there can be no mistaking their poems and prose for those of another. Such a writer is Marcia
Douglas.'

Moreover, For the purpose of this paper, I will analyze the poem and expound upon it according
to its ‘title’, ‘theme’, ‘tone’, ‘structure’ and ‘literary devices’ while also simultaneously
discussing the various aspects and meanings which the poet tries to express and are endowed
within this poem.

Additionally, the analysis will be based solely upon my own perspectives, how I view the poem
and what enlightment I contrive from it. Also, the paper will begin with a copy of the full poem,
followed by a short summary and then followed by its analysis.

1
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Electricity-Comes-To-Cocoa-Bottom-1108563.html
Poem:

Then all the children of Cocoa Bottom

went to see Mr. Samuel’s electric lights.
They camped on the grass bank outside his house,
their lamps filled with oil,
waiting for sunset,
watching the sky turn yellow, orange.
Grannie Patterson across the road
peeped through the crack in her porch door.
The cable was drawn like a pencil line across the sun.
The fireflies waited in the shadows,
their lanterns off.
The kling-klings* swooped in from the hills,
congregating in the orange trees.
A breeze coming home from sea held its breath;
bamboo lining the dirt road stopped its swaying,
and evening came as soft as chiffon curtains:
Light! Mr. Samuel smiling on the verandah –
a silhouette against the yellow shimmer behind him –
and there arising such a gasp,
such a fluttering of wings,
tweet-a-whit,
such a swaying, swaying.
Light! Marvellous light!
And then the breeze rose up from above the trees,
swelling and swelling into a wind
such that the long grass bent forward
stretching across the bank like so many bowed heads.
And a voice in the wind whispered:
Is there one among us to record this moment?
But there was none –
no one (except for a few warm rocks
hidden among mongoose ferns) even heard a sound.
Already the children of Cocoa Bottom
had lit their lamps for the dark journey home,
and it was too late – the moment had passed.
Marcia Douglas

Summary:

In this poem ‘Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom’, Marcia Douglas takes her readers on a
journey towards the revelation of light. She delineates the excitement and anticipation of the
children of the village at the production of electricity and how it is a spectacle which fascinates
all of them. Along with that, she beautifully embeds her personal thoughts and perspectives
within her words and weaves them into intricate sentences for the readers to decode and
contemplate.

Analysis:

Title:

In the title, the poet uses the word ‘come’ – which is defined as: ‘to enter into being or existence;
to be born’ – suggests that electricity wasn’t currently present in the small village of Cocoa
Bottom. The name of the village could suggest that it is located somewhere in Jamaica as they
grow ‘coca’ over there. Likewise, the poet, Marcia Dougles, is from Jamaica as well therefore it
is much more logical to assume that the village is somewhere in Jamaica. Moreover, the readers
can deduce from the title the importance of electricity which is also further expounded upon
throughout the poem; and because it is a small village it does not have the resources to generate
it on a large scale.

Language and vocabulary:

In the beginning of the poem the poet states: ‘Then all the children of Cocoa Bottom went to see
Mr. Samuel’s electric lights’.

The poet begins the poem by the word ‘Then’. The foreboding of time plunges the reader directly
amidst all the excitement mingling amongst the ‘children’ who have all gathered to see ‘Mr.
Samuel’s electric lights’. Through this, the readers are capable of perceiving the excitement and
enthusiasm felt by the children, induced due to the thought of ‘electricity’, which alludes towards
the fact that their village lacked the resources needed to produce power for electricity. The
readers can also contemplate the reverence dictated for ‘Mr. Samuel’ as his name is the only
name mentioned – besides Grannie Patterson – and he owns the light, too. Similarly, the word
‘all’ signifies the importance of this spectacle.

Additionally, the word ‘children’ emphasizes the fact that it is mostly the new generation that
was fascinated by this new technological development that was soon to be part and parcel of
Cocoa Bottom.

Moreover, the poet then states: ‘Grannie Patterson across the road peeped through the crack in
her porch door’

Introduction of 'Grannie Patterson' alludes to the poets idea which is that the old people are
reluctant to embrace with open arms the new world’s ever growing technological gadgets and
tools – maybe because their beliefs and faith are somehow challenged and threatened by it; or
maybe because they feel like it is something beyond the reach of their mental capacity and
therefore it seems cunning and foreboding to them; hence, very difficult to accept. However, just
like ‘Grannie Patterson’ the old people are still curious about the development of the world,
which is why they 'Peeped... the crack' to monitor the unfolding's from a distance.
It is of particular interest how the poet uses ‘crack’ to delineate how Grannie Patterson views the
event. It could – maybe – expound further upon the perspective of how the very religious view
the success of modern world and its technology through a small ‘crack’ in the door; the ‘crack’,
maybe alluding towards their skepticism or their enclosed perspectives of the modern world, its
technological advances and its evolving gadgets.

Lastly, towards the middle of the poem, upon the production of light, the poet states: ‘Light!
Marvellous light!’ very simply but effectively, the poet conveys the enigma and the final product
of this spectacle in a single word: ‘Light!’ The exclamation mark suggests the overwhelming
feeling felt by the poet as well as the audiences who are all observing this spectacle formulate in
front of their eyes.

Also, Through this repetition of ‘light’ the readers can comprehend how important electricity is
to the people of the village and how it was purely a ‘marvellous’ scene for the ‘children’ to
observe, which is why they had ‘all’ gathered outside ‘Mr. Samuel’s’ house.

Juxtaposition and contrast:

The poet uses the element of juxtaposition and contrast exemplarily in order to project her
thoughts to her readers. By stating: ‘lamps filled with oil’ the poet juxtaposes the modern world
alongside with the old or the past with the future. By this, the poet might also be trying to convey
her feelings about the lack of resources in the village or how the people living there are not
modern enough or compliant enough with the technology of the modern world. Similarly, the
poet may also be trying to portray the level of illiteracy in the village.

Likewise, it is also ironic because of the fact that the congregation is gathered to witness the birth
of light without the use of oil, whereas the poet states ‘lamps…with oil’. This perspective is
further enhanced when the writer states: ‘…the sky turn yellow, orange’. This is interesting
because she talks about materialistic light about to be produced just when the natural light is
about to fade away. The adjectives ‘yellow’ and ‘orange’ similarly allude towards the ‘light’
produced naturally.

It is also ironic how this, in an abstract manner, represents the human need of creating such
resources on their own will to benefit themselves; even if it is going against the course of nature.

Alliteration and repetition:

Through this literary devise the poet successfully narrates the excitement of the crowd towards
the production of electricity. This can be deduced as the poet states: ‘waiting…watching’ and
‘such swaying, swaying’. The use of alliteration of these vocabularies brings both the elements of
alliteration and repetition and as such enhances the readers understanding as to how the
overzealous crowd was eager and expectant. It also builds up tension and emphasizes the
importance of the issue at hand. It also further expresses the audiences’ elated and joyous
feelings.

Personification:

The poet uses personification to her advantage as well in order to deliver her feelings of contrast
throughout the poem.

She states: ‘the fireflies waited in the shadows, their lanterns off’ Here, the poet personifies the
‘fireflies’ by giving them human traits – such as the capability to ‘wait’.

However, the readers can notice an element of irony mentioned here, too – as it is easy for the
fireflies to wait knowing that they have the means of producing electricity whereas it is tough for
humans because they lack resources.

Likewise, the poet again vocalizes the conflict between humans and nature, suggesting how
nature prevails upon humans due to its natural characteristics and the ways in which it is created.

Furthermore, the poet then states: ‘is there one among us to record this moment?’ The poet asks
this question through the personified voice of the wind.

Through the introduction of this question, the poet introduces a decline to the happiness and the
excitement narrated in the poem so far. It may also connotate the lack of technological
development, for example: the absence of cameras and even mainstream media to capture such
important events in the lives of the dwellers of Cocoa Bottom.

In addition, the poet also creates a sense of anticipation through this literary device when she
states: ‘A breeze coming…held its breathe;’ This is evident because the finale is almost here.

Similie:

The poet also uses a factor of similie in order to narrate her own opinions and ideas.

She states: ‘…cable was drawn like a pencil line across the sun’.

The use of this similie explains to the readers the poet’s ability to express how the cables were
like a sketch across the sun. However, this again points towards the concept of conflict between
humans and nature; as ‘pencil’ is something created by humans and a ‘line across the sun’ might
suggest how humans have ‘sketched’ their mark on nature itself by devising such technologically
advanced machines and tools; such as electricity. But, the definition of ‘sketch’ is: a simple,
quickly-made drawing that does not have many details. Therefore, the use of this particular word
might allude towards the fact that no matter how advanced human beings get, they will only be
able to ‘sketch’ their mark upon nature, not fully be capable of ‘drawing’ upon it, as nature has
and always will prevail upon humans and mankind.
Tone:

The poet begins the poem with a tone of excitement, wonder and apprehension:
‘waiting…watching’, ‘Grannie Patterson…peeped…door’, ‘Closing. Closing’.

However, towards the end, the writer introduces a sad tone: ‘but there was none’. The tone used
to narrate this is sad and brimming with disappointment. It allows the readers to perceive how
the children of the village might have felt disappointed once the spectacle had ended and they
had to finally return home, which is further stated by the poet ‘lit their lamps for the dark
journey home’ which enhances the readers understanding of the children’s disappointment and
growing sadness. While again, juxtaposing the technological advances of a city against the lack
of resources available in a village.

Structure:

The structure of the poem is such that it endows within it the entire summary of the poem along
with its message:

Just like the illuminating of ‘light’, the poem starts of immediately without explaining what had
happened before. The excitement and anticipation described by the poet in between could
suggest the flow of the electricity towards the light bulb, which is quick and instantaneous; much
like the excitement and feelings of the children.

Then, once the electricity has raced through the wires and generated light through the light bulb,
it lingers around for a while – just like the elated and overwhelming feelings of the audiences
who witnessed the spectacle of electricity. In the end, when the light bulb is switched off
everything turns dark – just like how the children of Cocoa Bottom felt disappointed and dull
when they had to return to their homes with their lanterns guiding them through the dark roads.

Theme:

Imparting of knowledge:

The gathering of ‘all’ of the ‘children’ at ‘Mr. Samuel’s’ house could suggest the children’s
curiosity, excitement and quest for the attainment of knowledge imparted to them from their
tutor – Mr. Samuel’s.

The feelings of anticipation – ‘held its breath’, ‘Closing. Closing’ – could denote the children’s
anticipation for obtaining knowledge. The effective and elated joy felt at the illumination of
‘Light!’ could symbolize the ‘light’ illuminated within one’s soul due to the acceptance of
knowledge and wisdom.

The saddening tone of ‘but there was none’ could allude towards the scarce resources in the
village due to which the children are incapable of writing down the knowledge given to them
from their tutor. And the depressing mood created through the statements ‘dark journey home’
and ‘the moment had passed’ could explain how the children were sad that they had to depart
from their tutor and go back to their houses; maybe because they were incapable of affording the
payment the tutor demanded.

Conclusion:

I would like to conclude by stating that these are the few aspects upon which I have expounded
in order to analyze this poem according to its endowed message and insights which I was able to
decode and procure. However, I am certain that there are several more aspects to this
magnificent poem which I have been unsuccessful of mentioning and denoting due to the
established boundaries and word count of this paper.