Gordon Rohlehr's 'Sparrow and the Language of the Calypso' –CAM Comment–

Author(s): Edward Brathwaite

Source: Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1/2, A Survey of the Arts (March - June 1968), pp.
91-96
Published by: University of the West Indies and Caribbean Quarterly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40653060 .
Accessed: 14/06/2014 08:48

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

University of the West Indies and Caribbean Quarterly are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to Caribbean Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 IV- Gordon Rohlehr's 'Sparrow and
the Language of the Calypso'
- CAM Comment -

EdwardBrathwaite: Was listeningto the tape of yourtalk this morn-

ing, and came upon this passage towardsthe end:
We cannot help noting how close Sparrow has kept to the
rhythmsand idioms of Trinidadian speech... It seems to me
that there is in the spoken language of Trinidad a potential
of rhythmicorganisationwhich our poets have not yet dis-
covered- or if they have, have not yet exploited... It [the
calypso] may help the West Indian poet to realise the rhythmic
potentialof his ordinaryuse of English, for the calypsonian's
language is prettyclose to standard English,yet his organisa-
tion of language is entirelydifferent. The breakthrough,it
seems to me, can come not only in the use of creole, such as
that which is writtenby Louise Bennett,but throughthe use
of English as it is [transformed]when translated into WI
speech rhythms. . .
Tm takingthis up with you because I too am interestedin critical
standards; and because you have been a great opponent of the
generalisation.Leaving aside your limitationof the above generalisa-
tion to 'the spoken language of T'dad', I really must take you up on
yourstatementon 'the WI poet.'
My pointhere is this: Derek,yourcountrymen LorrimerAlexander
and WordsworthMe Andrewhave all, from time to time, used, quite
successfullyin my view,speech rhythms;and so has Dennis Scott in a
less directway. And of course Rights of Passage is committedto this
approach rightdown the line. I can understandyour thinkingthese
effortsnot worthwhile;but I cannot see you,as a critic,ignoringthem,
in yourcontext,as if they didn't exist. As a matterof fact, on your
own principle of non-generalisation,one would have expected some
little indicationas to why you think these effortsfail.

My own opinion on this kind of discussion is that the academic

start off
criticsI have so far heard on this matterof 'dialect/poetry,'
with the preconceptionthat an artist like Sparrow is in some way an
entirelydifferentbeing froman artist,say, like myselfor Derek or any
of the others; so that in discussion the two types tend to be kept
separate.

91

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 This was surelythe case with your talk on Friday; though I hope
you will understandthat I'm in no way tryingto detract fromyour
positive contribution:the subjection of Sparrow's lyrics to critical
analysis and illumination;the emphasison his truth-telling; the moral
implicationsof his statementsand situations; the ironic twistevident
in so much of his work; and (for me one of the high-spots) the
explanation of the calypsonian'sdramatic eye and I: the fact that 'I'
is not necessarilypersonal,but oftena persona.
But afterall this,the generalisationsabout 'the West Indian poet/
who has not brokenthroughto West Indian speech rhythms,remain.
In ignoringwhat in fact has been attempted,and failingto link these
attempts with Sparrow's achievementand present them for further
discussion,you lost a chance, I think,(which is the final justification
of criticism),to help elucidate the workof the artistsinvolved.

Gordon Rohlehr: I think my point towards the end was not

really grasped because it was so sloppily made, and so
hurriedly sketched in. 'The calypso may help the WI poet to
realise the rhythmicpotential of his ordinaryuse of English.' You
took this to mean that I was implyingthat the WI poet did not realise
this, that no efforthad been made to capture WI speech rhythms,or
that I didn'tthinksuch effortswortheithermentionor even considera-
tion. But this wasn't my point at all. What I was remarkingwas the
calypsonian'sabilityto blend words with extremelycomplex rhythmic
phrases of music and still retain the fluidityand basic rhythmsof
speech. Let me quote fromtwo sentences before. . . 'One doesn't feel
that language is being coerced into the rigidityof form,but that
language is alive and fluid as it plays against the necessarystrictness
of the music'
What I thinkI was sayingis this: Calypso providesus with living
examples of a verycomplexmetricorganisationof language. It is not
simplya matterof using WI speech rhythmsand idioms,but of being
consciousof the syncopateddrum-rhythms in the backgroundof a 4/4
timesignaturebrokendown into semi-quaversso that one has a maxi-
mum of 16 syllablesper bar ... of the extremefreedom which this
createsnot onlyin the music,but in the bendingof wordsto match the
sinuositiesof rhythm. I am probablywrong,but I felt that because
Sparrow'smusical language is so close to that of speech,theremust be
somethingin the speech itselfwhich hearkens towardsmusic.
Now, our poets have always been conscious of WI speech. Derek
Walcott uses it in a poem like
Poopa da was, a fête; ah mean it had
Free rum free whiskyand some fellas beating
Pan fromone o dem band in Trinidad...
to play against the traditionalpentametricalstructureof the English
sonnet. . . Compare the first line of Toopa' with, say, Shakespeare's
'Not marble nor the gilded monuments' (etc.) and you will find a

92

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
beautifulcounterpointing.The ear accustomed to traditionalEnglish
rhythms(and many WI ears are) is continuallysurprisedby the rush
and lightnessof the movementof Walcott's poem which seems, but
only seems, to ignore the martial rigidityof the heroic metre,where
stressesare fairlypredictable,as in a quick-stepor fox-trot. It seems
to me that one assumes the presence of the main stress and forgets
about it ... that (to use a musicalImage) the bass is therein the back-
ground,but no longerto keep time.
Poopa d& was ä fete a mean ¥t had
FreS rum fre£whisky&nd some f&läs béatìhg
Pan frtfmon& ö dem band ïn TrÌnfàad.

Now compare this with say Marlow'sheroic verse

What is beauty saith my sufferingsthen
If all the pens that ever poets held
Had fed the jewels of their masters' thoughts. . .

It is an extremeexample chosen to give an idea of the rigidityof

the heroic metre; but we can see where Walcott departed from this
and at the same time how the older formremains in the background.
One notes e.g. 'a mean it had* at the end of the firstline, where the
verseobeys fora momentthe dictates of traditionalmetrics. And one
notes the completechange of tone and metre in the last part of the
poem
And it was round this part once that the heart
Of a youngchild was torn fromit alive
By two practitionersof native art . .
A change of tone,a change of metre,a swingback to the traditional.
Is it ironicthat the voice of serious reflectionshould be so traditional
and so English?
It seems that I am providingthe best argumentagainst myself.
In fact this poem of Walcott'sis like 'Parang' somethingof an excep-
tion in his work.
I have only just noted, by the way, the similaritybetween the
thumpof heroic verse and the thumpof most English dance rhythms,
which are unsyncopated,simple, and obviously influenced by the
march. . .Pompand Circumstance. The differencebetweenCalypso and
Quick-step,both of which have the same time signature,is similar to
the differencebetweena Sydneysonnet,say, and Walcott's'Poopa! da
was a fête/ The one marches,the other trips.
Now about Rights. Did I mention that I found your calypso
remarkableforits metricorganisationof speech rhythmto suggestthe
syncopationof music? I am sure that I did so in a formerletter,that
I told you or Doris this last weekend. This is, in fact,the best example
I know of the rhythmsof calypso being exploited by a WI poet to
heightenthe rhythmicpotentialof speech. Walcott achieves one kind

93

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
oí counterpoint,you another. Let us thereforelook a littlemoreclosely
at 'Calypso.' You will,of course,appreciatethat my stressesmay vary
fromyours. I mentionedhow I differedfromMaureen Warner when
we tried to determinewhere the strong stresses should be placed in
some of Sparrow'skaisos.
'The stone h&d skidded arc'd and bloomedïnto islands
Cuba and San Dominga.
Problemsimmediately. The strongstress on 'arc'd' detracts from
the strongstress on 'skidded,'plays against it and moderates it. I
would have only a moderatestress on 'islands' and so on.
And #fcourse ¥t was a wonderfultime
time
X profitablehospitable?wéll-wiSrth-yòur
When captains carried receiptsf8r rices.

Accordingto the music rhythms'was' in the firstline ought to be

stressed. Accordingto the speech rhythmsit ought not. The verse
falls back into stricttimewiththe thirdline 'when captains' etc. . . . and
this contrasts with the extra semiquaver passage in 'a profitable
hóspYtable'etc. Compare 'an elSgSnt bètaevtfl#nt rédÔlèhttime' where
a similar thing (but not quite the same) is being achieved. In steel-
band the counterpointstrumfor the line 'a profitablehospitablewell-
worth-your time' wouldbe played by the second pans, and the counter-
point strum for 'an elegant benevolentredolenttime' would be played
by the guitars.
Now let's considera calypso Robberywith V
n8 stage personality
(X man wïth) nó tfrfgftiárfty
They tryingtö m&e me ltfoksmall.
'Make' may be light,heavy or moderatedependingon the mood of
the calypsonian. The rattling (altt#) rhythmrecurs throughoutthe
kaiso and conveysSparrow'sbitternessand contemptforthe king they
chose.
Take another example, Simpson
It w& Simpson,the fiin&a'l agency man
wYd ë cóffíhïn ë han
Yìm mean to sàV ytfudon't kn8wSimpsonthe funeraletc.
That 'You mean to say you don't know' is one of the extremeuses
of the semi-quaverpassage in Sparrow. Gunslingershas a passage
Nearly gveryyoungman ïs S gtínslfngèr
WÏd Ï ràztfrSnd S ste'elknuckle'¿Sn« fíngfr. . .
Again one is uncertainof quantities. But am I making my point
or any worthwhilepoint? My point is that we can create the metrical
equivalent of heroic verse by a consciousnessof the extremevariety

94

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
of our speech rhythmsand our musical rhythms. After all the
Elizabethan Lyric is being read as poetry. . . Are we conscious of this
great variety? Sparrow published a book with 120 calypsoes each of
which meritscarefulmetricalstudyand analysis. There are calypsoes
withlong lines,calypsoeswithshortlines, all sortsof calypsoes.Under-
standinghow they have been organised,determininghow far one can
use some of theirrhythmsto gain veryun-calypsoeffects,or how much
the words can be consideredon their own ... all this remains to be
done. A vast job. I get the feeling that whenever our poets (a
dangerous generalisationI know) consider our speech rhythmsthey
feel like pioneers confrontinga vast unmapped world which promises
to be exciting. I don't know how much they are conscious that this
world has been thoroughlymapped, explored,exploited and presented
to them for their benefitby Sparrow (and by so many others). You
know more about our poets than I, and I was rash to make the kind
of statementI did. But are they conscious? By the way I ought to
have mentionedA. J. Seymour'spoem To a Calypsonian (is that the
name?). It begins... 'A thousand runningradios blare your song...'
and remindsthe calypsonian (Kitch I thinkit is) 'Rememberthat the
childrenneed fatherstoo
Moralityto misery
You celebrate for the world to see.'
It was published in Kyk-over-aland I sometimeswonder why it
has never been anthologised. Seymourtoo uses calypso rhythmscon-
sciouslyand well, to examine the calypso mind.
Finally,you said that academic criticslike myselfwhen discussing
'dialect/poetry'start off with the preconceptionthat an artist like
Sparrowis in some way an entirelydifferent being froman artist like
yourselfor Derek or any of the others. I am really sorrythat this is
the impressionI conveyed,since I thoughtthat by applyingto Sparrow's
workthe strictestacademic standards I was really placing him on par
with any other artist. A distinctioncan obviouslybe drawn fromhis
unself-consciousexploitationof language and rhythmand that of the
'academic poet' who must,because of his great weightof learning,be
self-conscious. But don't get me wrong. I don't think that Sparrow
uses words carelessly,that his art is 'natural,' spontaneous,''native,'
fullof an 'unsophisticatedvitality'etc. I thinkhis mind and ironyare
sophisticatedin the importantsense of the word. They are the result
of a full and alive awareness... I think him a betterartist than most
of our poets. Intellectual patronage was the last thing I wanted to
suggest. If I didn't make the comparisonwith the rest of WI poetry,
that was because I was so sleepy after a night'sworkthat I forgotor
gave up. Moreoveryou see how much time such a comparisonwould
have required,foreven now,I probablyhaven't made myselfclear.

Brathwaite: I agree with you that not enough has been so far
made of our speech rhythmsby our poets - though your qualitative
analysis is revealing. More will be done as 'dialect' becomes
validated by criticssuch as yourself. We've left out of our discussion

95

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
so fartheone undoubted mistressofthisworld- LouiseBennett.Here
thepoemslivein performance do; and thisto me
as the calypsonians'
is themostimportant aspectofthebusiness. I thinktoothatwe must
lookat thecalypsoas onlya partof a muchwiderand richertradition
whichincludesfolksong,folktale and 'oralperformances'suchas tea-
meetingspeeches. I've beentryingto say something aboutthisin my
'Jazzand the WestIndianNovel'at presentappearingin BIM.

96

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.109 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:48:03 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions