In his poem “The Return of the Spoiler,” 1992 Nobel Laureate in Literature Derek Walcott praises the Holy Ghost of Calypso. He implies that the protagonist, Spoiler, is based on John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, in his story “The Return of the Spoiler” (1647-1680) (Boynton 761). They are satirists of the highest kind, wishing they could swap places with lower-life forms. This article examines Spoiler’s Return through the lenses of formalism, feminism, and post-colonialism.
Firstly, the story is set in a political climate, and the protagonists are victims who choose to remain silent rather than speak out against the wrongdoings of their leaders. As the poem’s opening lines state, “Behind dark spectacles is the simply empty skull, and black remain impoverished, and while black is lovely,” the idea of poverty is central throughout Spoiler Return (Boynton 763). These limits provide light on how he scuttled the revived contemporary independence and how reality wrecked the country’s moral foundation and so supplied spoilers for his return. The connection between the two ironies emphasizes the parallels between Spoiler’s two homes, Hell and Laventille.
Moreover, the elite women are the primary targets in Spoiler’s Return Poem. The aspect of feminism looms large in many poems to inspire female readers and campaign for women’s rights. However, women in this poem are ironically inferior; the main objective of the Spoiler’s return is to bite all the young, big, fat ladies (Boynton 761). He values status, desire, and decency in women from the upper class.
The colony’s racial culture and political condition in the Spoiler’s Return Poem are epitomized by the Spoiler’s prey, his choice of women. The controversy of class and immorality dominates the Trinidad populace and the current United States (Boynton 761). He consequently utilizes humor to criticize the elite class of society, a populist expression of comfort within the upper class. The spoiler eyes the society’s extraordinary, respectable, and noble women.
In conclusion, most leaders believe their power and authority are threatened by peace and therefore opt for violence, compromising the safety of the commoners. Enhancing peace is a delegate maneuver, a risk exposed by the spoilers. Equally, the poem is satirical of the female gender, and instances of sexual immorality and poverty are dominant. The poem emphasizes beauty and status; with the poor having little to no rights to expression, they choose silence over action, an epitome of the current state of leadership.
Work Cited
Boynton, T. J. “Postcolonial types of ambiguity: On Interculturality and Anglo-phone Poetic Form.” College Literature 46.4 2019: 761–794.