The Discovery
by J.C. Squire
There was an Indian, who had known no change,
Who strayed content along a sunlit beach
Gathering shells. He heard a sudden strange
Commingled noise: looked up; and gasped for speech.
For in the bay, where nothing was before,
Moved on the sea, by magic, huge canoes,
With bellying cloths on poles, and not one oar,
And fluttering coloured signs and clambering crews.
And he, in fear, this naked man alone,
His fallen hands forgetting all their shells,
His lips gone pale, knelt low behind a stone,
And stared, and saw, and did not understand,
Columbus’s doom-burdened caravels
Slant to the shore, and all their seamen land.
Turn over for the questions
The Discovery
Structure
Petrarchan/Italian sonnet. = octave
Sestet
J.C Squire
(8 lines)
(6 lines) ababcdcd efeghg
The title refers to the discovery of North America by Christopher Columbus but also to the native
Indian’s discovery of the alien white man and his strange, terrifying culture.
St 1 Mood of the first two and a half lines is peaceful, reflecting the peaceful way of life enjoyed by
the Indians prior to the arrival of the white man. Long vowels slow down the pace - content, sunlit,
strayed etc. There is a change in mood and pace as the Indian hears and sees strange things out at
sea. He looked up, gasped. Pace is speeded up and mood is startled/ fearful.
St 2
The sight seems magical to the primitive Indian. The ships are in his mind, huge canoes that
are not powered by paddles as his own are but that seem to have cloths with huge bellies on poles
(personification). Nor has he seen flags before and refers to them as signs.
St 3 He drops his shells in fear (used instead of money) as these strange craft move into shore,
their sails slanting in the wind. They are doom-burdened caravels (speedy sailing ships).They bring
death and destruction to the native Indians of America (guns, disease) Burdened has the connotation
of a heavy load. The burden symbolizes the heavy burden of guilt the white man must bear for the
destruction of the Indian culture. The Indian does not understand. He does not understand what is
physically happening as the strangers arrive on his beach, and he does not understand the dreadful
implications of their arrival.
Questions:
1. The main topic of this poem is:A. Columbus’s discovery of India in 1492;
B. A man walking on a beach collecting shells;
C. The reaction of a simple islander to seeing Europeans for the first time;
D. A sailing ship.
(1)
2. Stanza 1: Quote one finite verb that conveys the Indian’s reaction.
(1)
3. What evidence is there that the man on the beach has not had any contact with Europeans before?
(2)
4. Stanza 2: Explain why the ‘Indian’ describes Columbus’s ship as a “canoe”.
(2)
5. Stanza 3: Quote the pronoun that is the subject of the verb ‘knelt’.
(1)
6. Stanza 3: What is the poet conveying by describing Columbus’s caravels as “doom-burdened”?
(2)
7.1. Who is discovering whom in this poem?
(1)
7.2. How is this different from the traditional view of history?
(1)
8. What is the poet’s intention in this poem?
(2)
9. Write out the Rhyme scheme of the first 8 lines.
(1)
10. Give two reasons why we would call this poem a sonnet.
(2)
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