POEM: NATURE

PREPARED BY: MR SHUKRI

Nature by H.D Carberry

Biodata of H. D. Carberry, 1921-1989

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.

Nature by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter
Neither Autumn nor Spring.
We have instead the days
When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefieldsMagnificently.
The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs
And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies
And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees
And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood
blossom
When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,
When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

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

Beauty of nature

Appreciation of one owns country

Differences in appearances but similar in effects

MORAL VALUES

We should appreciate what we have in our own country

We should not long for what we do not have.

We should be aware that different people have different skills or beauty.

TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

Appreciative and happy

Carefree and light-hearted

Sense of beauty

POINT OF VIEW

Third person point of view

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

Simple and easy to understand the language

Clear and descriptive

Simple style with no rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES

Imagery e.g. gold sun, lush green fields, trees struggling

Alliteration e.g. sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air

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

GUANGO TREE

LOGWOOD

BUTTERCUP

EXERCISES:
1. Which line in the poem suggests that the winds are blowing strongly?
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2. Based on the poem, what crop is being harvested?
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3. What do the buttercups look like in the poem?

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4. Do you like the poem? Give a reason.
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5. State the two weather conditions in Jamaica as stated in the poem.
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6. What can be heard in the bushes?
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7. Name two element of nature found in the poem.
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8. Would you like to live in a place like Jamaica? Give a reason.
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9. Which fruit is mentioned in the poem?
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10. What does the line And there is no sound but the swish of water in the gullies
suggests?
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11. Which word in the poem suggests a sense of smell?
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12. Which season do you like best? Give a reason.
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13. Why the word gold used to describe the sun?

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14. Write down two words from the poem which are related to the parts of a
house.
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15. Write down two words from the poem which are related to canefields ready to
be harvested.
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