THE DISCOVERY – J.C.

SQUIRE
SUBJECT MATTER
The poem is about the discovery of America by Columbus in
1492. It is written from the viewpoint of the discovered: the
native American. In fact, in the first stanza, we are introduced to
the Indian ‘who strayed content along a sunlit beach /
Gathering shells.’ He leads a carefree and harmonious life.
However, his peace is shattered with the arrival of Columbus’s
caravels. The Indian is amazed as he has never seen anything
similar before. To him, they are moving ‘by magic’ as there are
no oars. He refers to the sails as ‘bellying cloths on poles’ and to
the flags as ‘fluttering coloured signs.’
In the last sestet, the Indian realises that he is naked and alone, consequently he feels
afraid. He feels vulnerable in the face of these strange circumstances. He tries to hide
behind a stone to see ‘Columbus’s doom-burdened caravels.’ Things are going to change for
the Indian and his idyllic life has been shattered completely.

THEME
Progress is inevitable in spite of the negative consequences it may bring about. Nothing can
stop history from taking its course.
The theme of change is also present as our life is full of changes and we cannot stop certain
events from happening. Change is intertwined with our lives.
TONE/MOOD
In the beginning of the poem, there is a sense of awe as the Indian hears the strange noise
and sees the caravels. He is so surprised that he ‘gasped for speech.’ Eventually, this awe
turns to fear as he realises that he is alone against these ‘doom-burdened caravels’ and their
‘clambering crews.’
STRUCTURE
The poem is made up of two quatrains and a sestet and each line is decasyllabic. Its rhyme
scheme pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEGFG. The poem is a modern sonnet since it is a
combination of the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet. It is also written in iambic
pentameter.
DICTION
The poem has a lot of words which are associated with the sea such as ‘beach,’ ‘shells,’
‘bay,’ ‘sea,’ ‘canoes,’ ‘oar’, ‘shore,’ and ‘caravels’.

In the first two quatrains, we encounter several positive words such as ‘strayed content,’
‘sunlit beach,’ ‘magic’ and ‘coloured’. These reflect the harmonious life the Indian is leading.
However, in the last sestet, the diction becomes negative as the Indian senses that his idyllic

Year 10 Poetry - The Discovery by J.C. Squire - Note Page 1 of

3
life is over. This negativity is conveyed with words such as ‘fear,’ ‘alone,’ ‘fallen hands,’
‘pale’ and ‘doom-burdened.’
Besides, we also notice that the basic
monosyllabic words used at the beginning are
replaced by complex polysyllabic words such as
‘doom-burdened caravels.’ These foreshadow
the shattered life of the Indian.

IMAGERY
huge canoes – metaphor which refers to
Columbus’s ships. The Indians used canoes and
had never seen a ship before.

with bellying cloths on poles – metaphor in which the full-blown sails are compared to
bellying cloths whereas the masts are referred to as ‘poles.’

fluttering coloured signs – metaphor which is referring to the flags, again from the Indian’s
point of view.

doom-burdened caravels – metaphor which shows that the ships have brought doom and
gloom to the Indian. His freedom has been usurped.

And stared, and saw, and did not understand, - polysyntendon – repetition of and.

SOUND
sudden strange – alliteration of ‘s’. It evokes a sinister effect, which suggests that the
Indian’s happiness is distracted and will eventually be destroyed.

clambering crews – alliteration of ‘k’ sound. The harsh alliteration suggests the difficulty for
the crew to climb the rope ladders up the masts. It could also allude to the difficulty for the
Indian to understand the strange alien language of the crew.

his fallen hands forgetting all their shells – the soft alliteration effectively conveys the
vulnerability of the Indian in the face of these strange circumstances.

and stared and saw – alliteration of s which gives a sinister effect.

RHYTHM
In the first three lines of the poem, the rhythm is rather calm and mellifluous to reflect the
free and harmonious life the Indian is leading when man is at one with nature. This is further
accentuated by the use of run-on lines and lack of punctuation marks. However, there is a
shift from the fourth line onwards when the Indian is awed by what he sees. At this point,
the rhythm becomes slower and heavier. This can be seen in the frequent use of
punctuation and caesuras. This change reflects the fear the Indian is experiencing and also

Year 10 Poetry - The Discovery by J.C. Squire - Note Page 2 of

3
the fact that his tranquillity has been shattered completely. His life will never be the same
again. His life is being held in a stranglehold now.

Year 10 Poetry - The Discovery by J.C. Squire - Note Page 3 of

3