“Hurricane Hits England” was written by the poet Grace Nichols, who was born in Guyana and moved to England in 1977. The poem’s speaker, who can be read as a representation of Nichols herself, is an immigrant living in England. When a hurricane hits the English coast, the speaker wonders why this familiar feature of her childhood in the West Indies has followed her to such a vastly different landscape. Ultimately, the hurricane brings the speaker to a new sense of home and identity, as she comes to understand that “the earth is the earth is the earth.” Nichols first published the poem in her 1996 collection titled Sunris.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “Hurricane Hits England”
The Full Text of “Hurricane Hits England”
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Summary
-
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Themes
-
Home and the Natural World
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-37
-
Immigrant Identity and Belonging
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-37
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Hurricane Hits England”
-
Lines 1-2
It took a ...
... To the landscape -
Lines 3-7
Half the night ...
... Fearful and reassuring: -
Lines 8-12
Talk to me ...
... sweeping, back-home cousin. -
Lines 13-18
Tell me why ...
... In new places? -
Lines 19-22
The blinding illumination, ...
... Into further darkness? -
Lines 23-26
What is the ...
... Their cratered graves? -
Lines 27-31
O why is ...
... of your storm. -
Lines 32-37
Ah, sweet mystery, ...
... is the earth.
-
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Symbols
-
The Hurricane
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-37
-
Light and Darkness
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 19: “blinding illumination”
- Line 22: “further darkness”
-
The Frozen Lake
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 33: “the frozen lake”
-
Trees and Roots
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 23-26: “What is the meaning of trees / Falling heavy as whales / Their crusted roots / Their cratered graves?”
- Lines 34-35: “Shaking the foundations of the very trees / within me,”
-
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Apostrophe
Where apostrophe appears in the poem:- Lines 8-37
-
Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 8: “Huracan”
- Line 9: “Oya”
- Line 10: “Shango”
- Line 11: “Hattie”
- Line 28: “Oya”
-
Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 6: “Like some dark ancestral spectre”
- Lines 23-24: “trees / Falling heavy as whales”
-
Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 4: “The howling ship of the wind”
- Line 16: “old tongues”
- Line 26: “Their cratered graves”
- Line 27: “heart unchained”
- Line 33: “the frozen lake in me”
-
Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Line 6: “Like some dark ancestral spectre”
- Lines 8-12: “Talk to me Huracan / Talk to me Oya / Talk to me Shango / And Hattie / My sweeping, back-home cousin.”
- Lines 13-14: “Tell me why you visit / An English coast?”
- Lines 20-22: “as you short- / Circuit us / Into further darkness?”
- Lines 28-29: “Tropical Oya of the Weather, / I am aligning myself to you,”
- Lines 33-37: “Come to break the frozen lake in me, / Shaking the foundations of the very trees / within me, / Come to let me know / That the earth is the earth is the earth.”
-
Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Line 4: “The howling ship of the wind”
- Line 6: “some dark ancestral spectre”
- Lines 19-22: “The blinding illumination, / Even as you short- / Circuit us / Into further darkness”
- Lines 23-26: “trees / Falling heavy as whales / Their crusted roots / Their cratered graves”
- Lines 33-35: “Come to break the frozen lake in me, / Shaking the foundations of the very trees / within me”
-
Anaphora
Where anaphora appears in the poem:- Line 8: “Talk to me”
- Line 9: “Talk to me”
- Line 10: “Talk to me”
- Line 25: “Their”
- Line 26: “Their”
- Line 29: “I am”
- Line 30: “I am”
- Line 31: “I am”
- Line 33: “Come to”
- Line 36: “Come to”
-
Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 30: “your winds”
- Line 31: “mystery,” “your storm”
- Line 32: “mystery”
- Line 33: “in me”
- Line 35: “within me”
- Line 37: “the earth is the earth is the earth”
-
Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Half”
- Line 4: “howling”
- Line 25: “crusted”
- Line 26: “cratered”
- Line 30: “movement”
- Line 31: “mystery”
- Line 32: “mystery”
- Line 33: “frozen”
- Line 34: “foundations”
-
Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 3: “Half”
- Line 4: “howling”
- Line 6: “Like,” “some,” “dark,” “ancestral,” “spectre”
- Line 7: “reassuring”
- Line 19: “blinding illumination”
- Line 20: “short”
- Line 21: “Circuit,” “us”
- Line 22: “darkness”
- Line 25: “crusted,” “roots”
- Line 26: “cratered,” “graves”
- Line 30: “movement”
- Line 31: “mystery,” “storm”
- Line 32: “mystery”
- Line 33: “break,” “frozen,” “lake”
- Line 34: “Shaking,” “foundations”
-
Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 4: “howling ship,” “wind”
- Line 6: “ancestral spectre”
- Line 23: “meaning,” “trees”
- Line 26: “cratered graves”
- Line 27: “unchained”
- Line 29: “to you”
- Line 30: “movement”
- Line 31: “your storm”
- Line 32: “sweet,” “mystery”
- Line 33: “break,” “lake,” “me”
- Line 34: “Shaking,” “foundations,” “very,” “trees”
- Line 35: “me”
-
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Ancestral spectre
- Huracan, Oya, and Shango
- Hattie
- Old tongues
- Reaping havoc
- Illumination
- Short-circuit
- Cratered
-
(Location in poem: Line 6: “Like some dark ancestral spectre,”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Hurricane Hits England”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Speaker
-
-
“Hurricane Hits England” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Hurricane Hits England”
-
-
More “Hurricane Hits England” Resources
-
External Resources
-
The Poem Out Loud — Listen to Grace Nichols read “Hurricane Hits England,” along with several other of her poems, at the Poetry Archive of the English Arts Council. This website also includes a brief biography of Nichols.
-
Biography of Grace Nichols — Learn more about the poet's life and work in this biographical article from the British Council. This page also includes a bibliography of Nicholss’ books and a critical essay on her work.
-
An Interview with Grace Nichols — Read this interview with Grace Nichols, along with interviews with other leading Black poets in the UK, about race, justice, and "the power of poetry."
-
The Great Storm — Read about the Great Storm, the cyclone that hit the English coast in 1987 and inspired this poem.
-
Caribbean Immigration to the UK — Learn more about Caribbean immigration to the UK, particularly in the period following World War II. This article also explores how Caribbean immigrants played a major role in rebuilding England after the war.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Grace Nichols
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
