Hurricane Hits England Essay Questions

Explore the transformative effect the hurricane has upon the speaker.

In the opening lines, the hurricane is characterized as an agent of change for the speaker: “It took a hurricane, to bring her closer / To the landscape.” The speaker is situated in a “new place” but is visited by “old tongues.” This contrast suggests the conflict within the poem; the speaker clearly is struggling with a sense of estrangement from the place where she currently lives, which doesn’t feel like “home” in the way the place where her cousin Hattie lives (“back-home”) does. The single line “O why is my heart unchained?” interrupts the flow of the poem and shows that the speaker is looking to be chained, or rooted, to something, presumably to the place where she lives. After aligning herself with Oya, a Yoruban god of storms, the speaker receives comfort and guidance within the “mystery” of the storm. Indeed, the storm which was first “howling” and “gathering rage” is now described as “sweet mystery” and welcomed to “break the frozen lake” within the speaker. The resolution comes in the last line —“the earth is the earth is the earth” — which speaks to a broader, more universal sense of “home,” such that the speaker can be home on Earth regardless of geographic location.

How does the poem address cultural identity and heritage?

From the title, we know that the current location of the storm and the speaker is England. Basic biographical information about the author aids with context: Grace Nichols immigrated from Guyana, a coastal country in South America, to England. When a powerful storm hits her current residence in England, the speaker interprets the winds and rains to be like a hurricane, a weather phenomenon endemic to the Caribbean region but improbable in England. This intentional mischaracterization creates significance around location and estrangement for the speaker; she describes the storm as “old tongues” visiting “new places.” She calls upon gods of differing cultures in the Americas and family “back home” for guidance. This suggests that the speaker seeks wisdom from sources “back home,” even when far away. She calls upon Oya, a Yoruban god of storms, to teach her. Oya informs her that “the earth is the earth is the earth,” suggesting a larger concept of home that transcends geographic borders. This final line reminds the speaker that one can find home in a new landscape simultaneously while keeping ties to her homeland.