Practice Questions

EGYPT, TOBAGO

Patricia Li

Q1. What is the grizzled bear referred to in the poem?

(1 mark)
Q2. What is the effect of this image?
(1 mark)
Q3. What evidence is there to suggest the woman was actually the narrators daughter? Provide
TWO examples.
(2 marks)
Q4. Identify the technique used in the following lines and explain its effect:
This silent ceiling over silent sand.
(2 marks)
Q5. Identify the central paradox within this text and what is its effect? Provide TWO examples.
(3 marks)
Q6. What observations does the poet make about sexuality and women as construct? Include at
least 3 quotations and explanations. 1/2 page.
(6 marks)

Practice Questions

EGYPT, TOBAGO

Patricia Li

Q1. What is the grizzled bear referred to in the poem?

(1 mark - Correctly identifies as father)
The grizzled bear in Egypt, Tobago is symbolic of the father in this poem. The narrator is
presenting himself as this bear and his daughter as a quick fox.
Q2. What is the effect of this image?
(1 mark - Write about characteristics of a bear; protective, aggressive)
Walcotts use of metaphor likens the father to a grizzled bear. His fur is moulting and
silvered, suggesting that he has matured in the responsibilities of fatherhood and that he is at
peace with the thought of his daughter growing up. This represents his intense love and care for his
daughter. The father is aggressively protective of his daughter, as a bear would be of its cub.
Q3. Identify the technique used in the following lines and explain its effect:
This silent ceiling over silent sand.
(2 marks - 1 mark for correctly identifying technique.
1 mark for clear and detailed explanation of effect)
Sibilance is used in this line. The dominance of the s sound is evocative of the daughters sleep.
It creates a sense of serenity and draws out the duration of this line, as does the breath from the
sleeping daughter.
Q4. What evidence is there to suggest the woman was actually the narrators daughter? Provide
TWO examples.
(3 marks - 1 mark for examples
2 marks for clear and detailed explanations)
Walcott employs peripeteia in Egypt, Tobago effectively, and provides evidence to this plot twist
throughout the course of the text. The woman is initially portrayed as a partner, stretching her inert
sex near him like a sleeping cat. However, this is transposed in the final stanza. Foreshadowing is
manipulated several times, with the daughter sleeping with the soft engine of a child. The realism
behind this statement is truthful to the climax of this text. Further evidence is provided to suggest
that the sleeping woman is actually his daughter, in the explanation of the fathers emotions. It is
not lust.. not even love, but a great rage without clamour. This vehement passion is
connotative to that of a father-daughter relationship. He is not experiencing lust nor love, but an
indescribable zeal for his daughter.
Q5. Identify the central paradox within this text and what is its effect? Provide TWO examples.
(4 marks - 1 mark for correctly identifying paradox
1 mark for effect
1 mark for each example)

Practice Questions

EGYPT, TOBAGO

Patricia Li

The central paradox of Egypt, Tobago, is about the two nations of Egypt and Rome. These
contradicting countries are repeatedly juxtaposed by Walcott to emphasise the love the father has
for his child. His head is in Egypt, his feet in Rome is a seemingly impossible act. However, the
contrasting concept highlights how far-reaching the tenderness for his daughter is; it is so
passionate that it can cross over the world. The disparity between the nations is again used in the
lines over the dunes fades the mirage of the legions. This is suggesting that the barricades of
fatherhood, as problematic as Roman army divisions, are perishable to the fervent affection he has
for his daughter.

Q6. What observations does the poet make about sexuality and women as construct? Include at
least 2 quotations and explanations. 1/2 page.
(6 marks - 1 marks for intro sentence
2 marks for each quote
2 marks for each explanation)
Walcott makes an evident statement about the construct of women in society and in poetry in his
poem Egypt, Tobago. The sexuality of women is observed in this text, with the daughter originally
being illustrated as a mistress sleeping next to her lover. The plot twist revealed towards the end
supports the notion that everything else is vanity. This direct rhetoric is a moral message
communicated by Walcott, who indicates that women are too often thought of as sexual objects,
and not as somebodys sibling, daughter or mother. The reader is urged to reconsider their
misconception and think about the relationship between the essence of their views on women and
their interpretation of the opening lines. Walcott also employs metaphors, with the father watching
the carved door of her temple and staring at the fallen column. The architectural elements of
her face are not literal, but figurative. The visual imagery of this gives prominence to the concept of
sexuality, and its role in society as a construct. The views of women are built upon and developed,
but are fallen to the weights of their immorality. Walcott successfully observes sexuality and women
as construct in Egypt, Tobago.