Le Loupgarou

Poet/Author: Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott was born in Castries, Saint Lucia on
January 23, 1930. As he grew up he began writing
short poems at a very tender age. His first poem
(in 1944) was published in the voice newspaper
when he was only 14 at the time. Walcott later
attended the University of the West Indies where
he continued to publish writings and excelling in
his performance. In 1922 Derek Walcott received
the Nobel Prize for literature. Walcott was
influenced by great writers such as William
Shakespeare and T.S Eliot. This may have led to
him setting high standards for himself, which
caused him to excel greatly.

Title:
This poem was given the French based name Le
Loupgarou for its English translation The
werewolf. The story was given this name because
it speaks of a tale being spread around the city of
Old Le Brun about him being a werewolf.

Speaker:
The speaker of the story is the narrator. In the story
he seems to side with the womens story as he
mentions it without any doubt.

Tone:
The words and various literary devices Walcott
uses gives the poem a very vivid, dark image.

Mood:
This poem contains a very horrific atmosphere.

Diction:
In the poem some simple words are used, but are
carefully put together. Christian Witches for
example which says the women are witches- evil
people who present themselves at Christians. The
Author used words which described the scene very
well.

Content:
Line 1-2: A curious tale that threaded through the
town, through greying women sewing under
eaves.

First off, by using the word curious it tells that the

author was probably skeptical of the story. By using
threaded, Walcott implied that the story was
closely knit, meaning it was spread without
bursting, having a firm sew. He later says that is
was threaded through greying women, this means
that the story was being spread by elderly women.
The other half says sewing under eaves. This can
be taken literally or figuratively. The ladies can
either be sitting sewing some material or sitting
sewing or spreading the story.
Line 3: Was how his greed had brought old Le Brun
down
This says that old Le Bruns greed was the result of
his downfall.
Line 4-5: Greeted by slowly shutting jalousies
when he approached them in white-linen suit,
This explains how the people reacted to old Le
Bruns presence. When he approached their homes
wearing a white-linen suit they closed their
jalousies. By describing his clothes as white-linen
suits this means that Le Brun had some sort of
wealth, most likely in these days to be a planter.

Line 6: Pink glasses, cork hat, and tap-tapping

cane,
This further describes his attire, showing that,
indeed, he was a wealthy man.
Line 7-8: A dying man licensed to sell sick fruit,
ruined by fiends with whom he had made a
bargain.
The term a dying man can be taken either literally
or figuratively. Mr. Le Brun can either be dying
spiritually as a result of his evil deeds or dying,
because he was getting old. Ruined by the fiends
with whom he had made a bargain states that part
of the story talks about Mr. Le Brun making a
bargain with demons. The fiends have obviously
ruined him by making him a werewolf.

Line 9: It seems one night, these Christian witches

said,
Continuing with the tale he said coming from the
Christian witches. This helps the reader
understand that although the ladies pretended to
be Christians, they were actually witches.

Line 10-11: He changed himself to an Alsatian

hound, a slavering lycanthrope hot on a scent.
The tale went that the fiends had ruined Mr. Le
Brun by turning him into a werewolf. This here
describes what he transforms into. It also mentions
the Lycanthrope being hot on a scent. This can
help us imagine the movement of the creature
alike a dog which smelled fresh food.
Line 12: But his old watchman dealt the thing a
wound
Mr. Le Bruns watchman unknowingly struck him
most likely out of fear. The watchman wounded the
werewolf.
Line 13-14: Which howled and lugged its entrails,
trailing wet, with blood back to its doorstep almost
dead.
When the werewolf was hit it shrieked in pain. The
werewolf then struggles to carry its own entrails or
organs, wet with blood back to his doorstep half
dead, which meant the wound was very serious.