Like an Heiress

"Like an Heiress" by Grace Nichols

Context

Grace Nichols is a Guyanese-British poet known for her exploration of identity, heritage, and the natural world. Her work often reflects her experiences with migration and the Caribbean, but in "Like an Heiress", Nichols shifts focus to broader environmental concerns. The poem critiques society's disregard for nature and highlights the consequences of pollution. Nichols emphasises the need for a reconnection with the natural world and explores nostalgia, responsibility, and the fate of the planet.

The Poem

Like an heiress, drawn to the light of her

eye-catching jewels, Atlantic draws me

to the mirror of my oceanic small-days.

But the beach is deserted except for a lone

wave of rubbish against the seawall -

used car tyres, plastic bottles, styrofoam cups

rightly tossed back by an ocean's moodswings.

Undisturbed, not even by a sea bird,

I stand under the sun's burning treasury

gazing out at the far-out gleam of Atlantic

before heading back like a tourist

to the sanctuary of my hotel room

to dwell in the air-conditioned coolness

on the quickening years and fate of our planet.

5 Quotes + Analysis to Achieve a Grade 9

1. Metaphor: "Like an heiress, drawn to the light of her eye-catching jewels"

• Analysis: This metaphor highlights the speaker's deep emotional connection to the ocean, suggesting it is both beautiful and valuable, like the jewels an heiress would inherit. The metaphor also implies a sense of entitlement and responsibility, as an heiress has the duty to care for her inheritance—here, symbolising the natural world.

2. Nostalgia: "the mirror of my oceanic small-days"

• Analysis: The ocean is described as a mirror, reflecting the speaker's childhood memories, a symbol of nostalgia. This connection evokes a longing for the past when the ocean was pristine, suggesting the emotional depth the speaker feels for the sea and its role in her early life.

3. Imagery: "a lone wave of rubbish against the seawall"

• Analysis: The image of a lonely wave of rubbish starkly contrasts with the earlier nostalgic tone of the poem. It highlights the reality of environmental degradation, with everyday pollutants such as car tyres and plastic bottles marring the beauty of the ocean. This image is symbolic of human impact on nature, as the ocean is overwhelmed by human waste.

4. Personification: "rightly tossed back by an ocean's moodswings"

• Analysis: The ocean is personified, with its "moodswings" symbolising the unpredictable nature of the environment. This suggests that the ocean is reacting to human actions, yet still unable to cope with the pollution being forced upon it. It reflects the inability of nature to withstand the overwhelming effects of human waste.

5. Contemplation: "the quickening years and fate of our planet"

• Analysis: This line captures the speaker's growing concern about the accelerating pace of environmental degradation. The word "quickening" indicates urgency, as the speaker realises the rapid deterioration of the planet due to climate change and human activity. The phrase also evokes a sense of helplessness, suggesting that, like the ocean, humanity may be helpless in addressing the environmental crisis.

Key Imagery and Symbols

• The Heiress Metaphor: The speaker compares herself to an heiress, suggesting that the ocean is a valuable inheritance that has been marred by pollution. Just as an heiress must care for her inheritance, humanity must protect the natural world, though this duty is often ignored.
• The Ocean: The Atlantic Ocean symbolises both the beauty and power of nature, as well as its vulnerability to human impact. Its "moodswings" capture the idea of an environment that is both reacting to and suffering from human actions.
• Rubbish and Pollution: The wave of rubbish, comprising tyres, plastic bottles, and styrofoam cups, symbolises the pollution and destruction of natural spaces, highlighting humanity's disregard for the environment.
• The Hotel Room: The hotel room, with its air-conditioned coolness, symbolises humanity's detachment from the environmental crisis. It represents a place of retreat, where the speaker contemplates the fate of the planet but remains physically removed from the reality of the destruction.

Structure and Form

• Free Verse: The poem's free verse form reflects the unpredictable and chaotic nature of both the ocean and the environmental crisis. The lack of a regular rhyme scheme or metre mirrors the irregular state of the environment due to pollution.
• Shift in Structure: The poem moves from the nostalgic connection the speaker has to the ocean, through her recognition of pollution, to her withdrawal into isolation. This structural progression highlights the emotional journey from personal reflection to a broader concern for the environment.

Tone

• Reflective and Nostalgic: The beginning of the poem has a reflective and nostalgic tone as the speaker remembers the ocean of her childhood. This sets the stage for the contrast with the polluted present.
• Concerned and Thoughtful: The tone shifts to a more concerned and thoughtful mood as the speaker acknowledges the destruction of the ocean. The shift in tone mirrors the speaker's growing awareness of environmental degradation.
• Detached and Resigned: By the end of the poem, the speaker's retreat into her hotel room conveys a sense of detachment and resignation. Despite her concern for the ocean, she withdraws into the comfort of modern life, symbolising humanity's tendency to distance itself from the consequences of environmental destruction.

Example Practice Question

Example Paragraph for a Grade 9 Answer:

In "Like an Heiress," Nichols contrasts the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean with the harsh reality of human pollution. Through the metaphor of the ocean as an heiress, the speaker underscores the value and responsibility humans have toward nature, yet this inheritance is being tainted by pollution. The "lone wave of rubbish" and the ocean's "moodswings" symbolise the ocean's rejection of human waste, while the retreat to the hotel room highlights human detachment from environmental issues. This mirrors the concerns presented in other poems, where poets explore the tension between nature's beauty and humanity's damaging influence, urging readers to confront the pressing environmental crisis.