Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

 

Two Seasons

(2000)

 

Valerie Bloom

(1956 – )

 

Notes

1  don': Jamaican English for don't

2  dem: Jamaican English for them
 

3  de: Jamaican English for the


5  poinciana: ต้นหางนกยูงฝรั่ง in Thai; Delonix regia, or the flame tree, so called because of its bright reddish-orange flowers; usually blooms from May to July

 

Poinciana or flame tree
  • "Poinciana Delonix Regia," The Flora of Emancipation Park
    The Poinciana has such rare beauty that it is often mentioned in several Caribbean poems. Also called Flamboyant, Flame Tree and Royal Poinciana, this tree grows to 15 metres in height and comes from Magadascar. It features feather-like leaves and reddish-brown flowers. It usually blooms between May and July.

 


7  guangu:

15  dervish:


17  fe: Jamaican English for to


25  peeni-wallie:


30  fee-fee:


40  cling-cling:



 

 

 

 

Study Questions

  • Listen to Valerie Bloom read "Two Seasons" as you read the text. What does her reading give to the text that your own does not?

  • What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does this compare to other aspects of the poem like its content, grammar or similes?

  • The European and American seasons are identified by name in the poem. Consider Bloom's description of the Jamaican seasons. How are they identified?
  • Compare Bloom's "Two Seasons" with H. D. Carberry's "Nature." How has Bloom rewritten that earlier poem?

            

 

 

Review Sheet


 

 

 

 

 

 


Sample Student Responses to Bloom's poem "Two Seasons"


Response 1:


 

 

 

 

 

Student Name

2202234 Introduction to the Study of English Literature

Acharn Puckpan Tipayamontri

June 3, 2009

Reading Response 1

 

Title

 

Text. 

Text.

 

 

 

 

 

            

 




Response 2:



Student Name

2202234 Introduction to the Study of English Literature

Acharn Puckpan Tipayamontri

September 6, 2011

Reading Response 1

 

Title


Text

 


        

 

 

Reference

 

 

Links

Jamaican English

 

Valerie Bloom

 

 

Reference

Martin, Alex, and Robert Hill. Modern Poetry. London: Cassell, 1991.
 

Further Reading

DeLoughrey, Elizabeth M., Renee K. Gosson, and George B. Handley, eds. Caribbean Literature and the Environment: Between Nature and Culture. Charlottesville: U of Virginia P, 2005.

Levy, Andrea. The Long Song. London: Headline Review, 2010.

Senior, Olive. Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage. St. Andrew: Twin Guinep, 2003.



 

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Last updated August 18, 2021