What is the literal conflict in carter revard's poem Discovery of the new world?

Answer 1

I think its supposed to represent the relationship between the colonists and the Native Americans. When the colonists first came to America, they felt entitled; everything was theirs and the natives were their "lawful food and prey and slaves". Englishmen totally took advantage of them. Also, when the Englishmen found out their religion and beliefs were different, which was represented by the "holographic rainbows" they found a "quite an interesting set of legends", they disregarded them because "they would not fit any of our truth-matrices". This shows how unwilling to accept new perspectives the colonists were, which is kind of ironic because that is why they fled in the first place. The speaker then talks about how their destiny is "to asterize this planet" because they "need this space and oxygen". The poem also references the diseases the colonists brought to the native people, stating "we'll get to study/the way our heart attacks and caners spread among them". In the end, it is resolved that the colonists are the ones who get to be "safe, rich, and happy here forever", which is exactly what happened in America.

I hope this was helpful..