Give comparison between the two poems Ol' Higue and le' Loupgarou?
Folklore exists in many cultures throughout the world. Folklore
in the form of tales, myths and legends is passed from generation
to generation through the oral tradition. Folklore in the Caribbean
has been drawn from the rich and diverse backgrounds of our
ancestors who came from various parts of the world. Our ancestors
brought with them their language, culture, religious beliefs and
practices, and their tradition of storytelling. The tales of
demons, ghosts, zombies and spirits have been fascinating for the
young and old alike, and variations of these stories have been told
again and again. "Le Loupgarou" and "Ol' Higue" share similar
characteristics as they are both based on Caribbean folklore.
"Le Loupgarou" means werewolf or lagahoo. Fittingly, Derek
Walcott's poem tells a tale of a man named Le Brun. He sold his
soul to the devil and so he changes into a werewolf at night. He is
ostracized by the village and lives all alone in a small old house.
Similarly, "Ol' Higue by Mark Mcwatt is a poem about what Caribbean
people would call a soucouyant which is in essence, a female
vampire that takes off her old skin at night and turns into a fire
ball, lurking through the nights to feed on her poor victims.
Interestingly enough, the soucouyant is the female counterpart for
the lagahoo. The old woman is "Ol' Higue", like Le Brun, lives
alone in an old house. She almost never comes outside during the
day as her feeding is done at night. She doesn't like children and
isn't amiable by nature which are also characteristic of Le
Brun.
Walcott's poem opens with the line "A curious tale" suggesting
that we, already from the beginning, should be questioning the
verity of the story since tale usually is associated with fiction.
"Ol' Higue" doesn't indicate that it is a fictitious story but as
Caribbean people, it is easy to come to the conclusion just from
the first stanza that she is a soucouyant.
