La fortaleza asediada de las epopeyas caribeñas

Abstract: Our reading approaches Cahier d’un retour au pays natal by Aimé Césaire and Omeros by Derek Walcott from a comparative critical perspective with respect to the Western epic tradition and Caribbean antecedents such as Saint-John Perse’s work. We focus on the topic of the “besieged fortress” –a recurrent scenario in founding epics such as The Illiad and The Odyssey– in order to reflect over the constitution of a dialectics besiegers-besieged (attack and defense). Such dialectics can be observed through the representation of the insular space, in particular: the image of the sea and the shores constructed by the authors. Césaire and Walcott show different ideological and aesthetic positions which, in the face of a siege, translate into different views on history (turned to the past or open to the future). These are confronted, in turn, with Saint-John Perse’s view on history.Key words: Césaire- Cahier d’un retour au pays natal – Walcott - Omeros - epic