Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
An unnamed, omniscient speaker who seemingly lives in the town being described, referring to it as "home."
Form and Meter
Free verse in two quintets, a quatrain, and a longer eighteen-line stanza
Metaphors and Similes
The speaker describes the sea "eating" the land in a metaphor for its flooding. The sea is also described as "running" and "carrying," metaphorical representations of its movement. The sea is described as creating a "hum," a metaphor for the sound of its waves.
Alliteration and Assonance
The D sounds in "It came one day at the dead of night" are alliterative, creating an ominous rhythm. The assonant repetition of long "e" sounds in the phrase "the sea that eats" makes the refrain an especially musical and memorable part of the poem.
Irony
The sea, although (or perhaps because) it acts without intent or consciousness, is ironically able to produce so much damage that it seems cruel and intentional. Its lack of clear motive or malicious intent in fact makes its attack all the more bewildering.
Genre
Elegiac poem
Setting
This poem is set in a coastal African town that has been flooded.
Tone
Mournful, sad
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are the townspeople, while the sea itself is the antagonist
Major Conflict
The poem's major conflict is the town residents' attempt to cope with the emotional and material effects of the flood.
Climax
The poem's climax is the speaker's description of Adena, which hints at the total destruction of the things she loves: "the trinkets which / Were her dowry and her joy."
Foreshadowing
The opening line, explaining that the sea is "in the town," foreshadows that the natural world's status quo has been upset and that the town will face destruction as a result.
Understatement
The metaphorical description of the sea "Collecting the firewood from the hearths," by momentarily imbuing the sea with human-like characteristics, understates the destructiveness of its activity.
Allusions
This poem, when read as an allegory, alludes to the colonization of Ghana by European powers.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The sea metonymically represents the floodwaters in the town.
Personification
The sea is personified, given human motives such as anger and described as running and eating.
Hyperbole
The poem as a whole (especially its first three stanzas) is hyperbolic, using generalization to emphasize the overwhelming grief and destruction of the flood.
Onomatopoeia
The phrase "lap-lapping" mimics the repetitive sound of floodwaters splashing.
