"Lament," by Gillian Clarke, mourns the devastating effect of war on people, animals, and the planet. Published in Clarke's Collected Poems in 1997, it responds to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, fought between members of NATO (led by the U.S.) and Iraq after Iraq invaded Kuwait. The war ended in Iraq's defeat, and although the NATO powers considered it a successful military operation (in that it put an end to Iraq's invasion), Clarke's poem explores the broader implications of human retribution and violence. The speaker suggests that war has no true winners, only terrible consequences for everyone and everything in its path.

• Read the full text of “Lament”

• “Lament” Summary

• “Lament” Themes

  • 

    The Human and Environmental Costs of War

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-21

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Lament”

  • Lines 1-3

    For the green ...
    ... nest of sickness.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-6

    For the cormorant ...
    ... on the sea.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-9

    For the ocean's ...
    ... uniform of fire.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-12

    For the gunsmith ...
    ... for the music.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-15

    For the hook-beaked ...
    ... the missile's thunder.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-18

    For the tern, ...
    ... stink of anger.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 19-21

    For the burnt ...
    ... ashes of language.

    

    

    

    

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• “Lament” Symbols

  • 

    Fire/Burning

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 9: “For the soldier with his uniform of fire.”
    • Lines 19-20: “For the burnt earth and the sun put out, / the scalded ocean and the blazing well.”
    • Line 21: “the ashes of language.”
  • 

    The Nest of Sickness

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness.”
  • 

    The Ashes of Language

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 21: “the ashes of language”

• “Lament” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Anaphora

    

    

    

    

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    Where anaphora appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “For the”
    • Line 3: “For”
    • Line 4: “For the”
    • Line 5: “the”
    • Line 6: “the”
    • Line 7: “For the”
    • Line 8: “For”
    • Line 9: “For the”
    • Line 10: “For the”
    • Line 11: “the”
    • Line 12: “the”
    • Line 13: “For the”
    • Line 14: “the”
    • Line 15: “the”
    • Line 16: “For the”
    • Line 17: “the”
    • Line 18: “the”
    • Line 19: “For the”
    • Line 20: “the”
    • Line 21: “For”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness.”
    • Line 4: “For the cormorant in his funeral silk”
    • Lines 5-6: “the veil of iridescence on the sand, / the shadow on the sea.”
    • Line 7: “For the ocean's lap with its mortal stain”
    • Line 9: “For the soldier with his uniform of fire.”
    • Line 15: “the whale struck dumb by the missile's thunder.”
    • Line 18: “the veiled sun and the stink of anger.”
    • Line 21: “the ashes of language”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “burden”
    • Line 2: “breeding”
    • Line 3: “eggs,” “nest,” “sickness”
    • Line 4: “silk”
    • Line 5: “iridescence,” “sand”
    • Line 6: “shadow,” “sea”
    • Line 7: “ocean's,” “stain”
    • Line 9: “uniform,” “fire”
    • Line 14: “dugong,” “dolphin”
    • Line 15: “dumb,” “missile's,” “thunder”
    • Line 18: “sun,” “stink”
    • Line 19: “burnt”
    • Line 20: “scalded,” “ocean,” “blazing”
    • Line 21: “vengeance,” “ashes”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “For the green turtle with her pulsing burden”
    • Lines 4-6: “For the cormorant in his funeral silk, / the veil of iridescence on the sand, / the shadow on the sea.”
    • Line 7: “For the ocean's lap with its mortal stain.”
    • Line 9: “For the soldier with his uniform of fire.”
    • Line 15: “the whale struck dumb by the missile's thunder.”
    • Lines 18-20: “the veiled sun and the stink of anger. / For the burnt earth and the sun put out, / the scalded ocean and the blazing well.”

• “Lament” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Cormorant
  • Iridescence
  • Ahmed
  • Gunsmith
  • Armourer
  • Boy fusilier
  • Hook-beaked turtles
  • Dugong
  • Tern
  • Restless wader
  • Blazing well
  • (Location in poem: Line 4: “For the cormorant in his funeral silk”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Lament”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Lament” Speaker

• “Lament” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Lament”

• More “Lament” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Longterm Impact of the Oil Spill — A 2021 Guardian article about the continued ramifications of the oil spill for Kuwait. 

    • The War Photo No One Would Publish — The story of a famous photograph from the Gulf War (which Clarke references in line 9).    

    • The Catastrophic Damage From Oil Spills — An article from the Ocean Foundation on the effects of the Persian Gulf oil spill as well as the consequences of oil spills on the environment more generally. 

    • The Poet's Notes on "Lament" — Gillian Clarke provides some explanation for her poem.  

    • An Introduction to the Poet's Work — Read a biography of Gillian Clark from Poetry International. 

    • More About the Persian Gulf War — Check out a brief chronology of the events leading up to the war and learn more about how it was fought.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Gillian Clarke

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