Anjali Ruhela

True peace is not a passive, gentle state, but often emerges from intense struggle and upheaval —especially as seen in nature.  In essence, the poem suggests that nature’s cycles mirror human experience: peace is not negotiated or controlled; it is powerful, “unnegotiable,” and comes on its own terms after periods of turmoil.

At its heart, “Goats and Monkeys” is a revisionist and richly layered reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Othello , in which Derek Walcott uses intertextuality, mythology, and bestial imagery to interrogate racial stereotypes, tragic love, and cultural legacy .