Calypso and Gender

Abstract

Shelley, in his preface to "Prometheus Unbound", said, "Poets, not otherwise, than philosophers, painters, sculptors and musicians, are in one sense, the creators and in another, the creations, of their age". The author adds to Shelley's list of creators the calypsonian, who, too, is in one sense, the creator and, in another, the creation of his age. To her, the calypsonian is the consummate artist, who by the use of language, music and mime, paints a portrait of our society which mirrors a truth, that is sometimes too painful to bear.