1. HSC Poems Flashcards
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What is the primary theme of ‘Mother’ by Vuong Pham?
The sacrifices made by the poet’s mother and the impact of assimilation.
How does the poem’s free-verse structure contribute to its meaning?
It reflects the natural flow of memories and storytelling between mother and son.
What symbolic act frames the narrative of the poem?
The persona plucking his mother’s grey hairs.
What do the mother’s grey hairs represent in the poem?
Her age, experiences, and the burdens of her trauma.
Quote: ‘using a sewing machine for less than $5 an hour / to afford rice, pork, Asian vegetables / and help pay for my tuition’
Technique: Accumulation; Idea: Cultural heritage and the value of education.
Quote: ‘I picture her driving a yellow scooter … the soothing aromas of pho and lychee tea… crescendo of rickshaws’
Techniques: Visual, Aural, Olfactory Imagery; Idea: Connection to cultural heritage and loss of home.
How does the poet view storytelling in the context of cultural heritage?
As a means to mend the connection to ancestral roots and understand his mother’s past.
What is the significance of the reference to Wordsworth in the poem?
It shows the power of language and literature in bridging cultural gaps.
Quote: ‘praying that I may speak an unbroken English tongue / and never be confined / to the labours of factories’
Techniques: Religious imagery, Visual imagery; Idea: Aspirations for assimilation and the importance of language.
What is the main focus of ‘New Accents’ by Ouyang Yu?
The struggles and frustrations of Chinese immigrants with language barriers.
How does Ouyang Yu use irony in the poem?
By highlighting mispronunciations that reflect deeper feelings of ‘anguish’ associated with assimilation.
What does the mispronunciation of ‘English’ as ‘Anguish’ signify?
The pain and difficulty experienced by immigrants in adapting to a new language.
Quote: ‘What a wonderful Anguish that I’ve spent all these years / Labouring on, with myself, with my students’
Techniques: Pun, Anaphora, Accumulation; Idea: Relationship with language and collective immigrant experience.
How does the poem critique Australian multiculturalism?
By exposing the superficial acceptance and underlying challenges faced by immigrants.
What personal experience does Yu share at the end of the poem?
He lost his place in a Master’s program due to his difficulty with English.
Quote: ‘They lost a genius in me / with their English / And my Anguish’
Techniques: Rhyme, Pun, Juxtaposition; Idea: The cultural position of language and missed opportunities.
What central symbol is used in ‘Translucent Jade’ and what does it represent?
A jade necklace symbolizing cultural heritage and identity.
How does the poet feel upon rediscovering the jade gift?
She feels like ‘an imposter,’ highlighting her disconnection from her culture.
What themes are explored in ‘Translucent Jade’?
Cultural identity, disconnection, and the complexity of hybrid identities.
Quote: ‘It was a little strange, / as if from a world I hadn’t inhabited but had heard stories about’
Technique: Simile; Idea: Cultural disconnection and unfamiliarity.
What is the effect of the rhetorical questions at the end of the poem?
They emphasize her uncertainty about belonging and the relationship with her heritage.
Quote: ‘Does this begin to become me, / do I to it belong?’
Technique: Rhetorical questions; Idea: Exploration of identity and cultural engagement.
What is the primary theme of ‘Home’ by Miriam Wei Wei Lo?
The concept of home as tied to identity, memory, and cultural displacement.
