11:00 Baldovan Flashcards
“charred wreck of itself”
The word choice suggests that the bus has been through a nightmarish journey and gives a sense of destruction. It implies what time does to everything - destroys it, makes it unrecognisable.
“the bus will let us down in another country”
The poem switches from factual to metaphorical.
The metaphor suggests how completely alien and frightening their surroundings are.
“streets that suddenly forget their names”
The transferred epithet continues the vision of a place that is totally foreign and unexpected, highlighter their sense of confusion and disorientation. One minute everything is familiar and secure; the next you are bewildered and secure. Paterson suggests that this is what it means to be an adult.
“our voices sound funny”
This word choice suggests that even their voices are unrecognisable, their childhood voices are gone. They no longer recognise themselves as they have grown up which highlights the disorientation and confusion of change and growing up.
“black waves fold in”
The metaphorical waves represent time itself. ‘black’ suggests death and danger gives the waves a sinister feel. The waves are a natural force which shows how unstoppable and powerful time is and how it cannot be avoided.
The waves suggest death, misery and depression. It suggests that the waves are coming to cover u and swallow their childhood - they are waves of adulthood and responsibility.
“the point we left off”
They eventually return but everything is different, their world has been altered. Conveys the confusion and trauma of growing up.
“our sisters and mothers are fifty years dead”
The loss of the feminine figures in their lives suggests a loss of nurture and care in their lives once they have grown up.
‘fifty years dead’ emphasises how quickly time passes which jars with the slow process of change and how when you look back everything is different.
Gives a sense of finality and emphasises their vulnerability and isolation.
“and…and…and…”
The anaphora creates a breathless tone which conveys their increasing panic and lack of control, gives the poem a sense of pace.
