A Minor Role Flashcards
What does the talking role of the speaker reflect?
Role people play in society and whether it’s a minor or key role
What is the feeling of the poem
Uncomfortable and tense, although it shifts and becomes more relaxed
- illness becomes more prominent
What is the poem about?
Place in society, pattern about social expectations, society can’t appreciate what it is like
About the life of the speaker written in a
Dramatic monologue
What does it encourage the reader to do?
Wonder about the speakers situation, ‘minor role’ not really noticed by the audience
How many verses?
6 written in free versus
What are the verses like?
Not equal, irregular in length and same
- no rhyme
Which person is it written in?
First
What is it a metaphor for?
Extended metaphor about life on stage
‘Bed solves a lot’
Side tracks reader from main point
- parenthetical phrases
References to theatre encourage
Reader to wonder about the readers situation
Title
At the start he accepts his ‘minor role’ but at the end passionately rejects it
‘On stage’
Pretence, poet questions if putting up a facade is better than facing reality
‘Propping up a spear’
Not important
‘Exists and entrances’
Alliteration highlights boring and repetitive tasks
‘Yes sit o no sir’
Italics, being agreeable to people in high authority
‘Midget moments’
Alliteration
‘Monstrous’
Evocative pronoun
Tone
Seems to change
- quite erratic
- speaker changes from one task to the next
- doesn’t want to reflect
- avoidance, hopelessness
‘Veteran magazines’
Out of date magazines for war heroes
‘Monologues’
Bitterness, frustration
, consultant talks at her
‘Background music of civility’
Constant polite and unobtrusive behaviour
‘Holding’
Nouns to indicate monotonous speaker must endure
‘Monstrous’
Represents how speaker funds social structure unpleasant and too rigid
‘Cancel things’
Disappointment of the things he hoped to do
‘Anyone stops&!
Alone, embarrassed
- not wanting to interact and have to tell the truth
‘Bed? A good idea!
Voice inside her head, alone, isolation
‘Track down’
Doesn’t want to eat but she has too
‘ soft centred’
Can’t find novels that aren’t about death
‘Midget moments’
Scared of being laughed at
- self conscious m- being observed and watched
‘Holding hands under magazines’
Shaking,control, old magazines are a metaphor for her
‘It would have been better to die&!
Asterix is a link to the play ‘Oedipus Rex’ tragedy
- Oedipus begs for death
‘I am here to make you believe in life
Simple and powerful
- should be great full for good health
- command breaking through
‘Thankyou’
Angry and frustration
- has no one - emphasis on speech
- mentioned at beginning standing on stage for setting aren’t important
Spear
Symbolic for lack of importanceX she shouldn’t complain and accept her death going to fight at the end
‘Exists and entrances’
Alliteration which shows how things are repeated and monotonous
‘7 ages of man speech’
‘Mysteriously reassuring’
Cats are relatable pets, comfort
Verse two
Imagery is used in the line sustaining the background music that goes on continually
‘War’
Imagerywith words ‘ veteran’ and ‘jettison’
‘Ceremonial day’
Suggests funeral and death imagery
