An Easy Passage Flashcards
lines 1-9
begins in media res
main character immediately revealed to be in a state of vulnerability and slight danger
delves into her mental state and allows reader to see into her mind
“trembling”
“the narrow windowsill, the sharp drop of the stairwell”
She is not immune to the risk inherent in her actions
Elements of peril and tension, immediately contradicts title
“she must not do is to think/ of the narrow windowsill, the sharp drop of the stairwell”
Trying her best to achieve the vague goal she has on the roof
Hard to tell what exactly she is aiming to do
Ambiguity and complexity of her ‘journey’ literally and metaphorically
Everything is on the cusp
“the friend, with whom she is half in love”
Love interests are usually conflicting at that time
Speaks to the overall complexity of the situation
“once she is halfway up there”
Immediately explores fleeting period between womanhood and girlhood by referencing the period of action where she is in between two physical places
“flimsy, hole-punched, aluminium lever”
“warm flank of the house”
“grains of the asphalt hot beneath her toes and fingertips”
“her tiny breasts rest lightly on her thighs”
several successive sensory moments, driving the narrative of the poem forward
ideas of heat continually blazing down on them/ pervading their situation outside acts as another point of pressure/ discomfort
but the house is “warm” and so offers contrasting safety and comfort
“the grains of asphalt hot beneath her toes and fingertips, a square of petrified beach.”
references to sand links to poems focus on the passing of time
heat from the sky is also coming up into her hands and feet - two points of tension she is being restricted/compressed by her surroundings
also highlighting the complexity and number of struggles this transition holds with pressure from different points
“both girls seem lit, as if from within, their hair and the gold stud earrings in the first one’s ears”
a third point/source of heat but that now is radiating inside the girls
shows they are still illuminated with some sort of childish light, yet to be dimmed by the external pressures they face
“set back as it is from the long, grey eye of the street”
contrasting description of the adult world - monotonous, dismal, unfulfilling
“like the flash of armaments”
their youth is protecting them still from the harsh reality of adulthood.
“once she is halfway up there”
begins in medias res - fleeting, transitional period she is in literally and metaphorically
lines 7-19
series of sensory experiences, driving the narrative forward, building tension immediately followed by an abrupt break in action and a question. Disjointed and not what we expected to hear. Alludes to the unpredictability of life and also to ensure readers’ attention is at the fullest for this moment.
