An Easy Passage Flashcards
key themes of an easy passage
transitioning between girlhood and womanhood
experience vs innocence
Once she is halfway up there,
time marker places us in a singular moment of time, indicating the girl as being midway through transition
crouched in her bikini
the girl is balancing between the two states: she holds the innocence of not caring about her appearance as she’d be sexualised if she was a woman
, trembling,
the caesura emphasises the fear and anxiety the girl feels toward her transition
narrow windowsill, the sharp drop of the stairwell / flimsy, hole punched, alumininum lever
extended metaphor of the house representing the uncertainty and sense of endangerment associated with womanhood
on the friend with whom she is half in love/ and how is waiting for her on the blond
light imagery associated with the innocent thoughts and inexperience in girlhood juxtaposes the threatening interior of the house
warm flank of the house
womanhood isn’t as threatening and hostile as it appears - quite welcoming and comforting
her tiny breasts
image of innocence associated with girlhood - not sexualised but balances between 2 states again
- what can she know of the way of the world admits us less and less the more we grow?
caesura emph the interruption of the older voice - poses a more somber question on the innocence of the girls making her unexperienced in understanding the restrictions in womanhood
gold stud earring/ shimmering oyster-painted toenails/ silver anklet
precious image associated with youth
for now the long grey eye of the street
dull colour imagery juxtaposes the previous image of the girls being filled with light and preciousness.
Highlights the aftermath of experience and restriction in womanhood
far too, most far
parallel phrasing emph the distance between the two stages agewise and maturity wise
she plans to take/ from the stirring omens of the astrology column
drab and restrictive reality of the present in womanhood- speaker looks to the future constantly
- thirteen if she’s a day -
parenthesis separates the younger girl with the much older speaker
flash of armaments
suggests a sense of preparation as she’s armed for womanhood
dropped gracefully into the shade of the house
adverb highlights how she is prepared for the transition into womanhood despite its uncertainties and her inexperience
why is an easy passage in one long stanza
reflects the capture of a singular moment
what happens when the younger focus in the easy passage is focused upon?
shows the freedom and carefree nature associated with youth and girlhood
in next to nothing in the driveway opposite
depicts the carefree existence of the girl - ends the poem on a more hopeful tone
