An Easy Passage - Julia Copus

Question 1

What is An Easy Passage about? (3 points)

Answer 1

Explores the delicate, liminal passage from girlhood and womanhood - a coming-of-age poem

The irony of the title is evident from the very first line - this transition is not, in fact, easy, and requires concentration and perseverance

The poem cleverly describes the balance of the girl’s physical development – between up and down, indoors and outdoors – to convey her stage in life

The narrator is detached, almost as if observing the girl through a camera at this critical moment in her life

Question 2

What is the structure of An Easy Passage? (2 points)

Answer 2

One long stanza, conveying a sense of continuation and transition - no breaks

Lines are enjambed to reinforce this sense of flow - no rhyme scheme

Question 3

What is the language and imagery of An Easy Passage? (4 points)

Answer 3

The voice is that of a third-person narrator, commenting in a detached way on the girls’ escapade

It is written in the present tense, but the focus is on the girl’s future

The poet uses patterns of imagery, for example, light and dark, up and down, present and future, female and male

The tone is conversational, but with lyrical and vivid moments, for example, ‘the long grey eye of the street’ and the ‘warm flank of the house’