cards for unseen exam 7/2 Flashcards
ambiguity
being open to more than one interpretation
voyeurism
gaining sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity
debasement
action or process of reducing the quality or value of something
heteroglossia
another voice in a poem
phonology
sound devices (plosives, onomatopoeia)
anaphora
repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a line
assonance
repetition of vowel sounds
atrocity
extremely wicked or cruel act, typically involving physical violence or injury
magic realism
genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an under current or fantasy
dysphemism
blunt/harsh sayings (TMI)
euphemism
politely saying something
aphorism
a saying
absolution
forgiveness from someone else/formal realisation from guilt/declaration that a person’s sins have been forgiven
infanticide
killing a child
hireling
old fashioned word for someone you could hire for rural work
metaphysical
above the physical world
muckle
dialect for ‘much’
hubris
overconfidence
ambivalence
unbothered
minutiae
small details/incidents
saddled
burdened
anonymity
being anonymous, having no name or identity
larium
drug used to treat malaria
derilium
relentless or disturbed state of mind
giro
electronic money transfer system
unvoiced consonant/approximant
‘w’hen, ‘h’andicaps are ‘h’ell
platitudes
well meaning comments that don’t help anything
pretence
pretending socially that everything is fine
ideas in Eat Me
- who are we to judge about controlling relationships
- inescapability of toxic and manipulative men
- is she justified at the end? are we satisfied with the ending? sympathetic?
three techniques in Eat Me
- intentional ambiguity and volta in first two lines
- possessive pronouns
- heteroglossia
structural comment of Eat Me
uniform ten tursets show her conformity and regimented and manipulative relationship
ideas in chainsaw versus pampas grass
- tries to take away the one thing he doesn’t have control over - carrying a child. Men do not like that power imbalance
- ‘grand plan’ enforces idea that patriarchy is deeply rooted in all men. Male violence and dominance will prevail and is inevitable in societies
- however women’s resilience always prevails when left to grow and oppression is not seen. Tenacity
two techniques in chainsaw versus pampas grass
- phonology (sibilance, assonance, onomatopoeia and plosives)
- extended metaphor/personification
ideas in material
- misogynistic and rigid society structure during mother’s mothering - dance school. Implicit but obvious she had to conform and not show emotion. ‘when you’re smiling’. Ironic. Facade of relationship
- caring and intimate relationship at times. Admiration for mother setting her up in the best way possible (strong legacy and mother had to give her freedom and independence to be herself and find out what she wants from life)
- realisation she lost her mother a long time before she actually died. Mother did the best she could seeing of the society at the time. Missed a method in her mother’s madness ‘soft and hidden history’
structural comment in chainsaw versus pampas grass
stanza breakdown when women prevail. Shows women’s togetherness in strength can bring down men and expectations. ‘Corn in Egypt’
three techniques used in Material
- alternate rhyme. ‘get/not’ ‘grey/snot’. Do not always work as she cannot fit the mould of her mother. Era cannot be recaptured - different to her mother as societies are ever changing.
- iambic tetrameter emblematic of the rigid and immovable structure her mother lived in. As well as the sense of her mother’s expectations. Seen as an archaic meter, still trying to accommodate her mother’s traditional ways
- extended metaphors. Obviously hanky vs tissues. Permanence vs temporary and fragile. Dance school emblematic of domestication of mother (patriarchal society). Closed department stores emblematic of the distance between mother and daughter, how they will never reconnect and a facade relationship.
structural comment in Material
Volta after stanza 6. Acceptance and processing. End stopping becomes more regular, starts to make sense of it all. Compared to enjambment in stanza 4 where she is placing together memories.
ideas in History
- paradoxical - undercurrent of tension between nature vs man. Beach next to airport.
- worried about state of society that he will bring his son up in, wants him to enjoy the smaller parts of life too.
- birth rates decline following 9/11, society questioning whether to bring children up here. Juxtaposition of innocent Lucas and beauty around him and anxiety of parents, they are trapped in adulthood.
three techniques used in History
- religious imagery. Desire to protect son and commits hierarchy to nature
- duality/juxtaposition. Location emblematic of being able to preserve beauty whilst threat of danger becomes more prominent. ‘gasoline/tide’, juxtaposition of natural and man made
- sophistication/deterioration of language. Shows battle of inner conflict. ‘Today…today…At times…Sometimes’. Paradoxical sense as talking about the present but stuck in the past, also lang sophistication emblematic of him wanting safety and structure.
- metaphor of kite. Freedoms however always tethered somehow
structural comment in History
fractured syntax emblematic of madness of mind, also how quickly things can be ruined by violence and terrorism. Shift back to structured stanzas show his inner conflict and emblematic of his universal, philosophical and timeless emotions. Widely accepted. Not alone here. Constant battle to preserve honour and beauty of the world.
ideas in An Easy Passage
- constant battle of judgement in the household
- daughter fighting physically, seen through military imagery
- trying to sneak back into the house, ‘halfway’ metaphorically, physically and in the story line (in media res) foreshadowing of mundane life that will consume her in later years
- ALLEGORY FOR CHILDHOOD
- secretary watches her, envious of her youthfulness.
- puberty
techniques in An Easy Passage
- present tense. Emblematic of there always being a girl fighting this judgement in a household, for her identity
- semantic field of reflective colours. Showing her constant reminders of self-reflection and inner battles. ‘oyster-panted toenails’
- light motif. Shows her fears within the house, ‘the shade of the house’ dimmed once she returns to reality. She finds life in sneaking out and not becoming mundane. House holds warmth and security as well as tension and battle.
- military imagery ‘flash of armaments’, weapons and shackles that will help her defense in the house
three structural comments about An Easy Passage
- one long stanza. 5 sentences long. Emblematic of childhood and turbulent adolescence.
- enjambment shows anticipation for the future.
- free verse mimics her stream of consciousness
idea of The Deliverer
- infanticide and atrocity
- patriarchial society, baby girls cannot inherit wealth and therefore seen as a financial burden.
- guilt and lots of euphemism, emphasises the seriousness of atrocity, also lack of metaphors acting as dysphemism is emblematic of this
- men’s ironic overarching power, end line sets tone for whole poem. Creates an inevitability of patriarchy and male dominance.
three techniques in The Deliverer
- impersonal address/pronouns. Also religious ambiguous names. Creates a parallel to real life, silenced and effectively dehumanised into ‘penis or no penis’
- euphemism. ‘stuffed in bags’ ‘abandoned’ ‘dug up’ ‘something to chew’ violent and dehumanising. Underestimates their humanity and power to have a voice, rubbish connotations underestimate their humanity and trauma that follows.
- ambiguous language. ‘sister’ ‘mother’ ‘my mother’ emblematic of lack of relationships and impersonality of her whole life. Nothing meaningful to latch onto and no one to owe as no one is able to take responsibility.
structural comment on The Deliverer
- the locations. Girl is in no man’s land. Isolation heightened. Frequent moving emblematic of no one taking responsibility and housing her. No end location emblematic of her lack of identity and how it has been stripped from her. No home or identity, overlooked and betrayed by humanity.
- monostich emblematic of how she is alone. Foreshadows how mother will similarly feel impersonal towards her.
ideas in Lammas Hireling
- consequence for greed and hubris.
- man vs nature
(hireling (labourer) brings good money. Follows late wife’s voice to where he finds him caught in a fox trap. Realises he’s a warlock. Transforms into a hare, shoots him in the heart) - supernatural elements may be a vessel to manipulating reader into justifying his case. Unreliable speaker.
- connotations of sexual feelings. Shoots him in the heart, likes the tense silence, knows when to shut up. Dominance? ‘i’d still a light heart’
- killing made his inner conflict worse.
techniques in Lammas Hireling
- supernatural elements. Vessel for excessive hubris and manipulation. Unreliable reader as supposedly killed wife.
- enjambment emblematic of erratic guilt and and foreshadowing sinister things, ‘Then one night,/‘.
- ambiguity. ‘hunted down’ ‘my late wife’. Sense of lack of sense of self as manipulating reader. Why not searching for wife? Aggression and hubris.
structural comment on Lammas Hireling
- complete stanzas and uniform show his continuation in manipulation and aggression. Excessive hubris apparent, especially in his lack of truth and confession, but no consequences for action
- volta in final stanza into present tense does however show erratic emotions. ‘now my herd’s elf-shot’. lack of remorse or guilt for his victims, only cares for his business. Narcissism.
ideas about To My Nine-Year-Old Self
- highlights multiple identities during one’s life
- idea of becoming so different to your younger self, she then leaves her younger-self along with her aspirations.
- unites experience of child and memory of the adult
- sensual and exact language used by Dunmore
- internal dramatic monologue
techniques in To My Nine-Year-Old Self
- forceful imperatives. Desperate tone for forgiveness as she has declined this since childhood.
- archaic language representative of distance between the two. Burden taken on the youth to liberate her.
- metaphorical/paradoxical talk. childhood and naivety metaphor. Terror and shame metaphor at the end. ‘ripe scab’. Underneath parts will be okay and secure. Keep the good memories. Child still somehow alive in her.
structural comment of To My Nine-Year-Old Self
decreasing stanza size as poem progresses.
Tentative structural introduction, become larger as become more comfortable with sharing memories and emotions. Then inevitably backs away from herself
ideas about A Minor Role
- dramatic monologue, extended metaphor for stage and performance. All about facade of terminally ill people.
- about platitudes and pretence
- about refusal to be reduced anymore. Climax when ‘I jettison the spear’
- wants discussion of death rather than polite ignorance as is impersonal. Sufferers need a sense of self and optimism.
techniques in A Minor Role
- oxymorons. ‘cancel things, tidy things; pretend all’s well, Admit it’s not’. Destroys illusory world. View into coping with illness and constant inner battles about truth and acceptance of the future. So forgotten and avoided. Foregrounded for its address.
- dysphemisitic language to battle the platitudes and preserve sense of self.
- asyndetic listing. 4th stanza and 2nd list. shows complexity of reality and showing their honesty and want for a simpler illness.
comments on structure in A Minor Role
- Volta in penultimate stanza. ‘I jettison the spear’. active choice in present tense and reclaiming power. Affirmation of sense of self and identity that has been impersonalised due to politeness/platitudes.
- indentation of ‘at home’. when truly at home the line is adrift and isolated. reflection of emotional and physical separation. significance lies in stripping away the facade and transition to speaker’ harsher, blunter reality of living with a terminal illness.
ideas about The Gun
- domestication of women and violence associated with men and their phallic object (gun metaphor for penis)
- physical gender conflict - men’s violence in a woman’s kitchen
- some women like dominant men, she likes the domestication and the dominance he brings to the relationship.
techniques used in The Gun
- primal/primative language to emphasise his masculinity. ‘clean through the head’ satisfaction. alpha/hunter-gatherer.
- gratification. ‘hands reek of gun oil’ repulsion, destruction and joy.
- ambiguous language. ‘bringing a gun into a house/changes it.’ changes what? sense of tension and danger. juxtaposing ideas of security and violence. ‘a gun brings a house alive’ monostich. emphasis. regained his vibrancy due to dominance.
- paradoxical, domestic seen as heart warming whereas gothic is unnatural and unfamiliar ‘king of death’
- ‘golden crocuses’, first flowers of spring but can be poisonous, symbolism for bullets. fluctuation of colours show ups and downs of relationships, inevitability of change.
power of the gun doesn’t inspire the relationship, serves as his gratification.
structural comment about The Gun
monostiches create emphasis and foreshadow the loneliness and vulnerability consequences of bringing a gun into a house has.
ideas in furthest distances
- message about finding yourself in the little mundane moments not the large ones
techniques in furthest distances
- metaphor of ‘distances’. shows her physical distances travelled and her physcological distances travelled.
- syndetic list. enjambment shows reminiscing and valuing
- sibilance shows enjoyment of rushing ‘stuffing smalls’
fallen into mundanity and loves it
comment on structure in furthest distances I’ve travelled
- free verse and irregular stanza structure. shows how cannot plan for life’s events. need to be independent to learn what you like, freedoms and reflection allowed. unpredictability of travel and memory
ideas in giuseppe
- no one taken responsibility for atrocity, does sharing it make it any better? Did he tell the right person? Is the nephew’s outlook on life tainted for ever?
- end is optimistic as still able to have belief in god
techniques in giuseppe
- magic realism/frame narrative. unreliable story/tone of regret from nephew as ruins family name
- dysphemism. easier to address her as ‘it’ or a mermaid. Dehumanises her. Shows absolution not given.
- impersonal address. ‘my uncle’ ‘someone’ ‘others’. shows lack of responsibility and her denial of humanity and justification.
- euphemism also. still keeps it real as he has large tone of regret
- juxtaposition of ordinary and the macabre. everyday elements normalise the situation and make the perpetrators more humane. however when placed next to the grotesque killing it makes it more disturbing and inhumane
- her silence. not given a voice and makes a parallel to real life. her life was never debated for their survival. she was eaten even though already dead, suggests inhumane act and no remorse for her life
structural comment about giuseppe
- inconsistent enjambment and caesura. gradual unfolding of story, waiting for climax and absolution that never happens. inevitability of taking the easy way out.
ideas about out of the bag
- autobiographical
- heaney’s poetic journey
- 4 sections, Dr Kerlin’s visit - depiction of childbirth, young speaker. 3 other stanzas are adult memories, personal experience and mother’s room. sophistication comes from realisation of innocence and naivety about growing up in ireland. lack of experience in high culture.
- hallucination/mid life crisis brings him back to mother’s bedside after sibling dies.
- ideas of education, constant reminders of naivety and reflections on how much he has grown throughout lifetime.
techniques in Out of the bag
- greek mythology. suggests high society education into classics. perceptions of religion and healing. cure and epiphany, privilege to have
- sophisticated language. ‘miraculum’ (something that cannot be explained), ‘coerced’/any latin mention. educated outlook and privilege to have such knowledge. Does not have all the answers however, especially those to physical health and healing
- symbolism/personification. Mouth and bag. ‘trap-sprung mouth’ ‘gaping wide’ metaphor for the womb. dr kerlin gives him the windows to the world, physically through birth and through inspiration of birth.
structural comment on out of the bag
- variation in line length and free verse shows contrast between childhood awe and adult intellect
- cyclical structure allows sense of wonder and reverence for life and creation
ideas in effects
- hand memory typical of mother’s class and era.
- conservative ideas (small ‘c’)
- domesticated woman and knew no different. Could not give son emotions he needed. Too late to accept emotions and redefine relationship when she needed it.
- linguistic differences between mother and son as he is clearly educated and this has created a physical and emotional barrier between them
- mother fits mould of stereotype but not mould of mothering
techniques in effects
- motifs. ‘classic ladies model’. typical of mother’s class and propriety. intrinsic part of her identity, emblematic of stereotype of 1950s domesticated lady. materialism over son’s upbringing ‘gold strap’. replaced with thick rubber band. deterioration and inevitability she will die.
- listing. ‘drink after drink’ ‘gulped and stared’ suggests mother experienced emptiness. never allowed anyone to disrupt order of her life.
- ambiguity. ‘little bag of effects’. what could have been, she cannot effect significantly. belongings as well as what remains and lingers within him.
- rhyme. ‘she/see/me’ . rhymes become denser towards end of poem. shows simplicity of relationship towards the end, he is alone and can start his own relationships without their’s tainting his current ones.
structural point about effects
single stanza form. one stream of consciousness, mimicking a single strain of thought and recount. processing her life. emphasising how grief is often uncontrollable and unstructured.
ideas about genetics
- plays with psychology of divorce’s effects
- hope and security rather than trauma from divorce
- generation when divorce is a taboo and embarrassment
- villanelle
villanelle. features in genetics?
nineteen lines long
five turcets (three line stanzas) and a quatrain (four line stanzas)
rhyme scheme ABA ABA …. until ABAA
often used to express obsession, repetition leads to sense of extremity
for genetics, every third line acts as a security as mentions both parents, showing shared love for daughter
however not traditional villanelle as refrains are not repeated, showing traditional break due to parents divorce and seen as a taboo and embarrassment at the time.
techniques in genetics
- religious repetition. love had a large connection. spiritual/higher order to be found in family relationships. ‘fingers’ and ‘palms’ childlike rhyme.
- possessive pronouns. ownership over body/autonomy. suggests pride in connections to parents. ‘my’ and ‘i’. pride in being their child
- verbs. feeling of continuation and perpetuation
- mining imagery. ‘quarry for their image by a river’, parents friends know the facade of the relationship however the daughter knows the full story.
structural comments on genetics
- similar line lengths. emblematic of traditional formality the speaker enjoys, allowing us to realise the break in her parents marriage would cause disruption to her life.
- caesura shows thoughtful pause. slows the poem down showing her meaningfulness and also shows she has processed the divorce and can collect her emotions. Suggests poignant thoughtful nostalgic tone
- villanelle shows her hyper focus on the divorce, however interpreted as a way of comforting herself . not an exact villanelle as refrains are not repeated, break from tradition and split between parents .
ideas about journal of a disappointed man
- metaphorically linked to masculinity. constantly rebuilding and falling apart.
- about working class man and educated man. difference in privilege, level of emotions and perceptions
- physical strength vs intellectual strength
- unreliable speaker as trying to distort the work of the men due to his own insecurities however work is precious and valuable
- work men are ambivalent to the pile whereas the poet cares.
- pier symbolism = masculinity
- pile symbolism = poet/outcasts to society, left in mid air at the end, nothing changes for the pile or the man
- does he recognise his insecurity?
- motor neurone disease
techniques in journal of a disappointed man
- sophisticated language. creates distance between workmen and him. educated vs uneducated. superior and privilege. vessel to belittle workmen - embarrassment/superiority
- hyperboles. creates further distance as he assumes there is no common ground as the victim/outsider ‘go on swinging till the crack of doom’
- dehumanising language. to belittle and distance himself further. without intentionally meaning to. ‘monsters’
- motif of a secret problem. ironic as they cannot solve actual issue.
- aggressive manor suggests jealousy of engagement between them
structural comment in journal of a disappointed man
- quatrains shows controlled structure and educated outlook. observational tone, diary tone, also lack of control over the situation he is witnessing. Shows his account through his perception.
ideas in look we have coming to dover!
- societies tendency to see the inevitability of immigrants slipping up
- ‘national eye’ becomes metaphor for public judgement
- pungish style (punjabi and english)
- ironic as will invite tourists on cruise ships but not ethnic minorities
techniques in look we have coming to dover!
- hybrid language (punglish). reflects immigrant experience and english anti-immigrants hopping onto criticise them straight away. ‘stowed in the sea to invade’. phrasing seems unconventional, capturing how language evolves in migrant communities where english exclude themselves
- colloquialisms. ‘swarms of us’. parallel to Cameron. tabloid-like language. reminder that these ‘swarms’ are not bees, they are humans
- sensory imagery, ‘burdened’ ‘enobled’, highlighting hardship and dignity. showing the good in the poeple that have the courage to make the venture
- idiomatic language to create awkward unattainable language to convert how awful the oppression is
- assonance and plosives
structural comments for look we have coming to dover!
- identical stanzas, emblematic of waves or cliffs of dover
ideas in please hold
- robotics and technology taking over the world and deteriorating our language
- foreshadowing of no change to society as no volta or epiphany
- wide varieties of language leads to misunderstanding, power of language and linguistic beauty is being taken away to simplicity, business and ease.
techniques in please hold
- tones. monogonous speakers, mundane voices. wife’s voice is infuriating and emblematic of future of society, lang deterioration and loss of poeticism.
- irony. ‘this is the future. we are already there and its the same’, but they still desire more change. Irony of confusitory language. Satirical nature of poem, ‘wonderful’ ‘great’. Ironic his human emotion is the same thing he hates
- devaluation/lack of cohesive structure/pattern. devaluation of language and emotion. stripped down to a ‘yes or no’. cycle of restriction from diversity and linguistic beauty
structural techniques in please hold
- turset at end. in aims to preserve humanity. asking society to hold off from progress. standing away is the only power we have. best growth we have when we still are able to hold the power. ambiguous end, ‘please hold’ - speaker or robot?.
structural techniques in please hold
- turset at end. in aims to preserve humanity. asking society to hold off from progress. standing away is the only power we have. best growth we have when we still are able to hold the power. ambiguous end, ‘please hold’ - speaker or robot?.
ideas for on her blindness
- guilt and grief, son’ inability to comfort his mother and mother’s own self-blame for her lack of autonomy
- motherhood and filial piety
- facade of strength, dignity, act of pretending and coping mechanisms
- elegy commemorating resilience and struggle. honours power and strength.
autonomy
right to condition or self-government
filial piety
concept of respect, obedience, service for one’s parents and care of one’s family
techniques in on her blindness
- heteroglossia. his narration show her self-inflicted silence. perhaps criticism of society impressing positive narratives upon the vulnerable? Son seems to only recite common platitudes ‘its living hell to be honest adam’
- pathetic fallacy. ‘golden weather’, emblematic of her final season of life. inevitability of autumn and her death. ‘autumn trees around the hospital’ seeing beauty in life, metaphor for end of her life before dead trees. ironic as actually can’t see, showing sons life will be beautiful.
elegy
poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
structural comment on on her blindness
free verse, showing flow of emotions. some lines do not fit into stanza, showing her facade breaking. monostich on the end shifting to show he is alone physically now, even through was metaphorically alone before.
ideas about ode on a grayson perry urn
- lyric poem. addresses particular subject varied on irregular meter
- old persona
- based on ode on a grecian urn by keats.
- perception of youth
- aestheticism, perceptions of beauty.
language techniques in ode on a grayson perry urn
- colloquial and slang language. captures the modern voice of britain. ‘kids in cars on crap estates’ ‘joyriders’ ‘geezer’. contrasts to elevated language of keats, highlighting shift form classical beauty to raw, urban reality.
- vivid and sensory imagery. striking visual scenes of youth culture. harsh, aggressive imagery contrasts with delicate, idealised art of traditional odes.
