Catrin And The Prelude Quotes Flashcards
“The grim shape towered…”
The Prelude
“…up between me and the stars.”
Symbolic of obstacles in life - metaphor + personification
“One summer evening (led by her)…”
The Prelude
“…I found a little boat tied to a willow tree.”
Beginning of poem - desire for independence - personified nature
“It was an act of…”
The Prelude
“…stealth and troubled pleasure.”
Oxymoron - conflicting emotions - thrill yet fear/disgust of doing something wrong - desire for independence
“The horizon’s utmost boundary; far above was…”
The Prelude
“…nothing but the stars and the grey sky.”
Metaphor - desire for independence - he’s alone - peaceful, tranquil imagery - sense of freedom
“Like living men, moved slowly through the mind…”
The Prelude
“…by day, and were a trouble to my dreams.”
Key idea - end of the poem - fear of nature and the outside world
“No familiar shapes remained, no pleasant images of…”
The Prelude
“…trees, of sea or sky, no colours of green fields.”
Experience has changed his attitude towards nature - disturbed by experience
“Small circles glittering idly in the moon…”
The Prelude
“…until they melted all into one track of sparkling light.”
Image of unity with nature - contrasts with after - peaceful imagery
“I can remember you child, as I…”
Catrin
“…as I stood in a hot, white room.”
Hospital implies she is uncomfortable with motherhood - direct address = more personal + engages reader - beginning of poem
“I can remember you, our first fierce confrontation…”
Catrin
“…the tight red rope of love which we both fought over.”
Umbilical cord - like a rope that ties them together - colour imagery - red = love but also danger and violence
“Watching the people and cars…”
Catrin
“Taking turn at the traffic lights.”
Alliteration emphasises entrapment - metaphor - her life is about to take a big turn
“Trailing love and conflict, as you ask…”
Catrin
“May you skate in the dark for one more hour.”
End of poem - juxtaposition - despite conflicted relationship, still wants to protect her daughter - worried about her being in the dark
“Wild tender circles of our struggle to become separate, we…”
(Catrin)
“…want, we shouted, to be two, to be ourselves.”
Want to be independent yet share same views - juxtaposition - independence vs dependence
“With your straight, strong, long brown hair and your…”
Catrin
“…and your rosy, defiant glare.”
Sibilance - proud of daughters strength despite arguing
