First Love Flashcards
Analysis of the title
-Numerical adjective and an abstract noun
-Wholesome, naïve, innocent
-Temporary, suggestion of there being more love.
Themes of the poem
Memory, heartbreak, love, relationships
How is the change in time demonstrated in the poem?
Begins with the active verb “Waking.”
In the final stanza, there is a mention of stars and the temporal diexis of ‘Tonight’.
Significance of the quote: “a star, long dead.”
Most stars we see in the sky are already dead, which is symbolic of love as it can been seen but can have been dead for a long time.
Techniques and meanings in the opening line of the poem: “Waking, with a dream.”
The active verb ‘Waking’ suggests a haziness and a deluded state along with the abstract noun ‘dream’, implying the events of the poem are not real.
Meaning of “the power of your name.”
The abstract noun ‘power’ implies that the speaker has been put under a spell by this person, who is not physically there which is shown via the noun ‘name’.
Techniques in “Unseen// flowers suddenly pierce and sweeten the air.”
The enjambment of the adjective ‘Unseen’ creates the visual imagery which enforces that the events all happened in her head however she cannot see them anymore.
Meaning of the sensory imagery in “Unseen flowers suddenly pierce and sweeten the air.”
The adverb ‘suddenly’ demonstrates that the olfactory imagery shocks the speaker out of her delusional state. The juxtaposition of the two smells imply the first love was bittersweet.
