genetics Flashcards
structure
villanelle
-5 tercets, one quatrain
-ABA, ABAA
-double helix shape, appropriate due to the theme of seperation and togetherness
-double helix structure is like the dna helix
summary of poem
The parents of the narrator are separated but she is a physical symbol of their marriage/previous union and is a testament to the fact that they were together before.
Genetics influences our identity—> we are a product of the combined history between our mother and father
Accepting her fractured family
analysis part 1
My father’s in my fingers, but my mother’s in my palms.
I lift them up and look at them with pleasure –
I know my parents made me by my hands.
‘My father’s in my fingers, but my mother’s in my palms.’
-opening line in iambic pentameter
-use of ‘my’ as a possessive pronoun introduces closeness speaker feels to parents
-words mother and father are seperated by a comma, and there is general ceasurea and enjambment throughout poem emphasising their seperation
‘palms’ and ‘hands’
are a Half rhyme and they touch in meaning but arent the same
conveys that although the parents were similar they were ultimately different leading to their seperation
‘lift them up’
both physically lifts up her hands and her parents, displays admiration
-introduces constant use of verbs adding movemen
‘my hands’
her body is a product of her parents but not a copy (reinforced by the half rhyme
-THIRD LINE HAS MISSING SYLLABLS MAKING A HEART BEAT LIKE RHYMTH
analysis part 2:
They may have been repelled to separate lands,
to separate hemispheres, may sleep with other lovers,
but in me they touch where fingers link to palms.
‘seperate lands’
physical distance between the two showing they were physically incompatible
‘may sleep’
-may shows that speaker makes a concession due to history of genetics
‘where fingers link to palms’
-shows that nobody is alone in their body
-genetics are evidence of the parents once togetherness, it lives on isndie her
analysis part 3:
With nothing left of their togetherness but friends
who quarry for their image by a river,
at least I know their marriage by my hands.
‘but friends
-could be interpreted that they only share intimacy platonically or they had shared friends
‘quarry’
-reminiscent of quarel
-shows a sense of disconfort that came with this rift between the group
-could represent speaker trying to dig out eminents of relationship
‘river’
their relationship is likened to a river, its volatile curves and redirects
analysis part 4:
I shape a chapel where a steeple stands.
And when I turn it over,
my father’s by my fingers, my mother’s by my palms
‘I shape a chapel where a steeple stands.’
-childlike action of shaping steeple with hands shows how she tries to reconcile them with her hands, that are living proof of their relationship. she recomstructs their marriage in her head
‘my fathers by my fingers, my mother’s by my palms ‘
-seperattion between the two reinforced by a comma
-imagrey of hands becomes significant due to the sensation of touch-key to intimacy and closeness
analysis part 5:
demure before a priest reciting psalms.
My body is their marriage register.
I re-enact their wedding with my hands.
‘My body is their marriage register.’
-genetic product is more viable on evidence of love than documents
‘I re-enact their wedding with my hands.’
-desperate attempt to reconstruct the fantasy of their togetherness
analysis part 6:
So take me with you, take up the skin’s demands
for mirroring in bodies of the future.
I’ll bequeath my fingers, if you bequeath your palms.
We know our parents make us by our hands.
-tone of hope and wishes to take the chance of llove, and message that the speakers love will inevitibly be preserved by their child
‘mirrorung in bodies of the future’
-acknowledges that children aren’t exact replicas of their parents
-she isnt saddened by the history she sees on her palms and its a reminder that she can be different from her parents (their love isnt her fate)
‘My father’s in my fingers
frictives highlight close bond between father and daughter
Who quarry for their image by a river
Methaphor—> the parents are searching for their own identities as 2 separate individuals because of this separation
enjambement
Increases the pace, which reflects how happy memories are fast
My body is their marriage register.
I re-enact their wedding with my hands .
Endstops - highlight how her parents marriage is over but she is a physical reminder of their previous marriage
So take me with you
Volta —> shift here, she could now be talking to someone else, maybe her partner
What topics are villanelles usually about?
loss, death, love
What effect does the repetition have on the poem?
- highlights how genetics is a strain that we find throughout us
- rhyme scheme and repetition reflects the longing for organisation, stability and a stable family
