Look We Have Coming to Dover Flashcards
What is the poem about?
immigration
development of cultures as they mix and merge in different countries
STRUCTURE
How does the poem look like it restarts cycles for each stanza? What are 2 interpretations of this form?
it progresses from short lines to long lines
- showing waves and tides
- showing the movement of people across the world throughout history
STRUCTURE
How may readers interpret the less even structure?
reminding of experiences where those who are less practice struggle with new languages
mimicking the uneven and irregular flow of conversation
STRUCTURE
What 2 thing could the 5 stanzas and 5 lines be referencing to?
the ‘five oceans’ of the world
they have proved vital to traditional movement
further representation of cycles
e.g. changes in immigration are natural changes which should be expected
STRUCTURE
What could the frequent use of commas and hyphens largely demonstrate? What 2 interpretations could this represent?
idea of diversity and change
- pauses representing the thinking and consideration for new words in a foreigner
- punctuation is used to join sentences and shows how different cultures and people bring society closer together
STRUCTURE
What 4 techniques are used in each stanza?
rhyme, half-rhyme, alliteration and assonance
STRUCTURE
What is the rhyme scheme? What could this represent?
It is very varied
with rhymes and half-rhymes
could represent the speaker does not have good knowledge of how the English language works
STRUCTURE
What could the half rhyme represent?
the speaker trying to speak the language
POETIC TECHNIQUES
What does the use of non-English words demonstrate? What are some examples in the poem?
how English has naturally evolved to incorporate words from other languages
alfresco
camouflage
POETIC TECHNIQUES
Why might the inclusion of non-English words be effective for the reader to understand the poem?
they may notice the inclusion of such words
but they don’t immediately see them as ‘foreign’
this is because it would demonstrate how language has evolved
POETIC TECHNIQUES
How does Nagra use juxtaposition? What are some examples of this?
British references vs non-English words and ideas
“Bedford van” - culture in 20th cent.
“Blair’d in cash” - Tony Blair (who decided to not use restrictions to prevent large scale immigration)
POETIC TECHNIQUES
Why does “diesel-breeze” have negative connotations?
alludes to pollution and environmental damage as a result of revelling
POETIC TECHNIQUES
Where is personification used?
describing the wind and rain described as “yobbish”
POETIC TECHNIQUES
Where is a description of dehumanisation used? What does this reference to?
“swarms of us”
David Cameron’s description of migrants crossing the Mediteranean as a “swarm”
POETIC TECHNIQUES
What is the effect of use of negative connotations?
- more memorable
- consider the implications and ideas of the poem in todays society
POETIC TECHNIQUES
How can you describe the poems disregard for proper english?
infectious irreverence
POETIC TECHNIQUES
What nouns have been improperly converted into nouns? What effect does this have?
“phlegmed”,”unbladders”, “passport us”, “Blair’d”
gives more vivid image of what the reader is experiencing
POETIC TECHNIQUES
What are some examples of colloquialism in the poem? What effect does this have?
“gobfuls”, “scramming”, “joick”, “lingoes”
forms a lively hybrid that mirrors the mixing of cultures that immigration entails
POETIC TECHNIQUES
How are the colloquialism bringing comedy?
they are at the expense of the English as it makes fun of the language
it is also at the expense of the narrator whose dreams of a new life are a parody of aspiration
a foreigner has picked up slang and is using it as if it is a formal word
POETIC TECHNIQUES
What lexical choices has Nagra made?
he includes negative imagery that are redolent of right wing tabloids and how they focus on immigration
POETIC TECHNIQUES
What kind of tone is used? How is this created?
a sombre one
e.g. discloses hardship and poverty
created by comparison to the ‘cushy’ tourists
e.g. the narrator and his kind have very little power
they are out of sight and mind
