Originally Flashcards
“We came from our own country”
“We” decision to move affected all of them. Assonance of “our own” reinforces her sense of belonging to that place
“In a red room”
Red has connotations of anger how she felt about being forced to leave, also alliteration mimics sound of car showing they are going on this journey
“Fell through the fields”
Alliteration draws attention to the lack of control she felt
“Our mother singing our fathers name to the turn of the wheels”
Mother is optimistic and happy about move - clear contrast to Duff’y emotions - unsure if father is there with them or at the new place
“My brothers cried, one of them bawling, home, home”
Brothers share her feelings word choice of bawling emphasises how upset they are repetition of home reflects childish habit of repeating ones self
“As the miles rushed back to the city”
Metaphor childhood compared to a major uprooting change and transitions that are outwit their control moving from the comfortable to the uncertain
“the street the house the vacant rooms where we didn’t live any more”
List focusing on increasingly specific details shows how much she was thinking about it and her memories there
“Blind toy”
Reflects her uncertainty as they head to the unknown
“Holding its paw”
Word choice emphasises her innocence like a child seeking comfort
“All childhood is an emigration”
Metaphor childhood compared to a major uprooting change and transitions that are outwit their control moving from the comfortable to the uncertain
“Some are slow, leaving you standing, resigned up an avenue where no one you know stays”
Elongated drawn ot phrasing/long sentence show slow stages of childhood
“Others are sudden. Your accent wrong”
Short abrupt sentences show how sudden the changes where accent serves as another barrier despite speaking the same language
“Corners which seem familiar leading to unimagined pebble dashed estates”
Emphasise her confusion and feeling of not belonging unfamiliar landscape/culture
“big boys eating worms and shouting words you dont understand”
Confronted by behaviour and language that’s alien to her. Plosives of big boys shows she finds them threatening, which emphasises her youth
“My parents anxiety stirred like a loose tooth in my head”
Simile shows her parents are worried about them not settling in tooth comparison highlights idea of a constant irritant or something you cant ignore
“I want our own country”
Autobiographical element shows she still hasnt adjusted and links back to the start
“You forget or dont recall or change”
Used 2nd person to involve reader and make them reflect on their childhood and the things they adapted to
“Seeing your brother swallow a slug”
Alliterations draws attention to the fact her brother has become like the other boys he now fits in to their new home
“Skelf of shame”
Use of Scots language reveals she still feels attached to her scottish roots. Skelf means a small bit shows she is starting to adjust now too
“I remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake”
Simile she is finally adopting to new home shows how easy it has become for her to lose her accent
“Do I only think I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space and the right place?”
Rhetorical question she questions what makes up self and identity but cant decide she lists some of the things she left nehind and wonders if these things influence who she is now
“Now, where do you come from? strangers ask. Originally?”
Poet struggles to define her identity acknowledges that she has changed since she was young and that lots of things make up her identity
“And I hesitate”
Short sentence hesitation reveals that she has mixed feelings about her true origins wasnt able to adapt as well as her brothers but feels included now
Concepts of Originally
Lack of regular rhythm reflects lack of order in her own life at the time
Regular structure of 3 stanzas with 8 lines poem divided into a straightforward chronology
Poet matures throughout poem It starts with a confused tone and moves on to one of reflection
