Out Of The Blue Flashcards
What is Direct Address?
“You have picked me out” — speaks directly to the reader, creating intimacy and emotional impact.
What is Enjambment?
“You have picked me out / Through a distant shot of a building burning” — the flow mirrors panic and movement, like falling.
What is a Metaphor?
“The white of surrender” — describes a shirt waved from the tower as a symbol of helplessness, not actual surrender.
What is Repetition?
“Do you see me, my love, do you see me?” — heightens desperation and emotional vulnerability.
What is Imagery?
“The heat behind me is bullying, driving” — vivid sensory language showing pressure and fear from the fire.
What is Personification?
“The noise is colossal, the din deafening” — gives the chaotic sounds of the collapse power and force.
What is Juxtaposition?
“This is the end. And the dust in my throat is bitter” — life vs. death, love vs. destruction, showing contrast within a single moment.
What is a Tone Shift?
From hopeful: “You have picked me out” To hopeless: “I am failing, flagging” — mirrors the emotional and physical fall.
What is Alliteration?
“Flags, white flags of surrender, waving” — the repeated ‘f’ and ‘w’ sounds create a soft, fluttering rhythm that contrasts the danger.
What is Symbolism?
“The white of surrender” — the shirt symbolizes a cry for help, but also the futility of resistance.
What is Caesura?
“This is the end.” — a full stop mid-line creates a dramatic pause, showing the speaker’s finality and emotional collapse.
What is First-person Narrative?
The entire poem is from the speaker’s point of view — makes the experience more personal and emotional.
What is Emotive Language?
“I am failing, flagging” — expresses exhaustion and fear, drawing empathy from the reader.
What is Ambiguity?
“I am out of the blue” — this line is open to interpretation, leaving the reader unsure whether the speaker survives.
What is Caesura (Definition)?
A caesura is a pause in a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation like a full stop or dash, used for emphasis or to mirror natural speech or thought.
What is Ambiguity (Definition)?
Ambiguity means when something has more than one possible meaning or interpretation. In poetry, it often leaves the reader unsure or gives space for deeper thought.
