overviews of poems Flashcards
paragpraph 1
PORCELAIN COLLAR BONE
porcelain shows us how fragile he has become
porcelain is very delicate weak material
shows the effect of war on hm physically
paragrpah 1 1
only then would he let me trace
trace
shows gently touched and felt his scars
she understands extent to his hurt + approaches his scars with caution as to not hurt him
shows that their relationship is loving
only then- took some time for them to get to that stage, maybe hunting how badly eddie was hurt as he wouldn’t leg his wife see his scars at first cause h
was ashamed of them or traumatised
para 2 bind the struts
bind# swnse of mending, fix her husband
bind connotes to hard work- a lot of effort to salvage hi,
laura’s job no outside help, pressure fails on her rather than doctor, criticism of mental health services for veterans
creates hope in the reader they may be able to persevere and get back to the way things were
para 22
foetus of metal
foetus represents hope, new life- still hope for them and their relationship to have a new beginning and start a new life like a foetus
metal juxtaposed foetus with something hard and unfeeling. perhaps suggests hope they have about their old relationship
foetus is frozen and closed off with metal
suggest no way they can go. back to the way things were
para 3
TRACED THE SCARRING BACK TO ITS SOURCE
source being his mind shows us that despite the physical trauma he experienced and all of the injuries he sustained, ultimately his mind is the source of his pain- unreachable for wife
shows us serious effects of ptsd even after all his injuries have somewhat healed his mind continues to hurt him and is the source to all of his pain
para 33
sweating unexploded mind buried deep in his mind
dangers of ptsd, effects of war on the mind
sweating creates a sense of danger because when your scared or under a lot of pressure, you swear, he’s scared maybe of himself and the damage the ptsd can do to his marriage
sweating could also represent the effort that eddie is putting in in order to keep it hidden and to try and suppress it
unexploded hints at the fact that he could become violent if triggered by his ptsd, emphasises need for caution on laura’s side
mine again creates sense of danger
mine is physical rep of his ptsd, symbolised the damage he could do if triggered
could also suggest that now laura must navigate a minefield in order to really salvage what is left of her husband, again emphasising how careful she must be with him