Poem at 39 Flashcards
how I miss my father
opening generates sad, longing and reflective tone
so tired
isolated on a line alone
emphasises how hard he worked to provide for his family
wishes he could have worked less and spent more time with her
writing ‘deposit slips’ and ‘cheques’
financial semantic field
he is very responsible with money to provide his family with a secure future
he ‘must’ have said
modal verb
making assumptions about what he said as she can’t accurately remember
i learned to see ‘bits of paper’ as a way to ‘escape’ the life he knew
the father is trying to bring money to the family
bits of paper could refer to:
1) money
2) the poets writing as an escape from the life of her childhood and financial struggles
verb ‘escape’
speaker perceives her father as trapped in that life
repetition of ‘he taught me’
she sees him as a role model that she admires and respects
though many of my truths must have grieved him
they may have disagreed when she criticised black men’s abuse of black women and possibly her interracial marriage and oppression
how i miss my father!
refrain
emphasises how regularly and how deeply she still misses him
he cooked ‘like a person dancing’
simile
implies he is calm graceful and elegant as he cooks
suggests his skill
deliberate in his movements like a dancer/ yoga teacher
and craved the ‘voluptuous sharing’
symbolises hes generous with his love despite their differences
this love bonds them
now i ‘look’ and ‘cook’
assonance
she has become like him as shes grown older
shift to present tense
she has moved on and is focusing on the present but he is still with her as they are so alike
seasoning none of my life
metaphor
spontaneous, varied and stimulating life in contrast to her father having to work all the time and being constantly tired when she was a child
he ‘would’ have grown to admire
modal verb
creates sad, wistful and nostalgic tone at the end of the poem
cooking, writing, chopping wood
listing
she has practical strong and creative qualities
staring into the fire
symbolises facing life boldly or looking into and reflecting upon the past
