Poems Of The Decade Flashcards
What inspired ‘Look We Have Coming To Dover!’
His interest in the English language as a migrant language and how it is constantly changing
How is Language used in ‘Look We Have Coming to Dover!’
Creating verbs from nouns shows the language barrier and also uses colloquial language.
What is the form of ‘Look We Have Coming To Dover!’?
Quintets
What form is ‘Genetics’?
A Villanelle
(5 tercets with two lines alternating as a refrain and forming a final couplet)
What is the half-rhyme in ‘Genetics’?
Palms/hands
What is the poem ‘Genetics’ about?
A child exploring how her divorced parents live on through her hands. It’s ultimately becomes a love poem, exploring the themes of religion and law.
What structure is ‘The Furthest Distance I’ve Travelled’?
Quatrains and rhyming couplets.
Why does the line length change in ‘The Furthest Distances I’ve Travelled’?
To show the move from youthful restlessness to adult contentment
How does the narrator change in ‘A Minor Role’
Possibly a relative of an ill person? She begins feeling very tired and exhausted, as if she is constantly playing a role in her own life. Towards the end, she leaves with a defiant and hopeful message that it would not be better to die. Quotes Oedipus Rex.
What does the staircase represent in ‘An Easy Passage’
It represent a potentially dangerous drop into the darkness of adulthood. Perhaps not all that bad, as the secretary is described as red-faced, contrasting with the gray of the building, suggesting that people do not change, but the working world dulls them.
Structure of ‘History?’
A Lyric poem of only three sentences. Becomes more regular when being reflective, using iambic pentameter.
What does ‘History’ explore?
The title is general, whereas the date is specific, and the word ‘today’ contrasts with the title showing the impact of big events all the time?.
It asks how to feel ok in a world full of a vast, impersonal and destructive history. Incorporates religion when he kneels.
