POETRY: KEY QUOTES AND ANALYSIS Flashcards
carol ann duffy, scottish set text
WP “spools of suffering”
aliteration emphasises the pain and trials the photographer has seen, these images do not actually contain the suffering but are merely many photos on a film reel. emphasises number of images and severity of the pain
WP “solutions slop in trays”
ambiguious, could refer to developing liquid or answer to problem pictures could draw attention to problems and help allievate suffering. emphasises ignorance of pain and hopelessness felt by the photographer
WP a half formed ghost
photographer is haunted by what he has seen, a faint image of a victim of war begins to appear, making the photographer begin to recall unpleasant memories
MRS T like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake
just as a smudge is an attempt to rub away an error, so too is the memory of dangers outside on the edge of the speaker’s conscience
MRS T the sky split open
a violent initiation into adulthood, leaving behind the security of Mrs Tilscher’s class and finding freedom away from childhood restraints
MRS T Mrs Tilscher loved you
Short statement sentence shows speaker’s certainty of Mrs T’s love and her ability to make the children feel valued
MRS T smiled,/then turned away
enjambment mimics the new divide between teacher and student as the speaker grows up and into adolescence
ORIG my tongue/shedding its skin like a snake
just as a snake sheds it’s skin, so too does the speaker find her past life and identity disappearing through the loss of her accent. sense of betrayal of her identity
ORIG blind toy
speaker is transferring her feelings of helplessness onto the stuffed animal, looking for comfort even if she, like the animal, cannot see ahead
ORIG Your accent wrong.
minor statement sentence, showing how the speaker is struggling to be understood and her confusion as she is catapulted into new social circumstances
TWMMS restful shapes moving
just as the words begin to stir memories and other phrases, so too do the previously still shapes start to move and bring more reflections to light. restful and moving contrast
TWMMS a green, erotic pond
transferred epithet, suggesting the richness of life and the potential for creation as the speaker begins to enter adulthood. green has connotations of freshness and youth which contradicts with erotic, which introduces adult themes and mirrors the speaker’s move into adulthood
TWMMS homesick, free, in love
list of strong and conflicting emotions emphasises the range of feelings the speaker is confronted with as she reflects on her connection to her mother and move into adulthood.
