poetry of the decade - examined in 2017/18 Flashcards
what is the significance of the title Effects?
polysemic - belongings, or impact
i held her hand = synechdoche
her hands show her demise, they prompt a flurry of thought
from chopping, slicing, from the knives that lay in wait = asyndetic list
excessive work, shows pain from domestication
knuckles reddened, rough from scrubbing hard
physical demise for fulfilling obligations, mum as strong and stoic
giving love the only way she knew
limited in how she expresses love, product of her time
cheap cut of meat, in roast and stew
patronising, condescending
she cooked and we ate
robotic
faded snapshots, long forgotten things
symbolism, loss of identity
scent-sprays, tortoise-shell combs = asyndetic list
old lady imagery, possessions help determining identity
(scent-sprays, tortoise-shell combs, a snap or two) = parenthesis
shows crafted identity through belongings, contrasts later
took a holiday ‘abroad’
seeing all foreign countries as the same, speaker is mocking
only now that he was dead. = caesura
change in tone, finality of his death
and i’d never known her not have that on = flurry of repeated negators
grammatically incorrect, confusing which is representative of the speaker’s feelings and grief
watching soaps = structural parallel to later
low brow, zombified form of media, highlights speaker’s feelings of superiority
familiar flavours = alliteration
reflects mum liking repetitiveness, creature of habit
not all the weeks i didn’t come, and when she sat = caesura
unemotional speaker, lack of reflection
funny foreign stuff
idea of older generation, traditional disconnect
stared unseeing = oxymoron/juxtaposition
inability to focus suggests she is losing her faculties, deterioration
heaved herself upright
strenuous labour, big effort, determination
drink after drink, and gulped and stared = polysyndetic list
prolonged mundane existence, excessive, slowed down list reflects effort
that. when he was alive, she wouldn’t touch,// that was her = anaphora
shows connection and strange dynamic of their relationship
blinked unseeing = pattern of language relating to vision
highlights her demise as there is an emptiness behind her eyes
grew up and learned contempt
reflective of their relationship as he speaks dismissively of his mistreatment of her
with her name on it in smudged black ink
symbolic of impermanence, her identity is already eroding
on the hand i held, a blotched and wrinkled hand = structural parallelism
cyclical which suggests the stream of consciousness of the speaker, as her hands evoke images from his childhood (dynamic)
whose fingers couldn’t clasp at mine any more
highlights her demise while suggesting perhaps her desperation to maintain some semblance of a connection
fumble at my sleeve
solidifies her feelings of desperation
the last words she had said were ‘please don’t leave’ = direct speech
can infer feelings of guilt as he remembers it verbatim
but of course i left
speaker is unsentimental and pragmatic, almost cold and distant
little bag of her effects
identity and existence reduced to something small, also her death is implied, not explicitly said perhaps conveying he is still coming to terms with it
why does the rhyme scheme become tight, previously being rather irregular toward the end of Effects?
reflective of the speaker’s attempts to compartmentalise his thoughts and grief
what is the importance of the extended use of synechdoche in Effects?
her hands represent her life , they are a catalyst for speaker’s nostalgic thoughts
what is the significance of the rhyme scheme of Effects oscillating between close and distant?
mirrors their relationship, with the pattern changing toward the end and becoming more frequent and dense reflecting the speaker’s growing sense of reality and the finality of her death
my father’s in my fingers, but my mother’s in my palms = syntactic parallelism
shows balance between the two, repetition conveying both biological and emotional connection
i lift them up and look at them with pleasure
speaker feels sense of how/wonder that she is a living document of a love shared
i know my parents made me by my hands. = declarative and end-stop
reflect speaker’s definitive surety of the bond
they may have been repelled to separate lands
forceful nature of the divide is definitive, serves to emphasise the permanence of the speaker’s connection linking them
repelled to separate lands,// to separate hemispheres = repetition
on separate lines emphasises distance
who quarry for their image by a river = metaphor
constantly moving so reflects a difficult task, almost an impossibility to restore relationship
i shape a chapel where a steeple stands = childhood finger game
connects their marriage to something innocent, joyful, almost praiseworthy - clinging onto nostalgia for a time when parents were more in love
my body is their marriage register = metaphor
suggests permanence, speaker binds them together in a more powerful way
take up the skin’s demands = personification
conveys the undeniable drive of the human body
if you bequeath your palms
poem moves from being about her parents to about her union with a partner
we know our parents made us by our hands
refrain parallel
what is the significance of the title To My Nine-Year-Old Self?
dissects ‘myself’ reflecting the different iterations we have
what is the villanelle structure of Genetics?
alternate lines that tie around each other, reflects structure of DNA, circular form forms a ring, echoing imagery of the poem
you must forgive me. = caesura, second person pronoun
separation established by pronouns and the old-fashioned, formal language that is indicative of the speaker’s maturity
don’t look so surprised,// perplexed, and eager to be gone
discomfort of having to face older version
balancing on your hands or on the tightrope
suggests precariousness
rather run than walk, rather climb than run//rather leap = anaphoric repetition
emphatic of the advantage, suggests progress and the desire to overreach boundaries of what’s permitted for liberating freedom
i have spoiled this body we once shared = separation of pronouns
change as irrevocable, transient nature of ageing
careful of a bad back or a bruised foot
innocuous, minimal injury yet still largely restricting
we’d jump straight out of the ground floor window
symbolism of escapism and freedom
into the summer morning
full of bloom and life, start of the day is symbolic of new opportunities
that dream we had no doubt it’s as fresh in your mind = past tense
speaker reminisces while younger self is optimistic, indicative of innocence and freedom
as the white paper to write it on = simile
blank slate
a baby vole, or a bag of sherbert lemons
natural imager/ connotations to childhood nostalgia evoke ideas of freshness and vibrancy
created an ice-lolly factory, or a wasp trap = caesura
reflects distraction, innocuous things that are interesting novelties for a child
but the truth is we have nothing in common = ironic
it is the same person so reinforces the change in identity that comes with ageing
time to hide down scared lanes//from men in cars = personification
predatorial dangers around her that she is too young to fully understand the gravity of
that tree//long buried in house
urbanisation of nature, implies restriction of freedom
i shan’t cloud your morning
structurally compares to the summer morning
i leave you = separated pronouns
suggests the 2 realities of speaker’s iterations cannot coexist as time cuts us off from our younger selves
i leave you in an ecstasy of concentration slowly peeling a ripe scab
image of absorption in the world of the body and sensation which suggests that even if this imagined dialogue could take place, the child would not be able to understand/engage
ripe scab
beginning of the aforementioned scars
what is significant about the younger self’s depiction in To My Nine-Year-Old Self?
does not speak, but her physical presence makes the most vivid impression on the reader
