poetry of the decade - not examined yet Flashcards
on her blindness = intertextuality
to john milton’s ‘on his blindness’ reflects a mocking of his stance on stoicism in the face of debilitating illness
could not bear being blind = plosive alliteration
helps build the blunt, brutal reality of her suffering
to be honest = colloquial
empty phrases emphasise lack of genuine truth
one shouldn’t say it. = end-stop, and overly formal language
clipped sentence emphasises expectations of society, that the speaker facetiously mocks language used by stoic people
one should…
reflects the outdated, stiff, upper lip of Britain
handicaps are hell = alliteration
her blindness leads to a life of repetitive suffering
like a roman = simile
heroism, being stoic in the face adversary is what is expected
paris restaurant = setting
flashy, sophisticated setting juxtaposes the mother’s behaviour that is arguably undignifying and clumsy as a result of her blindness
still not finding//the food on the plate with her fork,//or not so that it stayed on
lack of figurative language is the speaker’s way of being direct and realistic
(try it//in a pitch-black room) = enjambement
stream of consciousness, anecdotal
whispered,//’it’s living hell’
still the sense of not fully confronting the truth
i’d bump//myself off = euphamistic and colloquial
contrasts the overly formal language, and depicts the reality of the illness, makes the confession seem more honest, conveying their trust
inadequate: the locked-in son. = metaphor emphasised by the punctuation
clipped language reflects his feelings of being insufficient at communicating
bumping into walls like a dodgem = simile
creates comical image, using humour to cover up reality, perhaps denial
pretended to ignore//the void
sense of complete absence
long//slow slide = assonance
makes it sound really drawn out like the slow demise to death
black as death. = simile and caesura
shows degeneration of her eyesight and the permanent, brutal reality
she’d visit exhibitions//admire films, sink into television = asyndetic list
lack of conjunctions reflect her futile attempt to do an endless amount of things to compensate
while looking the wrong way = bathos
anti climactic humour that immediately contrasts the mother’s endeavours
golden weather /// ground royal
connotations of wealth, richness, texture are intensely visual and add to the poignancy that the mother cannot see
i told her this, forgetting
almost like their natural default after pretending for so long
‘it’s lovely out there’ = return to dialogue
significant as the poem is about what we say/ don’t say
no more sightless, but now she can’t//pretend. her eyelids were closed = unrhyming couplet
suggests rapid progression of one idea to another, alongside lack of contemplation
she was watching, somewhere, in the end. = separate final line
possible suggestion of isolation in death, as the fiction and pretending continues, even after she dies; the indefinite pronoun adds to the fragility of their illusion
repeated use of enjambement in On Her Blindness (breaking of units of sense across white space between stanzas)
disorientating effect, making it harder for the reader to negotiate the poem’s meaning
what does the narrator of On Her Blindness acknowledge?
the lies we tell ourselves in the face of frailty and ageing, and his regret at ‘looking the wrong way’
please hold = title
significant as it is said by the robot, already establishing a sense of the speaker being controlled
this is the future = opening clause
awkward and disorientating so we can relate to the speaker
my wife says. = end-stop
emphasises her acceptance of this way of life, and separates her from the speaker
your future, here, she says = clipped language
makes the wife seem robotic
the robot is giving me countless options, = end-stop
ironic hyperbole is emphasised as his options are limited and ineffectual
when i give him x 2 = syntactic parallelism / repetition
conveys the way humans are becoming robotic as well, the more they conform. speaker is monotonous, reflective of automated, futuristic lifestyle that is interminable
answer to my needs… meet my needs = repeated phrase
emphasises the pointlessness, cynical nature of the interation
(which is really the robot’s account) = parenthesis
indicative of self-awareness and individuality of the speaker
wonderful account… great telephone bill = cynical tone
facetiousness and facade that masks sinister aspect of technology
wonderful telephone number… great account = hyperbolic language
saturation of hyperbolic language that lacks any substance
and my wife says, This is the future = capitalisation
reflecting wider society, alongside the refrain (repeated phrase)
please say yes or no// or you can say repeat or menu
the only options being significantly shorter / monosyllabic reflects restriction
i scream agent! = shift in speaker
progression of heightened emotions
and am cut off
emotions are minimised as despite his aggression, he is still powerless as technology restricts his individuality
and he is giving me no options//in the guise of countless alternatives = juxtaposition
shift in structure that emphasises the facade created by the false freedom offered by technology
eine kleine nachtmusik. please hold.//eine kleine nachtmusik, please hold// = epistrophe
endless cycle and lack of progression
eine fucking kleine nachtmusik = diacope
emphasies frustration and his individuality, the vulgar language contrasts the attempts to pacify him
and my translator says, Please hold//means that, for all your accomplishments,//the only way you can now meet your needs//is by looting.
sentence going over several lines shows individuality of the voice that cannot be replicated by technology
only way you can now meet your needs//is by looting
access to money and power is tightly controlled at a societal level, so you have to transgress in order to get anywhere
please hold. please grow old. please grow cold. = internal rhyme
connotations of death move poem from satire to a more sinister conclusion
what is the warning at the end of Please Hold?
a whole life might pass by while you wait for the answer you need
this is the future. please hold. = heteroglossia
amalgamation of speakers that present an ambiguity of who is speaking to emphasise conformity
please hold = final line
emphasises compliant and passivity, dystopian
what form of a poem is the Lamnas Hireling?
dramatic monologue that captures the ambiguity and mystery of folklore
i’d still a light heart//and a heavy purse = antithesis and fronted conjunction
simple and pastoral form that creates simplicity in the narrative, reflecting a lack of formal education
cattle doted on him = ?
affection that goes unexplained, intentional ambiguity
mine only dropped heifers, fat as cream = simile
simple and lacks refinement, the sentiment is that of greed and richness
i grew fond of company//that knew when to shut up = element of juxtaposition
affection contrasts the harsh language, perhaps the speaker’s criticisms of others/wider society speaking irrelevantly
then one night, = volta
creates tension and ambiguity, moves to a sinister tone
disturbed from dreams of my dear late wife = alliteration
halting and harsh which reflects the sinister tone, perhaps longing?
i hunted down her torn voice
foreshadows attempt to kill hare, as well as raises questions about the nature of his relationship with the hireling AND his wife (dodgy and ambiguous)
light from the dark lantern
secrecy, mystery, eerie, weird vibes
stark-naked
raises further questions
fox-trap biting his ankle = personification
violent imagery
i knew him a warlock = simple
suggests certainty, almost expectancy
a cow with leather horns
dialect reflects culture and belief in folklore
muckle care= intertextuality to 17th century witch poem
reinforces supernatural, gives gravitas
i levelled//and blew the small hour through his heart = enjambement
tension is brought to a head through the quick relaying of speaker shooting, it is shocking, almost impulsive
the moon came out.
symbol of transformation, supernatural
i saw him fur over like a stone mossing = simile
simple and rustic which reflects the beliefs of the speaker
his lovely head thinned. his top lip gathered// his eyes rose like bread = anaphora
focus on looks is superficial, a little bit fruity which again makes you question the nature of their relationship that is purposefully left ambiguous
there was no//splash = enjambement
creates sense of intrigue
spend my nights casting balls from half-crowns = structural parallel
reversal of fortune that highlights the consequences of the speaker’s transgressions. weight of his guilt contrasts the literal weight at the beginning
it has been an hour since my last confession
regret contrasts the speaker’s surety suggesting contradictory feelings as it is a cycle of getting bullets then feeling remorse. perhaps he is compelled to repeat his story because he is not telling the full truth? again with the unexplained ambiguity
what is the significance of the title of The Deliverer?
allusion to Christianity is suggestive of saviours, different mothers
because they were crippled or dark or girls = polysyndetic list
emphasises excess amount of reasons and unfairness, not sugarcoated
found naked in the street//covered in garbage, stuffed in bags//abandoned at their doorstep = asyndetic list
lack of conjunction makes the list seem endless and the abuse as continuous, the extent to which the cycle goes on
covered in garbage, stuffed in bags = lack of figurative language
evokes a brutally raw image and provides an anecdotal element
covered…//abandoned = violent verbs at beginning of clause
syntactically reflects the harsh beginnings of the infants’ lives
one of them was dug up by a dog
no identity, discarded and dehumanised
the head barely poking above the ground//was bone = enjambement
prolongs the depiction of such a harrowing image
bone or wood, something to chew. = frequent end-stops
makes it a halting poem, description takes away human element as infant is seen as like a part
this is the one my mother will bring = change in structure
indicative of hope, almost a change in the fortune of the infant
they are American so they know about ceremony//and tradition
speaker is very critical of the culture that deems such atrocities acceptable
don’t know of her fetish for plucking hair off hands = idiosyncratic
something unique and particular to her, as the poem progresses, the infant becomes more humanised, has more personality
don’t know of her fetish for plucking hairr off hands,//or how her mother tried to bury her = juxtaposition
contrast of a sweet image to a horrific one makes it all the more harrowing, alongside the lack of figurative language
‘we couldn’t stop crying’ = dialogue
only outburst of emotion occurs in America
my mother = repeated references
emphasises the idea of her being a caring/supporting parent
feeling the strangeness of her empty arms
sense of bereft contrasts the mother abandoning the infant, clearly feels an emotional attachment
she returns to twilight corners = figurative language
hazy memory conveys a detachment from her time in India
it happens in some desolate hut
isolated, representative of the women
outside village boundaries
suggest transgression, hidden away
where mothers go to squeeze out life = polysemantic
evokes image of death and pain, indicative of the fate awaiting undesirable babies
watch body slither from body = dehumanising
lack of emotional connection or identity
felt for penis or no penis = blunt, simple line
return to numb detachment as the women cannot afford to confront their experiences
penis or no penis = repetition
makes the process seem ridiculously arbitrary
toss the baby = juxtaposition
something innocent and vulnerable being tossed conveys harsh carelessness
toss the baby to the heap others = repetition of brutal verbs
connotations of rubbish that dehumanise infant, and the cyclical continuation of abuse
trudge home
suggests reluctance and laborious nature, mothers as victims
lie down
idea of submission, subservience, subjugation
for their men again = analeptic structure
presents the cycle nature of abuse as interminable, inescapable
why is The Deliverer structured in a short sequence form?
enables poet to explore this situation from different perspectives
what is significant about the shifts of time and place in The Deliverer?
suggests invisible global connections which link the west and east/developing and developed world, and the fracturing of family relationships
what does the lack of figurative language in The Deliverer create?
flatness of tone reflecting the bleakness of the situation
what is the significance of the title From the Journal of Disappointed Man?
excessive, superfluous, and outdated like the speaker, also establishes him as more effeminate
i discovered these men driving a new pile
makes it sound like they are animals/a new species, indicative of their strength
as i said = appositive
excessive, speaker as an observer
a massive affair
contrasts the speaker, who feels insignificant, while paralleling the man
in the massive style = repetition
emphasises the significance the speaker has placed on this
even the men; very powerful men = diacope
emphasises their physicality and masculinity compared to the speaker’s insecurity and overthinking
silent men ignoring me = ironic
they are silent with each other, has nothing to do with the speaker
‘let go’, or ‘hold tight’ = monosyllables, short and sharp imperatives
lacking intelligence, makes them sound angry and aggressive
every one of the monsters = pejorative
dehumanising, obscurity of the workers because they are so ‘other’ to the speaker
the crack of Doom = Doomsday
exploration of power and eternity
to do their men justice = appositive
condescension, suggestive of the critical observer
their slow efforts = ironic
speaker is patronising and backhanded, despite being just as clueless
abandoned//his position
judgement at the workers for failing their responsibility
what is the significance of the speaker From the Journal of a Disappointed Man being intradiegetic?
unreliable and speculative
like a mystic into the water = simile
mocking the workers, speaker’s own prejudices are projected onto their description as a mystic is someone who professes to something but they see very little, or nothing at all
no one spoke; no one said what they saw = anaphoric repetition of a negator
reiterates lack of communication, emphasising emptiness and absence
though one fellow did spit
disgusting, primitive, stereotypes of class
slow = repeated
shows stasis and lack of progression
the most original thinker = analogy
emblem of philosophical thinking is mocking
heavy kind of majesty
connotations of royalty contrasts their status as workmen, sense of awe at their masculinity
eclipse of interest
hyperbolic imagery
the pile still in mid-air, and me of course = caesura
emphasises separation, and singular pronoun compared to rest of group
what is the importance of the symbolism of the pier From the Journal of a Disappointed Man?
symbolic of things going nowhere, victorian concept links to outdated title
what is significant about the victorian and edwardian influence?
eras of remarkable feats of engineering which contrasts the way the speakers and workers are unable to find a way forward , which takes us back to the disappointment of the title which applies to both sets of men
