Revelation - Lochhead Flashcards
“I remember”
a memory - retrospect - commonality
“… the black bull…”
emphasises the subject with the plosive /b/ - pops out at the reader
“… eggs and milk.”
full of protein and calcium - nurturing
white suggests purity and innocence
feminine: eggs - reproductive
“… Bob…”
another use of plosive /b/ double plosive - pops - diminutive - friendly
“… a monster…”
Contrasts with Bob - horrible and nightmarish - terrified of the adult world
“… with charm…”
attractive, almost seductive - a feature children wouldn’t recognise in niavety
“… At the threshold of his outhouse…”
A minimum value - a small building on the grounds of a house - a first encounter with adult world
“… someone
held my hand…”
comfort or reassurance - anxiety or fear - leading or balancing
“… peer inside…”
look carefully, trying to make out some detail - dark and adjusting to adult world
“… At first, only black
and the hot reek of him…”
Synaesthesia (hot and reek) - New line creates drama and a pause in the dark as if it took a minute to adjust to the light.
Reek, harsh /k/ suggests a strong smell, generally unpleasant, you would be very aware of it, unable to focus on anything else besides it.
“… he was immense…”
extremely large in size - notable especially to a child
“… edges merging with the darkness…”
so black indistinguishable - suggests evil presence - continues the sense of mystery
‘Edges… darkness’ - assonance creates menacing effect
“… big bulk…”
the repeated /b/ creates explosive sound
“… a roar to be really scared of…”
childlike language conveys emotions effectively, repeated /r/ highlights the growling
“… a trampling…”
means to step on and crush - a frightened youth needing comfort approaching nightmarish creature, aware of it towering over her, demonic, indistinct presence. Tie all of this together and get the sensation of being claustrophobic, like she feels it’s looming over her but she can’t really see it.
“His eyes swivelled in the great wedge of his tossed head”
Swivelled - rotation, suggests confusion, frustration, out of breath - reinforces aggression
The bull looks around enraged and confused by not being able to move further
Great wedge - wedge is a chunky block - doesn’t suggest a particularly intelligent mind is wielded by the bull
The bull tosses - suggests power and exertion - its head in frustration and exhaustion
“He roared his rage. His nostrils gaped like wounds”
Onomatopoeia - short dramatic sentences
The alliteration of /r/ builds to a climax, suggests gravel, growling, rage, aggression
The thought of wide open wounds suggests conflict which seems like the ultimate event, end of a battle - life-threatening
Flaring is a sign of aggression
“… oblivious hens…”
have no idea about the bull - the child was once a hen, but is growing up and starting to move towards shed
“…festive tinkling…”
a ‘clanking’ and a ‘jerk’ for child - suggests younger ones are unaware of what harsher topics actually are - /f/ is soft /s/ is smooth and the /l/ softens the harsh /k/ the slight use of a harsh sound suggests vaguely aware, but then softened by innocence
“… mellow stone…”
mellow is the opposite of harsh, it means pleasant stone is structural, solid, used in foundations - suggests boundaries, smooth stone walls, not looking to explore further because they don’t feel restricted
“… hasp…”
the metal plate used to lock doors with something like a padlock - emphasises ‘mellow stone’ as a boundary, not the lock itself but the means by which the padlock can be used: innocence - adults filter but complacency of a child helps hide harsh realities
“… Black Mass…”
capitalization - a name for the bull - mystery and evil - mass suggests its large scale in relation to the child - the child see’s adulthood as a massive undertaking which they know nothing of
“…straining…”
putting a lot of energy or effort into something - interesting because it is the mystery of adulthood straining to be let loose, not the child craning their neck to get a view of it - doesn’t feel ready for it but it’s waiting to be laid upon her
“… always half-known he existed…”
always vaguely aware that adults are doing or saying things without them, just like the ‘festive tinkling’ the chickens hear
“… antidote…”
the cure to a toxin - contrasts with ‘…Anti-Christ…’ - suggests confusion
“… anarchy…”
Against the government or God in this case - contrasts with calmness and pleasantness of the eggs and the milk
“… eggs, well rounded, self contained”
reflects on herself - feels threatened by the bull, threatening her innocence and complacency
“… placidity of milk…”
non-aggressive - again reflects the peace that the bull is going to disturb - entering the adult world
“… alien…”
‘…pigtails thumping…’ - she styles her hair in a way that might be considered childish, it hits her back as she runs
feels unnatural to her - suggests the childish feeling feels unnatural
“… on my back…”
Coming up behind her, something she is currently aware of - feels fear as adulthood creeps up on her
“… pulled the wings from butterflies and
blew up frogs with straws.”
Isn’t interested in men - not fully on her way to adulthood yet
“… thorned hedge and harried…”
Begins to observe the bad in the world as she moves through the it
“… small and shaking…”
Doesn’t feel able to undertake lives challenge - she feels ill-equipped to handle
“… scared of the eggs shattering”
She begins to feel the pressures that there are in the world
