Slate Flashcards
“There is no beginning”
Present tense shows that Scotland had always been around.
“We”
Narrator. We as a nation. Not aliens.
“Thunder”
Wild weather. Scary and powerful.
“Volcanic”
Extreme geology. Very hot. Moulds landscape quickly.
“Watched long seas plunder / faults”
Plunder = To steal.
Sea and land interacting. Sea steals faults, Independence is stolen from Scots.
“Laughed as Staffa cooled”
Cooled = contrast with fires.
Sense of awe and amazement at the beauty of the landscape.
“Drumlins blue as / bruises were grated off like nutmegs”
They were ugly and unwanted but were made nice. Grated implies effortlessness, it was easy for the Scots to be let down by the referendum.
“Streak”
Left a mark on Scotland.
“Strike”
Scotland was hit but stayed strong.
“Seldom stroke”
Nothing about the transformation was gentle.
“Blizzards” “Sea-poundings”
Scotland went through many challenges and harsh weather to make it the way it is.
“Shouldered off”
None of the past challenges matter anymore.
“Memory of men! That was to come”
Everything physically made a mark but humans haven’t yet.
We are yet to create impact. ‘!’ = ceasura.
“Empty hunger”
The land was ready but there was no people, people make a nation. Hungry for people. “People make Glasgow”
“The sorry glory of a rainbow”
Glimmer of hope. Temporary. Positive after negative. Rainbow = another referendum.
“Their heels kicked flint, chalk, slate.”
Materials that make up the land. Their heels kicked for independence. Landscape is waiting for people, people are waiting for independence.
“Slate”
A fresh slate after the referendum. A new beginning with humans.
Structure?
Sonnet. Usually associated with love, represents hope for political change and love for Scotland.
Themes?
Change. Nature.
