Storm on the Island Flashcards
**We are prepared: we build our houses squat,
Sense of community/in it together/strong, resolute
Immediately followed by adaptations they have had to make over time. Ravaged by storms
Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.
Listing: reinforces measures taken - man made. Way of life dictated by elements. It’s the best they can do but is it good enough?
The wizened earth had never troubled us
Barren,hostile, inhospitable environment but at least you can’t lose what you’ve never had.
Personification of earth -
With hay, so as you can see, there are no stacks
You can’t lose what you never had. Positive in the face of overwhelming negatives
dialogue with reader, conversational, bringing you in, youre watching it happen
Or stooks that can be lost. Nor are there trees
How do they live/eat? insight into harsh island conditions even without the storm
theme of loneliness, solitude, nothing to share in storms brutal force, nothing to measure it against
Which might prove company when it blows full
nothing to share in the storms rage, to deflect its ire
still unnamed, unknown, mystical, omnipresent and mystical. Everywhere and nowhere
**Blast: you know what I mean **- leaves and branches
Enjambment - continuation of a sentence from one line to next. Reader carried swiftly to next line.
Plosive alliteration - blows/Blast - gives sense of violent aggression. Nature is attacking island. Also could resemble sound of bullets - onomatopoeia. Weather as a deadly weapon.
conversational again
…when it blows full
Blast: plosive alliteration - reflects aggressive violence of the wind, unseen yet omnipresent.
Stark, powerful, onomatopaeic, intensity, destructive force, impact bomb like terror, panic
Can raise a chorus in a gale
noise to take mind off the storm
So that you can listen to the thing you fear
better than the unknown. Trees give indication of strength, direction. Shifts focus away from self
Forgetting that it pummels your house too.
vulnerable, supposed to be safe in your own home. Relentless, not stopping, upper hand, close quarters
But there are no trees, no natural shelter.
Back to reality/present day/stop dreaming repetition of no, lifeless, barren, harsh. Working against humanity, no safe space outside. Must be endured from inside
You might think that the sea is company,
people love being by the sea, sound of sea provides comfort but image is shattered
Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs
Oxymoron
far away, usually fine, not an issue day to day
But no: when it begins, the flung spray hits
The very windows, spits like a tame cat
simile, unpredictable,volatile, uncontrolled
word choice - vicious, disrespectful, hostile, enemy
Mistaken belief they have tamed nature. Islanders have never owned the nature. Always more powerful, always has upper hand
Turned savage. We just sit tight while wind dives
sit/dives/strafes - contrasting verbs
vulnerability/passivity in face of vast dynamic power of nature
Military Semantic field - bombarded, salvo, strafes
And strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo.
dives/strafes/bombarded - military associations. Under attack. Storm is an onslaught against humanity. Word choice brings to mind fighter jets swooping, bombing targets.
Space is a salvo - paradox/comparison. Havoc been wrought by unseen forces therefore how to harness and control. This thing is bigger than man.
Never ending battle, odds stacked against you (catholics in NI) Uneasy relationship with naturl (state) forces. Rug can be pulled. Feelings of viulnerability and fear in face of its power
We are bombarded by the empty air.
Military imagery - implies constant, unforgiving, ruthless assault. Sense of defencelessness, weakness. Nature has the upper hand,authority. On its terms
Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.
Reflective ending but ultimately bleak and pessimistic tone. In contrast to confident opening lines. ‘fear’ reveals the true unease and vulnerability felt
paradox revisited - biggest threat to islander’s safety is invisible (deep state). Intagible, can’t be tamed or fought against. Force of the state.
Oxymoron
Central Concern - powerlessness and vulnerability of humanity against infinite, mysterious power of the naturla world/sate
