THE BARGAIN Flashcards
1
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“i keep losing you and finding you”
A
- just as the couple keep losing each other, getting split up by the bustling crowds and then managing to reunite, so too do they keep losing sight of why they are still together, then they suddenly have a happy moment together and remember or “find” the goodness in their relationship.
2
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“yes today we’re in love aren’t we?”
A
- there is a tone of uncertainty here, emphasised by the question mark punctuation.
- “today” they are in love, but what about tomorrow?; their relationship is clearly quite unsteady, perhaps in the past there have been days where she has felt they haven’t quite “loved” each other.
3
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“the real antique dirt cheap”
A
- SENTENCE STRUCTURE spacing suggests the distance between the couple is growing.
- just as the couple are looking for something of value in the markets but are not willing to pay the price, so too are they unwilling to put in the effort and work to find a compromise in order to save their relationship.
4
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“looking back, looking forward, don’t know which way”
A
- just as the couple are lost in the Barrows, unsure which way to go, so too are they lost within their relationship.
- the speaker doesn’t know whether to look back to the past and reminisce on the previous joys in their relationship or look forward and realise they both deserve a fresh start, away from each other; the speaker is questioning whether they should remain in their relationship.
5
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“the raw cold gets colder”
A
- this short sentence is very abrupt and suggests the distance between the couple is growing and their relationship is becoming more intense.
- nightfall had come to the markets and the previous cold attitude between the couple feels much colder in the dreary, depressing dark.
6
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“a pinstripe waistcoat that needs a stitch it just won’t get”
A
- just as the broken things the couple have bought will likely never be repaired to a useable condition no matter how many promises they make, so too will their relationship never be mended as neither of them will put in the work for it.
7
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“You and I”
A
- the sentence structure here, with this phrase on a seperate line, represents the distance between the couple when they are at the markets.
8
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“twitch and fret”
A
- this word choice suggests anticipated trouble.
- just as the police are waiting for the football fans to cause trouble, so too is the speaker waiting for trouble to erupt between them on what should be a happy day out.
9
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“buttonpopping stationhopping”
A
- the word choice here and the fact that they are made up helps to present the boy in a precise way adn creates a playful tone.
10
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“grit our teeth”
A
- this word choice here is a play on words; grit from the sugar they are eating and the couple are griting their teeth to prevent them from saying something they’ll regret.
11
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“oh we’ve never shouldered much”
A
- theme of complex relationships - the couple only ever buy small, trivial things, similar to their relationship as they refuse to commit on anything big.
12
Q
[THE BARGAIN]
“I wish we could either mend things or learn to throw them away”
A
- this final line links to the previous stanza and the broken items they own.
- the speaker wishes they could mend their relationship or end it, yet they seem unable to do either, leaving the poem on a tone of uncertainty.
