The Emigree Flashcards
‘There once was a country…’
Use of temporal deixis from the outset creates a childlike tone.
‘Sunlight-clear’
The theme of sunlight is referred to repeatedly.
‘That child’s vocabulary’
The theme of language is used to show how the narrator has not moved on from her childhood.
‘It tastes of sunlight’
Gustatory imagery showing the narrator’s delight in the memory.
‘I have no passport’
This alludes to the pain and conflict inflicted by man-made borders.
‘They accuse me of absence… They accuse me of being dark in their free city’
Use of emphatic repetition to show the persecution the narrator endures in their new home by creating a violent tone.
How does the opening affect the poem?
The opening line, “There once was a country,” establishes a fantastical tone to highlight the fact that the place described is a memory, not reality. It’s been romanticised by the idealism of youth. The unreliability of the memory is further presented through the use of ellipsis. The title itself mirrors the poem, with the contrasting English and French establishing the idea of two conflicting cultures and identities.
How does structure affect the poem?
- The repetition of ‘they’ creates an aggressive and accusatory tone, making the city seem threatening and hostile. This reflects the aggression aimed at her from the citizens of her new city.
- The last stanza can be interpreted as a description of the narrator’s new city. Rumens uses enjambment in, “Through the city// Of walls,” to separate ‘of walls’ from the rest of the text, causing the reader to see the walls as an isolated idea, creating connotations of entrapment. The final stanza also contains caesura and free verse to create a sense of chaos which would conversely be interpreted as indicative of freedom.
How does form affect the poem?
It’s in free verse with no rhyme or rhythm. This could be seen as representing the chaos and lack of control over a country with no stable government. This interpretation juxtaposes the positive imagery in the poem.
Which poems can it be compared to?
Checking out me history: violent connotations between Agard’s culture and the one being inflicted on him by colonial rule (“Bandage up me eye with me own history”). Similar conflict is shown in the aggressive undertones of “I am branded by an impression of sunlight”. Both contradict each other, as bandages and sunlight are positive, but are seen as doing negative. Both poets attach great emotional significance to their cultural identity. Agard’s repetition of “Dem tell me” shows the anger the narrator feels at having had his heritage hidden from him. Similarly, Rumens appears to have maternal feelings towards her former home, as is shown by the childlike lexis of “I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”. However, in COMH Agard demonises his childhood through his angry tone and separation of stanzas to show how he was not educated sufficiently. Contrastingly, Rumens uses light imagery to present a dreamlike, idealised childhood (“An impression of sunlight”, “The white streets”, and “It tastes of sunlight”).
