the emigree

Question 1

the emigree

Answer 1

title itself is indicative of the content of the poem
- contrast between the english “the” and the french “emigreé”, establishing the idea of two contrasting cultures and identities

Question 2

summary

Answer 2

about someone who had to leave their country as a child to be safe. they are looking back fondly whilst lamenting (grieving over) the discrimination they experience in their new country

Question 3

context

Answer 3

• links to the modern day refugee crisis

Question 4

“there was once a country…”

Answer 4

• fantastical tone to highlight how her old city is nothing but a memory rather than a reality
• creates a childlike tone to the poem

Question 5

“sunlight-clear”, “impression of sunlight”, “tastes of sunlight”

Answer 5

• theme of sunlight - repetition
• vividness of the experience

Question 6

“that child’s vocabulary”

Answer 6

narrator has not moved on from her childhood- reminiscing her past

Question 7

“banned by the state”

Answer 7

shows how her new country is discriminatory against her and her language

Question 8

“my city comes to me in its own white plane”

Answer 8

the city is personified - the “white plane” could represent her memories

Question 9

“they accuse me… they accuse me”

Answer 9

• unclear who “they” is, but they are menacing and it emphasises their threat to the speaker - shows the persecution they face in their new home by creating a violent tone
• accusatory and aggressive tone
• emphasises the segregation

Question 10

“evidence of sunlight”

Answer 10

poem ends on a positive note - despite the threats of death, the city is still associated with sunlight, similarly to the ending of the first two stanzas as well

Question 11

form

Answer 11

• first person
• lots of enjambment throughout the poem, except for the last stanza where they is a lot of end stopping, which could emphasise the speakers feelings of confinement in her new city
• free verse with no rhyme or rhythm

Question 12

structure

Question 13

language of conflict

Answer 13

vocab associated with war, invasion and tyranny shows that maybe her city is not a perfect as she remembers it

Question 14

language about light

Answer 14

city is described in right, colourful terms, emphasising the speakers feelings about it being a perfect, positive place

Question 15

personification

Answer 15

the city is initially personified as “sick with tyrants”, but in the final stanza she begins to describe it in human terms showing the strength of the speakers love for it

Question 16

feelings and attitudes

Answer 16

• nostalgia: her positive memories of her city are unwavering - sense of yearning for the city and the past
• threat: suggestions that the city has been invaded by a tyrant, but she tries to ignore these things and protect her old city

Question 17

extended metaphor

Answer 17

for a lost childhood
- “i comb through its hair and love its shining eyes” implies that she acts like a mother to her city through her unconditional love for it protectiveness
- this impression is reinforced by “my city hides behind me” showing that is willing to defend it from the criticism of the outside world

Question 18

comparison with checking out me history (john agard)

Answer 18

• similarities: both poets attach great emotional significance to their cultural identity. agard’s repetition of “dem tell me” shows the anger he feel about having his identity hidden from him. likewise, rumens appears to have maternal feelings towards her former home
• differences: comh - narrator demonises his childhood through his angry tone and the separation of the stanzas to show how he’s not sufficiently educated; emigree - rumens uses light imagery (sunlight) to present a dreamlike, idealised childhood

Question 19

themes

Answer 19

• loss and absence
• memory
• identity