The Emigree

Question 1

‘I am branded by an impression of sunlight’

Answer 1

• motif of sunlight shows how constant her memory is (sunlight is always there) - shows her memories appear to be bright and happy compared to the ‘dark’ around her
• contrast in ‘branded’ and ‘sunlight’ - shows how people are persecuted for simply where they are from (branded could refer to to punishment)
• branded could also show the strength in her memory as ‘branded’ is permanent
• shows how the power of her memory is greater than the powers of ‘the state’

Question 2

‘They accuse me of being dark in their free city’

Answer 2

• repetition of ‘they’ creates aggressive and accusatory tone - makes the city seem threatening and hostile
• reflects the aggression aimed at her from the citizens due to their racism - this shows that she is experiencing a new threat which is no longer about physical conflict but social rejection
• feels as though she doesn’t belong in her new city as she doesn’t share their culture or identity
• ‘free’ is ironic, she is not actually free as she is marginilaised and alienated by the citizens

Question 3

‘There was once a country…’

Answer 3

• fanatical tone - begins story-like to highlight the place described is a memory rather than a reality
• shows how the place is romanticised by the idealism of youth and was never as perfect as the way it was depicted, shown by the news of tyrants and wars which she acknowledge as a sad truth but believes her memories to be infallible
• ellipsis - shows the unreliability of her memory as it creates the pause necessary for the narrator to gather their thoughts and carry on

Question 4

‘like a hollow doll’ ‘I comb its hair and love its shining eyes’

Answer 4

• lexical field of childhood
• originally, she is the childish one - ‘hollow doll’ shows how she uses her memories to comfort herself -> she likens herself to something childlike because even though she can’t use the language, she can’t forget it
• final stanza, roles reversed, perhaps the memories have weakened so she nurtures what’s left of them and what she cherishesor perhaps it shows how she has grown up
• makes readers feel more upset about her experiencing segregation and racism because she is still human, and in fact, the child-like references make her appear to be more innocent and pitiful

Question 5

Structure

Answer 5

Free verse with no rhythm or rhyme which could represent the chaos and lack of control over a country with no stable government or it could represent freedom. Limited order to the poem in the similar stanza lengths which could represent the attempt at order inflicted upon her life through her emigration

Question 6

Context

Answer 6

Rumens was born in London but also lived in Belfast and Wales as well as travelling widely through Eastern Europe and Russia. This is reflected in her writing which is largely about cultures, language and foreign customs.