The Emigree Flashcards
Who wrote the emigree?
Carol Rumens
What is the opening line of the poem, which makes it sound like a story but also suggests loss?
“There once was a country…”
What quotation suggests that the memory is clear and happy?
“sunlight-clear”
What does “it seems” and “i am told” suggest?
Hints at another voice telling her about her past
What does “November” represent?
Difficult times, when things are cold, dark and gloomy
What metaphor suggests that the narrator’s memories are bright and positive but also solid and fixed?
“the bright, filled paperweight”
What quotation suggests that the country has been invaded and that the speaker’s positive view of it isn’t accurate?
“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants”
What does “i am branded by an impression of sunlight” mean?
The negative “branded is juxtaposed with the positive “impression of sunlight”. “Branded” also suggests a permanence to her view - it can’t change
What does “white” and “glow” suggest about the city?
That it is pure - heavenly
In what quotation is time personified as an enemy, which can’t affect the speaker’s memories?
“time rolls its tanks”
What does “child’s vocabulary” and “every coloured molecule” suggest?
It is a reference to the language of her childhood. The metaphor makes the language seem bright and precarious
What quotation uses gustatory imagery to increase the vividness of the experience?
“It tastes of sunlight”
What is the first line of the last stanza which sounds hopeless?
“I have no passport, there’s no way back at all”
In what quotation is the city personified to represent the speaker’s memories?
“but my city comes to me in its own white plane”
What quotation uses childlike joy?
“I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”
What do the quotations “city of walls” “they accuse me” suggest?
They’re contrasting perceptions of the city the speaker is now in. She see it as restrictive but “they” se it as “free”
What does the quotation “they accuse me” suggest?
It is unclear who “they” are but they’re menacing and the repetition reinforces their threat to the speaker
What does “dark” imply?
The speaker is accused of being “dark” in her current city but this contrasts with the brightness she associates with her old city
What is the effect of the final line “evidence of sunlight”?
The poem ends on a positive note, despite the threats of death, the city is still associated with “sunlight” just as it is at the end of the first two stanzas
What is the context of the poem?
The poem is based on modern examples of emigration, where people have to flee their homes because of war, corruption, tyranny or dictatorship
What is the form of the poem?
The poem is written in the first person, with 3 eight-line stanzas but no regular rhythm or rhyme scheme. Lots of enjambment in the first 2 stanzas but lots of end-stopping in the 3rd stanza, reflecting the speakers feeling of confinement in hew new “city of walls”
What are the tone/mood of the poem?
Nostalgia and threat
