The Emigree Flashcards
Who wrote it?
Carol Rumens
What happens in the poem?
The poet describes leaving her country behind when she was a child; she hears bad new about it but never forgets her child-like image
The country now appears to be war-torn
She realises, as an adult, that her childhood image is false, and she cannot return to her city
It is not clear if the city is imagined
What does ‘emigree’ mean?
A French noun meaning, to emigrate (to leave)
What is the form of the poem?
3 stanzas
What is the rhythm and rhyme like?
It lacks any sort of rhythm or rhyme scheme
What person is the poem in?
The emigree’s relationship with her homeland takes the form of a first person account
What quote starts with, “There once…”?
“There was once a country… I left it as a child”
What quote starts with, “The bright…”?
“The bright, filled paperweight”
What quote starts with, “It may be…”?
“It may be a war, may be sick with tyrants”
What quote starts with, “I am branded…”?
“I am branded by an impression of sunlight”
What quote starts with, “I have no…”?
“I have no passport, there’s no way back at all”
What quote starts with, “I comb…”?
“I comb its hair and its shining eyes”
What quote starts with, “Time rolls…”?
“Time rolls its tanks and the frontiers rise between us”
What quote starts with, “They accuse…”?
“They accuse me of being dark in their free city”
What quote starts with, “My city…”?
“My city hides behind me”
What does each stanza end with?
Sunlight, the city is continually described using gleaming, illuminated language
How does the speaker feel?
Nostalgic about the city she left, and nothing is seemingly able to change her positive memory of it, even in its war-torn state
What does the semantic field of war and conflict suggest?
The city seems to have been taken over by tyrants. The semantic field also suggests that the city is restless
What 3 poems can you compare this to?
Kamikaze
Poppies
London
