the gun Flashcards
Structure
-lines vary in length showing instability brought by the gun
-free verse and no rhyme scheme but occassionally assonant half rhymes
-use of punctuation and enjambement
Summary
–> the poem’s speaker is at first wary when her partner brings a hunting rifle home, believing that its ominous, dangerous presence “changes” the house
–> but once the speaker gets used to the gun, she revels in the new energy it gives her and her partner
–> as the pair shoot and eat animals, they experience the intoxicating allure of power: the gun has given them a gleeful mastery over death
form
–> 30 line poem broken up into 6 stanzas of varying lengths
–> each of the stanzas illustrates a different way that the gun alters the speaker’s house and, eventually, her life
= because the speaker isn’t tied to a rigid poetic form, these stanzas can change shape to fit the shape of her thoughts, ranging from seven-line stanzas of vivid description to a one-line stanza that makes a bold, punchy statement
–> poem’s fresh, engaging, free-flowing form thus evokes the speaker’s mood as she begins to enjoy the gun’s power, letting her fit her language to her thoughts and feelings
rhyme
–> doesn’t follow a rhyme scheme which gives the poem an unconstrained, conversational sound
–> the poem’s musicality and intensity come not from rhyme, but from internal patterns of sound (like assonance and consonance) and vivid imagery
Poem Context
-> poet spoke publicly about the experience that inspired this poem, thus showing it is safe to assume that she is the speaker
–> when she moved from urban England to rural Scotland, she was surprised to see so many people carrying around hunting rifles
–> soon enough, though, her own husband bought one, and though she was skeptical at first, she eventually took an interest in the gun
Title
> using the article “the” instead of “a” emphasises its importance = insinuates that it is its own character (more threatening nature)
–> blunt, straight-forward title
analysis 1:
Bringing a gun into a house
changes it.
You lay it on the kitchen table,
stretched out like something dead
itself: the grainy polished wood stock
jutting over the edge,
the long metal barrel
casting a grey shadow
on the green-checked cloth.
Bringing a gun into a house
changes it.
-enjambment foreshadows lasting change to the house and the speaker herself
‘You lay it on the kitchen table,’
-short and sudden plosive sounds portray dominance a violence, cleating discomfort
‘stretched out like something dead itself: ‘
-ironic as its depicted as a dead thing laid out on a table after hunting as that is the guns purpose
-image of ‘stretched out’ gives it predatorial imagrey (lounging and taunting those around with its danger)
-use of enjabement is jarring and shows the unpredictable changes and violence that a gun can bring
‘jutting over the edge’
-highlights the transgression of the gun
‘long metal barrel’
-phallic symbol of gun suggested, shows how masculine energy overpowers feminine energy in a domestic landscape
‘grey shadow’
shows how the house is cast in violence
‘green checkered cloth’
domestic connotations and innocence of green checkered cloth violated by sinister intent of the gun
ANALYSIS 2:
At first it’s just practice:
perforating tins
dangling on orange string
from trees in the garden.
Then a rabbit shot
‘At first it’s just practice:’
reflective tone established suggests speaker is in future, already desensitised to the gun
-colon adds inevitability
‘orange string’
-orange acts as a warning (traditional associations of orange with warning signs)
‘dangling… from trees in the garden’
-connotations of decoration showing sinister nature has taken control of the warmth and domecisity
-diparity between decoration and the real image creates discomfort and a feeling of transgression
-‘clean through the head’, speaker is desensitised
analysis 3:
Soon the fridge fills with creatures
that have run and flown.
Your hands reek of gun oil.
And entrails. You trample
fur and feathers. There’s a spring
in your step; your eyes gleam
like when sex was fresh.
‘that have run and flown.’
-these animals used to excercise their own agency, emphasises the inevitability of death
‘reek of gun oil’
-image of freshness and decay is contrasted throughout the entire poem, freshness in their life is permeated with decay because of transgression of the gun
;fur and feathers’
-alliteration draws attention to animals becoming objectified
-attitude towards violence and death changes (the speaker becomes attracted to violence)
‘our eyes gleam
like when sex was fresh.’
-speaker is attracted to the heightened masculinity predatorial engagement has given to their partner, adding axcitedment to sexuality
-could say the gun has killed a part of them, and they have become animalistic, their eyes gleaming like a predator
‘a gun brings a hous alive’
-speakers position made clear
-ironic that a destuctive death force has made this house alive
-doesn’t condoem the actions of their partner
analysis 4: I join in the cooking: jointing
and slicing, stirring and tasting –
excited as if the King of Death
had arrived to feast, stalking
out of winters woods,
his black mouth
sprouting golden crocuses.
I join in the cooking: jointing
and slicing, stirring and tasting –
-punctuatation is significant as shows duality of the speaker, sends the poem in a bustle of movement as the speaker is enamored with the energy of the gun
‘king of dearh’
-king rather than queen is significant as shows death, the master of all is masculine, suggests masculinity overrides femininity
his black mouth
sprouting golden crocuses.
-believes new life can come from darkness (bright imagrey of crocuses juxtapose darkness of his mouth)
