the gun Flashcards
How is the title significant?
Definite article gives the gun authority and power
How is the first line of the poem significant?
‘Bringing a gun into a house changes it.’ - short, end stopped stanza presents a sudden, albeit uncertain form of change
‘stretched out…
…like something dead itself’
What is the AO2? ‘stretched out like something dead itself’
The use of this simile is ironic as the gun causes death, yet is personified as a living entity
‘casting a…
…grey shadow on the green checked cloth’
What is the AO2? ‘casting a grey shadow on the green checked cloth’
Juxtaposing colour imagery suggests that the gun had transformed and corrupted this domestic environment
‘perforating tins…
…dangling on orange string from trees in the garden’
What is the AO2? ‘perforating tins dangling from orange string from trees in the garden’ to ‘a rabbit shot clean from the head’
Potentially the volta of the poem, juxtaposition between a world of innocence and play to brutal and deadly violence
What quotations convey the gun’s impact on the household?
‘soon the fridge fills with creatures’ - the gun has further corrupted the domestic world
‘your hands reek of gun oil and entrails’ - the character has been contaminated/polluted
‘your eyes gleam…
…like when sex was fresh’
What is the AO2? ‘your eyes gleam like when sex was fresh’
The simile suggests that the gun brings an erotic thrill and awakens a desire that had been forgotten
What is the AO2? ‘A gun brings a house alive.’
This single line mirrors the abbreviated opening. However, the change is now more certain, the gun brings a sense of vitality and energy
What is the AO2? ‘I join in the cooking’
Switch to first person conveys how the speaker moves from observer to participant, showing how the gun has further corrupted them
‘jointing…
…and slicing, stirring and tasting’
What is the AO2? ‘jointing and slicing, stirring and tasting’
Listing of sibilant verbs suggests the speaker feels a sense of pleasure and ritualistic enjoyment
What is the AO2? ‘King of Death’
The metaphor presents the gun as something noble, authoritative and powerful, emphasised by the capitalisation
What is the AO2? ‘His black mouth sprouting golden crocuses’
Poisonous flowers depict the gun as something beautiful but deadly
