The traveler Flashcards
Travelling
This poem is found…
in “Part 2” of Angelou´s collection called “Traveling”
The speaker´s journey is defines through…
the desolate landscapes
6 “Big” ideas
- Solitude
- Loneliness and isolation
- Explores the existential concepts of estrangement
- Abandonement
- Trying to find meaning and purpose in the face of hardships and adversities
- Progression of time
“Byways and bygones”
Through the archaic language, producing a nostalgic tone, Angelou suggests that time surpasses human constraints.
The lexical field of : “Byways” and “Bygones”
symbolises a journey through time - both of these lexical choices belong to the past
Universal message
The universe is a timeless feature
“Sun rays and sea waves”
Lexical field of nature.
Simplistic imagery, and lack of adjective, allows readers to delve into their own personal memories and interpret the poem from their own experiences.
Soft sibilance in : “Sun rays and sea waves”
Produces a soothing, melancholy, calm tone that may highlight the natural beauty of nature.
Angelou states universally recognised images to highlight…
the wonder and beauty that they have. She may be suggesting that we take these natural phenomena’s for granted
She adapts a…
storytelling tone to her poem
“Manless and friendless”
The concise language symbolises the speaker´s absence of meaningful human connection
The repeated suffix, “-less”, obtains…
(+ harsh sounding sibilance)
negative connotations that may represent the speaker´s loneliness and solitude.
Perhaps the speaker is frustrated and regrets her decision of distancing herself from society.
The harsh sounding sibilance may mirror the speaker´s bitterness and disappointment
“friend-“
Angelou highlights the basic human needs. She suggests that human interactions are essential for our existence as they provide comfort, and support, nurturing our morals and beliefs.
“man-“
The speaker may be speaking on a universal level as she voices her lack of romantic interactions.
OR
“Manless” may be suggesting that the isolation inflicted upon the speaker due to this journey has separated her from her own species. Perhaps she has been dehumanised and / or rejected from her own kind.
“No cave my home”
(syntax)
The clipped syntax - the speaker is going back to primordial methods of communication
“No cave my home”
The line gives the impression that the speaker has searched everywhere to come up with this statement - > The speaker is missing out from essential humanistic feelings of safety
“cave”
Symbolises the fundamental beginnings of men as it previously served as a sanctum. (primordial)
The speaker doesn´t even feel comfort in life. She is missing out from essential humanistic feelings of safety
“This is my torture”
Emphatically highlights the speaker´s suffering and unhappiness
The possessive pronoun, “my”, further establishes…
the speaker´s isolation ad seclusion. She has to struggle with this alone.
“Torture”
Readers may wonder whether she has brought this upon herself or whether someone has imposed it upon her.
“And lone nights long”
“My long nights, lone”
(final lines of the stanzas)
The inverted syntax, causing the lines to mirror each other, emphasises the idea that the speaker´s pain is cyclical and everlasting.
This is further established by the adjective, “long”, meaning never-ending.
The adjective, “lone”, portrays the speaker as…
solitary and may highlight her relentlessness as a result of it
The caesura in : “My long nights, lone”
Produces a visual and auditory separation - emphatic. Slows down the pace of the poem which may convey the speaker´s diminishing hope for a better future
2 quatrains
Companion poem with “The memory”
Composed fully of enjambment
May symbolise the rapid flow of time
Absent end stop at the end of the poem
Cyclical, unending journey of loneliness
