to my nine year old self Flashcards
How is the opening line significant?
‘You just forgive me.’ - Speaker addresses her younger self and apologies, feeling as though she had betrayed her
‘Don’t look so…
…surprised, perplexed, and eager to be gone’
What is the AO2? ‘Don’t look so surprised, perplexed, and eager to be gone’
The tone of the adult is formal, contrasting the informality/easiness of youth
‘You would rather…
…run than walk, rather climb than run, rather leap from a height’
What is the AO2? ‘You would rather run than walk, rather climb than run, rather leap from a height’
Anaphoric repetition presents her younger self as full of energy and purpose and constantly pushing boundaries
‘Look at the…
…scars, and watch the way I move’
What is the AO2? ‘Look at the scars, and watch the way I move’
Speaker instructs her younger self to observe her, suggesting that it’s the only way she could recognise her
‘three minutes after…
…waking we’d jump straight out of the ground floor window into the summer morning’
What is the AO2? ‘three minutes after waking we’d jump straight out of the ground floor window into the summer morning’
Plural pronoun implies the adult speaker still feels some connection. Younger self is defined by adventure and spontaneity, emphasised by the ‘summer morning’, a metaphor of an idyllic time
‘it’s as fresh in your mind…
…as the white paper to write it on’
What is the AO2? ‘It’s as fresh in your mind as the white paper to write it on’
Similar conveys the idea of untainted possibilities
How is listing used to present childhood?
‘an ice lolly factory, a wasp trap, and a den by the cesspit’ - disconnected list of objects and events presents childhood as unstructured, random and free, suggesting that the undercurrent of risk and danger goes unnoticed
How do we see the speaker slowly disconnect herself from her younger self?
Shift from ‘Id like to say we could be friends’ to ‘I won’t keep you then’, move from plural to singular pronouns
‘hide down…
…scared lanes from men in cars after girl children’
What is the AO2? ‘hide down scared lanes from men in cars after girl children’
Personification suggests the settings of youth are linked to danger, albeit she doesn’t experience this
How is the structure of the poem significant?
The enjambment across stanzas is intended to capture the freedom and movement of youth
‘a rope that…
…swings from that tree long buried in housing’
What is the AO2? ‘a rope that swings from that tree long buried in housing’
Contrasting symbolic images, where a rope swing (youthful adventure) has been replaced by a house (adult responsibilities)
‘slowly peeling…
…a ripe scab on your knee to taste it on your tongue’
What is the AO2? ‘slowly peeling a tube scab from your knee to taste it on your tongue’
Sibilance - younger self is immersed in a time of exploration and sensory pleasure
