You Flashcards
Name the three main points of the poem.
- Focusses more on the sexual lustful side of love
- Shows how it can be difficult to not feel love or have lust for your partner
- Shows the lovers’ dominance
Name the four main motifs
- The elements
- The moon
- The power of the lovers’ names
- Love as a gift
Name the three main themes
- Love
- Lust
- Nature
Name the 2 main lexical fields
- Nature
- Magic
How many lines?
14
How many stanzas?
4
How many quatrains?
3
How many couplets
1
Is it a sonnet?
No but it is similar to one- subversion represents the tempestuous (conflicting) nature of love
Does it have rhyme
No
Is it in any specific meter
No
Is there an equal number of lines
No- it is inconsistent- symbolises the chaotic nature of love
Is there an equal number of lines per stanza
No
Is it a stereotypical love poem
No- it is more lustful than loving
Does it have much enjambment of caesura
Yes
What is its tone
Erotic and highly charged
What is the extended metaphor, if there is one?
Sex
Does the narrator address the reader as if they are the object of the narrator’s affection
Yes
What does the title show
gives the poem an intimate feel as if the poem is dedicated to just one person
What does “uninvited” show
That the person is powerless and unable to control how they feel. They also wouldn’t want to feel this way
What does “too late” show
That the thoughts are unwelcome
What does “bed” have connotations of
sex
What does “hard, hard” have connotations of
Sex and arousal- it is an innuendo used twice for emphasis
What are “like tears” and “like a charm” examples of?
Similes
What can be said about the simile “like tears”
Melodramatic and over the top description- emphasises how the speaker feels
What is “soft, salt, on my lips”
Sibilance- soft sounds. Can also be a snake, so could be signs of evil?
What do they mean by “the sound of its bright syllables”
The narrator’s love interest’s name- also quite poetic (she is a poet and so was Jackie Kay, presuming it is about Kay)
What does “Like a charm” and “like a spell” have connotations of
Magic; witchcraft; snakes. Also that she is having something done to her and she is not in control and is not enjoying it.
Why is “Falling in love” powerful
Acts like a prompt to speaker giving a speech- announces following stanza
It is short
Highlights the importance
What does the oxymoron “glamorous hell” show
She has a torn vision on lovee
What does “parched heart” show
The heart is thirsty, longing for something it can’t have. It is dramatic and has an up and down feeling of love like love is a rollercoaster
Why is the simile “like a tiger ready to kill” impactful
Danger
strong powerful emotions that love makes them feel
Give 3 examples of dark undertones in stanza 2
“kill”; “flame’s”; “fierce”.
What word is repeated twice in the last line of stanza 2
“life”
What word contrasts with the third line of stanza 2
“beautiful”
What does “strolled in” show
Creates an imagine of someone nonchalant and arrogant
What does the verb “hid” show in the first line of stanza 3
Tried to avoid falling in love- perhaps scared (from a previous bad experience of it)
What does the premodifying adjective “ordinary” show
Life was boring before and mundane
What line contrasts with the dramatic images in the poem
“I hid in my ordinary days, in the long grass of routine, in my camouflage rooms.”
What does camouflage rooms imply
She is hiding in their house- she is introverted and unsociable
What does sprawled imply
Not dynamic- shows why the narrator has fallen so hard for them
Wat does staring back from anyone’s face imply
A level of obsession- so consumed by emotions that they see their lovers’ face everywhere
Give three examples of nature in stanza 3
Cloud; earth-struck; moon
What connotations does gapes have
Subtle sexual connotations often associated with an ill fitting blouse. It is an example of a provocative piece of language use
What is seeing a face in a random object called- “from the shape of a cloud”
Pareidolia
Give an example of bedroom lexis/ lexical field in the last stanza (the couplet)
lexis: “bedroom”; “bed”;
lexical field: “dream”; “curtains”
What does the last stanza do
Brings poem to current/ present tense and has a sense of immediacy
Goes from describing emotions to describing actions like a story- from intellectu to re
What does “There you are “ show
Having their lover infront of them reminds them of their blessing
Why is like a gift powerful
Sexual
Contrasts from describing them to be like a curse
Unwrap a gift
