Lion Heart- Amanda Chong

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  • LION HEART - CHONG
    • Stanza 1: she plays on the idea of the island being alive and regards Singapore in the same way she does a living person
      • "You" suggests an intimate connection
      • Consonance ='**' skin..scales.. gives a peaceful tone to the poem... tranquility
      • 'riding crests' and 'fish in your fists'= victorious and bountifull
    • Stanza 2: she starts to describe Singapore's true beauty
      • ivory coast= precious, beautiful and delicate... the sands are like ivory
        • 'legs still rocked'=not initially easy and rocked symbolises the waves. The sea is part of Singapore
          • "heart thumped... animal skin drum" = calling people to come/ welcoming. Thumped also suggests that  it has found its ground and is become strong and indivdual
      • She constantly reminds Singapore not to forget it's oceanic origins and refers to the "memories of waves"
        • coming of a prince =it greets people regally
    • Everything about Singapore is personified, making it sound very attached and real
      • Golden and emerald suggest that it is very precious, but also majestical
    • Stanza 3+4: we start to see Singapore settling itself and people are coming, but welcomed to come (which is unusual)
      • colonists are described as 'seeds' = they will grow/blo**om into something and will be nurtured by Singapore. They will also grow  big because they are nurtured well by Singapore
        • We are left with the image of the flag that shows the world it's succe**
      • Singapore embraces new comers and their qualities rather than trying to remove them for the negative sides
    • Stanza 5: modernisation is described, but not in a negative way
      • 'sea's pulmonary' = singapore is the sea's pulmonary which means that it is e**ential for the sea to function. The sea and land are one and both need each other
        • Mirrored surface= the sea reflects Singapore and Singapore reflects the sea = they are one
          • Stanze 6: we start to see some thought about Singapore forgetting it's origins and she worries about this
            • "raw lion heart" = basic state, with room for opportunity, also idea of purity, yet could also slightly refer to what it has had to go through to get to this stage
      • "trees rise as skyscrapers" = suggest that the progre**ion is natural
        • "remember your keris" = remember your sharp edges
          • Structure: the length of the stanzas is irregular. Last stanza is just two lines. This irregularity could suggest that the country's growth has not been smooth and it has gone through things to reach it's magnificence.
            • The ocean initially gave Singapore what it needed to grow
      • "ankles lost in swilling water"= even with modern times, Singapore's roots are still in the sea and it remembers it's origins
  • echo...vaults of buildings = each beat of the lions heart echoes through all the buildings, it has the lions heart within it everywhere

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