The Emigree- Carol Rumens
- Created by: lucyaa
- Created on: 14-03-17 20:56
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- The Emigree by Carol Rumens
- Loss and absence
- "I have no passport, there's no way back at all"
- Coming to terms that she will never return. The tone is depressed and negative.
- "there once was a country...I left it as a child"
- begins the poem like a story as she's recalling her loss.
- the ellipses highlights her thinking, and pausing as if it pains her to talk about her city.
- "I comb its hair and love its shining eyes"
- she holds on to the memories of her homeland and tries to comfort her loss.
- "I have no passport, there's no way back at all"
- identity
- "I am branded by the impression of sunlight"
- branded shows a sense of permanance her city will forever have on her, no matter where she goes.
- Repetition of sunlight shows how her identity is powerful and her city will always shed light on this.
- "but I can't get it off my tongue. it tastes of sunlight"
- She cannot let go of her mother tongue as it reminds her of her home.
- Repetition of sunlight shows how her identity is powerful and her city will always shed light on this.
- "my city hides behind me"
- "I am branded by the impression of sunlight"
- Power and conflict
- "my city takes me dancing through the city of wall"
- everything is now constricted due to the loss of power.
- she has conflict with accepting her new idenity.
- "my shadow falls as evidence as sunlight"
- contrast of dark and light represent her old and new city.
- "my shadow falls as evidence as sunlight"
- "my city takes me dancing through the city of wall"
- memory
- "my memory of it is sunlight clear"
- sunlight shows her positive memories from her homeland forever shining brightly.
- "the graceful slopes grow even clearer as time time rolls its tanks"
- her love grows for her city with each memory, but it she now making her homeland too idealistic?
- war like language "tanks" contradicts with the graceful slopes.
- power of nature vs power of humans.
- "the worst news I receive of it cannot break my original view"
- Despite the destruction in the city she only chooses to remember the positive parts.
- "my memory of it is sunlight clear"
- background
- An emigre is someone who leaves their country. The girl in this poem leaves hers.
- this is due to policitcal/ social reasons e.g. tyranny, a dictatorship.
- The city could be a metaphor for memories + growth- the progression from child to adult.
- "it may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants"
- personification- the city is infected, but she hopes it can be cured.
- "it may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants"
- An emigre is someone who leaves their country. The girl in this poem leaves hers.
- Alienation
- "they accuse me of absence, they circle me"
- in her new city everything is sinister.
- "my city hides behind me"
- her inner self is scared of accepting a new identity.
- "that child's vocabulary i carried here like a hollow doll"
- Smilies show how everything is different, and how she struggles to fit in.
- "they accuse me of absence, they circle me"
- Loss and absence
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