the emigree
- Created by: Meganbyrom
- Created on: 16-04-18 18:19
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- The Emigree by Carol Rumens
- Context
- English poet writes a lot about other cultures
- Language
- "the bright filled paperweight"
- image of vulnerability of trying to secure and capture her memories. to protect them and isolate them from the horrific reality of war and tyranny in her city. the paperweight is perhaps the young speakers imagination still weighing down on her portray of her city. relates also the the idea of paper and making her memories physical- just as writing this poem aims to do.
- memory has weight even though its only mad of paper. semantic field of bright sun light. seems to reduce the city to almost a souvenir of her childhood, perhaps it was not an innocent place but she was and thats why she idealizes it. does the paperweight hold her back from the reality of the new city, metaphorically this idealised version of childhood is a burden to her as she grows, she still feels as if this place is her home, shes the paper venerable.
- Semantic field of sunlight
- its duality in its ability to both illuminate and blind- like her idealized memories
- semantic field of violent /Millay and oppression words juxtaposed with semantic field of innocence
- suggests that her romanticized view of the city is wrong, however it perhaps also portrays life as an emigre living in a foreign country seeing your city through the lens of the media, the speaker using terms that have become synonymous with conflict throughout.
- this juxtaposition perhaps shows the inner conflict of the emigree as tainted by her childhood memories, even in the last line we have a juxtaposition in the shadow and the sunlight imagery
- juxtaposition of words to show shes unsure and the conjunction but
- cannot vs auxiliary verb may- may is repeated throughout the first two stanza perhaps to show that speaker cant remember and doesn't know, or that the speaker cannot come to terms with the new city
- the repeated conjuction seems to show her refusal to accept, the presence of her city within her life(is this a burden, a never ending grief?), refusing to accept truth
- i am branded by an impression of sunlight
- syntax- branded comes before showing a negative image of sunlight. to be marked and burdened. the impression again is although she inst sure, is this childhood her imaginaiton. is her own hope and love for her city hurting her emotionally and scarring her as she grows.
- "the bright filled paperweight"
- Structure
- enjambment
- perhaps suggests lack of control and how her memories wont let go, they continue to shape her narrative.
- caesura
- chaotic, add to the storytale element eg ...,. helps to create a sense of threat like in stanza 3, the words threaten her.
- sunlight as the last word
- ends each stanza with this conflicting image of something so postie yet so blinding to the truth
- enjambment
- Form and meter
- free verse
- chaos within the poem, the speakers lack of control
- conversational style in 1st person
- autobiographical(reliable?) - little details perhaps an imaginary view of a place shes forgot.
- regular stanza lenght- last stanza is longest
- lingering cant let go trying to make order in the regular stanzas
- free verse
- Context
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