Blessing Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is the form of blessing
-free verse
What is the structure of blessing
-irregular line length and sporadic line length mimics the irregularity and rush of water
-increasing stanza lengths of first three mimics the increasing amount of water
-longest two lines in last stanza- we go from scarcity to abundance
What are the themes of blessing
Scarecity, lack, poverty, deprivation, fear, religion, global issues
What is the tone of blessing
-rejoice, celebratory, suffering, disheartening
‘The skiing cracks like a pod’
-skin is a metaphor for the earth creating a human connection between the setting and the people
-hyperbolic statement
-guttural consonants emphasise the sound of the cracking
-simile shows water shortage and dryness and dehydration
-end stopped presents lack of water
‘Imagine the drip of it’
-emphatic placement of imagine presents the fantasy and dream like quality. Fantasy makes it unattainable
-onomatopoeia of drip give a minimal fleeting moment when the water is brought to life. Monosyllabic word shows minimal and short supply
-punctuation agains shows the lack of flowing water
‘The municipal pipe bursts, silver crashes to the ground.’
-the pipe burst by accident, it was not a result of socio economic change or intervention from god
-shows the cruelty as the water is there yet it is restricted
-palosive consonants shows intensity of water
-associates water with what we think of as wealth presenting the value of water to those who are less fortunate
‘A congregation: every man woman child for streets around
-congregation gives a semantic field of religion
-omission of commas when listing is purposeful to reflect the frenzied rush to the water
-triadic structure presents every part of the community
‘Pots, brass, copper, aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands,’
-asyndetic listing- not conjunction
-repeated use of commas emphasised the frenzy to get to the water
-the items listed are invaluable which keep decreasing in value
-presents how people grab anything they can get their hands on to capture the water
-in the haste of the moment as they know it will be short lived
-synectochy of frantic hands
‘Naked children screaming in the liquid sun’
-ostensibly they are screaming with delight however it can also suggest the undertones of sadness as the water will soon be gone returning them to a tone of pain, poverty, desperation
-children represent the innocence and creates a sense of emotion for the reader as it is a rare situation of joy
-liquid sun represents light, warmth, hope, joy, happiness and is a evocative image of water
‘Their small bones’
-prevents how the children are underdeveloped due to lack or water and malnourishment
-presents deprivation
-ends the poem on a tone of despair as it makes the reader realise that everyone is not as privileged and this is a global issue in the world today
What poem does blessing link to
War photographer-themes of depreciation, fear, culture, global issues and scarcity
