Dry Point

Question 1

‘________ time-honoured irritant’

Answer 1

Endlessly

Question 2

‘Endlessly time-honoured _______’

Answer 2

irritant

Question 3

What does the word ‘restively’ mean?

Answer 3

Restively - cannot be controlled. This is used to describe the uncontrollable nature of sexual desire ‘a bubble is restively forming…’

Question 4

‘___________ intent, real’

Answer 4

Bestial

Question 5

What does the word bestial mean?

Answer 5

Bestial - animal-like. This suggests how sexual desire makes us savage and primitive

Question 6

What technique is used here, and why? ‘the bright blown walls collapse’

Answer 6

Plosive alliteration - this represents a moment of sexual release

Question 7

‘What ______ hills, what salted, shrunken lakes’

Answer 7

ashen

Question 8

Why does the speaker, after gratifying his sexual desires, refer to ‘ashen hills’ and ‘shrunken lakes’?

Answer 8

The barren, hope less landscapes metaphorically represent how, even after giving in to his sexual desires, he is left unfulfilled and empty

Question 9

What is ‘Birmingham magic’ and why is it ‘discredited’?

Answer 9

Birmingham magic refers to the city, which in the 1940s and 1950s was known for its jewellery and wedding rings. This becomes ‘discredited’, as sexual desire shows marriage to be a lie

Question 10

What does the ‘padlocked cube of light’ symbolise?

Answer 10

The ‘cube of light’ symbolises a state of purity and innocence, free from the corrupting influence of sexual desire. However, the speaker suggests that this is a state he will never be able to achieve - it is ‘padlocked’ meaning he can ‘obtain no right of entry’