dry point

Question 1

‘__________ time-honoured irritant’ (Dry Point)

Answer 1

endlessly

Question 2

‘endleslly time-honoured ____________’ (Dry Point)

Answer 2

irritant

Question 3

What does the word ‘restively’ mean and in which poem does it appear?

Answer 3

restively = cannot be controlled. This appears in Dry Point - ‘a bubble is restively forming…’ - to describe the uncontrollable nature of sexual desire.

Question 4

What does the word bestial mean, and in which poem does it appear?

Answer 4

bestial = animal-like. This appears in Dry Point, suggesting how sexual desire makes us savage and primitive.

Question 5

‘______________, intent, real’ (Dry Point

Answer 5

bestial

Question 6

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

Answer 6

Plosive alliteration - this represents a moment of sexual release.

Question 7

‘What ______ hills, what salted, shrunken lakes’ (Dry Point)

Answer 7

ashen

Question 8

In Dry Point, why does the speaker, after gratifying his sexual desires, refer to ‘ashen hills’ and ‘shrunken lakes’?

Answer 8

The barren, hopeless 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 is ‘discredited’? (Dry Point)

Answer 9

Birmingham magic refers to the city, which in the 1940s and 1950s was known for its jewelry 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 in Dry Point?

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 it ‘padlocked’ meaning he can ‘obtain no right of entry’.