History By John Burnside Flashcards
(8 cards)
Title: History
Broad and Vague notion of ‘History’ raising the question as to what truly is significant in ‘History’ to be remembered
Structure
Three stanzas symbolic of the past, future, and present however we are continuously living in a present where violence and war is normalised as humanity has not learnt from it’s past mistakes. Instead of rectifying such problems to ensure a joyous future, humanity is left reliving their past as their present and future. It never changes.
Agenda
Acknowledging the connections and links between everyone and everything.
The Butterfly Effect is a chaos theory concept suggesting that small actions or events can lead to significant consequences in complex systems.
The poet wants us to cherish the world rather than destroying it
Context
This poem references the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York caused by an Islamist extremist network called al-Qaeda planned the attacks from Afghanistan
Stanza 1:
“Today as we flew the kites”
“The tide far out”
“and quail-grey in the distance; people”
“today”
“Lucas”
“snail shells; shreds of razorfish; smudges of weed and flesh on tideworn stone.”
“Today” is a time reference
“we flew the kites” is a reference to Afghanistan’s tradition of kite flying and creates a utopian environment
The kite flying in the air is symbolic of the air attacks that took place during 9/11
Image of the tide being “far out” is structurally captured by the description physically being marginalised to the right of the line, literally creating that “distance”
Sensory nature of the poem is reinforced by visual touches
The setting of the beach is used to represent a liminal state
Compound adjective “quail-grey” captures the colour of the sea.
A quail is a bird shot in Scotland as apart of a sporting game which reflects tension between nature and humanity as it may denote fear corresponding to the semantic field of war
Use of the semi-colon acts as a barrier and a form of separation between humanity and nature. People are alienated and isolated
Repetition of the time stamp “today” is representative of how quickly time passes and the environment changes. One moment the speaker is flying kites, the next the speaker is worried with “dread of what may come”
Through providing the name of the speaker’s son, the poet is able to invoke a raw sense of emotion and highlight the realities of the impact war has upon ‘normal’ citizens
The identification of the child “Lucas” emphasises the innocent lives taken away during the 9/11 attack
Structural fragmentation towards end of stanza 1, providing the horrific imagery of survivors of the terrorist attacks finding life amid the rubble from the Twin Towers
Use of sibilance can be interpreted as a calming environment through connecting with nature at the beach as the shore moves in and out. But it can also allude to the saddening outcome from those who have lost their lives
Stanza 2:
“At times”
“neither kinship nor our given states”
“something lost between the world we own and what we dream”
“our lines raised in the winds”
“gravity and light”
“combining with a child’s first nakedness”
Imposes structural regularity presenting the iambic pentameter which attempts to impose order on the world proposing a form of existential philosophy and rationality
Division of identity linking to division of America and Al-Qaeda
Concept of identity continues on to the next quote where the poet introduces the materialistic identity vs the desired identity we wish to obtain
Materialism leads to imprisonment rather than liberation and this is echoed through the use of verbs; “fixed”, “anchored”, “confined by property” These emphasise the semantic field of entrapment via materialism
Liminal feature of possession Vs Desire and is symbolic of people reaching out their lines in the sky for freedom
Gravity and light are contrasting notions as gravity suggests a force weighing down or holding one back whereas, light suggests a sense of weightlessness through the element of air
Theme of nature present
Vulnerability of nature parallels the innocence of a child reinforcing the helplessness of those who face the impacts of war
Stanza 3
“Sometimes”
“the sea, the sky, all living creatures, forests, estuaries”
“we trade so much to know the virtual”
“scarcely register” and “scarcely apprehend”
“fish lodged in the tide”
“captive and hung”
“transitive gold” and “goldfish”
“do no harm to a toddler on a beach”
“a kite plunged into the sky”
“line patient”
“attentive to the irredeemable.”
Time reference returns back to a iambic pentameter creating a methodical structure which offers profound contrast to the lines ahead of this stanza
Asyndetic list emphasises scale of losses from pollution or war
The law of conjunction creates a sense of endlessness
Oxymoronic nature of knowing about something that is not fully discovered which hints at the fruitlessness of such a pursuit linking to the concept of materialism
Repetition of “scarcely” reinforces humanities impoverished nature of the world
Reinforcement of the semantic field of entrapment an suggests people and nature are stuck in time with the repetition of war throughout our historical text books.
Humans do not learn from their mistakes.
Supplementation of nature’s treasures with materialistic treasures
Repeated child motif emphasising innocence of those caught in the middle of conflict
The kite is metaphorically plugged into the sky reminiscent of the warning of the appeal of the virtual. This is complimented by the quote “line patient” indicting people wait patiently for a different outcome in life
Final line provides some hope that humanity may accept the liminal state of our existence.
“irredeemable” has biblical connotations of Christ the Redeemer capturing a sense of second chance as Jesus died in order to atone for sins of humanity
Interetextual link to T.S. Eliot ‘The Four Quartets - Burnt Norton’ that says “All time is unreedemable”
Themes
Time
Present Vs Past
Interlinked connections
Nature
