Revelation - Lochhead Flashcards
(35 cards)
“I remember”
a memory - retrospect - commonality
“… the black bull…”
Alliteration - emphasises the subject with the plosive /b/ - pops out at the reader
“… eggs and milk.”
Symbolism - full of protein and calcium - nurturing
white suggests purity and innocence
feminine: eggs - reproductive
“… Bob-…”
Word choice - another use of plosive /b/ double plosive - pops - diminutive - friendly
Sentence structure - Dash introduces speaker’s views and reflection - she is sceptical of the bull and will not be fooled by his name
“… a monster…”
Imagery - Connotations of evil/ugliness and alludes to the girl’s fear - contrasts with monosyllabic name. Alludes to Ancient Greek monsters such as the minotaur.
“… with charm…”
Word choice - attractive, almost seductive - a feature children wouldn’t recognise in niavety
“… At the threshold of his outhouse…”
Word choice - A minimum value - a small building on the grounds of a house - a first encounter with adult world.
Suggests crossing from one domain/world to another - links to weddings (carried to the threshold), but also evil beings that cant cross uninvited (vampires, witches)
“… someone
held my hand…”
Word choice - comfort or reassurance - anxiety or fear - leading or balancing. Emphasises how young she is, she cant be taken places by herself, she’s vulnerable and fragile.
“… peer inside…”
Word choice - look carefully, trying to make out some detail - dark and adjusting to adult world
“… At first, only black
and the hot reek of him…”
Word choice - synesthesia (hot and reek) - New line creates drama and a pause in the dark as if it took a minute to adjust to the light.
Alliteration - Reek, harsh /k/ suggests a strong smell, generally unpleasant, you would be very aware of it, unable to focus on anything else besides it.
“… he was immense…”
Word choice - extremely large in size - notable especially to a child
“… edges merging with the darkness…”
Word choice - so black indistinguishable - suggests evil presence - continues the sense of mystery
‘Edges… darkness’ - assonance creates menacing effect
“… big bulk…”
Alliteration - the repeated /b/ creates explosive sound. Shows how violent, loud and how threatening this creature is
“… a roar to be really scared of…”
Word choice/alliteration - childlike language conveys emotions effectively, repeated /r/ highlights the growling
(for that paragraph)
Sentence structure - long sentences to reflect a flow of images of the appearance of the bull. The bull seems connected to the darkness
“… a trampling…”
Word choice - means to step on and crush - a frightened youth needing comfort approaching nightmarish creature, aware of it towering over her, demonic, indistinct presence. Tie all of this together and get the sensation of being claustrophobic, like she feels it’s looming over her but she can’t really see it.
“His eyes swivelled in the great wedge of his tossed head”
Word choice - Swivelled - rotation, suggests confusion, frustration, out of breath - reinforces aggression
The bull looks around enraged and confused by not being able to move further
Great wedge - wedge is a chunky block - doesn’t suggest a particularly intelligent mind is wielded by the bull
The bull tosses - suggests power and exertion - its head in frustration and exhaustion
“He roared his rage. His nostrils gaped like wounds”
Onomatopoeia - short dramatic sentences
The alliteration of /r/ builds to a climax, suggests gravel, growling, rage, aggression
The thought of wide open wounds suggests conflict which seems like the ultimate event, end of a battle - life-threatening
Flaring is a sign of aggression
Similie (Imagery) - “gaped like wounds” suggest the bull is violent, threatening, bloody, devil like and could easily deal damage to the young girl
“… oblivious hens…”
Word choice - have no idea about the bull - the child was once a hen, but is growing up and starting to move towards shed. ‘Hens’ suggest femininity - a pun, ‘hen’ is scots for woman. Highlights that many women/children are unaware of the evil/danger in this world.
“…festive tinkling…”
Sound (onomatopoeia) - of ‘tinkling’ contrasts with the harshness of ‘clanking’ in the previous stanza. Also, the soft ‘f’ of faint contrasts with the harsh ‘r’ of the bull’s roar.
Word choice - “festive” from a distance the bull’s chains are almost christmassy - pleasant and enjoyable. Highlights the innocence outside.
“… mellow stone…”
Word choice - ‘mellow stone’, from the outside the outhouse looks calm, composed, even warm and comfortable - it hides what is inside.
“… hasp…”
Word choice - ‘hasp’, a type of simple lock - shows that the bull is restrained/kept safe - but still quite a gentle word in contrast to the thing it is trapping inside
“… Black Mass…”
Sentence Structure - capitalization - a name for the bull - mystery and evil - highlights the size of the bull
Imagery (metaphor) - the “Black Mass” refers to a notorious ceremony which is the opposite of a Christian Mass - usually associated with worship of the devil. However, it is also a pun black mass could refer to a large creature that is black.
“…straining…”
Word choice - ‘straining’, a violent word full of struggle, something is trying to escape - like a violent prisoner or a demon in hell.
“… always half-known he existed…”
Word choice - we get a sense that the persona had always sensed that there was evil/sexuality in the world, but that this had confirmed her fears.
