search for my tongue Flashcards
(15 cards)
use of enjambment and endstopped lines
builds a kind of tension and back-and-forth into the poem also implies the speakers experience as well and how she can’t control the language she keeps on losing emphasises tension and inner conflict
‘you ask me what i mean’
speaker appears to be in convo and begins poem in the form of a question, indicates reader doesn’t have second tongue (relatable). use of second person and invitation into question allows us to experience what it’s like to speak 2 languages
Direct address engages reader and empathises them
conversational tone is empathising and highlights bhats fluency
you, what would you do if you had two tongues in your mouth
extended metaphor emphasises how difficult it would be to speak with two tongues in mouth (we can understand her) these lines replicate some of this difficulty: the alliteration of ‘w’ and ‘ou’ the alliteration and assonance creates a tounge twister whilst also ‘dO’ and ‘yOU’ emphasises the direct address to us
repetition and personal pronouns
the repetition of “tongue” as well as “you” and “I” emphasises the fact that the speaker must deal with having “two tongues.”
it also suggests there’s a misunderstanding between ‘you’ and ‘i’ as if the speaker’s experience isn’t fully seen. it’s not us it’s ‘you’ and ‘i’
‘mother tongue’
The phrase “mother tongue” suggests a deep personal connection to the language she has been brought up knowing the poem implies that in losing her native language, the speaker would lose a crucial part of herself.
mother tongue
The phrase “mother tongue” suggests a deep personal connection to the language she has been brought up knowing
the poem implies that in losing her native language, the speaker would lose a crucial part of herself
Why does the writer use Gujarati in the poem
It is a way for Bhatt to put the assumed English reader in a situation of dealing with a foreign language. This could help represent Bhatt’s speaker’s experience of learning English.
‘foreign tongue’
use of word foreign makes us think of something unknown, or completely unfamiliar with us. the fact she’s lost her mother tongue which is something she’s familiar with perhaps emphasises the loneliness and un comfort she if feeling
juxtaposed foreign with mother
i ask you’ ‘you ask me
parallel structure reinforce back and forth state
your mother tongue would rot rot and die
emotive metaphor - decay of mother tongue
repetition- emphasises and more emotive (anadiplosis)
rot escalated to dying in your mouth
your direct address- personal
spit it out
onomatopoeia consonance. plosive sounds very harsh
more repitition
over night when i dream
dream in the poem reflects the speaker’s unshakable connection to her native language they often symbolize the unconscious or subconscious levels of a person’s thoughts. The fact that the speaker dreams in Gujarati, then, implies that this language lives at a deep level of her consciousness and her existence.
flower imagery
These images of buds and blossoms suggest that the speaker’s native language has never truly died at all. Instead, it might go dormant during periods of time, like a plant in winter. But implicitly, it will always come back and flower again.
grow grow grow
repitition of grow emphasises how it was never dead but it’s coming back even stronger
length of lines at end of poem
more regular and similar length emphasising how it flowed more
