Speech Balloon - Imtiaz Dharker Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is the tone of the poem? Is it serious, humorous or critical?
-humorous and critical
-used to point out the absurdity in the overuse of our language
Why does the poet repeat ‘over the moon’ so many times?
-criticize the overuse of cliche expressions
-criticize how people blindly follow trends
-shows how ‘over the moon’ loses its meaning due to its overuse
What does the poem suggest about how the media describes emotions?
-simplifies and exaggerates everything to ‘over the moon’ to capture the audience’s attention
-equates everyone to having the same emotions
Why does the poet include so many synonyms? What point is he making?
-how people ignore other synonyms and keep to the trend ‘over the moon’
-how people are no longer expressing themselves accurately (diff degrees of happiness)
Why is it ironic that ‘all the happy people have left this world’?
-a pun
-takes ‘over the moon’ literally —> mocking that there’s no rational people left
What is the significance of the ‘cow jumping over the moon’ reference?
-a nursery rhyme
-people are becoming more childish (giving up language ability)
Comment on the connotations of ‘speech balloon’. What is the significance of the poem’s title?
-‘speech bubble’ resembles speech in a comic —> out of touch with reality
-shows how people lack agency over language —> linguistically controlled by the media
-speech is very light (as balloon) = words losing their meaning and impact due to overuse
In what sense, does the poem have a cyclical structure?
-the poems starts with ‘over the moon’ and ends with the same phrase
-the last stanza mainly consists of only the phrase ‘over the moon’ —> echoing effect
Comment on the use of refrain (repeating lines).
-repetition —> overused
-accusing us of recycling language till there’s no meaning —> people blindly following this trend
Explain what is meant by a ‘vignette style’ poem.
-vignette style: a short, focused poem that captures a single moment, impression, or scene
-focuses on the globalization/wide-spreadness of the overuse of cliched language problem
Comment on the use of polysyndeton (listing with use of conjunctions) and its effect.
-sarcasm towards people linguistic ability
-shows how people have given up the ability to describe our emotions
Comment on the structure of the last 4 stanzas of the poem. What do you notice in contrast with the earlier stanzas? What is the effect of this?
-the first few stanzas focuses on separate situations where ‘over the moon’ is overused
-the last four stanzas criticizes this overuse of expression and provides some food for thought
Stanza 6 differs in style from the rest of the poem. How? What is the effect of this?
-direct address to the reader (breaking the fourth wall)
-from reportage to reflective, lyrical and song-like
-lots of assonance (repeated vowels)
-enlarges the situation from individual to universal
