The Emigree Flashcards
(6 cards)
There once was a country…
Opening line / Ellipsis: This line immediately sets a tone of nostalgia, and the ellipsis after “country” creates a pause — a sense of loss, uncertainty, or something left unsaid. It implies that the speaker is reflecting on a place that has changed, been lost, or possibly destroyed, physically or emotionally.
• Fairy-tale tone: The phrase “There once was…” deliberately mirrors the language of fairy tales or storytelling, which contrasts with the political instability hinted at later in the poem. This technique evokes a mythologised or idealised memory of the speaker’s homeland — it is remembered not as it was, but as the speaker wants to remember it.
• Past tense: The use of past tense in “once was” implies that the country no longer exists in the same way — either it has changed due to war, oppression, or exile, or it exists only in memory. This creates an immediate emotional weight, suggesting displacement and longing.
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Connotations:
• “Country”: This word has vast emotional resonance. It doesn’t just refer to geography, but to identity, belonging, culture, and home. The indefinite “a country” also suggests the speaker is deliberately withholding its name, which may reflect trauma, protection, or universality — as if this could be anyone’s country, not just hers.
• “Once”: A powerful word that carries temporal distance. It hints that the speaker is separated from her homeland by time, space, and perhaps political borders. It adds a tone of sadness, reinforcing that the speaker’s identity is tied to a place that has been irreversibly altered.
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Effect on the Reader:
• The reader is immediately drawn into a sense of mystery and melancholy. The opening feels personal, but also universal — many can relate to the idea of home being lost, whether literally due to conflict or migration, or emotionally due to change over time.
• The elliptical structure forces the reader to pause and reflect — what happened to this country? Why is it not named? This ambiguity mirrors the speaker’s own emotional conflict and draws the reader into her internal struggle.
• The idealised tone makes us question whether this “country” ever existed in the form she remembers, or whether it’s a construct of memory and desire, reminding us how memory is often subjective.
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Writer’s Intentions:
• Carol Rumens wrote The Émigrée to explore themes of exile, memory, and identity. She deliberately opens with a line that feels both specific and universal — many refugees and émigrés carry with them an idealised version of home, often frozen in time.
• By starting with a fairy-tale-like phrase, Rumens may be suggesting that the speaker’s memories are romanticised, even fictionalised. She’s not just remembering a place, but reconstructing it — shaping it into a symbol of purity, safety, and belonging in contrast to the corruption or violence that forced her to leave.
• Rumens could also be highlighting the psychological impact of exile — how the mind clings to and idealises the past when the present is uncertain or hostile. Her intention is to show how memory and identity intertwine, and how displacement fractures a person’s relationship with home, language, and self.
It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants
Repetition of “it may be”: This speculative tone highlights the speaker’s emotional distance from the current state of her homeland. The modal verb “may” suggests uncertainty, reinforcing how exile limits access to truth — she only knows her home through fragments, memory, or rumour.
• Juxtaposition: This line sharply contrasts the idealised memory of her country earlier in the poem with the brutal political reality that it may now face. It brings tension between what the speaker remembers and what her country has become, showing how memory and present-day truth are often in conflict.
• Personification: The phrase “sick with tyrants” personifies the country as a living, suffering body, infected by oppression or authoritarian rule. This metaphor portrays tyranny as a disease, spreading and corrupting what was once pure — a powerful image that evokes both pity and loss.
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Connotations:
• “War”: Connotes violence, chaos, and disruption. It may not just refer to literal war, but also inner civil conflict, ideological division, or cultural erasure. It paints the homeland as a place of suffering, in contrast to the peaceful, preserved version held in the speaker’s mind.
• “Sick with tyrants”: Suggests corruption and decay. The phrase implies that the country is controlled, oppressed, or infected by unjust power. The word “sick” evokes not just physical illness but also moral or societal decay.
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Effect on the Reader:
• This line provokes sympathy for the speaker, as the reader begins to understand that the beloved country she carries in her heart may no longer exist. The metaphor of sickness reinforces the idea that something once vibrant is now damaged.
• The reader may also reflect on the reality of political exile, understanding how oppressive regimes can force people to flee their homes and idealise the past, because the present is too painful or uncertain to face.
• It creates a sense of fragility — the speaker’s homeland is not just physically distant but also politically unstable, placing her identity and memory in constant tension with harsh truth.
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Writer’s Intentions:
• Carol Rumens presents this contrast to explore the idea that identity formed through exile is always marked by conflict between memory and reality. She may be showing how the speaker’s love for her homeland persists despite its descent into violence and tyranny — an act of defiance, or perhaps delusion.
• Rumens also criticises totalitarianism and war, showing their ability to corrupt not only nations, but the identities and emotional stability of those who are forced to flee. By using the metaphor of sickness, she humanises the country itself, as though it too is a victim — not just the exiled.
• The poem therefore becomes a political critique, but also an emotional exploration of how people cling to an idealised homeland, even when it is no longer the same place.
“My city hides behind me. They mutter death, / and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight.”
This is the final couplet of the poem, closing on a powerful contrast between light and dark, memory and threat, hope and violence.
• The enjambment between “death” and “and my shadow…” blurs the line between external threat and internal identity — suggesting an ongoing, unresolved tension.
• The couplet ends the poem in a way that’s both ambiguous and defiant, refusing to let go of memory, despite what “they” say.
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Line 1: “My city hides behind me.”
Techniques:
• Personification: The city is personified as something capable of hiding, suggesting it is vulnerable, silent, or in danger.
• Possessive pronoun “my”: Reasserts ownership and emotional connection — despite exile and change, the speaker claims her city as a permanent part of her identity.
• Symbolism: Suggests the speaker is shielding her homeland — not physically, but through memory and words, acting as a kind of guardian of its truth.
Connotations:
• “Hides” may suggest the city is afraid, oppressed, or ashamed, perhaps no longer the place she remembers — hinting at political violence or corruption.
• Alternatively, this could reflect the speaker’s alienation — the city might be rejecting her, no longer visible or reachable, symbolising loss of belonging.
Effect on Reader:
• The line evokes pathos — the emotional weight of being the last voice that remembers something beautiful, now lost.
• It also creates a sense of quiet resistance — the speaker’s identity is defined by the act of remembering what others want her to forget.
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Line 2: “They mutter death, / and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight.”
Techniques:
• Juxtaposition of “mutter death” and “sunlight” contrasts threat with hope — darkness with the light of memory.
• Sibilance in “shadow” and “sunlight” adds a soft, flowing quality — reflective of the speaker’s calm defiance.
• Metaphor: “Shadow” becomes a trace of existence; “sunlight” symbolises idealism, truth, or the lasting power of hope.
Connotations:
• “They” remains deliberately vague — could be oppressive governments, hostile locals, or even internal doubts that whisper decay and death.
• “Mutter” implies weakness or cowardice — these forces can only whisper, while the speaker’s memory speaks louder.
• “Shadow” connotes the after-effect of presence — a sign that even in exile, her identity cannot be erased.
• Alternatively, the shadow may imply that her idealisation of the past casts a darkness over her present, making her unable to fully embrace reality.
Effect on Reader:
• The image of “evidence of sunlight” transforms memory into proof of beauty — even absence can confirm that something once burned brightly.
• It leaves the reader with a sense of dignity, resilience, and the irreplaceable value of personal truth.
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Writer’s Intentions:
• Carol Rumens may be challenging political silencing and erasure — the idea that memory can survive even when places fall or identities are rewritten.
• She likely wants to explore the emotional complexity of exile — the way trauma, nostalgia, and hope collide.
• The speaker’s act of remembering, even in the face of rejection or exile, becomes an act of resistance — proving that identity can’t be destroyed by borders or politics.
Message
In The Émigrée, Carol Rumens explores how memory and identity remain resilient even in the face of exile. The speaker clings to an idealised version of her homeland, despite its corruption and political turmoil, demonstrating how personal history can be a source of empowerment. The poem conveys that exile does not sever the bond with one’s past; instead, memory becomes a defiant act of resistance, preserving both hope and identity against forces of erasure. Ultimately, Rumens shows that the power of memory transcends physical boundaries, allowing the speaker to retain a connection to her homeland despite being forcibly removed.
Context
The Émigrée was written by Carol Rumens, a British poet, and reflects themes of exile and identity. The poem explores the emotional and psychological consequences of forced displacement, often a result of war, political conflict, or oppression. Rumens was inspired by the experiences of refugees and exiles, particularly those fleeing war-torn countries in Eastern Europe or other politically unstable regions. The poem reflects the Romantic idealisation of childhood and memory while contrasting it with the harsh reality of exile. The historical and political context of the time, particularly in the aftermath of the Cold War and the rise of global conflict, is important as it underscores the trauma faced by displaced individuals. The poem is not just a personal reflection, but a broader commentary on the emotional impact of loss and displacement, and the way memory can offer solace and identity in the absence of home.
Form and structure
The poem is comprised of 3 stanzas, the first two have 8 lines, and the third has 9. This maintains a somewhat regular structure, which may be the speaker’s attempt to impose a sense of order over her city which we learn has descended into chaos- she is trying to preserve its image.
First person:
It is written in the first person as it explores the inner emotions of The Emigrée speaker in the poem, Rumens is exploring the effect of war on people. The stanzas are written in free verse with no regular rhythm or rhyme scheme, this could expose the true nature of her city, which is rife with disarray. This also helps to make the poem feel conversational, presenting it as a slowing stream of consciousness, it does not seem contrived.
Structure:
There are multiple examples of repetition within the poem, notably the detached pronoun “they” punctuates the final stanza as the speaker discusses her new city. This imposes a belligerent tone and creates a separation between her and ‘them’ depicting her struggle to assimilate with the citizens of her new city.
This repetition also establishes a threatening quality to the people of her new city, it creates the suffocating impression of them closing in on her.
ENJAMBMENT AND END STOPPING
The frequency of enjambment depletes throughout the poem, this could depict the initial freedom of her old city in comparison to the claustrophobic confinement she now feels. This reinforces the threatening tone and emulates a sense of finality to mourn the truth that she can’t leave and return home.Alternatively, the enjambment could represent the speaker’s lack of control, the words are flowing away, much like the city she remembers which is fleeting into tyranny.
