the Emigrée Flashcards
(8 cards)
“there once was a country…[…]my memory of it is sunlight-clear”
-in the opening, the poem establishes a fantastical tone through the fairy tale imagery of the temporal phrase “there once was” which resembles the famous phrase “once upon a time”
-this imbues the poem with a child-like quality perhaps indicating the unreliability of the narrator’s testaments as she has romanticised her perception of the country with the idealism of youth
-this phrase is followed by caesura in the form of ellipsises
-this reinforces the unreliability of her memories as she installs a pause, perhaps eluding to the narrator retrieving her thoughts
-sunlight clear could indicate that her view of her country remains unobscured with a hopeful hue to her memories
-could also indicate her quixotic viewpoint as sunlight can also be blinding
-the adverb “once” emphasises the significance of the past and alludes to the metamorphosis of her home-land
the extended metaphor of “sunlight”
-sunlight runs as an extended metaphor throughout the poem. This comparison connotes to warmth, perhaps symbolic of the comfort and hope she associates with her birth city
-in addition, Rumens employs epistrophe by closing each stanza with “sunlight”
-this could perhaps characterise “sunlight” as an inextinguishable force as it remains despite the anguish and tyranny
-it could also highlight Rumens overall message that ultimately Immigration should be welcomed
-this is particularly evident in the last stanza which breaks away from the eight stanza pattern of the previous two
“it tastes of sunlight”
-the metaphor of her mother tongue tasting “of sunlight” uses gustatory imagery which could imply that her memories are so vivid as they encompass all senses
-however, her profound memories seem to transcend her sense of reason
-she compares the taste of an inedible concepts with an implausible entity-sunlight. This could illuminate the émigrée as an unreliable narrator as she does not have an equitable view
-this could highlight her tender emotions towards her city as she views it through her city from an idealistic perspective
-sunlight can also be blinding which could be implicit of her quixotic viewpoint as shown through the metaphor “it tastes of sunlight”
-nonetheless, she values her mother tongue and longs for her homeland
“they accuse me of absence…They accuse me of being dark in their free city.”
there is a volta in the poem as the narrator begins to discuss the illusive “they” in the final stanza
-this line reveals the speakers experience with being ostracised and unwelcome in her new city
-this “they” could refer to the “tyrants” in their homeland who has made the country “sick” who expect steadfast patriotism despite the war and disparity
-could also refer to the natives in her new country who view the narrator as an outsider and as ‘other’
-the repetition of ‘they accuse’ creates a bitter tone, illustrating persecution experienced by the narrator
-the detached pronoun “they” implies a separation between the speaker and the citizens
-the line “accuse me of being dark” suggests that the speaker is facing social rejection and possible prejudice due to the “darkness” of her skin tone
-alternatively, the accusation of darkness could be be symbolic of the allegations faced by many eastern European immigrants during the 1980s and even 1990s of criminality due to their supposed connection to Communism and espionage
-these fears stemmed from the cold War however this anxiety was amplified in London 1985 due to the final mass expulsion of Russian spies
-For Rumens , an author who frequently discussed the socio-political environment of Eastern Europe such as in her collection ‘Thinking of Skins’ in which the Emigrée was apart of, she could perhaps illustrate the hardships of a refugee to give a voice to the voiceless and to raise awareness about the pains of displacement that goes ignored
how does the emigree and COMH compare
- momentous effect of the past on the present reality of both speakers
- the power of connection with heritage
- the power of resistance and reclamation
- the systematic oppression of minorities
form
-the poem is written is free verse with no rhyme or rhythm
-this lack of order could represent the lack of control we have over our memories and how there is routine to what is kept in our subconscious
-alternatively, the form could reflect freedom as reinforced by the overtly positive imagery throughout the poem
enjambment
-structurally, the poem initially contains a magnitude of enjambment which could reflect the fluid nature of her memories
-alternatively, this could highlight her enjoyment in the first paragraph as she recounts the positive aspects of her childhood as her memories overshadow the reality
-however throughout the poem(especially the final stanza as she retells the struggles in her new country) the enjambment depletes which could represent her confinement as she is still under threat from the tyrants in her old country and the xenophobes in her new one
ambiguity surrounding the origins of the immigration and then country they emigrated to
the ambiguity surrounding the country of origin and country of emigration reflects the universality of the internal conflict of the emigrant experience
