The Emigree- Carol Rumens Flashcards
(15 cards)
What could the title suggest?
Having ‘ the’ in english and emigrée in french implies that their are two conflicting countries involved in this poem
“That child’s vocabulary i carried here…..
Like a hollow doll, opens and spills a grammar”
> hollow doll metaphor suggests that the speakers language is something to be treasured and cared for
> lexical choice of “ spills a grammar” metaphorically could emphasise her inability to hide her identity
“There was once a country…
I left it as a child”
> elipsis shows the reflective tone and sense of nostalgia
> romanticised tone - fairytale like
“ it may be a lie, banned by the state but i can’t get it off my tongue….
it tastes of sunlight” - using taste and sight- synaesthsia
> semantic field of light implies how comforting and welcoming her homeland is, but she has to put it to the back of her mind and mask her identity in the new city
“But my memory of it is sunlight clear….
For it seems I never saw it in that November “
> late autumn- November- she’s blocking out the dark and gloominess of negativity
> power of the sun- ‘sunlight clear’ suggests she cannot shake her memories of her UTOPIAN city > power places have over people
“ my original view…
The bright filled paperweight”
> metaphor of paperweight suggests that she is holding down her positive experience and won’t let it become tainted by others
“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants but I am branded….
With an impression of sunlight”
> modal verb - ‘may’ - implies sense of doubt and that she won’t accept her country is flawed
> ‘but’ - conjunctive- delusion idea that she won’t accept reality.
> sunlight - dreamlike idea of the past
“Time rolls it’s…
Tanks”
> personifies time as the enemy
> dental plosive alliteration
“I have no passport..
There’s no way back at all”
> this obliterates her identity completely and the symbol of a passport portrays identity
“It lies down in front of me docile as paper, I comb it’s hair and….
Love it’s shining eyes”- personification , loves her city like a mother
> docile=submissive, follows instructions - visions of her city are attempted to be controlled by others OR she is controlling her own thoughts on her past
Paper- can be manipulated and crafted, she can mould her own memories
What could the use of free verse imply?
That the emigree cannot be controlled by anyone or rulers, and she will have her own thoughts and ideas
“They accuse me of absence, they circle me…
They accuse me of being dark in their free city”
- ‘they’ - ambiguous - could represent government of population
Makes her seem like a victim or outsider
Repetition of “ they” is threatening , triplet shows level of persecution she is facing
circle- personifies the government as predators waiting to attack her for her identity
“They mutter death and my shadow…
Falls as evidence of sunlight”
> shift to negative image of sunlight implies that not everything is what she seems
“But my city comes..
To me in its own white plane”
