Belonging Anthology - TOP 6

To My Sister - Context

• Wordsworth was a Romantic poet and his poems often reflect key themes such as the power of nature and our place within it

• Wordsworth directly addresses his sister (Dorothy) in this poem

  • She lived with him and the son of a widowed friend, Basil (referred to as Edward in the poem)

• Romanticism was a literary movement

To My Sister - Form/Structure

Form - 10 stanzas (quatrains), ABAB rhyme scheme, regular stanza length

Structure - Romantic poem (reflects the simplicity of nature and the order of it), uniform rhythm (calming effect of spring and amplifies the beauty of nature)

Poetic Voice - Homodiegetic

To My Sister - Key Quotes

‘Love, now a universal birth, / [...] From Earth to man and man to Earth.’

The simplistic language indicates that nature in its simplest form is already pure and beautiful while extravagant language is a barrier to what Wordsworth is trying to express to the audience. Simple language is a common feature of romantic poets as it challenges the rich language used by enlightenment poets

‘Our minds shall drink at every pore / The spirit of the season’

This shows feelings that cannot be explained by scientific reasoning. This metaphor presents the ‘mind’ as something you can ‘drink’ which emphasises a deep and immersive engagement with nature. ‘Every pore’ suggests a continuous and ongoing flow, suggesting that nature is everlasting and always present. The last phrase suggests a powerful influence that nature has over a person’s mind, thoughts and feelings

‘One moment now may give us more than years of toiling reason’

Nature and emotion can teach us things that could never have been discovered in academia

‘We'll give to idleness.’

Refers to a key idea in romantic poetry where being ‘idle’ is beneficial for our physical and spiritual well - being and can be an eye opener for us. ‘Idle’ however is now seen as negative in present society, not really doing anything. The writer emphasises the importance of taking a break from the world and its work-like pursuits in order to appreciate the power and glory of nature

The Émigrée - Context

• Carol Rumens is a British born poet

  • Her poems normally focus on the themes of persecution, personal stories, love, separation, death and displacement

• ‘Émigrée’ is the female spelling of the word emigrant

• Although Rumen’s poem does not refer to any particular country or war, it is clear that she is talking about the plight of many around the world who are forced to leave the country of their birth and settle in an unfamiliar and/or unfriendly new country

The Émigrée - Form/Structure

Form - Free verse, 3 stanzas (2 are 8 lines and 1 is 9 lines) reflect the stability provided to the speaker as a result of their national identity and memories

Structure - The 1st stanza explores the speaker's memories of her childhood and homeland, the 2nd stanza shows the speaker's vocab and relationship to this and the 3rd stanza explores the memories of the city in which she was born. Overall, a sad tone is adopted as she holds onto the past. The use of enjambment in ‘through the city / of walls’ separates ‘of walls’ from the rest of the line, causing the reader to see walls as an isolated idea, creating connotations of entrapment

Poetic Voice - Homodiegetic

The Émigrée - Key Quotes

‘That child’s vocabulary [...] / [...] spills a grammar.’

The word ‘That’ shows the speaker’s detachment from her city and childhood and therefore her loss of innocence after emigrating from her home country. The simile of ‘like a hollow doll’ is a key part of this poem as the ‘doll’ connotes childhood and could be linked to Russian dolls, however this is juxtaposed by the word ‘hollow’ representing how she has matured too quickly due to the war and again linking to the loss of childhood innocence. ‘spills a grammar.’ is not proper English and suggests to the reader that the speaker’s first language is not English

It may by now be a lie, [...] / [...] It tastes of sunlight.’

The fact that her first language has been banned and censored represents a loss of culture and belonging to her country, with the metaphor ‘but I can’t get it off my tongue.’ suggesting that she cannot forget her mother tongue as it holds onto her memories of home and identity. The metaphor after of ‘It tastes of sunlight.’ again enhances the pure imagery from earlier and her innocence, along with the sensory detail, which is important to memory. The noun ‘sunlight’ is repeated at the end of every stanza and is a symbol of hope throughout the poem

‘paperweight’ , ‘docile as paper’ , ‘white plane’
The paper motif shows that her memories allow her to shape and preserve positive memories of her home country. The ‘white plane’ could be a newspaper and presentation of the country but could also be a continuation of the line ‘white streets’ to show the purity and beauty of the speaker’s homeland

Jamaican British - Context

• Explores and finds who he is with his dual culture/heritage

• British mother, Jamaican father from the Windrush generation (mixed race)

• It is a piece of performance poetry rather than regular poetry (i.e. spoken word)

• Poet is deaf, had lots of job instability and struggled in school

Jamaican British - Form/Structure

Form - 8 couplets reflecting the dual nature of speakers identity, free verse shows how his identities are not connected and his internal conflict

Structure - Each pair of couplets focus on the contradictions that govern his identity, irregular rhythm with the use of lots of simple sentences creating a blunt tone which shows annoyance with how society thinks they can choose his identity

Poetic Voice - Homodiegetic

Jamaican British - Key Quotes

‘Jamaican British’

This refrain is used to highlight the speaker's identity because he sees them in conflict (with the slave trade and colonies)

‘Half-caste, half mule, house slave [...] / Light skin, straight male, privileged’

Antrobus understands the difficult colonial history that his Jamaican heritage comes with. Jamaican and other black ethnic groups were enslaved by centuries (ironically by the British) which gave these terms such as ‘house slave’. It is the uncomfortable history that his heritages share make it seem incompatible/impossible to be together since his Jamaican ancestors would have been abused by the British colonists

‘I hate dem, all dem Jamaicans — I'm British.’

This shows Antrobus’ reflection on where he adopted his British identity and shows the internal struggle that he deals with where it seems impossible to be fully loyal to both aspects of his identity when society doesn't accept them as one. Antrobus explores the complexity that comes with our identity, which is especially hard for those with mixed race heritage

Island Man - Context

• Based on the experience as an immigrant living in London

• Links to alienation, discrimination, identity and disconnection

• ‘north circular’ is a busy road at all hours in London

• Exhibits the struggles of adjusting to an urban area and homesickness

• Poet is originally from Guyana

Island Man - Form/Structure

Form - Line numbers and length of stanzas fluctuate which gives a sense of randomness (like dreams) with ‘groggily groggily’ being the bridge between them, symbolising waking up from the dream

Structure - First half (11 lines) is devoted to homeland and second half to London; more lines linking to homeland shows how the two places don't carry the same value, with no use of punctuation perhaps reflecting the simplicity of the island. Cyclical structure (e.g. ‘morning’ & ‘another London day’)

Poetic Voice - Heterodiegetic

Island Man - Key Quotes

‘sound of blue surf’

The sibilance of ‘s’ creates a softness and flow which can allude to the sound of sea waves in which the writer implies in the 1st stanza. ‘blue’ makes a vibrant image and relates to the idea of freshness and beauty, representing what the island is towards the speaker

‘grey metallic soar’

‘grey’ connotes to dullness and lack of life or vibrancy and this use of colour symbolism again helps Nicole accurately express the island man's feelings towards life in London. This idea works well with ‘metallic’ which links to the artificial and unnatural nature of the London city, in contrast to the previous stanza which describes the natural beauty of the island

‘his small emerald island’

‘emerald’ connotes to beauty and allurement which adds to the idea of the island being mesmerising and idyllic. ‘emerald’ is also known to be of high value and suggests the island is like a precious gem and further portrays the island man's longing and sentimental attachment to his home country. The idea that the island is so important to him is reinforced by the possessive pronoun ‘his’ which shows a sense of ownership and belonging. ‘emerald’ can also relate to a colour symbolism where green can relate to vibrant and floral imagery allowing us to see his island as luscious and filled with foliage which adds to the idealisation of the island as well as nature’s beauty

Us - Context

• English Mom, Pakistani Dad, which highlights his dual heritage

• Raised in Birmingham, moved to Yorkshire

• Emphasises on small-scale mysteries of language

• Kunial’s poetry explores global half-connections and memories, otherness, disorientation & historical and linguistic displacement

Us - Form/Structure

Form - 7 tercets (3 line stanzas), with a final one on its own reflects the connections between tribes/space

Structure - The enjambment creates a continuous flow which makes a nostalgic contemplative tone as we follow Kunial’s thoughts and feelings, while the anaphora of ‘I hope’ emphasises poet’s desire to have belonging. No consistent rhyme scheme but has a consistent rhythm

Poetic Voice - Homodiegetic

Us - Key Quotes

‘us takes in undulations —’

‘undulations’ is the movement of waves which is a metaphor for how the meaning of ‘us’ is not one thing: the flow of people between different places causes them to be closer together or drift apart, like the behaviour of the sea

‘cresting the Mexican wave’

Sporting events and nautical imagery are used throughout the stanza. ‘wave’ shows the movement of people which links to belonging as it is taking part in a positive act that creates a sense of exhilaration. ‘Mexican wave’ serves to connect the 2 teams in the stadium and stops the physical divide which links back to the wider idea of ‘us’ in the poem

‘us equally meant me’

The italics of ‘us’ and ‘me’ reflect the universality of feeling as though you do not belong to a culture or identity. Past tense is also used which shows how it was a past feeling and now the speaker does not feel this anymore

Sunday Dip - Context

• John Clare was the son of a farm labourer and had little formal education

• Was a “poetic environmentalist”, in awe of the natural world

• Clare subverts traditional expectations of a poet from this era by being working class and largely self taught

Sunday Dip - Form/Structure

Form - Nontraditional petrarchan sonnet (14 lines) in that it is not about love

Structure - Regular rhythm scheme (with rhyming couplets) with no breaks in the stanza representing the flow of water

Poetic Voice - Heterodiegetic

Sunday Dip - Key Quotes

‘thronged with merry boys’

Excitement and anticipation is immediately made at the start of the poem using ‘thronged’ and ‘merry’. ‘thronged’ creates an idea of a gathering as well as hastiness and works with ‘merry’ which elevates the energy and eagerness presented. The happy atmosphere made can be due to the day the poem is set - ‘Sunday’. ‘Sunday’ is known as the day children have fun, being away from school which connotes a sense of rest and freedom. Hence, it's fitting for the boys to be merry as they look forward to having fun and enjoyment

‘seek’ , ‘run’ , ‘wade’ , ‘dance’

The dynamic verbs create a semantic field that reinforces the admiration and excitement the boys feel towards the lake they’re visiting. The monosyllabic opening of the opening lines further highlights the exhilaration of the setting, creating a fast pace. Moreover, the use of many verbs juxtaposes the fact that Sunday is a rest day and exaggerates the freedom and energy of youth

‘And [...] / And [...] / And [...]’

The repetition of ‘and’ highlights the hasty/rapid nature of the boys’ play. At this point the boys are recklessly making their way to the deeper side of the lake which is highlighted by the fast pace made and quick succession of events from the polysyndeton. Furthermore, this also could be seen as lengthening the sentence and the day of fun