The Emigree by Carol Rumen

the poem is about the _______ that _______ has to shape _______ The speaker’s _______ has been shaped by the _________ city that she left as a child. The speaker is unable to resolve the conflict between her ______ and her present _______.

the poem is about the power that place has to shape identity. The speaker’s identity has been shaped by the unnamed city that she left as a child. The speaker is unable to resolve the conflict between her memory and her present reality.

what may the poem have been a response to?

between 1991 and 1999, the Balkans War took place and made many people refugees - additionally, in 1992, Serbian and Montenegrin forces called for and then committed acts of genocide, specifically ethnic cleansing.

why did Carol Rumens want to write about this?

she has a “fascination with elsewhere” and has travelled in Russia and Eastern Europe - also, she was born in London but moved to Northern Ireland, so may have attempted to empathise with the migrant experience.

“f________ r____ between us”

“no _______”

“there’s no ____ back”

“___ rolls its ______”

“frontiers rise between us”

“no passport”

“there’s no way back”

“time rolls its tanks”

semantic field of exile demonstrates how physically dislocated the person is from her country of origin as a consequence of conflict and the time she’s been away

"“I am __________ by an impression of _________”

“it ______ of ______”

“my ________ of it is ________-______”

“my shadow falls as ________ of _______”

“I am branded by an impression of sunlight”

“it tastes of sunlight”

“my memory of it is sunlight-clear”

“my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight”

extended metaphor of sunlight expresses the positive and happy memories the speaker has of the city. “branded” implies a permanent, irreversible memory which is part of her identity, but it is also something that causes her pain.

contrasts to semantic field of exile/war

the b_____, filled p___________”

“the bright, filled paperweight”

metaphor - the memory is solid and beautiful, and it keeps the speaker grounded and full of childhood wonder. however, the memory could also be seen to be holding her back from moving on in her new home (‘paperweight’)

“my _____ comes to me/ it ____ down in front of me, _____ as p____/I comb its ____ and love its _______ eyes”

“my city comes to me/ it lies down in front of me, docile as paper/ I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”

personification shows that she nurtures the memory of the city to keep it alive

structure -

• repetition of ‘they’ in final stanza creates an aggressive tone to show the hostility she experiences as an immigrant, contrasting the happy memories of her childhood.

• final stanza inculdes caesura, enjambement and free verse, creating a chaotic feeling about her new situation, as she is struggling to settle in and decide she likes it

• contrasting semantic fields of light and war show the disparity between her memory and reality