IGCSE English Lit Poem - Poem at 39

what is the poem about

it is poem of memories of the poet's father while expressing her grief but celebrating his life

what themes are in the poem

loss, grief death, love family, memories, growing up, childhood

what is the structure within the poem and its effect

-written in free verse with lots of enjambment and 4 irregular sized verses which makes the poem feel more spontaneous and like a train of thought, like a more personal message to her father

what poems could it be compared with

remember (loss, love, family)

piano (childhood, grief, remembrance, family)

If (instructions, father figures)

analyse - 'How i miss my father. I wish he had not been

so tired

when i was

born.'

-opening personal emotive line with first person narrative and emotive word 'miss', the endstop enhances this impact

-monosyllabic statement with words on different lines making it heavy so the tone is regretful and tired

-the poem often has verbs put on a line by themselves which expresses the importance of liveliness and movement

analyse - 'I learned to see bits of paper as a way to escape the life he knew and even in high school had a savings account.'

-anecdote tells of how she learnt from his mistakes and wanted to not live a life of poverty

-metaphor of 'escape' showing her desperation in doing so

analyse - 'he taught me that telling the truth did not always mean a beating; though many of my truths must have grieved him before the end'

-alliteration of 't' emphasises her father's instruction and power

-emotive word 'beating' and 'grieved' expresses the painful memories

-'the end.' with end stop is very impactful and suggests finality

analyse - 'How i miss my father! He cooked like a person dancing in a yoga meditation and craved the voluptuous sharing of good food'

-repetition of first line but with exclamative puts emphasis on her grief suggesting she misses him more over time

-simile of his cooking gives an energetic and positive feel while the juxtaposition with dance and yoga shows off his multiple aspects of personality

-sharing suggests family and community

-rhyme of good food highlights their similarities as next like says 'now i look and cook just like him'

analyse - 'seasoning none of my life the same way twice; happy to feed whoever strays my way'

-metaphor of food with experiences shows how she lives with her father in the memory

-absolute lang of none shows extent to her living her life to the fullest

-she is gaining his personality traits of sharing and helping others like he did

analyse - 'He would have grown to admire the woman I've become: cooking, writing, chopping wood, staring into the fire'

-past tense shows her reflective nature

-she is proud of who she is and 'become' suggests this was a journey

-list shows her business of life and transition into adulthood

-'staring' suggests determination