the emigree - power and conflict poetry anthology

Who wrote ‘The Emigrée’?

Carol Rumens

What themes does the poem ‘The Emigrée’ explore?

The poem explores themes of nostalgia, identity, and the impact of displacement.

“but my memory of it is sunlight clear for it seems I never saw it in that November which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.” - What does the noun sunlight imply?

• It is a metaphor that has connotations of happiness, positivity and warmth.

• Uses pathetic fallacy to show the speaker’s memories of her country bring her comfort.

“but my memory of it is sunlight clear for it seems I never saw it in that November which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.” - What does the image of the sun imply?

• The sun is a powerful force which reflects how nothing can shake her positive light-filled impression of the perfect, utopian place she left.

• Shows the power that places / locations have, even over people.

“but my memory of it is sunlight clear for it seems I never saw it in that November which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.” - What does the proper noun ‘November’ imply?

• November is associated with late Autumn which suggests she has blocked out the darkness and the gloominess.

• A metaphor for the unhappy political events

“but my memory of it is sunlight clear for it seems I never saw it in that November which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.” - What does the phrase ‘I am told’ imply?

• She was too young to know much about her home country other than what people told her

• Creates a separation between her beliefs and what people are saying

• She might disagree with other’s opinions

“but my memory of it is sunlight clear for it seems I never saw it in that November which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.” - What does the adjective ‘mildest’ imply?

• Disaster can strike any place, any country, even if and when they don’t deserve it.

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” - What does the repetition of “It may” create?

• Dismissive of the serious criticisms her country faces from western communities

• Regardless of what is happening politically, she will retain her original view

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” - What does the modal verb “may” imply?

• Implies a sense of doubt

• Not accepting the possibility that her country is flawed

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” - What does the personification ‘sick’ suggest here?

• Sympathetic tone

• Country needs healing

• Implies that the ‘tyrants’ are comparable to bacteria or a disease infecting the country, they are an unwanted plague

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” - What does the conjunction ‘but’ suggest here?

• Creates a defensive tone

• Her refusal to accept any negativity

• She would rather stick to her illusory viewpoint than accept reality

• Delusional

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” - What does the repetition of the noun sunlight imply?

• Speaker has an almost dream-like picture of the past

“It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.” - What does the metaphor of ‘ branded’ imply?

• The country has left a great impact on her

• It is an integral part of her

• Nothing can erase her positive memories

• Could also indicate that she has been branded by society as an outsider, she looks different, as if she doesn’t belong

“The white streets of that city,” - What does the colour imagery of ‘white’ imply?

• Connotations of innocence and purity

• Depicts beauty of her country before the war destroyed it

• Reflects how naive she is, clinging to her idolised memories of her country

• White is the colour of surrender (white flag) which could imply she has surrendered to her fantasies or that her country has surrendered to an enemy

“They accuse me of absence. They circle me. They accuse me of being dark in their free city,” - What does the pronoun ‘They’ imply?

• Undefined and deliberately ambiguous

• Could represent government or population

• Plural, she is a victim and is outnumbered

• The repetition creates a menacing and threatening tone

“They accuse me of absence. They circle me. They accuse me of being dark in their free city,” - What does the verb ‘circle’ imply?

• It makes them seem like predators who are waiting to attack

• Animalistic tone

The poem is written with no rhyme (FREE VERSE), what cool this suggest?

• Representative of the freedom she craves

• Could convey the chaos in her city/hometown

The name of the city nor country is never named in this poem, what does this imply?

• Lack of specific detail is intentional

• Rumens wants her poem to be relevant to as many people who have left their homelands as possible

What is Rumen’s main message?

• To highlight the pain and confusion of the emigrant experience

• To convey an impression of what it is like to have to leave your home behind.

Where did Rumens travel widely to?

Russia and Eastern Europe

What collection is the poem from and what does the collection focus on?

• 1993 collection, ‘Thinking of Skins’

• Focuses on political consciousness in Russia and East Europe

• Also focuses on relationship between culture and identity.

What is Rumens’ writing largely about?

Foreign customs, cultures and language