Derek Mahon - After the Titanic

A) I swear…

I swear I sank as far that night as any hero.

• Colloquial language underscores his raw anguish.

• Metaphor.

• Simile.

B) My costly life…

My costly life go thundering down in a pandemonium of prams, pianos, sideboards, winches, boilers bursting and shredded ragtime.

• This quote captures the chaos of the sinking ship.

• The list of objects plunging seawards, along with the use of onomatopoeia and alliteration, coneys the confusion and panic.

C) Where the…

Where the tide leaves broken toys and hatboxes silently at my door.

• He cannot escape the past, symboliesd by the toys and hatboxes.

• Personification

• Symbolism - toys for children and hatboxes for women

D) Then it is…

Then it is I drown again with all those dim lost faces I never understood.

• He continuingly relives the indescribable horror of the tragedy

• Verb choice underscores the intensity of his anguish

E) Heart…

Heart breaks loose and rolls down like a stone. Include me in your commemorations

• Ismay believes his life also ended on that fateful night. And so he hould be included in people’s commemorations

• This is an apt simile which conveys his devestation.

• Assonance