Poetry and prose quotes

the spirit is too blunt an instrument - metaphor

• “the spirit is too blunt an instrument”

• presents the spirit as a dull tool, something clumsy and bulky in comparison to natures careful and complex creation of the human body

• personifies human passions as “unskillful” but its what makes us human beings

the spirit is too blunt an instrument - imagery

• “the resilient fine meetings of ganglia and vertebrae”

• emphasises how connected all these particulars are + beauty and complexity of humans

• strength

• part depend on + strengthen each other

• intricate and precise workings of the human body

the spirit is too blunt an instrument - consonance

• “passion or sentiment possessed”

• ‘spits’ out the words

• is any emotion as simple or straight forward as the physical body

• spirit is messy - there aren’t always explanations to how it works

• not a single human emotion can conquer what nature has

• spirit is vague - do feelings + emotions tarnish what would otherwise be flawless

• without the spirit we are just ‘a bunch of’ ignorant unknowing pieces put together

away melancholy - repetition

• “away melancholy”

• paints a portrait of the speakers sadness

• wants to get rid of it but can’t

• hard to budge the sorrow

away melancholy - rhetorical question

• “ are not the trees green, the earth as green”

• questions herself why is she sad? - who could despair when the world is so beautiful

• turns to the world for comfort

• beauty of the natural world

• nature’s beauty is bigger than individuals sadness

away melancholy - alliteration

• “hey ho”

• allusion to twelfth night

• speaker is trying to let go of disappointment

• the world runs the way it runs

the man with the night sweats - slant rhyme

• “sorry, cracked, hurry, wrecked”

• the perfect rhyme scheme is wrecked just like his body

the man with the night sweats - extended metaphor

• “my flesh was its own shield”

• nostalgic

• “shield” protected him from disease and infection and he no longer has that ability

• the shield is only figurative/ imaginative

the man with the night sweats -poignant irony

• “I have to change the bed, but catch myself instead”

• “hugging my body to me”

• painful irony

• hugging himself trying to protect/ shield himself knowing he can’t protect himself from his disease

rain - symbolism

• “rain”

• the speaker immediately links rain with death

• like rain - death is sombre, relentless, and falls on everyone like rain

• the rain has dissolved all his attachments

• rain is associated with loss + the loss of his own life

rain - repetition

• “solitary”

• “rain, midnight rain”

• mimics relentlessness of the rain itself

• evokes the power of the rain

• emphasise loneliness + depression

• waiting for his imminent death

rain - simile

• “like me who have no love”

• rain has dissolved all his life

• only has love for death + desires to be dead

• misery of humanity

• no familiar attachments

the city planners - oxymoron

• “bland madness”

• madness doesn’t have to be extraordinary

• humanities desire for control is dull madness

• critiques humanities obsession with controlling its environment

the city planners - personification

• “plastic hose poised in a vicious coil'“

• the hose is about to attack

• plosive ‘p’ sound spitting out her feelings

• reinforces the idea of control and avoiding the panic

the city planners - metaphor

• “splash of paint on a brick”

• suggests imperfection hidden in what looks like a ‘perfect’ suburb

• appearance vs reality

• superficial good looks doesn’t mean a place is morally/ ethically/ environmentally good

he never expected much - irony

• “stem such strain and ache”

• the world has lived up to its promises because it promised the bare minimum

• was never disappointed with things not going his way, lack of emotional investment

• risk the pain/ disappointment for a greater chance at happiness

he never expected much - repetition

• “twas then you said, and since have said, times since have said”

• accentuates the speakers weariness

• as if the world has “said” the same thing to him a thousand times over

he never expected much - assonance

• “never I own expected I”

• makes the lines sound heavier or slower for dramatic effect

• lines slow to a crawl which echoes the speakers strain

funeral blues - symbolism

• “clocks… telephone”

• demands the world to grieve with him

• mourning - creates a sense of urgency

• speaker doesn’t want time to keep going

• interruptions of the world

funeral blues - metaphor

• “my north, my south, my east and west”

• speakers love isn’t literally in all these directions

• indicates how important this person was

• every direction the speaker went they thought or saw this person

funeral blues - end-stop lines

• “let the mourners come.”

• create a disjointed feeling and disconnected feeling

• suggest the speaker is listing demands as they occur without much planning or forethought

• lines are sharp and isolating

• echoes speakers point of view

request to a year - consonance

• “meditating a suitable gift”

• adds musicality to the poem - encourages readers attention

• poem is primarily about the importance of art

request to a year - casual style

• structure of the whole poem

• casual and conversational

• reflective and intimate

• gives you a strong sense of the speakers admiration to her great great grandmother

request to a year - caesura

• “second daughter, impeded”

• creates a choppy rhythm

• evokes a sense of danger and difficulty

ozymandias - pun

• “the hand that mocked them”

• has a double meaning

• sculptors who planned the statue + making fun of oxymandias

ozymandias - symbolism

• “near them, on the sand”

• symbol used to suggest humankind is very fragile

• statue has been broken apart by nature and time itself

• nature is indifferent to our ‘power’

ozymandias - irony

• “my name is ozymandias, king of kings”

• he believes he’ll be powerful for ever

• his legacy is broken + forgotten

the planners - personification

• “the sea draws back and the skies surrender”

• planners have driven nature out of the city

• nature cannot overcome the hopelessness of the planners

the planners - extended metaphor

• “dental dexterity”

• “gaps are plugged with gleaming gold”

• “perfect rows of shining teeth”

• precisely shows how planned the city is

• “gaps” are like holes in the teeth, and the “gleaming gold” is a filling - shows how everything that was old or had character in the city are being knocked down and replaced with something uniform and bland

• “gold” represents money, luxury - new modern building have replaced old, historic ones

the planners - irony

• “my heart would not bleed poetry”

• “stain the blueprints of his pasts tomorrow”

• implies the speaker might actually support the modernisation the planners are carrying out

• speaker may be numb to the destruction

• ironic stating he’s not going to “bleed poetry” to “stain the blueprint of his pasts tomorrow”, since he is doing exactly that

a consumers report - metaphor

• “I don’t know which to follow”

• rules/ guidelines are everywhere

• hard to know which to follow

• life is too confusing/ vast/ varied

a consumers report - rhetorical question

• “do we need it now”

• encourages reader to think

• engages reader

• what really is the point of life

a consumers report - irony

• “I’d buy it”

• after being disappointed and ashamed of life the reader is still willing to “consume” it

• life has its ups and downs and rules and worries but it is still something worth “buying”

on finding a small fly crushed in a book - symbolism

• the fly

• fly symbolises mortality and fragility of life

• the crushed fly reminds the speaker death is a lot nearer than we think

• it has led a blameless, innocent life

• not many people leave such lovely memories behind

on finding a small fly crushed in a book - metaphor

• “the book will close upon us”

• “own fair monument”

• symbolises death

• everyone will die

• fly’s wings are perfectly preserved on the page

• beautiful tomb

• intricacy of wings

on finding a small fly crushed in a book - caesura

• “some hand.”

• “now thou art gone.”

• thoughtful and reflective start slows down momentum

• elucidates the speaker didn’t mean to do harm

• marks transition in the poem

• poem moves from the speakers thoughts about the flys beautifully preserved wings to the speakers general thoughts about mortality

night sweat - allusion

• “poor turtle, tortoise”

• comforting presence has a serious effect on their relationship

• the tortoise, the hare

• speakers troubles transforms her + slow her down

• change her identity

night sweat - Volta (shift)

• “my wife”

• longing to live free like her

• brief respite from anxiety

• her heart is light + free and unburdened

night sweat - personification

• the tortoise caries the weight of its world on his back just like the speakers wife

• speaker pleads with his wife to forgive him for the emotional burden she bears

from long distance - anaphora

• “he”

• layering effect creates a psychological portrait of the father

• state of mind

• grief

• denial

from long distance - simile

• “as though his still raw love were such a crime”

• aware of judgement from others

• not comfortable being vulnerable

• ashamed

from long distance - metaphor

• “my blight of disbelief”

• blight is a disease

• father fears emotional contamination

• if son saw denial father was living in his disbelief would be infectious and make him face reality

• father protects himself from the truth

Moushumi “they had acted on the same impulse, that was their mistake”

• conveys Gogol and Moushumis marriage

Moushumi “it reminds her of living in Paris” “represents some sort of capitulation of defeat”

• highlights her constant desire to live in an intense, seductive and constantly changing life

Moushumi “her horror of being married to someone she didn’t love that had caused her, subconsciously to shut herself off”

• Moushumi is a restless, unsatisfied wife

• she has just “settled” for Gogol

Maxine “he realises that she has never wished she were anyone other than herself”

• demonstrates Gogols envy of Maxine and her stable American upbringing and strong sense of identity

Maxine “she has the gift of accepting her life”

• Maxine is comfortable in her own skin

• Gogol is attracted and also envious of this

Maxine “his parents can’t possibly reach him”

• Maxine presents an escape for Gogol

• Maxine later becomes a symbol of the distance between his parents and the guilt provided with it

train motif “a suicide had been committed; a person had jumped in front of the train”

• Gogol didn’t want to be on the train in the first place

train motif “the pages of his book… fluttered in two sections a few feet from the train”

• book saved Ashoke’s life

train motif “bad luck trails them on their trip back to Calcutta

• something bad always happens on trains

Ashima character development “no interest in learning how to drive”

• strong cultural identity and desire to cling to her Bengali roots for a sense of comfort

Ashima character development “Ashima continues to wear nothing but saris and sandals”

• strong cultural identity

• clothing motif

• refusal to assimilate into American culture

Ashima character development “she will miss the opportunity to drive” “she will return to India with an American passport”

• citizen of USA - just “visiting” India

• America is now her home

Gogol character development “irritated by his parents perpetual fear of disaster”

• arrogant

• resentful towards is parents

Gogol character development “the amount of effort embarrasses him” -

• repulsed by himself and his parents -

Gogol character development “they draw comfort from the fact that its the only time of day that they are alone, isolated” “this meatless meal is the only thing that seems to make sense”

• sense of comfort

• contrast to his previous repulsion

• connected to his family

name motif “he hates having to constantly explain, he hates having to tell people it doesn’t mean anything”

• insecure of the name he’s never understood”

name motif “his name is like the scratchy tag of a shirt he has been forced permanently to wear”

• emphasises Gogol’s identity crisis

name motif “at times an entity both shapeless and weightless manages nevertheless to distress him physically”

• repulsed by his name

“life as a foreigner is a sort of lifelong pregnancy. A perpetual wait, a constant burden”

“she can’t help but pity him. She has never known of a person entering the world so alone, so deprived”

“these acquaintances are only substitutes for the people who really ought to be surrounding them”

• Ashima

• immigration experience

• Ashima’s development

• foreshadowing Gogol’s identity