STAFFORD AFTERNOONS DUFFY

What is the meaning of the poem? Who is it written in the point of view of? What happens to the persona?

Written in the persona of a small child who has lost her sense of innocence when straying off the path. The persona starts off by exploring the world around her then going to a place that is forbidden. The poem then becomes darker and more secretive as the persona continues her journey through the woods.

‘I waved at windscreens, oddly hurt by the blurred waves back’' what could you say about ‘blurred’ and ‘oddly hurt'.’ what is the effect of this quote?

Shows the feelings that the persona holds as a young child. ‘Blurred’ shows the hurried atmosphere that is associated in the adult world, which could seem confusing to a child of such a young age who thinks they have all the time in the world. The emotions of a child can also be seen through ‘oddly hurt’ as the persona cannot make sense of their emotions but know that they are there. The effect is that we start to see the thoughts of the young persona becoming more attached with the poem.

‘A vivid lie for us both’ what could you say about ‘vivid’ and a child’s imagination. What side does the poem now take?

Implies her willingness of a child to tell lies to fit in with their adventures. ‘vivid’ shows the colour and the imagination a child holds. Also suggests that the child is going to have to tell a lie in order to cover up what truly happened. The poem now takes a darker side as we start to see the persona cascade in a spider web of trouble.

‘Small wood, lonely and thrilled’ what could you say about the stative verbs?

Implies the woods are not a place in which people linger in as ‘thrilled’ can mean something to come or something doing something that the shouldn’t be doing. ‘Lonely’ emphasises the isolation that a wood can often create for a persona but it also emphasises the fact that the child is alone by themselves. Fear on the persona and worry for what is to come in the poem.

‘Flowering nettles gathered spit in their throat’ what could you say about ‘gathered spit in their throats’ and beginning with a V, what happens in the poem as well as the effect of the nettles?

Implies that a danger is close by, association of nettles is key as it suggests to the reader that whatever is going to happen next is going to be a lasting memory. ‘Gathered spit in their throats’ implies that the woods themselves feeds off of fear and anticipation, the woods are not longer of normality. Gives the impression of a climax period, or the volta.

‘I knew it was dangerous’ what could you say about ‘I know’ and what does it make the reader feel?

the persona has written the poem after the events happened, implies a sense of regret as it shows the persona is thinking about what they have been told and how they ignored it. ‘I knew’ implies that the persona is taking responsibility for their actions, now thinking of the consequences that they have had on themselves. Makes the reader sympathise with the persona.

‘And time fell from the sky like a red ball.’ what have they lost and what does the simile represent? It also makes the reader reflect on what?

implies that time is no longer in slow motion but in fast forward. Loss of innocence within the child as normally children lead a happy childhood and are not faced with such things the persona was faced with. ‘Like a red ball’ is a simile which represents the reality of the persona still being a child. Makes the reader reflect on their society in which they might live in.