Key Quotes & Comparisons
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Power & Conflict, topic 12.1.3
Key Quotations in The Emigree
Here are key quotations to remember for your exam:
“My city"
- The use of the possessive pronoun conveys the speaker’s deep admiration for, and pride in, her city.
"The bright filled paperweight"
- “The worst news I receive of it cannot break / My original view, the bright filled paperweight”.
- Metaphor.
- This metaphor suggests the strength and solidity of the speaker’s positive memories.
“I have no passport..."
- “I have no passport, there’s no way back at all”, “they accuse me….” etc.
- Mysterious language. This suggests the speaker could be in exile.
”The white streets”
- Light and colour imagery.
- Highlights how overwhelmingly positive the speaker's memories are of her city.
“I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”
- Personification of the city.
- This quote intensifies the sense of the speaker’s love and affection towards the city.
- It is also a childish image, conjuring up images of innocence and purity.
“It may be sick with tyrants…”
- Personification of the city.
- Emphasises the strength of her dislike for the people currently controlling the city.
Key Comparisons: the Emigree
Here are some themes that come up in The Emigree and other texts:
Conflicting emotions
- You may want to compare the theme of conflicting emotions in The Emigree to the following texts:
- Bayonet Charge.
- Poppies.
Power of place
- You may want to compare the theme of power of place in The Emigree to the following texts:
- London.
- The Prelude.
Identity
- You may want to compare the theme of identity in The Emigree to the following texts:
- Kamikaze.
- Checking Out Me History.
Test yourself on Key Quotes & Comparisons
Which of these would you NOT compare The Emigree to on the theme of identity?