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Elizabeth jennings
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The enemies poem
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth jennings | Born in boston, linconshire, england and moved to oxford age 6. Lived there for rest of life and workede briefly in advertising and publishing. Initially linked to the movement with Larkin and Amis. |
| Structure | 20 lines and a narrative poem. lyrical poem. In first two stanzas rhyme scheme is ABABBA. In third stanza there are eight lines and the rhyme changes; it is ABABABBA. The meter of the poem is mostly the same in each stanza |
| Synpnosis | about an event that happened in the city on one night and its effects the next morning and thereafter |
| Themes | strangers came and invaded the city for no specific reason. No external devastations had taken place but there were great internal damages, in the minds of the people. Trust, role of women, invasion of others to way of life |
| Context | political- communism, cold war’. 1960s saw rise of Feminist, civil rights movements, yet proliferation of nuclear weapons created anti-war protest ,free speech etc. Immigration to UK -people from Caribbean etc to find work so anti-immigrant xenophobia. |
| Fear | Who are the invaders? Uses ‘they’ 4 times in first stanza. ‘Band’ may be threatening, ‘strangers’ outsiders but they commit no evil actions. Not ‘there for devastation’. Gets everyone talking |
| Timeless setting | Nameless city bordered by river, main action happening in one night and day. Some diction is allegorical- archaic phrase ‘strangte tongue’ (foriegn langauge). Haunted, band, land are drawn from stories/ fables. Keeps a distance, semi-aware of the paranoia |
| Tone- first stanza | Toneless, flatly recounts how ‘came over the river and entered the city’- diction totally banal- world ‘came’ twice. ‘Entered’ equally netueral. Later begins to use figurative language -suspicion to townspeople - attitudes towards guests deteriorated. |
| Gender opposition- ‘us vs them’ | Outsiders- men, welcomed by women, may be threatening- no women in visitors mentioned, creates gender imbalance, they may want to take something. Men of town close up, ‘ no warmth in hands’, hostility. Women welcoming/ empathy- gender sterotypes |
| Inaction | No one tries to talk to outsiders, vacuum of knowledge- rumours fill it. Ignorance prevails, Attitude of citizens turns to suspicion, doubt,Repetition of ‘or’ -panicky thoughts in people’s mind (anaphora), ‘what…what…why’ unaswered concerns, invasion |
| Mystery | Enjabment used for uncertainity- when is line going to end. Apparent at end of line one’ and…’ what???Before eyes can read the next line our imagination fills the gap- nefarious possibilities. Second verse ‘ all the town is filled…’same thing here. |
| Dread | Use of sibilance. Whispery. Twists atmosphere into something sinister. Women warm welcome- sounds turns to rich w sounds- ‘ women were awake with’. However, suspicion brings sibilance ‘ not asking what strange’ - manipulation, secrecy, distrust. |
| Gutturals | ‘Close up the candid looks’, aggressive, first associated with mysterious commers- ‘they came across’, transferred to citizens- cold, clinical, unfeeling, |
| Rthymn and rhyme | written in an imabic paremeter, (de-dum, de-dum), Thrown off gaurd when rythmn changes, Unusual ABABBA pattern, adding to our momentary discombobulation. Uses elements of Petrachan |
| the enemies | who are the enemies? the = definite article |
Created by:
rosielottie