The Emigrée

"The Emigrée" by Carol Rumens

Context

Carol Rumens is a contemporary British poet whose work often explores themes of memory, identity, and exile. "The Emigrée" reflects on the experience of displacement and the longing for a homeland that exists in the memory of the speaker. The poem explores the complex relationship between memory and reality, and how the idealised version of the past can persist despite present hardships.

The Poem

There once was a country… I left it as a child

but my memory of it is sunlight-clear

← Imagery

for it seems I never saw it in that November

which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.

The worst news I receive of it cannot break

my original view, the bright, filled paperweight.

← Metaphor

It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants,

but I am branded by an impression of sunlight.

The white streets of that city, the graceful slopes

glow even clearer as time rolls its tanks

and the frontiers rise between us, close like waves.

That child's vocabulary I carried here

← Simile

like a hollow doll, opens and spills a grammar.

Soon I shall have every coloured molecule of it.

It may by now be a lie, banned by the state

but I can't get it off my tongue. It tastes of sunlight.

I have no passport, there's no way back at all

but my city comes to me in its own white plane.

← Personification

It lies down in front of me, docile as paper;

I comb its hair and love its shining eyes.

My city takes me dancing through the city

of walls. They accuse me of absence, they circle me.

They accuse me of being dark in their free city.

← Juxtaposition

My city hides behind me. They mutter death,

and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight.

5 quotes + analysis to achieve a grade 9

1. Imagery: "my memory of it is sunlight-clear"

• Analysis: The imagery of "sunlight-clear" memory suggests an idealised and perfect recollection of the speaker's homeland. The "sunlight" symbolises warmth, positivity, and clarity, contrasting with the reality that the country might now be in turmoil.

2. Metaphor: "the bright, filled paperweight"

• Analysis: The "bright, filled paperweight" metaphor represents the speaker's fixed and unchanging memory of her homeland. Like a paperweight, this memory is solid, immovable, and preserves a moment in time, unaffected by current events.

3. Personification: "My city comes to me in its own white plane"

• Analysis: The personification of the city coming to the speaker "in its own white plane" reflects how her memories transport her back to her homeland. This line suggests a deep emotional connection, where the city lives within her mind, despite physical distance.

4. Simile: "That child's vocabulary I carried here / like a hollow doll"

• Analysis: The simile compares the language and cultural identity the speaker brought with her to a "hollow doll", suggesting that while she retains the outward aspects of her heritage, it feels empty or incomplete in her new environment.

5. Juxtaposition: "They accuse me of being dark in their free city"

• Analysis: This line juxtaposes "dark" with "free city", highlighting the speaker's sense of alienation and exclusion. The "dark" suggests being out of place or misunderstood in the new society, while "free city" is ironic, as the speaker feels anything but free.

Form & Structure Points

• Free Verse: The poem's lack of a strict structure reflects the fluidity of memory and the instability of the speaker's identity in exile.
• Repetition: The recurring imagery of "sunlight" reinforces the idealised memories of the speaker's homeland, contrasting with the harsh realities of the present.
• Juxtaposition: Highlights the contrast between the speaker's memories and the current state of her homeland, as well as her sense of alienation in the new country.

Example Paragraph for a Grade 9 Answer:

In "The Emigrée," Rumens explores memory and identity through vivid imagery and metaphor. The imagery of "my memory of it is sunlight-clear" suggests an idealised and unchanging recollection of the speaker's homeland. The metaphor "the bright, filled paperweight" symbolises how this memory is fixed and preserved, unaffected by present turmoil. Personification in "My city comes to me in its own white plane" reflects the deep emotional connection the speaker maintains with her homeland, despite being physically distant. The simile "That child's vocabulary I carried here / like a hollow doll" suggests the emptiness of her cultural identity in exile. The juxtaposition in "They accuse me of being dark in their free city" highlights her sense of alienation. Through these devices, Rumens effectively conveys the complexities of memory and identity for an emigrant...