Notes on the poem 'Giuseppe' for English literature A level, paper 3 (poetry) for Edexcel. This document looks at key themes, language, ideas, form and structure as well as the effect on the reader, whilst incorporating quotes and analysis.
Key themes: What does Violence The poem is about how a mermaid
this poem explore? Corruption was ‘butchered’, which shows the
Death violence of something so pure as a
‘mermaid’.
The men who slaughtered the
mermaid ‘said a large fish had been
found on the beach’. This highlights
the corruption and lies that those on
the top of the hierarchy tell those
below them to cover gruesome
crimes.
The mermaid’s ‘throat was cut’
displaying the gruesomeness of her
death.
Language: Any patterns Metaphor The metaphoric ‘behind the
of language? Poetic Magic Realism aquarium’, suggests that there is a
techniques? Eg: similes, Simile sense of shame and secrecy with
metaphors, verbs, etc. Violent imagery the men that slaughtered the
Plosives mermaid.
Personification The poet uses magic realism of a
Religious language mermaid being slaughtered to
symbolise the atrocities that went on
during WW2.
The mermaid is humanised through
the simile, ‘she screamed like a
woman in terrible fear’. Comparing a
non-human to a human subverts the
typical use of similes, highlighting
the cruelty and violence of the
situation.
Violent imagery is used when the
mermaid is chopped up and
dismembered ‘they put her head
and her hands’ in a box to be
buried. This creates anger and
disgust from the reader.
The plosive ‘box for burial’ highlights
the violence and immoral actions of
these men.
The personification of ‘starvation’
shifts the blame from the
perpetrators to another factor. This
links in with ideas of corruption,
which this poem is an allegory for.
The speaker’s religious language of
‘I thank God’ juxtaposes the actions
of the men. It’s the first time the
speaker has a voice.
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