A" level arguments, language analysis and themes regarding Adam Thorpe's 'On Her Blindness' - from Poems of the Decade for A-level English Literature, Unit 3: Poetry.
Themes Literary/Dramatic Devices Whole poem techniques
‘On her blindness’ – an ode, focus on a woman’s fortitude in the face of suffering Couplet stanzas
‘bear being blind’ – plosives – frustration/heavy burden
‘one shouldn’t’ – modal verb – how we deal with suffering, British stoicism shows the two of
‘handicaps are hell’ – metaphor – tragedy of hell, connotates punishment despite no sin them together
‘find joy / in the fight’ – simile and conflict imagery
‘paris restaurant’ – beautiful setting that she tragically cannot see No rhyme scheme –
‘food/fork’ – emphasises difficulty more sincere and
‘living hell’ – oxymoron, contrast of internal feelings and external façade
‘the locked-in son’ – he can’t help/he feels useless, ironic as mother is trapped by her façade raw
‘void’ – isolation
‘saw things she couldn’t see’ – paradox heightens pathos
‘so we’d forget’ – separation sufferer and family
‘slow slide’ – sibilance, slow process of usual deterioration and gradual decline
‘as blank as stone’ – weight of grief, cold, life without
‘drive/visit/admire’ – active verbs trying to continue as normal
‘sink into television’ – ironic as she can’t use it as escapism – doesn’t have to pretend to see things
‘(a fortnight back’ – raw immediate poem in response to her death
‘autumn trees’ – her withering away – pathetic fallacy coming to end of life/seasons
‘forgetting’ – polyptoton, inability to see truth of mother’s condition
“oh yes, I know” – not dialogue one sided convo distance between mother and son
‘she was watching’ – shows extra grief as he can’t believe shes watching out for him in heaven because she is blind – assurance she has restored her
eyesight in death
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