Essay
A* essay on the presentation of feminity in ‘An Easy Passage’ and ‘The Gun’
How poetic techniques are used to present feminity in your choice of two ‘Poems of the Decade’ – ‘An Easy Passage’ and ‘The Gun’.
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Discuss how poe c techniques are used to present femineity in yourchoice of two ‘Poems of the Decade’ – ‘An Easy Passage’ and ‘The Gun’.
In ‘An Easy Passage’, Copus uses the descrip on of a girl jumping into a
house through a window as a metaphor for the liminal moment between
girl and womanhood. The tle seems to allude to the expression “a rite of
passage” and the adjec ve “easy” in the tle of the poem is ironic – both
on a literal, and metaphorical level. The girl is described as “trembling”
and the use of a transferred epithet in “a square of petrified beach”
shows how the girl is nervous about both transi ons which are not easy
but require concentra on and perseverance. The repeated use of the
modal verb “must” show that the girl is aware of the various expecta ons
society has of her, and the use of enjambment in
“She must keep her mind
On the friend with whom she is half in love”
Illustrates how the girl is torn between her obliga ons to the adult world,
and the excitement of young love that adolescence promises – she is wary
of social rejec on as fallout from her decision. “She must keep her mind”
seems like advice she has received from an adult about concentra ng on
the task at hand, but the reader’s expecta on of how the line will end is
broken following the tension of the enjambment as the girl’s thoughts
instead wander. The word “half” is also repeated several mes,
emphasising the precarious nature of the girl’s posi on and the state of
transi on that she is caught in. “Half in love” suggests that the girl is s ll
exploring her sexuality and developing her iden ty in the world. The
humanising descrip ons of the surrounding environment (“the blond
gravel…long grey eye of the street”) creates the impression of spectators
who are bearing witness to the ongoings, which creates a sense of
importance around the girl’s ac ons. The lack of dialogue and 3rd person
pronouns creates a distance from the events, mimicking the observa onal
tone of a neutral onlooker.
The rhetorical ques on
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