This document covers the poem: 'Easy Passage' from the Poems of the Decade Poetry. I studied this poem for my A Level, Edexcel English Literature Exam as part of the poetry module. By constructing these summarises and notes these provided me with ideas and themes which I could for my essays and the...
• Ironic in the idea that this will be ‘easy’ against the struggles of the girls
• Perhaps representative of the decisions that are quickly made that will impact are whole life
• Ironic in the suggestion that there is an ‘easy passage’ with all the difficulties and obstacles the
persona will likely face in her life.
• Appears easy in youth but contradicted from the viewpoint of an adult the title of the poem
reveals a childlike perspective of the world
Structure:
• Free verse in a single stanza. Imparts a sense of fluidity and movement of the poem and the
subject's matter, supporting the title with the ideas of an ‘easy passage’. Unity and lyrical nature
and abstract. Lacking pauses and rhyme- passing of time subconsciously and physically and
mentally mutual without realising or nothing until later adult reflections
• Line lengths are similar which allows for the reader to have a better understanding of the poem
but it still appears daunting and challenging reflecting the maturity and experience
• Lack of sentences.
• Wide variety of punctuations and commas. The first sentence continues for almost a third of the
poem and the last sentence for the final third. There are only five sections. Demonstrates shift in
perspective as the girl develops as she goes from innocence to experience.
• Turning point signified a rhetorical question as the poem returns to extended sentences
• Structure represents her childhood and a turbulent adolescence before returning to a more
stable adulthood.
• Caesuras used instead of full stops in order to not break up the continuation of the poem
• ‘On her thighs’ - What can’ which emphasises an extended pause. Supports idea of the middle of
the poem being a transition point in the narrative
• Continuous use of enjambment represents the freeing nature the girl desires in this
transgression. Caesuras become less as the poem progress suggesting that the girl will be
constrained by something else. Lack of routine in the real world and the struggle she will face.
Hene the enjambment creates uncertainty for the persons. Pattern of sandwiching a
philosophical point of view in the middle of the poem following ancient Hebrew poetic tradition
found in the psalm in Old Testament writings
• Poem could be seen as structured as a house in one flowing stanza. Could be to illustrate the
girl's journey down a house in that by the end of the poem she is moving on from her ‘family
home’. Yet the full stop at the end determines the loss of the readers childhood as a result of
this transgression. Rhetorical question ‘what can she know of the way the world admits us less
and less the ore we grow’. Change in perspective from an omniscient third person to the
viewpoints of the secretary. Forces the reader to question the struggles that the persona will
face in her life.
• Italics of ‘shimmering oyster’ builds the semantic field of the beach. By having this in italics
stands out to the reader, highlighting the vulnerability of the girl in her transgressions to
adulthood. Cross the boundary reflecting the struggles she will face. Italics suggests the
, internalised monologue the objectification and hardship the girl will face, both from her gender
and her age.
Language:
• The poem begins with the use of ‘once’ creating a fairy-tale like nature that becomes
reminiscent of childhood through the beginning, with ideas from the attributive adjective
‘halfway’, breaking this illusion in order to amplify a cold and harsh reality that has tainted
childhood.
• The persona is ‘crouched in her bikini’. The personal pronoun ‘her’ immediately identifies the
persona as a female. Thie feminine illustration adds to the vulnerability that is presented
through this imagery. The common noun ‘bikini’ reflects the exposure of the girl to the
elements. Hence it suggests that the girl is within a liminal boundary between adolescence and
adulthood.
• Confusion over the persona being on the ‘porch roof over her family house’. Perhaps being on
the ‘roof’ identifies the personas battles with her ‘family’. She no longer feels the same comfort
that a child feels at home, so transgresses boundaries. Yet, the caesura and following adjective
‘trembling’ reflects the persona’s hesitancy and vulnerability in the dangerous position on the
‘narrow windowsill’. Creates anxieties from the reader for the position of the persona.
• The use of ‘sharp/ drop of the stairwell’, with the adjective ‘sharp’ creates a distinctive choice
which has connotations of precision and accuracy, but also of potential pain and suffering,
perhaps highlighting the potential impacts of these transitions' ad passages. The idea of the stair
well and stairs is interpreted as both physical and mental transition of childhood to adolescence
and adulthood.
• Written in third person and lack of dialogue creates a corresponding lack of variety in pronouns
with use of ‘her’ and ‘she’ in the poem – distance is therefore created from the events through
an observational tone which is interpreted as more story-like. Stories linked to growing up
suggesting a rite of passage
• Female characters, a more personal meaning to the reader to show a personal connection to the
poet for a more meaningful message
• ‘Friend with whom she is half in love’. Perhaps representative of the girl's homosexuality. Maybe
her sexuality became a burden while living in her ‘family house’ and she was not free to explore
this further. Yet, the lexical term ‘half’ creates uncertainty. The reader is left to doubt whether
they will last or whether societal expectations or own paths will drive them apart in the future
now that they have to deal with the harsh reality.
• ‘Waiting for her on the blonde’. Copus use of enjambment provides a panoramic perspective on
the gravel. It is vast and threatening for the height of the persona. Yet the adjective ‘blonde’
adds to the semantic field of the beach, creating common nostalgic comforts as a symbol of the
childhood naivety that she is leaving behind in her transgression to adulthood. ‘Gravel
somewhere beneath her’ creates uncertainty. The preposition ‘beneath’ alongside the lexis
‘somewhere’ perhaps suggests the inexperience and the naivety of the persona. Creates
anxieties now that she is heading out into the real world.
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