These notes come from myself, who passed matric of 2023 with an overall average of 87% in each subject i took.
A detailed summary of the poem "The Tenant" for the IEB English exam
Poetry - The Tenant
Tuesday, 01 February 2022 13:37
The Tenant
- Enjambment: Run on lines
Stanza 1
- Luggage: Memories, problems, heart break. Metaphor; luggage are being compared to memories.
- Tenant: lover. Metaphor; lover is being compared to a tenant in the authors heart
- Stanza: The heart is being compared to a house for a tenant (lover) previously occupied by the authors other lover with luggage (memories) being left
behind as residue
Stanza 2
- Evicted: left the relationship or break up with your lover. Metaphor; eviction is being compared to a breakup in a relationship.
- "Simply left without a word:" Heartless or lack of emotion in the relationship from the lover. Metaphor; The lover is being compared to a person
leaving a house instead of being evicted. The lover simply left the relationship with a lack of care for the person they were with.
- Stanza: Seeks clarity and explanation for the reasoning their lover left.
Stanza 3
- "Hoping she will come back:" heart break, denial, hopefulness. Metaphor; hoping she will come back to him or apologize.
- Disposal: remove, clean out, throw out. Metaphor; luggage (memories) is being disposed of to clear forget about the bad times during the
relationship.
- "clean out the place:" Old memories. Metaphor; clean out old memories.
Stanza 4
- "Marks on the walls:" memories, hope, scares. Metaphor; marks on the wall are being compared to scares of the relationship from hurtful emotions.
- Indelible: unremovable, unforgettable, stained. Metaphor; Your walls of your heart are scarred from the memories and will never be able to be
removed.
- "Some I even like:" slight happiness, little things that count. Metaphor; most emotions were hurtful or emotional but the small good memories were
the ones he would like to keep.
- Stanza: Some memories will never be forgotten and will stay with you until you accept the fate that they left you.
Stanza 5:
- Afraid: Still hopeful, unaccepted, luggage (memories). Metaphorical fear,
- "What will I do with all the empty space:" loneliness. Metaphor; His emotions are still there for the girl he liked but he does not want to realise the
reality she is gone.
- Stanza: Unaccepting that the fact she is gone will leave a mark one him that will never be filled.
More:
- Tone: melancholic, reflective, pensive (reflective).
- Free verse, no formal rhyme scheme or rhythm.
- Extended Metaphor: The speaker conveys the experience of being abandoned by a lover and the effect of the memories by comparing the situation
to one that might be more familiar to the reader.
English Page 1
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