the emigree

• The poem explores the memory of the poet and their experiences in a far off city

  they spent time in as a child. The poet is looking at this city through the eyes of a

  child and the happy memories she had, she compares these to the truths she

  knows as an adult which is much harsher.
• Emigree relates to the word emigrate, the idea that a person goes and settles in

  another country, sometimes not feeling welcome to return.
• The poet bases many of the ideas on modern examples of emigration from countries like Russia or the Middle East where people are fleeing

  corruption and tyranny, or those countries change in their absence to some from of dictatorship.
• The poem has a deep sense of conflict in terms of emotions and memory, the poet is torn between her childhood memory and her adult

  understanding. This also reflects in the form of the city itself today which has become a hostile totalitarian place. The concept of a city can

  be a metaphor for memories and growth in general, progression from childhood to maturity.
• The poem follows a three stanza structure with repetitive elements such as the idea of ‘sunlight’. The opening of the poem

  seems to encompass the speaker trying to capture the memory, the second stanza builds on the details of this, fleshing out the

  city in her mind, finally the poem seems to veer towards an idea of facing up to the modern dark place her city of memory has

  become. 
•  A large amount of imagery is used within the poem to try and capture the concept of the city, including

  personification, though much of this is deliberately vague.
• The poem does not have a particularly consistent structure or any use of rhyme, this perhaps encapsulate the still uncertain

  understanding of the speaker about her city, this is further enhanced by some of the unusual and unnatural links between ideas

  and choice of metaphors. 
• The poem uses enjambment to create a flowing pace to the work of a narrative speaker.
• -The speakers view of the city is idyllic and with confused

  metaphors linked with positive natural images.
• -The speaker is struggling to reconcile the two identities of

  the city, however this causes conflict within the speaker.
• -The city is personified as reflects the nature of herself, her

  own personality and growth.
• the title itself "the Emigree" is indicative of the poems content, as "The" is written in English, whereas "Emigree" is written in Frech, giving the idea of two conflicting countries/ identities
• key quote 1- "but my memory of it is sunlight clear for it seems I never saw it in that November which, I am told, comes to the mildest city."
• key quote 1- her "memory" being as "clear" as "sunlight" is a metaphor which connotes happiness, positivity and warmth, so the poet is using pathetic fallacy to show how the speakers memories bring her comfort
• key quote 1- the sun ("sunlight") is also a really powerful force, showing that nothing can shake her light-filled impression of the perfect, utopian place she left, showing the power that places have, even over people who left them a long time ago
• key quote 1- the reference to "November" is late autumn, and she "never saw" it, so she's blocked out the darkness and gloominess associated with autumn, this is a metaphor for all the unhappy, political events
• key quote 1- she says that she was "told" suggesting that she was too young to know much about her home country other than what people tell her, creating a separation between her beliefs and what people are telling her, implying that she might disagree with what people told her
• key quote 1- when she says that "November" can come even to the "mildest city" she is saying that disaster can strike any place, any country, even when they don't deserve it
• key quote 2- "It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight"
• key quote 2- the repetition of "it may" is dismissive of serious criticisms her country faces from western communities, this implies that whatever is happening politically in her own country, she will keep her original view
• key quote 2- the modal verb "may" implies a sense of doubt, so she's still not accepting the possibility that her country may be flawed
• key quote 2- the country is personified by being "sick", she could be saying that her country need sympathy and needs to be healed, not criticised
• key quote 2- the conjunctive "but" adds a defensive tone, as if she refuses to accept any negativity, she would rather stick to her illusory viewpoint than accept reality, making her seem delusional.
• key quote 2- "sunlight" is repeated once again, suggesting that the speaker has an almost dream-like picture of the past
• key quote 2- she says that her country has "branded" her which is a metaphor, she is saying that the country left a big impact on her, and nothing can erase her positive memories. Or she cold be saying that she has been "branded" by society as an outsider, as she looks like she doesn't belong
• key quote 3- "They accuse me of absence, They circle me. They accuse me of being dark in their free city."
• key quote 3- the pronoun "They" is used, which is undefined and maybe deliberately ambiguous, so it could represent eh government, or the population, but "They" is plural, making her appear to be a victim, outsider, outnumbered, as if she doesn't feel apart of them
• key quote 3- the repetition of "They accuse me" is menacing and threatening, and the rule of three with the "they" shows the level of persecution she faces, she is targeted
• key quote 3- the verb "circled" makes them sound like predators, waiting to attack
• key quote 3- the lexical choice of "dark" contrasts the white used earlier and is a reference to racism
• key quote 3- the caesura creates a break in the line, as she has been broken out of displacement