Storm on the Island

• 'We are prepared: we build our houses squat, Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.'

  • Red Herring - Confident opening statement that conveys a feeling of safety.
  • First person plural: shared experience/community.
  • The community have made preparations and the speaker seems quite proud of how well they have built their houses.
• 'The wizened earth has never troubled us With hay,

  There is a positive relationship between the community and the earth; the speaker seems assured that whatever issues the earth may have, they have never been affected.
• 'so as you can see,'

  Direct Address/Use of Second Person: The speaker seems conversational and relaxed; he is unbothered and casual.
• 'there are no stacks Or stooks that can be lost. Nor are there trees Which might prove company when it blows full Blast:'

  The speaker acknowledges the power of nature and the dangerous potential it possesses, but is quite confident that these hazards do not affect him and his community.

  “Wizened” and the fact that there are “no stacks or stooks” or “trees” make the island seem quite barren and desolate. The speaker is under the impression that the island has nothing to offer the storm in terms of a sacrifice, so they are exempt from attack.
• 'you know what I mean -'

  Direct Address/Use of Second Person: The speaker seems conversational and relaxed; he is unbothered and casual.
• 'leaves and branches Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale'

  Realising the menacing potential of weather and nature; they can come together to threaten people.
• 'So that you can listen to the thing you fear Forgetting that it pummels your house too.'

  
  

  • It is ironic that he acknowledges other peoples’ ignorance when he has thus far been quite arrogant about being immune to such a “pummeling”.
  • Violent Verb: The aggressive side of nature is lying dormant, but can always rear its ugly head.
• 'But there are no trees, no natural shelter.'

  Juxtaposition: It dawns on the speaker that he and his community are not protected by nature. Whereas before he was quite arrogant about not having trees for ‘company’, he comes to the terrible realisation that he has no sanctuary from storms, should they hit.
• 'You might think that the sea is company,'

  • Appearance vs. Reality: The sea is deceiving; it seems like a friend however this is an illusion.
  • The speaker is warning about this deceptive personality.
• 'Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs'

  • Oxymoron: juxtaposes the feelings of dear and safety.
  • It also portrays the nonchalance of the sea; it has no qualms about bursting violently and being out of control; it is actually quite contended being in this state.
• 'But no: when it begins, the flung spray hits The very windows,'

  • Quite abrupt tone; contrasts the earlier arrogance but chimes with all of the previous advice that has been given about the risks that nature presents.
  • Consonance makes the reading violent and aggressive, mimicking the threatening mannerisms of the sea.
• 'spits like a tame cat Turned savage.'

  Simile: The once-familiar sea has betrayed the community; there is also an unpredictability about the sea and it no longer controllable.
• 'We just sit tight while wind dives And strafes invisibly.'

  • Juxtaposition: Contrasting the first line; the community are now helpless and defenseless.
  • Verb: The wind is now attacking the community as if it were at war with them. It is a relentless assault.
  • The enemy’s invisibility makes it covert and secretive, therefore more dangerous.
• 'Space is a salvo. We are bombarded by the empty air'

  Metaphor & Adjective: Even the emptiness of the space poses a threat to the community because it leaves them exposed.
• 'Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.'

  Paranoia.