STORM ON THE ISLAND

• "We are prepared: we build our houses squat" - declarative tone suggesting confidence and unity + verb symbolises human resilience against nature's power
• "Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate." - monosyllabilism reflects the routine of living in these harsh conditions
• "The wizened earth has never troubled us" - adjective 'wizened' refers to the land being barren/infertile + personification suggesting that the land hasn't been threatening
• "leaves and branches Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale" - natural imagery refers to elements that are usually peaceful but here are ominous + personification suggests they are singing/crying out + 'tragic chorus' alludes to Greek tragedy where a chorus comments on suffering or fate + sound imagery draws attention to loudness/chaos of the storm
• "Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs" - oxymoron reflects chaos vs. stability highlighting this abrupt storm happens frequenctly
• "spits like a tame cat Turned savage" - simile reflects how nature can be deceiving; can seem harmless but can quickly turn aggressive/violent
• "We just sit tight while wind dives And strafes invisibly" - colloquial language suggests a sense of resigned helplessness and there is no control against natures power + military terminology personifies the wind as a hostile attacker + danger as intangible
• "Space is a salvo." - 'salvo' is a burst of gunfire/artillery so militaristic imagery of the nature launching an attack
• "We are bombarded by the empty air" - nature as intrusive and obstructive suggesting even nothingness is filled with danger during a storm
• "dives / salvo / bombarded" - semantic field of military
• "Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear" - oxymoron suggesting that the intangible dangers are just as frightening