Revelation

• 'I remember once'

  • speaker is reflecting on their past experiences, showing how they have changed over time.
  • matter of fact tone/events are a personal memory
  • 'once' shows that it was a singular event/important/memorable
• being shown'

  shows that she was led to it rather than it being a choice.
• black bull'

  plosive alliteration, suggests male/sexuality/violence/aggression. Contrast with eggs and milk.
• when a child'

  enjambment emphasises the contrast between bull and child/emphasises the word 'child' to help contrast innocence to experience.
• eggs and milk'

  symbols of femininity/female/nurture/innocence/maternal instinct.
• they'

  reference to adults. She looks back wryly on how the 'monster' was introduced to her with an ordinary, everyday name as if its true nature was being purposely disguised.
• monster'

  terrifying and evil mythological associations of human/animal composite- the Minotaur.
• charm of a friendly name'

  "Charm...friendly"- word choice highlights the contrast- suggests some kind of magic. Together with the 'friendly name' we get the idea of the girl being drawn in, possibly even seduced by something welcoming/attractive.
• threshold'

  literal and figurative-doorway and also link to transition from innocence to experience/sexual awareness/significance in the fact the animal is male.
• someone held my hand'

  who exactly is not important. An adult? Adult recognition that seeing the bull will frighten the child, but that the experience is inevitable.
• peer'

  something indistinct is inside the building/child is not sure what it is.
• at first'

  structure-"At first...then..."suggests increased awareness of how unsettling the bull is.
• only black'

  suggestion of evil, the unknown, which is stressed by the enjambment.
• hot reek'

  - synaesthesia- captures the bull's powerful smell and the heat from his body/experienced simultaneously/suggests unpleasant, revolting smell/ youthful innocence-she has no reference point.

  - caesura: creates impact-suddenly she is able to see him emerge from the darkness/he comes into focus.
• immense'

  shock-sheer overwhelming size
• edges merging'

  "edges merging"- assonance-long vowel sound mirrors eye-opening shock- w/c suggests that he's indistinguishable from the darkness (associated with evil, that he occupies the entire space.)
• darkness'

  "darkness"- indistinct-hard to tell the bull from the darkness around it.
• big bulk'

  "big bulk"- plosive alliteration (echoes of "black bull")-sounds menacing-threat. Word choice "bulk" suggests that he's amorphous-threatening.
• trampling'

  present continuous tense creates immediacy-w/c focuses on bull's powerful hooves-restless energy-suggests power to destroy without care or thought.
• clanking'

  harsh, hollow sound-onomatopoeia- chains restraining him- a reminder that this is what is restraining this animal.
• tense with the chains jerk'

  pun-chain is tense with the bull's strength; girl is tense with fear.

  Line is monosyllabic-creates tension.
• jerk'

  effective w/c-violent pull. Transferred epithet- it is not the chain's jerk, but the bull's.
• swivelled'

  horrible image-bull looks around wildly/unnatural/frightening.
• great wedge'

  bulk and size emphasised- "wedge"-something that's driven between two objects to secure or separate them. It's like he's wedging open the gap in her innocence.
• roared his rage'

  rolling alliteration mimics the deafening sound. The long vowels 'oa' and 'a' also emphasise this violent sound.
• gaped like wounds'

  - like an injury or a cut- makes the appearance not quite natural-suggests that the child is emotionally scarred/wounded by seeing the animal. Also suggests disturbing, blood-soaked injury.

  - The two short sentences finishing this stanza suggest the stark horror at the sound and sight of the bull.
• and'

  begins with a conjunction, which connects the terrifying experience inside the barn to the relative calm outside. "outside"- marks a contrast in place and mood.
• oblivious hens'

  - "oblivious" indicates a lack of awareness, blissful ignorance, unconscious of what the bull represents.

  - "hens" represent the female. The girl was like the hens before she saw the bull.
• picked'

  contrast to "trampling" and "clanking"-there's a lighter touch-suggests a vague and unconcerned activity, as if there is nothing to worry about.
• faint...festive'

  fricative alliteration mirrors the sound of the chain. "festive"-connotes an innocent celebration-like sleigh bells. "tinkling"- onomatopoeic-not a threat.
• behind the mellow stone and hasp'

  "behind the mellow stone and hasp"-"mellow"-mild and smooth-the colour of the stone reflects the mood-suggests they see the wall in warm, gentle terms, unaware of what's behind it.

  "hasp"- a metal plate-part of a locking mechanism. Contrast to the chain that holds the bull.
• black mass'

  Capitalised-highlights the size of the bull and the double meaning: evil, satanic worship, ritual. The speaker does not just see its enormous size, but also its association with Satanic practices.
• straining at his chains'

  assonance emphasises the strain-the pull against the chains. It is as though the bull is trying to escape- he is exercising his power/threatening to break free.
• half-known he existed'

  suggests that a vague impression of its malevolence has not been confirmed. "he existed"-both the bull, but figuratively what he stands for- a darkness, threat, evil.
• antidote...anti-christ..anarchy'

  - alliteration creates a stabbing sound. "Antidote"- unusual word choice-usually means a cure to counteract a particular poison. Here it is used to mean the opposite-it counteracts innocence.

  - "Anti-Christ"- something diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Christian church- supreme evil.

  - "Anarchy"- no recognition of authority or systems of control-something over which no one has control."Anti"- repeated, negative attitude emphasises.
• threatened the eggs'

  - juxtaposition highlights the contrast between the bull and the eggs. We could see this as a male/female threat or a threat made upon the 'known' by the 'unknown.'

  - "Eggs"-symbol of the embryo-something not yet born into this state of knowledge. The egg symbolises the girl/the innocent.
• well-rounded'

  literal and figurative. Round shaped-figuratively, a belief that one is fully-knowledgeable.
• i ran'

  flight response. Her instinct is to run away and protect the eggs, not realising that it is too late.
• pigtails'

  symbol of childhood
• thumping'

  onomatopoeic-animated with fear and violence-mimics the rapid heartbeat-adrenalin.