Keyways -
- Links to title of anthology - “skirrid hill”
^ idea of split, fracture
Stanza 1 -
- “Strange then” - opening and penultimate line, cyclical structure reflects relationship
^ strange - ‘strangers’
- Matter of fact verbs - trying to convince himself, control his emotions
- “Standing in line” - formal, separate
- “Waiting” / “standing” - present participle - elongates & lengthens time
- Monosyllabic verbs - sense of harshness - repetition of sharp consonant sound ‘t’
^ “cut” / “out”
- “Take back” - sense of retreat, emotional investion
- “Your flat” / “mine again” - unusual as they were married - raises questions
^ personal pronouns emphasises individuality, separation
Stanza 2 -
- “Hot day” - pathetic fallacy - tense atmosphere, suggests argument or sense of discomfort
^ personification - “presses to the shop window glass” - pressure
- “Glass” - fragility, clarity
- “Uncut sets” - potential metaphor for new relationships
- “Like lucky charms along a bracelet” - sense of delicacy and fragility
^ lucky in the sense that there is potential and they have not yet been ‘keyed’ or even
damaged by a relationship
- “I realise” - reflection, bringing past into present
- “An uncut key, a smooth blade” - potential, suggests she made him who he is
- “Edentate” - lacking incisor and canine teeth, minimal threat
^ could link to identity in the sense that teeth are unique and can be used as a form of
identification, again links to the way she has formed his identity
Stanza 3 -
- “Finally did in that chapel” - alludes to marriage
^ “finally” suggests patience / endurance, links to theme of time
- Links to title of anthology - “skirrid hill”
^ idea of split, fracture
Stanza 1 -
- “Strange then” - opening and penultimate line, cyclical structure reflects relationship
^ strange - ‘strangers’
- Matter of fact verbs - trying to convince himself, control his emotions
- “Standing in line” - formal, separate
- “Waiting” / “standing” - present participle - elongates & lengthens time
- Monosyllabic verbs - sense of harshness - repetition of sharp consonant sound ‘t’
^ “cut” / “out”
- “Take back” - sense of retreat, emotional investion
- “Your flat” / “mine again” - unusual as they were married - raises questions
^ personal pronouns emphasises individuality, separation
Stanza 2 -
- “Hot day” - pathetic fallacy - tense atmosphere, suggests argument or sense of discomfort
^ personification - “presses to the shop window glass” - pressure
- “Glass” - fragility, clarity
- “Uncut sets” - potential metaphor for new relationships
- “Like lucky charms along a bracelet” - sense of delicacy and fragility
^ lucky in the sense that there is potential and they have not yet been ‘keyed’ or even
damaged by a relationship
- “I realise” - reflection, bringing past into present
- “An uncut key, a smooth blade” - potential, suggests she made him who he is
- “Edentate” - lacking incisor and canine teeth, minimal threat
^ could link to identity in the sense that teeth are unique and can be used as a form of
identification, again links to the way she has formed his identity
Stanza 3 -
- “Finally did in that chapel” - alludes to marriage
^ “finally” suggests patience / endurance, links to theme of time
