To use MITSL to develop a response to the poem The Emigree Objectives: To explore the poem The Emigree focusing on how Rumens has used poetic devices to portray the theme of power and conflict To use MITSL to develop a response to the poem

What do you think of? Your house Your country Ask students to write bullet point ideas about what comes to mind when they think of house/country/ introduce the word ‘home’ –does this have different connotations?

The emigree Look at the title first. What does the word émigré mean? There once was a country… I left it as a child 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. The worst news I receive of it cannot break my original view, the bright, filled paperweight. It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight. The white streets of that city, the graceful slopes glow even clearer as time rolls its tanks and the frontiers rise between us, close like waves. That child’s vocabulary I carried here like a hollow doll, opens and spills a grammar. Soon I shall have every coloured molecule of it. It may by now be a lie, banned by the state but I can’t get it off my tongue. It tastes of sunlight. I have no passport, there’s no way back at all but my city comes to me in its own white plane. It lies down in front of me, docile as paper; I comb its hair and love its shining eyes. My city takes me dancing through the city of walls. They accuse me of absence, they circle me. They accuse me of being dark in their free city. My city hides behind me. They mutter death, and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight. Look at the title first. What does the word émigré mean? What connotations do we have for the words immigrant?

The emigree Highlight in one colour words that are positive. There once was a country… I left it as a child 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. The worst news I receive of it cannot break my original view, the bright, filled paperweight. It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight. The white streets of that city, the graceful slopes glow even clearer as time rolls its tanks and the frontiers rise between us, close like waves. That child’s vocabulary I carried here like a hollow doll, opens and spills a grammar. Soon I shall have every coloured molecule of it. It may by now be a lie, banned by the state but I can’t get it off my tongue. It tastes of sunlight. I have no passport, there’s no way back at all but my city comes to me in its own white plane. It lies down in front of me, docile as paper; I comb its hair and love its shining eyes. My city takes me dancing through the city of walls. They accuse me of absence, they circle me. They accuse me of being dark in their free city. My city hides behind me. They mutter death, and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight. Highlight in one colour words that are positive. In another colour, highlight those you think are negative.

Looking for evidence Using different colours to represent the different words, highlight where you think the author shows Colour Words that show The city as ideal That the city she has left is plagued by conflict Her affection and possessive feelings towards the city A sense of threat

How might this make her memory more biased? What does this opening remind you of? Why does the poem begin this way? How might this make her memory more biased? There once was a country… I left it as a child 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. The worst news I receive of it cannot break my original view, the bright, filled paperweight. It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants, but I am branded by an impression of sunlight. Why is this sentence enclosed by commas? What technique is she using here? How does it help build an image? Why does she repeat the phrase ‘it may be’? What connotations does this word have and how has she used it here?

What references can be found to light? What sort of adjectives does he use to describe the city? What effect does this have? The white streets of that city, the graceful slopes glow even clearer as time rolls its tanks and the frontiers rise between us, close like waves. That child’s vocabulary I carried here like a hollow doll, opens and spills a grammar. Soon I shall have every coloured molecule of it. It may by now be a lie, banned by the state but I can’t get it off my tongue. It tastes of sunlight. What do you notice about her use of similes in this verse? What is a lie?

Where is the personification in this verse? Is there a finality to this verse? Why do you think this is? Which words suggest this? Simple statement – why? I have no passport, there’s no way back at all but my city comes to me in its own white plane. It lies down in front of me, docile as paper; I comb its hair and love its shining eyes. My city takes me dancing through the city of walls. They accuse me of absence, they circle me. They accuse me of being dark in their free city. My city hides behind me. They mutter death, and my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight. Explore the pun here Where is the personification in this verse? What effect does it have on the reader? Who is ‘they’?

Quote Poetic technique Implied meaning Effect on the reader Key word analysis ‘the bright, filled paperweight’ Metaphor Reader feels warmly towards the speaker, reminiscing themselves about paces they feel fondly about ‘I am branded by an impression of sunlight’ Branded ‘the graceful slopes/glow even clearer’ The sound techniques used here create a slow, relaxed pace and paint her home city as somewhere graceful ‘frontiers rise between us, close like waves’ Readers might feel the speaker is naïve; despite the fact conflict is evident in the city she still feels the city is ‘white’ ‘My city takes me dancing through the city of walls’ Personification ‘They accuse me of absence/they circle me’ They Bottom one is left blank for them to choose their own quote

Rhyme – is there a rhyme scheme? Couplets? Internal rhyme? Structure Rhyme – is there a rhyme scheme? Couplets? Internal rhyme? Rhythm – how many syllables per line? Regular or free verse? Why are some different lengths? Stanzas – how many? How do they change? Do some stand out? Enjambment - do the lines “run on” to the next line or stanza? End stopping - does each line finish at the end of a sentence? Form – does the poem have a shape to it?

Get students to work on MITSL on their own today.

Compare the ways poets presents memories in ‘The Emigree’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and Conflict’ The Emigree Meaning (title) Imagery Tone Structure Language

Compare the ways poets presents memories in ‘The Emigree’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and Conflict’

30 min response Using your information from your table or venn diagram write a response to the question: Compare the ways poets presents memories in ‘The Emigree’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and Conflict’

Success criteria Is there: An introduction which includes both poems outlining their meaning and their titles? A section on imagery which compares both poems in relation to memories using quotes? A section on tone which compares both poems in relation to memories using quotes? A section on structure which compares both poems in relation to memories using quotes? A section on language which compares both poems in relation to memories using quotes?