DIVORCE What is the poem about?

? The poem is about a young female who hates her parents so much she wants a divorce. She feels they treat her harshly and dont appreciate her as other parents do with their children. It takes the more common idea of a marital divorce and changes the focus to a young persons view. Elements of it make it a humorous poem but it can be seen as a more serious comment on relationships if a young person felt genuinely unhappy about their relationship with parents. What type of narrator is used? The narrator is a first person narrator. ay has created the persona of a young female who is directly addressing her parents ! I never chose you. You are rough and wild, I dont want to be your child. It almost takes the form of a letter to her parents in poetic form. What is the RELATIO !"I# bet$een the %hara%ters in the poem? "n unhappy relationship between a daughter and her parents. "o$ is the poem !TR&CT&RED? The poem is split into # $ %& line stan'as giving a hint towards a sonnet form. The first stan'a highlights the narrators anger and e$plains why she is unhappy with her parents. ()*+T)"TI,*-SE*TE*+E ST.)+T).E / ay uses en0ambment and a lack of full/ stops to create a sense of anger and a fast paced delivery to suggest the narrators outpouring of emotions. The second stan'a suggests how the narrator would like her parents to behave before re/stating her desire for a divorce. ()*+T)"TI,*-SE*TE*+E ST.)+T).E ! ay uses short1 blunt sentences to make the narrators feelings very clear with no uncertainty ! E.g. I want a divorce. I never chose you. WORD C"OICE Stan'a % ! 2ords such as suffer, tedious and orphanage suggest that the young narrator is treated very harshly almost being treated as a slave and creating images of +inderella or ,liver Twist for the reader. Stan'a # ! ay uses more peaceful and positive word choice to show what the narrator feels she would like her relationship to be like ! soft murmur, stroke, colourfulThese suggest a more caring and-or more appealing lifestyle. I'A(ER) !imi*e + #un !ather, your breath smells like a camels and gives me the hump " " humorous image suggesting she thinks her dads breath smells like an ugly animal while the double meaning of 3ump from the camel also suggests her annoyance.

'etaphor / #here are parentswho speak in the soft murmur of rivers " This comparison suggests a soft1 clam and caring approach to talking to their children. 'etaphor / #here are parents whosing in the colourful voices of rainbows " This suggests that these parents have an enthusiasm and variety to their voices when they sing 0ust as a rainbow is attractive and beautiful to look at. !O& D TEC" I,&E! ! *ot any significant use of sound techni4ues ! 5ou could argue that many of the words used in stan'a # such as murmur are softer sounding to reflect the peace1 calm and happiness some families e$perience.

!&CCE!!-&L E DI ( . The narrator returns to her clear and direct point at the end of the poem. (hrases such as 5ou are rough and wild-I dont want to be your child and I will file for divorce in the morning at first light emphasise her anger and unhappiness with her relationship. T"E'E! / 0E) IDEA! ! It is likely that all readers can relate to the poem as we have all fallen out with her parents at some point in our lives especially as teenagers when there may be disputes about chores etc.

2e can view it as a fairly humorous poem due to the references to camel breath and cream puff... suggesting that perhaps the narrator is simply letting off some steam after an argument. If you wished to take the narrator more seriously you could highlight e$amples such as6 you never, ever said a kind word ! suggests a constant lack of care and affection I dont want to be your child. $ll you do is shout and thats not right. ! The suggestion that the parents always shout could suggest a sense of upset and suffering which is not humorous to teenage readers. CO'#ARI!O ! TO OT"ER 0A) #OE'! (ap )ear . It is likely you would +,*T."ST 7ivorce with 8ap 5ear. 2hile they both describe relationships between parents and children 8ap 5ear is much more positive with feelings of pride1 admiration and reminiscence about a positive relationship. Lu%o1ade . "lthough 9uco'ade has elements of sadness it also +,*T."STS with 7ivorce as the relationship between the child :narrator /%; yrs old< and the mother who is unwell is mostly affectionate and positive. The emotion of sadness is different from the anger e$pressed in 7ivorce. 2ed . There are some similarities in terms of emotions in the relationships in this poem although as the narrator is the mother it is presented differently. 9ike the child in 7ivorce the mother in =ed feels some sense of frustration and anger at her situation. "lthough the daughter helps her mother in =ed there is a sense that the mother does not fully appreciate being treated like a child and this can be compared to 7ivorce. 7espite this1 =ed is much more subtle in its

hints at frustration and anger leaving some elements open to interpretation where 7ivorce is very clear at how unhappy the young narrator is.