The Émigrée by Carol Rumens - AQAContext

In The Émigrée, a displaced person reflects on their city of birth. The poem’s content, ideas, language and structure are explored. Comparisons and alternative interpretations are also considered.

Part ofEnglish LiteraturePoems

Context

The in which a poem was written can sometimes tell you more about its themes, message and meaning.

Some questions you might ask include:

  • are aspects of the poet’s life reflected in the poem?
  • is the time or place in which it was written reflected in the poem?

You will need to research the poet’s background to discover answers to these questions. But if you do write about a poem and its context, be careful to include only details that reveal something about the poem.

Context of 'The Émigrée'

Two young girls on a wall in Kabul, Afghanistan
In ‘The Émigrée’, Rumens' 'fascination with elsewhere' is clear

Carol Rumens was born in South London and grew up there. In addition to her own verse, she has published a number of translations of Russian poems and has, according to the critic Ben Wilkinson, a ‘fascination with elsewhere’. This fascination is clear in The Émigrée, which deals with a land and a city which for the speaker is permanently ‘elsewhere’.

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