The Full Indian Rope Trick
Colette
Bryce
There was no
secret
Murmured down
through a long line
Of elect; no
dark fakir, no flutter
Of notes from
a pipe,
No proof, no
footage of it
But I did it,
Guildhall
Square, noon,
In front of
everyone.
There were walls,
bells, passers-by;
Then a rope,
thrown, caught by the sky
And me, young,
up and away,
Goodbye.
Goodbye,
goodbye
Thin air.
First try.
A crowd
hushed, squinting eyes
At a full sun.
there
On the stones
The slack
weight of a rope
Coiled in a
crate, a braid
Eighteen
summers long,
And me
I’m long gone,
My one-off
trick
Unique,
unequaled since.
And what would
I tell them
Given the
chance?
It was
painful; it took years.
I’m my own
witness,
Guardian of
the fact
That I’m still
there.
Study the
poem “The Full Indian Rope Trick”
1. Who is the
speaker?
2. What figure
of speech (es) is/are applied in the poem?
3. What is the
parody in
a) /first
try………./it took years/
b) /I’m long
gone………./I’m still here/?
4. What is the
meaning of the poem?
1. The speaker
is a trickster.
2. The figure
of speech is synecdoche in “caught by the sky” means prepare an act of escape
in the air or try to fly.
3. a) First
try…………/to it took years.
The speaker
tried to do a wonderful act of escape in the crowded people in the sunny day.
When he did it, he failed. He failed because he was not an escapologist, but he
was just a braggart. When people realized that made him shy and painful. It
would take over years to recover.
b) I’m long
gone………../to I’m still here.
The speaker
thinks that he has gone far with his unique trick, but he goes nowhere because
his trick is failed.
4.
The poem “The Full Indian Rope Trick” tells about
someone brags about a miraculous act of escape carried out in the middle of a
city square during lunch time, but his performance is failed because he cannot
do that. He still in that place not moving anyway.
Source
The
Guardian
An
Introduction to Poetry by Arp & Perrine
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