Case History: Alison (head

injury)

Subject/theme

• A woman who is looking at a picture of her past self after a serious head injury.• She can’t remember her past life very well, but is looking at her

younger self when she was “ clever”.

Point of View

• First person• Repeated use of “I” at the beginning of stanzas and lines.• Personal pronoun shows she is concentrating on herself now.• However, when she refers to her past self she says “ she”, showing she

is detached and not the same now, she is a different person.

Language

• ''Enmeshed'' - the feeling of being trapped/caged in - comforting, protection • ''Digested Mourning'' - her emotions can’t be seen on the outside• ''shall never get over what I do not remember'' - oxymoron, reflects

her confusion • Repetition of language and phrases: “clever girl…bright girl” shows

she is obsessed with this aspect of her past self.

Imagery

• ''Degas dancers'' - the image is frozen in time, she cannot bring back the past, painting is blurred(impressionist) • “ autocratic knee” – shows she was self entitled, ready for great

things (like an autocrat), use of knee shows she won’t bow or go on her knees for anyone.• “ airy poise” imagery of Degas dancers, like a ballerina. This contrasts

to “Lugs” which is an ungainly and heavy image. • This comparison shows the change in her physicality as well as brain

and intellect.

Form/Structure

• Enjambment- when a sentence goes over two lines of a poem e.g. “ lugs me upstairs/Hardly” - reflects the disruption in her life, she cannot keep thoughts going as

before when she was “bright”• Three line stanzas are a regular pattern except at the end with a a

single line stanza “ A bright girl she was”. Shows this is the main thought and point of poem because it is isolated.

Tone of voice

• Accepting tone – she has accepted her head injury, e.g. ‘’digested Mourning’’ shows that she has got over it.• ‘’I know, for all my damaged brain’’ – she understands what has

happened.

Links

• Medusa- a changing woman, becoming someone different who you do not recognise.• Horse Whisperer – Loss, in this case herself.