The Instant of My Death - Sarah Jackson
Background
Sarah Jackson is a poet, curator and critic who works at the
intersections of writing, art and technology in order to address
questions of social and environmental justice. Bringing
together creative and critical practice, her current work
focuses on ecopoetics, displacement and ways of listening.
Study Questions
1. Title
a. What is dramatic about the title of the
poem?
b. What might the title refer to? How do you know?
2. Stanza One and Two
a. The poem starts off in the first person, and is past tense. What is the
function and purpose of these language techniques?
b. The bus takes on significance as the text continues. This makes it a
symbol. What might it be a symbol for?
c. Find a simile and explain the two things being compared.
d. The persona is not having a good time. How do we know? Your answer
should include language techniques.
e. The persona’s companion is having a fine time. How do we know?
f. What connotations do stumbled, grinding and tripping have? What
does that word choice signify about the persona’s attitude?
g. The end of stanza two has a sublime moment in it. What is it? How do
we know the place is special?
3. Stanza Three and Four
a. The persona is bored. Find three pieces of evidence to support this
claim.
b. What is Gramphoo? Find a picture of it on google maps.
c. Roads splitting in two are always a symbol. In this case, what might it
symbolise?
d. What are the special connotations of the words ‘thin’ and ‘red’?
4. Stanza Five and Six
a. Sketch the boy as he’s described, and his setting. Spend no more than
3 minutes on this task. Label the elements of your sketch.
b. What is the name of the technique used to portray visual information?
Give an example from the text.
c. The persona says ‘I almost missed him’. What is the significance of this
statement in the poem? How does it contrast earlier boredom?
d. The persona is shot abruptly. How does the text show this abruptness?
e. What do you think is the piece of the persona that stops?
f. What might the apple symbolise?
g. How is the fat man presented in the first stanza? Does it change in the
last stanza?
5. Whole Poem
a. How does the persona express her discomfort? Support your answer
with three quotes.
b. This poem functions like a Buddhist parable. We are similarly stuck in
the bus of life, and we can either let our eyes glaze over, or ignore it, or
experience the outside world just as the persona does. Very simply,
Buddhists believe that life is suffering and dissatisfaction mingled with
a few brief moments of relief. Explain this analysis in your own words
as you understand it.
c. There is an irony that the person bored of the trip sees much more than
her companion who is stuck in a book about the area. Who do you
think is getting more out of the experience of being in the Himalayas?
d. Jackson has written this poem in a mysterious and ambiguous way.
Why do you think she made that stylistic choice? Does it add to the
themes?
e. Discuss the organisation of the poem and it’s use of enjambment.
f. Create a chart with 8 specific quotes which are labelled with genre
specific techniques and explain the intended effect of the quote.
Quote Technique Effect
‘The fat man Simile The persona’s discomfort and repulsion at
rubbed against my being in contact with a stranger is made
leg like a damp cat’ clear by describing the situation as well as
using an uncomfortable thing as the
comparison - cats don’t like being wet!
Revision Essay Questions
1. How does Jackson strikingly present the journey in ‘Instant of my Death’
2. In what ways, and with what effects, does Jackson memorably show
discomfort?
