Poem of return
Questions
Poem of Return Jofre Rocha
1. Why does the speaker not want flowers upon his return? (3)
(Flowers are superficial. He does not want superficial things, he
wants emotion. He also does not believe himself to be hero who
deserves flowers or accolades upon his return. He fled and left
the others to fight.)
2. What does the speaker want instead of flowers? Why? (3)
(He wants tears, hunger, intimacy, mourning and sleeplessness.
Flowers are generally celebratory, and this is definitely not a time
for celebration. He wants, instead, an acknowledgement of
suffering. His return is indicative of something much bigger than
just himself.)
3. Comment on the description of the speaker’s “host country” as
the “land of exile and silence”. (2)
(exile – he fled there to escape from oppression; silence –
perhaps he did not speak the new country’s language. He could
also have been alone there / isolated / unhappy / no
communication with home country or his people.)
4. Identify and comment on the effectiveness of the figure of
speech in “tears of dawns”. (3)
(Personification – even the “dawn” is crying. Even Nature is
upset at the atrocities committed by people.)
5. Why are the mothers “bereft of sons” (line 8)? (2)
(Due to the political strife of the time, many young men (the
sons) were imprisoned or killed. Some young men also went into
exile. Some mothers also couldn’t have sons because their
husbands/partners were killed or imprisoned. Thus mothers were
denied the presence of sons.)
6. Comment on the figurative interpretation of the “day-break” in
line 12. (2)
(The brink of change – the new day symbolises his hope that
things will change / they will get justice / freedom. It could refer
to those who died so shortly before the oppression ended.)
7. Comment on the effectiveness of the anaphora (“When I
return…”). (3)
(The title is echoed in the anaphora, “When I return”. This
emphasises the context of an individual who probably had been
forced to flee his home country and had to live in a foreign
country for a while. This emphasises the prospect of coming
home and his anticipation at the welcome he would get. It is
clear that the speaker feels guilty about having gone into exile
whilst his compatriots fought the oppressive system.)
8. Discuss the change in tone from stanza 2 to 3. Quote in
support of your answer. (3)
(In stanza 2 there is a tone of longing and yearning – the grief is
immense. He cries out for the homeland to meet him with ‘real’
emotions, not flowers, nothing superficial. In the 3 rd stanza the
tone shifts to anger and bitterness. Although he is happy to be
home, he realises the enormous sacrifice made by some in the
struggle for liberation.)
9. How does the last stanza successfully convey the speaker’s
intention? (3)
(Cleverly chosen diction – “anger” and “snaking” – implies that
although the speaker is happy to be home, he still carries an
enormous amount of anger and resentment towards their
oppressors. He is definitely not forgiving. He seeks and
demands justice for all those who were scarred/killed in the fight
for freedom. “Snaking” alludes to something dangerous and
poisonous – he will expose the atrocities and get justice for all.
There is definitely an ominous tone.)
