Like an Heiress (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Theme

Evidence

Poet’s intention

Home and heritage

The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet but has fourteen unbroken lines:

• Without a typically separated octave and sestet, Nichols's poem subverts tradition

Nichols conveys a deep love for the Atlantic Ocean and the natural world:

• The sonnet form presents Nichols's idea of inheritance and heritage
• However, Nichols deviates from this to convey changes in the modern world

Nichols's ambiguous volta may shift the tone of the speaker at line 4 or line 8:

• Line 4 begins “But the beach is deserted”, signifying a move from a memory to the present tense
• Line 8 shifts back to deep reflection: “Undisturbed, not even by a seabird” 

The poem alternates from a narrator’s memory to their current observations and, finally, to deep reflection:

• This reflects the contrast between the Atlantic Ocean of the past and its current condition

The poem begins with iambic pentameter but the rhythm quickly becomes irregular:

• The poem’s lack of rhyme or regular rhythm subverts the traditional form

Nichols reflects the speaker’s sense of heritage that becomes disconnected as they reflect on their changing world 

Nichols presents an individual’s bond with the legacy of the natural world becoming unstable

Theme

Evidence

Poet’s intention

Inner lives   

The poem, “Like an Heiress” uses free verse first-person perspective to present a reflective voice:

• Nichols shifts to first-person plural at the end of the poem to present a personal warning about “the fate of our planet”

Lack of rhyme contributes to the narrator’s emotional and free flowing monologue:

• However, the narrator includes readers in their reflection to suggest the world’s legacy belongs to all 

Nichols uses enjambment to convey the speaker’s emotional responses as they consider the natural world:

• At first, this draws attention to the beauty of the ocean: ”Like an heiress, drawn to the light of her/eye-catching jewels”
• However, this changes to anger: “styrofoam cups/rightly tossed back”
• The poem’s final continuously running lines convey urgent desperation 

The fluid tone, at first, reflects the speaker’s deep appreciation of the ocean, which they believe is inherited wealth:

• Later, the speaker is anxious about the changes they see

Nichols breaks the flow of the poem with a dash in “wave of rubbish against the seawall -”

Here, Nichols shows the narrator’s disrupted memory and draws attention to the litter:

• The narrator realises the ocean is is different to the way it looked in their childhood 

Nichols's speaker conveys an individual’s distress as they see how much has changed in their homeland and the natural world since their childhood

Theme

Evidence

Poet’s intention

Disconnected relationships 

The poem begins with a positive memory of the ocean using vivid imagery: 

• The narrator describes the “light of her/ eye-catching jewels”
• Nichols connotes reflections, as well as the shine of the ocean: “the mirror of my oceanic small days”

The poem describes a shimmering Atlantic Ocean to convey the narrator’s memories of its rich beauty

Nichols's poem and title links the natural world and the idea of inheritance:

Later, though, Nichols uses darker imagery describing the “sun's burning treasury”

The metaphorical language alludes to the rich legacy of the natural world: 

• Perhaps Nichols does this to imply that humans expect that the natural world will remain the same as it always was
• The poem appears an ominous warning about the inherited wealth “burning”

Nichols contrasts the memory of the ocean with its current state:

• Imagery emphasises the “lone/wave of rubbish” on the “deserted” beach
• A list itemises the litter: “used car tyres, plastic bottles, styrofoam cups”

By highlighting the polluted ocean Nichols presents a narrator who is overwhelmed by their sad observations 

Nichols personifies the ocean with a dynamic verb: 

• The litter is “rightly tossed back by an ocean's moodswings”

The poem raises the profile of the natural world as Nichols presents the ocean as a living thing, angered at human carelessness

The poem’s conclusion contrasts the natural world and the human world: 

• The narrator is in an “air-conditioned” “hotel room”

Nichols presents dichotomies in the relationship between humans and the natural world by describing the “coolness” of the “sanctuary” indoors

The poem begins by alluding to the long-lasting prosperity held within the natural world, however, as it develops Nichols delivers a warning that this may be at risk

Topic sentence

Both poems offer a critique of their environment 

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“In a London Drawing Room”

Nichols uses imagery to comment on the pollution in the sea, describing it as a “wave of rubbish”:

• A list presents the extent of litter in the sea: “used car tyres, plastic bottles, styrofoam cups”

Eliot describes a miserable, gloomy London, commenting on the “cloudy” sky and the wall of buildings like “solid fog”

Nichols's narrator describes unstable emotions as a result of this disruption:

• Personification offers the narrator’s frustration via the ocean: the litter is “rightly tossed back by an ocean's moodswings”

Eliot’s speaker describes their environment similarly: 

• The speaker implies the people are not thriving, using a metaphor that alludes to nourishment: “No figure lingering/Pauses to feed the hunger of the eye” 

The speakers’ descriptions of their environments suggest unease and concern as a result of a broken bond between humans and nature 

Topic sentence

Both poems comment on the way individuals are impacted by their external worlds

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress” 

“In a London Drawing Room” 

Nichols's speaker expresses a sense of isolation: 

• The narrator is on a “deserted beach” with “a lone/wave”
• They are “Undisturbed, not even by a sea bird”

Eliot draws attention to the way London is “All closed”, implying isolation and solitude: 

• The speaker describes how “No bird can make a shadow as it flies”

Nichols's poem offers a warning about the “fate of our planet”:

• She conveys the speaker’s sense of sadness as they “dwell” on the future
• The sun is described as a “burning treasury” offering ambiguous allusions to climate change

Eliot criticises her world by describing London as without compassion or joy: 

• She says her world is a place “Where men are punished at the slightest cost”
• She describes the city as having the “lowest rate of colour, warmth & joy”

Both poems describe an individual’s response to disconnections in the world that they believe bring sadness and despair 

Topic sentence

Grace Nichols's poem “Like an Heiress” describes differences in a rural beach across time, while George Eliot’s “In a London Drawing Room” describes the urbanisation of London

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“In a London Drawing Room”

Nichols contrasts the speaker’s vivid memory of the Atlantic Ocean with its current condition:

• In this way she portrays changes in a rural setting over time
• The speaker remembers the ocean and “the light of her eye-catching jewels”
• Now she seeks comfort in the “air-conditioned coolness” of a hotel room

Eliot offers a description of urban London using natural imagery:

• The sky is “cloudy, yellowed by the smoke” and the “the houses opposite” are “Cutting the sky” 

Nichols raises questions about the modern world and its comforts:

• The speaker seeks “sanctuary” in the hotel
• They feel like a “tourist” visiting the beach

Eliot, however, describes urban London’s mundane and dreary environment as restrictive: 

• The “Monotony of surface & of form” leaves little room for individuality or variety
• Eliot suggests an urban world limits the imagination and sense of mystery: “Without a break to hang a guess upon”

Nichols's poem offers a modern perspective on the impact of humans on the ocean and suggests the consequences of their actions are ignored, while Eliot’s poem is a critique of the way growing industrialisation and urbanisation in London make the world bleak and depressing

Topic sentence

Both speakers convey emotional pleas within their criticisms on their  environment 

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“A Portable Paradise”

Nichols's poem has an irregular rhythm to reflect the speaker’s emotional thoughts:

• Enjambment reflects the changing tone of the narrator as they move from the past to the present to the future 
• A dash breaks the flow to represent the speaker’s shock in “wave of rubbish against the seawall -”

Robinson, too, conveys the response of his speaker through enjambment:

• This conveys a breathless expression of emotion
• In contrast, a sudden caesura represents moments of tension: “on my person, concealed, so”

The narrator in “Like an Heiress” is presented as desperate and isolated: 

• They are “Undisturbed” on a “deserted” beach with “a lone/wave”
• A list conveys an overwhelmed speaker: “used car tyres, plastic bottles, styrofoam cups” 

Robinson presents a similarly desperate speaker, using imperative verbs and a list, implying limited choice: 

• The speaker says “get yourself to an empty room – be it hotel,/hostel or hovel – find a lamp”
• The adjective “empty” connotes to loneliness

The speakers’ emotional responses to their worlds convey a sense of desperation at being alone in a hostile world

Topic sentence

Both poems comment on the disconnected relationships in their environments 

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“A Portable Paradise”

Nichols presents the dichotomies at play between human’s love for the natural world and a desire for comfort:

• The speaker must find “sanctuary” in the “air-conditioned coolness”
• A simile compares the speaker first to an “heiress” and later to a “tourist”, implying instability 

Robinson, similarly, suggests conflict and imbalance:

• The speaker refers to the third-person plural “they”: 
• The nameless opposition suggests a conflict between the boy and those in power
• “That way they can’t steal it, she’d say”

A dynamic verb presents the frustration of both the speaker and the ocean as the litter is “rightly tossed back by an ocean's moodswings.”

Robinson criticises the “pressure”, highlighting it with sibilance in “stresses” are “sustained and daily”

Both poems describe their home as corrupted, which in turn creates isolated individuals 

Topic sentence

Grace Nichols ends her poem, “Like an Heiress” with a sinister warning, while Roger Robinson’s “A Portable Paradise” conveys how a sense of community can offer comfort in challenging times

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“A Portable Paradise”

Nichols portrays a solitary individual contemplating “the fate of our planet”:

• Here, the pronoun “our” includes others in the speaker’s reflection
• Perhaps this implies a need for community and support

Robinson, however, relates how advice from a grandparent can provide comfort in times of isolation: 

• Robinson capitalises the word “Paradise” and links it to his family: “then I’m speaking of my grandmother”

Nichols uses imagery to contrast the natural world of the past and present: 

• The inheritance of “eye-catching jewels” becomes a “burning treasury” 

Robinson use imagery to present the way nature can provide comfort in the present and future world:

• The speaker offers a way to find comfort in daily life: “empty your paradise onto a desk:/your white sands, green hills and fresh fish.”

Nichols subverts a sonnet to present the speaker’s disappointment as they reflect on their love of the ocean:

• Irregular rhyme and the lack of a rhyming couplet at the end suggest a lack of resolution 

Robinson uses repetition of the phrase “And if I”:

• This presents an individual defiant against pressures in their world  
• The poem ends with advice: “Shine the lamp on it like the fresh hope/of morning, and keep staring at it till you sleep.”

Nichols's poem portrays the urgency and despair felt by an individual coming to terms with the declining state of the natural world, while Robinson’s poem presents a persistent individual finding their own comfort within it

Topic sentence

Both poems highlight disconnected relationships between an individual and their environment 

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“Thirteen”

Nichols describes the changes between the ocean of the speaker’s childhood and the ocean they see as an adult:

• A dash shows the shock the speaker feels as they see a “wave of rubbish against the seawall -”
• They return to “dwell” on the “fate of our planet”

Femi describes the oppressive conditions experienced by a child on a London estate: 

• The speaker relates a stop and search: “you are cornered by an officer”
• The speaker expresses a lack of control: “he will see you powerless – plump./You will watch the two men cast lots for your organs”

Nichols portrays a disappointed narrator as they reflect on their environment: 

• At first, imagery presents the narrator’s excitement to visit the Atlantic Ocean: they are “drawn to the light of her/eye-catching jewels”
• Later, though, the speaker returns to the “sanctuary” of the “air-conditioned coolness” in a hotel room

Femi contrasts vivid imagery to convey how hope is offered to children and then taken away:

• The police officers tell the school-children they are “stars” and “supernovas”
• The speaker concludes, however, that the children are “dying stars/on the verge of becoming black holes.”

The poets both comment on issues they face in their world by using contrasting imagery that connotes ideas related to hope and despair  

Topic sentence

Grace Nichols's sonnet offers a sophisticated critique of humans’ behaviour toward the natural world, while Femi’s poem is a conversational narrative that conveys a young child’s perspective on their environment

Evidence and analysis

“Like an Heiress”

“Thirteen”

Deviation within a sonnet form contributes to Nichols's message about human’s neglectful love of nature:

• Irregular rhythm subverts the traditional form
• Enjambment offers an urgent conclusion to readers: “to dwell in the air-conditioned coolnеss/on the quickening years and fate of our planet.”

The poem is written in free verse and is split into four irregular stanzas:

• The speaker’s attempt at a casual, nonchalant tone presents their sense of powerlessness 

Breaking from tradition, the poem uses, arguably, two volta:

• This signals changes in the speaker’s descriptions of their environment, moving from the past to the present to the future  

Femi’s speaker relates events in second-person voice in an informal narrative: “– You’ll laugh./Thirteen, you’ll tell him: you’re thirteen”:

• The speaker suggests a resigned attitude to everyday events: “You’ll be patted on the shoulder, then, by another fed”

Both poems present distressed speakers; however, Nichols’s poem presents an individual dwelling on a bleak future, while Femi’s poem portrays a young child who has normalised their powerlessness