Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Touloper
- Lines 1-7:
- The speaker (a teenager) walks cautiously on
a tightrope while being blamed
for something they did wrong
- "weer" (back) implies the 'storms' have happened before/happen frequently
- 'storms' is a metaphor for the conflict in the house between family members
- Speaker is positioned as being courageous for braving the 'storm'
- "voetjie vir voetjie" (foot by foot) & "skuifel" (slowly shuffling) show the speaker is walking cautiously on the tightrope and concentrating a lot
- The "verwyt-winde" (winds of reproach) are explained
- Lines in italics: things being said between speaker's parents/speaker's parents to speaker
- Lines 8-14:
- The worried eyes of the speaker's mom
& dad look at the speaker from below,
but the speaker feels safe & removed.
The speaker runs their tightrope through
the house to the garden gate.
- "gekwelde oe" (troubled eyes) explain position of speaker's family members
- E.g. of personification
- There's great distance between the speaker & their family members
- Family members are far below speaker on the tightrope
- Gives speaker feeling of safety as they're far away from the conflict
- 'Kollig-balanseertruuk' (spotlight balancing act)
- The speaker's a tightrope walker
performing in front of an audience
- Under great pressure & being watched
- 'Kollig' (spotlight) implies
outsiders can see the
speaker's challenges
- Outsiders could be friends, other family members & teachers
- "Web" used unusually as a verb
- To web the speaker's rope
together (making it themselves)
- "deurhandvatsels" (door handles) &
"tuinhek" (garden gate) imply the speaker
wants to escape
- Ironic, as your parents' home should be a safe place
- The flashing lights of the TV
are like flashes of lightning in
the 'storm'
- Lines 15-21:
- The speaker walks high above the ground
& feels removed from the conflict. The
speaker focuses on the tightrope & moves
forward with more certainty.
- We see the distance between the speaker & their family
- Speaker feels safe in spite of conflict raging below
- There are reproaching winds that bother the
speaker, but the speaker doesn't pay attention to
them & only focuses on trying to 'balance' his/her life
- "lewe" (life) brings
movement &
progression to last lines
- "Voetjie vir voetjie" changed to "voet vir voet" & "skuifel" changed to "skuif"
- Doesn't mean speaker is less cautious on the rightrope
- Means he/she's become more comfortable with the balancing act
- His/her feet are more steady & he/she moves with more confidence
- We see clear progression
- 'Tou' (rope) 'Loper' (walker)
- A metaphor
- The speaker is a conflict-filled situation, but uses coping mechanisms to deal with & get through the situation
- Key words:
- 'Afstand' (distance)
- 'Dapper' (brave)
- 'Hanteer' (handle)
- 'Gekwelde' (troubled)
- 'Balanseertruuk' (balancing act)
- 'Verwyder uit' (removed from)
- 'Vorentoe' (forward)
- Structure:
- Free verse & no rhyme scheme
- Long & short lines
- Normal use of capital letters & punctuation
- Sentence structure sometimes abnormal to emphasize certain things
- Poetic devices:
- Alliteration: "woed weer" & "verby die verwyt-winde"
- Enjambement
- Used to bind lines