In Paris With You

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Is the speaker therefore using ‘Paris’ as a metaphor for love or lost love too ? We have to wait and see how this voice untangles his tale..and of course there is no guarantee the speaker is male..we never know the identities or genders of either the I or the you…this makes the poem open to all sorts of possible sexual intimacies.. This is one of the most important questions you can ask of any text. When you read this poem, you notice an ‘I’ is speaking. They are a first person narrator telling their own ‘story.’ This does not necessarily mean that they are speaking the truth of course. Sometimes first person narrators are very UNRELIABLE and FALLIBLE.As we all are! This story was told in verse, it took a wild to get used to the style, but once I did I was completely entranced... The book was also translated from French, I can only imagine how difficult it was to translate such a stylized book, so major props to the translator! As much as I enjoyed this story, I do recognize that the style is not for everybody.... but told in verse or not this was a lovely love story set in the city of love, Paris...

Ah, but I've seen the same things you're seeing now, I've seen it all and I expect that I'll see it again someday. Because those love goggles that you're wearing, those universe-altering specs, those glasses that make you feel so daring, I've worn them before, and I daresay that I'll wear them again someday." In Paris with You is recounted by a (thenarrator) whose relationship has just ended and who is now in Paris with someone else (“I’m on the rebound”). This suggests a long-term relationship has ended and the speaker is currently enjoying a less serious liaison. The narrator doesn’t want to examine the aftermath of the serious relationship: he doesn’t want to talk things over or even visit galleries or landmarks; he just wants to enjoy the moment rather than thinking of the future or the past. Structure Stimulating, visual, and easily adaptable, these lessons provide suggested learning objectives and outcomes for students of a wide-range of abilities - The vast majority of tasks are differentiated to allow for different abilities and needs in your classroom. Each lesson loosely follows this logical learning journey to ensure that students learn in bite-size steps:
The poem is a monologue in which the first person narrator — we can assume the poet — describes his state of mind while on holiday in Paris with a new friend. His previous relationship has ended and he explains that he is “on the rebound”, and wishes to enjoy a less serious liaison. Word play is other technique for humour, speaker refers to weariness at having to talk about failed relationship as 'I'm one fo your talking wounded', pun on 'walking wounded' used in war context, and rhymed with 'marooded', partly nonsense word used to maintain rhyme scheme. Fun and inventive tone. First person narrators may also divulge enough information about themselves to make them appear loathsome or certainly unkind.( Think of Pip in Great Expectations for example) This may suggest that first person narration is actually like a form of self- persecution. A confession! – I was born in Paris in 1989 and though I started to read children’s books pretty early, I somehow never stopped. As a result, I’ve become a writer, reader and student of children’s literature. I’ve now been living and studying in Cambridge (UK) for seven years and have become a doctor. Well, not the type that saves people’s lives. The type that scribbles ‘PhD’ after their name and rambles on about beauty, truth and the value of (all) literature. Worth striving for, I think! More about my academic work here. Repeated use of colloquial languagr suggesting informality and honesty. Phrases make poem seem down to earth. Such language contrasts with falsely poetic tone often found in literature about love, replacing to comic effect.

The ‘talk’ in bed has healed the cynicism, he/she is eager to make love and to enjoy ‘Paris’ with the partner’s ‘mouth’ and other parts no doubt! The euphemistic ‘south’ with suggestions of sexual arousal and different sexual positioning shows again the shift in the tone and meaning of ‘Paris’ by the end of the poem, so when we arrive at the last line, it really means that ‘I am in Paris with you’ instead of the earlier implication of either bitter regret or that he is mentally actually in Paris with the ‘you ‘ he was previously involved with. The third and fourth stanzas are very interesting. The speaker asks if it is possible to miss the tour of Paris including the most famous landmarks (Notre Dame etc) and stay in the 'sleazy hotel room' instead. One reading would suggest that this is a wonderfully romantic gesture with the lovers staying in bed rather than going on a sightseeing tour. However, the word 'sleazy' bothers me as I'm not convinced that the speaker is being ironic and making a joke about staying bed for more "sleazy" purposes. The two stanzas flow into one another using enjambment to show that this thought process is taking place in the same moment. The poet establishes the setting of a 'sleazy' hotel room which contrasts nicely with what a reader would usually expect of a love poem taking place in Paris. My impression is that the poet and the speaker are trying to be purposefully ambiguous (no obvious meaning). The scene it meant to be a little bit sleazy and a little bit romantic, which befits the idea of a person throwing themselves into a new relationship when the wounds of the last one have not yet healed. These people are only just getting to know each other and 'learn' about each other and what they are. The word 'what' suggests that the speaker isn't sure what is going on and what his or her role in all this actually is. The line 'doing this and that' is an awkward phrase that refers to them having sex, but why dress it in such an awkward way? Does this imply that the speaker is a little ashamed by what's going on, or is it just a playful joke about having some naughty sex in a sleazy hotel room in Paris? It isn't clear and it isn't meant to be, after all love, passion and even brief encounters are exciting yet extremely complex and confusing experiences. Usually in a romance you think you would like the actual relationship. Actually I didn't. Eugene is the worst character ever. He's not fun he's just so bleh it makes me sad. In other words, the speaker is comparing where he is now, with where he was before when he was full of trust and love! He no longer wishes to partake of Paris-or will he change his mind? And if he does change what will make him change? If the speaker is in Paris then they have been before and this visit is full of revisions and reminders of the previous visit where a more romantic time was perhaps enjoyed.And yet, it was difficult to contradict Eugene at that moment, since on her duffle coat was a massive badge, and on that badge a baby grinned, a big white speech bubble proudly declaring in capital letters: Writing an extended analysis piece based upon how Sheers gets across the narrator's feelings in the poem, through the use of language and structure;

This poem, which can be read in full here, is presented in six stanzas of varying length. It utilizes rhyme throughout the poem which helps add to the poem’s charming and humorous tone, coupled with the British colloquialisms, this is quite a witty piece. It has a nice rhythm and an almost musical feel. Given the narrator’s mental state, the feelings of anger due to the end of his former relationship, it would be easy for the poem to have a somber, morose tone. But it is full of positivity. It’s effectively a poem about the process of moving on. If you’re up for a contemporary Adult, a second chance story, both hilarious and sad at times, written in lines, lines, lines… In Paris with You will definitely satisfy your expectations. It is notable that the narrator refers to doing “this and that” which one would assume is a euphemism for sex but then says to “what and whom” Is he referring to himself as a what? Or rather his partner? Is he de-humanizing someone? Perhaps this is down to an element of guilt? There is further evidence to support this self-discovery as the narrator adds “learning what I am” This once again is an interesting choice of words. The narrator doesn’t want to know who they are, but what they are.The story took you from the characters during their teenage years to the current time with the characters. The love story wasn't too far fetched, but I really didn't care for the ending too much. I like my romances to have a happy ending and this one was just, eh.. whatever, for me. The sudden surges, sharp bends, and screeching stops of Line 14 are notoriously vicious. It’s hard to stand up or chat or read. But it does have an upside: it takes you from your Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and substantial; (including hyperlink to a reading of the poem)

Even though the book starts in the present, a good half of the book occurs 10 years before. The novel is all about first teenage love and speaks to everyone who has ever been in love. Ten years later Eugene and Tatiana meet again, and suddenly Eugene understands what he lost so many years ago and what might slip again through his fingers if he doesn't grip this second chance with both hands. One way in which the poets present their ideas about the pain of love is through their use of imagery with their poems. For example, they both use metaphors about being ‘wounded’. Fenton’s line ‘I’m one of your talking wounded’ adopts a pun which relates to the expression ‘walking wounded’, used by soldiers to imply resilience. He feels as though love has previously ‘wounded’ him, if not actually finished him off. Similarly, continuing with the theme of violence, Duffy uses an extended metaphor throughout the whole poem which presents the break-up of her relationship as a gunfight in a Western movie. Lexis such as ‘trigger’, ‘silver bullets’, ‘wide of the mark’ and ‘blast me’ presents the effect of breaking up as wounding her physically. Word play is another technique used to generate humour. The speaker refers to his weariness at having to talk about his failed relationship: “I’m one of your talking wounded”, a pun on the phrase ‘walking wounded’ (used in the context of war), which he then rhymes with”maroonded”, a partly nonsense word used to maintain the rhyme scheme. This brings a fun and inventive tone to the poem. The final stanza repeats “I’m in Paris with…” four times, and offers both comical and sensual references to the speaker’s enthusiasm for the person he is with. Here, in this poem, the speaker seems cynical, possibly drunk and probably full of self pity. The internal rhyme of ‘earful’ with ‘tearful’ seems a bit colloquially crass and forced as if the speaker is drunk or feeling very sorry for themselves.( maudlin)And I loved, loved , loved reading about Eugene’s thoughts: the way he processed his feelings and thoughts was quite similar to mine. Especially when he kept on thinking about unimportant things during the most important events that were happening to him. Firstly, I absolutely love the book cover. I think it is eye-catching and beautiful! Accompanied with the title they just match!