Tim Turnbull: Poems Literary Elements

The poem 'The Radioactive Kid,' is written from the first person point of view and seems to be narrated by Turnbull himself.

The Radioactive Kid is written in trochaic pentameter and takes the form of 5 quatrains.

Turnbull describes the wet conditions of the rain and the discomfort it causes him by describing his 'boots soaking up the groundwater like wicks,' as a simile. It also contrasts the damp, cold nature of the rain with the association of warmth linked with a candle and its wick.

Turnbull uses a lot of alliteration in Stanza 4 to emphasize the drastic changes taking place in his cells. He highlights the key events of this process in the verbs 'ruptured,' reformed reversed' and 'restructured,' all emphatic in their meaning.

Turnbull uses irony to emphasize the reluctance of the world to recognize or accept the dark side of life, such as tragedies. He reveals this in his 'three-fold curse,' which begins with 'a sense...that something dreadful's about to happen' and continues with 'a compulsion to tell.' The irony lies in the fact that, despite knowing these things, he also knows 'no one will listen.'

Supernatural/Science Fiction

It is set in the present, but retrospectively reflects on the past, which takes place in 'Stainmore' at 'the end of April 1986.'.

Melancholic

The speaker (Turnbull) is the protagonist and although not completely filling the role of an antagonist, the voice that asks the opening question 'Why do you write the way you write?' is the provocateur for the unfolding narrative..

The major conflict in this poem is seen in the 'three-fold curse.' The first two aspects, 'a sense [...] that something dreadful's about to happen,' and 'a compulsion to tell,' coincide with and are expected alongside one another, yet the third aspect, 'the sure knowledge that no one will listen,' conflicts with the desire to share the imminent disaster.

The climax of the poem takes place in the line 'and there the change began,' which reaches its height through enjambment. This is the point where the description and scene setting turns to action and causes deeper feelings. The poem also requires more interpretation from this point onward, rather than simply taking everything at face value, which actually allows the reader to make sense of the poem as a whole.

When the poem opens with the line 'Why do you write the way you write?' and this secondary voice continues 'I mean, you know, it's dark,' the poem foreshadows the dark tone it will take on as it progresses.

The statement 'each raindrop plutonium enriched,' can be classified as an understatement, since it is referring to the radioactive nature of the rain, a fairly significant element of the poem, yet simply reveals it by passing remark about its scientific structure.

The writer alludes to the radioactive explosion at Chernobyl by mentioning the date April 1986.

The location and setting 'Stainmore' represents the everyday, normal town - somewhere mundane and disconnected from larger world events. It is used to suggest that no matter where someone is in the world, they should be concerned with and can be affected by events elsewhere.

Turnbull uses personification in 'my pelt drank i in through every pore,' to suggest his body thirsted for this radiation, or at the very least, for the rain which happened to be contaminated. The main idea presented by this personification, however, is the speaker's loss of control over himself and his body as it follows its own desires or is left exposed to the elements he can't control.

The very description of the physical change to the speaker's body is hyperbole, as it is very drastic and graphic yet in reality is metaphorical and reflects a more subtle, inward change. The hyperbolic description of the 'gruel-thin blood which carried the poison to [his] very core,' and the exaggerated verb 'ruptured' create an uneasy sense of drama and theatrics surrounding this event.

N/A