What a powerful poem!

As an IGCSE student, let's break down how the poet conveys a strong sense of
emotion in this poem:

1. **Imagery**: The poet uses vivid and evocative language to create a sensory
experience for the reader. For example, "wake up cold", "sweat", "clinging sheet",
and "pains that will go through me" evoke feelings of discomfort, unease, and pain.
2. **Metaphor**: The comparison between the speaker's flesh as its own shield is a
powerful metaphor that conveys a sense of vulnerability and protection. It also
highlights the idea that one's body can be both strong and fragile at the same
time.
3. **Enjambment**: The poet uses enjambment (the running on of a sentence or phrase
from one line to the next without a pause) to create a sense of flow and
continuity, mirroring the speaker's emotional turmoil. This also adds to the
overall feeling of urgency and intensity.
4. **Repetition**: The repetition of words like "my" and "flesh" emphasizes the
speaker's connection to their body and creates a sense of intimacy. It also
highlights the idea that the speaker is struggling with their own mortality.
5. **Emotional honesty**: The poet is unflinchingly honest about their emotional
state, expressing regret ("I cannot but be sorry") and fear ("As if hands were
enough / To hold an avalanche off"). This raw emotion creates a strong connection
between the reader and the poem.
6. **Contrast**: The juxtaposition of warmth and coldness (dreams of heat vs.
waking up cold), as well as the contrast between the speaker's confidence ("I grew
as I explored") and vulnerability ("the given shield was cracked"), adds depth and
complexity to the poem, mirroring the complexities of human emotions.
7. **Simple yet powerful language**: The poet uses simple language, but the words
are carefully chosen to convey a sense of intensity and emotion. For example,
"cracked", "wrecked", and "avalanche" create a sense of chaos and destruction.

Overall, the poet's use of imagery, metaphor, enjambment, repetition, emotional

honesty, contrast, and simple yet powerful language creates a strong sense of
emotion in this poem, drawing the reader into the speaker's world of vulnerability
and struggle.