I Come From

The speaker in the poem "I come from" creates a sense of identity by using specific nouns to narrate the passage of his life.  He uses nouns like "observer I-spy books," "Chambers Etymological Dictionary," and "an Orkney grandfather," which gives a sense of identity because these nouns have additional information added to them. For example the speaker does not need to use the word "Orkney" when describing his grandfather, however the fact that he chooses to, shows the reader that this piece of information is important to the speaker.  This therefore gives a sense of identity because the reader can link these extra pieces of information together in order to get an accurate picture of who the speaker is.

 Another way the speaker gives a sense of identity in the poem is that the there are no stanzas. This suggests a layer of thought and complexity to the poem because it indicates that there are a lack of breaks in the person's thoughts.  The lack of stanzas makes the poem feel as if it is flowing in the same way that someone's thoughts flow, this gives a sense of identity because the audience automatically feels connected to the speaker and the reader can also strongly identify a link between the speaker and the passage because the poem feels less broken up and more like thoughts.

 Finally, the sometimes gruesome imagery in the poem can also create a sense of identity. The sentence "rats behind the garage," suggests a rather gruesome element to the life of the speaker. This feels like a rather personal thing for the speaker to share with the audience and creates a sense of revealing troubles past and overcome. This allows the reader to empathise and sympathise with the speaker therefore not only creating a sense of the speakers identity but also the readers.