Revelation: Form and Structure

“Revelation”: Form and Structure

Content

Here, Lochhead recalls an innocent childhood moment of self-realisation and discovery.
The primary event in the poem, the speaker’s fear upon seeing a bull for the first time, becomes an extended metaphor for mysterious and frightening aspects of adulthood.
Lochhead skilfully navigates the complex last throes of the speaker’s innocence and juxtaposes it against the landscape of the unknown that being an adult represents.

Language and Style

The language reflects the Scottish rural surroundings, using dialect words like ‘guddle’ and ‘claes’, adding authenticity to the voice.
Slow, descriptive language such as ‘little hard nuggets of water’ depicts the child’s detailed observation, while more sudden phrases (‘a monster’) reflect the sudden realisation.
The polarity of light and shadows used as metaphors enhance the contrast between innocent childhood and mysterious adulthood.

Structure and Form

The poem is written in free verse – no specific rhyme scheme or metre. The use of free verse mirrors the unpredictable journey into adulthood, with its ups and downs, making it appear more realistic.
Enjambment is used (‘…and into the Sunday-afternoon. Stubble-field…’) to bring agility to the verse, and reflect the speaker’s seamless transition from a state of calm to a state of panic.

Themes Developed

Innocence vs Experience – The poem centres on a childhood experience, which shifts dramatically when the young speaker encounters a bull. The bull serves as a metaphor for the drastic revelation of adulthood.
Fear and Realisation – The speaker experiences fear upon seeing the bull, an image that signifies their passage into understanding and acknowledging the mysteries and fears of growing up.
Identity and Selfhood – The speaker’s transition from innocence to experience also marks their journey towards self-understanding and identity formation.

Key Lines

“A field of turnips, mouse-sized, iced.”
“And into the Sunday-afternoon. Stubble-field.”
“Black and white, a Monster.”

These lines depict the subjective ‘revelation’ the narrator experiences, underlining the sudden fright and emerging awareness of the world beyond childhood innocence.