Exploring Nott's Poem "The Tenant"

Hello and welcome to another TriTutors video. In today's video we're going to analyse the poem The Tenant by Nott. So I always like to start by analysing the poet so that we have an understanding of what the poem's context is. Unfortunately we don't have much information about the poet but what we do know is that she is a Zimbabwean poet and that she runs a charity. So let's get straight into the poem. So the title is The Tenant and if we think about the tenant, a tenant is someone who is just at a certain place, is a renter for a certain amount of time. So it's a very temporary relationship that you would have with a tenant, someone who is not permanent. We also notice the the in the title and the the is a definite article. So this shows us that this is a specific and meaningful tenant that the speaker is going to be talking about. And the title of this poem introduces the extended metaphor which is going to be seen throughout the poem. The ex-lover is the tenant and the place where the tenant has rented the flat or the apartment or the house is the speaker's heart. There is no room for you in my heart. The only tenant who ever lived there left some luggage behind. So the first stanza starts and it sounds like the speaker is talking directly to someone. It's as though we've intruded into a conversation between the speaker and a potential new lover. And the speaker declares that there is no room for you in my heart. So the speaker declares to this new love interest that there is no room available, that the tenant is still haunting this space of his heart. Notice the enjambment in that first line to the second line, there is no room for you in my heart. The enjambment is the run on lines. The line does not end with a full stop. It breaks, it's broken up into two different lines. And this enjambment in this instance can emphasize how the speaker's past relationship still haunts him. And it also signifies to us that this poem is going to be a sincere and authentic poem where the speaker is letting out what his true feelings are. If we look at the second line, we have the full stop in the middle of the line and this is called a caesura. So this full stop in the middle of the line emphasizes the word heart. It really fixates or draws our focus to the word heart and it also shows us how the speaker's heart is still struggling. It also creates a very unnatural sort of element and shows how the speaker has was perhaps shocked by the ending of this relationship. The only tenant who ever lived there, so only this shows that he has only truly loved one person in his life but that she has left him and he is still with he's still left with all this emotional baggage from it. Like we said earlier the tenant the room is working with this extended metaphor so this comparison occurs throughout the poem where the speaker compares his ex-lover to a tenant to a renter who has moved out and the heart is the flat or the flat is the heart. So the only tenant who ever lived there left some luggage behind. So the metaphor extends and we have the luggage. Luggage is mentioned in this first stanza and in the third stanza. And the luggage is representative of memories and emotions that the speaker has or that the lover, ex-lover has left behind with the speaker. So this shows us that the heart, the speaker's heart is not actually empty. There is just no room left because he is holding on to all of these memories from this previous relationship. I didn't evict her. she simply left without a word. So this stanza is quite literal. He basically is acknowledging that he didn't want this ex-lover to leave, he did not break up with her, that she simply left without a word. And this indicates to us that the speaker lacks closure. She left without a word, showing he doesn't actually know why she ended the relationship, and therefore he's left without closure as to why this lover has walked out of his life. I keep hoping she will come back and collect the luggage, or at least arrange for disposal, clean out the place, throw out old memories. So in our third stance over here, we have this plea, or not necessarily a plea, but an inner sort of plea of what the speaker really thinks, and he hopes that she's going to come back and collect the luggage. So what this means is he hopes that he's going to get closure from this relationship. It ended suddenly, and he hopes that she will come back, give him some reasons. collect the luggage, take away some of these memories that have been clogging his heart, or at least arrange for disposal, at least arrange for some way for him to get rid of this luggage to get rid of this baggage to get rid of all these memories clean out the place meaning clean out his heart find a way to you know clean out his heart to empty up some space so that he can move on um so here we have that symbolism we have a figurative extended metaphor continuing throw out old memories and then we have the very direct idea of throwing out old memories he's not just using the metaphor anymore So stanza four marks a little bit of a tonal shift because stanza three he wants this ex-lover to come back and get rid of all these memories, he wants to seemingly forget about the relationship, make way for a new one, but then he sort of backtracks in this stanza and he says I could possibly live with the marks on the wall, some are completely indelible, some I even like. So he says he could possibly live with some of the marks on the wall, the marks on the wall meaning the memories of the relationship. When a tenant lives in a property, lives in a house, there's going to be some wear and tear, right? There's going to be some indication of that tenant having lived there, some sort of marks on the wall. So like the speaker is saying here, there's obviously he's like, acknowledges that he can't completely get rid of the relationship. And also that he doesn't want to, that this relationship has impacted his life in some way, it has left these marks on the wall, it's left memories. And he can't just forget about those, right? Those are a part of his life. He says some are completely indelible. Indelible means they cannot be removed. You can't forget them at all. You cannot, he cannot just forget about this ex-lover altogether. And he acknowledges in a very vulnerable, authentic manner. He says some I even like. So he has these good memories of the relationship. And so he backtracks from the previous stanza and he recognizes then some nuance to forgetting about a past relationship. He doesn't want to forget it in its entirety. He wants closure. But he still wants to hold on to some of those good memories. But you see, I am afraid. If it all goes, what will I do with all that empty space? So the word but usually signifies a shift, a change, a contrast. And here we see the speaker really getting to the heart of his vulnerability, the heart of his fear. And he says, you see, I am afraid. If it all goes, so if all, if all the emotions, all the memories, if he actually finally gets closure regarding this previous relationship, he wonders what he will do with all the empty space, meaning all of this empty space of his heart, the fact that his heart could be ready for a new relationship, for a new love, for a new beginning. He doesn't know what will be left in his heart. He feels, he feels unsure about his future and he feels vulnerable. What will I do with all that empty space? So he wonders what will become of him if he actually does get the closure that he was seeking, if he's able to put this relationship behind him and move on. There's a sense of uncertainty. He doesn't know how to completely start over again and how to face the world in this vulnerable state with an empty heart. So the structure of the poem, we have five stanzas, it's written in free verse and there's lots of enjambment and a couple of examples of zizura and this really emphasises that this is a sincere piece of writing, that the speaker's writing from the heart in terms of conveying the aftermath and the pain and the struggle of a failed relationship and the vulnerability one has when embarking upon a new one. The tone of the poem can be vulnerable, reflective, sincere. At times it's quite melancholic and heartbroken, and then in perhaps stanza four we can say it's contemplative. The mood of the poem is quite intimate and vulnerable and reflective, while the theme and message is heartbreak, relationships, the struggle of moving on. And this theme is Definitely showcased, emphasized and highlighted through the use of the extended metaphor throughout the poem. I hope that you found that video helpful. Thank you for watching. Please like this video and subscribe to the channel and I'll see you in the next one.

Unfortunately we don't have much information about the poet but what we do know is that she is a Zimbabwean poet and that she runs a charity. So let's get straight into the poem. So the title is The Tenant and if we think about the tenant, a tenant is someone who is just at a certain place, is a renter for a certain amount of time.

So it's a very temporary relationship that you would have with a tenant, someone who is not permanent. We also notice the the in the title and the the is a definite article. So this shows us that this is a specific and meaningful tenant that the speaker is going to be talking about. And the title of this poem introduces the extended metaphor which is going to be seen throughout the poem. The ex-lover is the tenant and the place where the tenant has rented the flat or the apartment or the house is the speaker's heart.

There is no room for you in my heart. The only tenant who ever lived there left some luggage behind. So the first stanza starts and it sounds like the speaker is talking directly to someone. It's as though we've intruded into a conversation between the speaker and a potential new lover.

And the speaker declares that there is no room for you in my heart. So the speaker declares to this new love interest that there is no room available, that the tenant is still haunting this space of his heart. Notice the enjambment in that first line to the second line, there is no room for you in my heart. The enjambment is the run on lines. The line does not end with a full stop.

It breaks, it's broken up into two different lines. And this enjambment in this instance can emphasize how the speaker's past relationship still haunts him. And it also signifies to us that this poem is going to be a sincere and authentic poem where the speaker is letting out what his true feelings are. If we look at the second line, we have the full stop in the middle of the line and this is called a caesura. So this full stop in the middle of the line emphasizes the word heart.

It really fixates or draws our focus to the word heart and it also shows us how the speaker's heart is still struggling. It also creates a very unnatural sort of element and shows how the speaker has was perhaps shocked by the ending of this relationship. The only tenant who ever lived there, so only this shows that he has only truly loved one person in his life but that she has left him and he is still with he's still left with all this emotional baggage from it.

Like we said earlier the tenant the room is working with this extended metaphor so this comparison occurs throughout the poem where the speaker compares his ex-lover to a tenant to a renter who has moved out and the heart is the flat or the flat is the heart. So the only tenant who ever lived there left some luggage behind. So the metaphor extends and we have the luggage. Luggage is mentioned in this first stanza and in the third stanza. And the luggage is representative of memories and emotions that the speaker has or that the lover, ex-lover has left behind with the speaker.

So this shows us that the heart, the speaker's heart is not actually empty. There is just no room left because he is holding on to all of these memories from this previous relationship. I didn't evict her. she simply left without a word. So this stanza is quite literal.

He basically is acknowledging that he didn't want this ex-lover to leave, he did not break up with her, that she simply left without a word. And this indicates to us that the speaker lacks closure. She left without a word, showing he doesn't actually know why she ended the relationship, and therefore he's left without closure as to why this lover has walked out of his life.

I keep hoping she will come back and collect the luggage, or at least arrange for disposal, clean out the place, throw out old memories. So in our third stance over here, we have this plea, or not necessarily a plea, but an inner sort of plea of what the speaker really thinks, and he hopes that she's going to come back and collect the luggage. So what this means is he hopes that he's going to get closure from this relationship.

It ended suddenly, and he hopes that she will come back, give him some reasons. collect the luggage, take away some of these memories that have been clogging his heart, or at least arrange for disposal, at least arrange for some way for him to get rid of this luggage to get rid of this baggage to get rid of all these memories clean out the place meaning clean out his heart find a way to you know clean out his heart to empty up some space so that he can move on um so here we have that symbolism we have a figurative extended metaphor continuing throw out old memories and then we have the very direct idea of throwing out old memories he's not just using the metaphor anymore So stanza four marks a little bit of a tonal shift because stanza three he wants this ex-lover to come back and get rid of all these memories, he wants to seemingly forget about the relationship, make way for a new one, but then he sort of backtracks in this stanza and he says I could possibly live with the marks on the wall, some are completely indelible, some I even like. So he says he could possibly live with some of the marks on the wall, the marks on the wall meaning the memories of the relationship.

When a tenant lives in a property, lives in a house, there's going to be some wear and tear, right? There's going to be some indication of that tenant having lived there, some sort of marks on the wall. So like the speaker is saying here, there's obviously he's like, acknowledges that he can't completely get rid of the relationship. And also that he doesn't want to, that this relationship has impacted his life in some way, it has left these marks on the wall, it's left memories.

And he can't just forget about those, right? Those are a part of his life. He says some are completely indelible.

Indelible means they cannot be removed. You can't forget them at all. You cannot, he cannot just forget about this ex-lover altogether.

And he acknowledges in a very vulnerable, authentic manner. He says some I even like. So he has these good memories of the relationship. And so he backtracks from the previous stanza and he recognizes then some nuance to forgetting about a past relationship. He doesn't want to forget it in its entirety.

He wants closure. But he still wants to hold on to some of those good memories. But you see, I am afraid.

If it all goes, what will I do with all that empty space? So the word but usually signifies a shift, a change, a contrast. And here we see the speaker really getting to the heart of his vulnerability, the heart of his fear.

And he says, you see, I am afraid. If it all goes, so if all, if all the emotions, all the memories, if he actually finally gets closure regarding this previous relationship, he wonders what he will do with all the empty space, meaning all of this empty space of his heart, the fact that his heart could be ready for a new relationship, for a new love, for a new beginning. He doesn't know what will be left in his heart. He feels, he feels unsure about his future and he feels vulnerable. What will I do with all that empty space?

So he wonders what will become of him if he actually does get the closure that he was seeking, if he's able to put this relationship behind him and move on. There's a sense of uncertainty. He doesn't know how to completely start over again and how to face the world in this vulnerable state with an empty heart. So the structure of the poem, we have five stanzas, it's written in free verse and there's lots of enjambment and a couple of examples of zizura and this really emphasises that this is a sincere piece of writing, that the speaker's writing from the heart in terms of conveying the aftermath and the pain and the struggle of a failed relationship and the vulnerability one has when embarking upon a new one. The tone of the poem can be vulnerable, reflective, sincere.

At times it's quite melancholic and heartbroken, and then in perhaps stanza four we can say it's contemplative. The mood of the poem is quite intimate and vulnerable and reflective, while the theme and message is heartbreak, relationships, the struggle of moving on. And this theme is Definitely showcased, emphasized and highlighted through the use of the extended metaphor throughout the poem.

I hope that you found that video helpful. Thank you for watching. Please like this video and subscribe to the channel and I'll see you in the next one.

Transcript for:Exploring Nott's Poem "The Tenant"

Transcript for:
Exploring Nott's Poem "The Tenant"