"Belfast Confetti" was written by the Irish poet Ciaran Carson and published in the collection The Irish for No in 1987. In the poem, an unnamed speaker appears to be caught up in a bomb blast and tries to escape. The poem then explores the relationship between violence and language itself, as the disoriented speaker searches for an escape route. According to Carson, the poem is set in August 1969 during the Troubles, a violent conflict that took place in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century.

• Read the full text of “Belfast Confetti”

• “Belfast Confetti” Summary

• “Belfast Confetti” Themes

  • 

    Violence and Conflict

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-9
  • 

    Language, Violence, and Identity

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-9

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Belfast Confetti”

  • Lines 1-2

    Suddenly as the ...
    ... of broken type.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 2-5

    And the explosion ...
    ... stops and colons.

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 6

    I know this ... Inkerman, Odessa Street—

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-8

    Why can’t I ...
    ... Makrolon face-shields. Walkie-talkies.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 8-9

    What is ...
    ... of question marks.

    

    

    

    

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• “Belfast Confetti” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “S,” “s,” “i,” “i”
    • Line 2: “N,” “n,” “c,” “k”
    • Line 3: “a,” “a”
    • Line 4: “t,” “t”
    • Line 5: “s,” “s,” “s”
    • Line 7: “e,” “E”
    • Line 8: “m,” “M,” “W,” “W”
    • Line 9: “W,” “W”

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “I know this labyrinth so well—Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa Street—”
    • Line 7: “Crimea Street”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “i,” “i,” “a,” “i,” “i,” “a”
    • Line 2: “ai”
    • Line 3: “a,” “a,” “y,” “i,” “a,” “i”
    • Line 4: “I,” “y,” “e,” “e,” “y,” “ea,” “e”
    • Line 5: “o,” “o”
    • Line 6: “o,” “o,” “a,” “a,” “a,” “a,” “a,” “a,” “a,” “O”
    • Line 7: “y,” “I,” “e,” “E,” “ea,” “e,” “ai”
    • Line 8: “e,” “e,” “e,” “a,” “ie,” “a,” “ie”
    • Line 9: “o,” “o”

  • Cacophony

    

    

    

    

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    Where cacophony appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “Nuts, bolts, nails, car-keys.”
    • Line 6: “Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa Street”
    • Line 8: “A Saracen, Kremlin-2 mesh. Makrolon face-shields. Walkie-talkies.”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “in, it”
    • Line 2: “Nuts, bolts, nails, car-keys. A,” “type. And”
    • Line 3: “Itself—an,” “map. This,” “line, a”
    • Line 4: “head, but”
    • Line 6: “well—Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa Street—”
    • Line 7: “escape? Every,” “punctuated. Crimea Street. Dead”
    • Line 8: “Saracen, Kremlin-2 mesh. Makrolon face-shields. Walkie-talkies. What”
    • Line 9: “name? Where,” “from? Where,” “going? A”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “S,” “dd,” “s,” “s,” “q,” “d,” “d,” “n,” “n,” “x,” “c,” “m,” “n,” “m,” “k,” “s”
    • Line 2: “N,” “ts,” “b,” “t,” “s,” “n,” “s,” “c,” “k,” “s,” “n,” “t,” “b,” “k,” “n,” “t,” “n,” “x,” “p,” “n”
    • Line 3: “s,” “n,” “s,” “s,” “k,” “n,” “p,” “n,” “n,” “b,” “p”
    • Line 4: “t,” “t,” “c,” “p,” “t,” “s,” “t,” “c,” “t,” “t,” “k,” “p,” “t,” “s,” “t,” “tt”
    • Line 5: “ll,” “ll,” “s,” “s,” “s,” “t,” “t,” “s,” “b,” “ck,” “st,” “s,” “c,” “s”
    • Line 6: “l,” “ll,” “l,” “cl,” “l,” “n,” “k,” “n,” “ss,” “St,” “t”
    • Line 7: “c,” “c,” “p,” “p,” “c,” “t,” “t,” “C,” “D,” “d,” “nd,” “n”
    • Line 8: “S,” “r,” “c,” “n,” “K,” “r,” “m,” “n,” “m,” “sh,” “M,” “k,” “r,” “c,” “sh,” “s,” “W,” “k,” “k,” “s,” “W,” “s”
    • Line 9: “M,” “m,” “W,” “m,” “c,” “m,” “m,” “W,” “m,” “s,” “q,” “s,” “m,” “s”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “explosion / Itself”
    • Lines 8-9: “is / My”

  • Extended Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where extended metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 1
    • Lines 2-3
    • Line 4
    • Line 5
    • Line 7
    • Line 9

  • Rhetorical Question

    

    

    

    

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    Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:

    • Line 7: “Why can’t I escape?”
    • Lines 8-9: “What is / My name? Where am I coming from? Where am I going?”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “Nuts, bolts, nails, car-keys. A fount of broken type.”
    • Line 3: “This hyphenated line, a burst of rapid fire”
    • Line 6: “Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa Street”
    • Line 7: “Crimea Street. Dead end again.”
    • Line 8: “A Saracen, Kremlin-2 mesh. Makrolon face-shields. Walkie-talkies.”

• “Belfast Confetti” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Riot Squad
  • Fount
  • Type
  • Asterisk
  • Hyphenated Line
  • Stops
  • Colons
  • Labyrinth
  • Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa, Crimea
  • Sararcen, Kremlin-2 mesh, Makrolon face-shields, Walkie-talkies
  • Fusillade
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “riot squad”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Belfast Confetti”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Belfast Confetti” Speaker

• “Belfast Confetti” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Belfast Confetti”

• More “Belfast Confetti” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Poem Aloud — Hear the poet recite "Belfast Confetti" out loud.

    • Carson on the Flute — Carson was also a musician, playing traditional Irish music on the flute and tin whistle.

    • More Poems and Info About Carson — A valuable resource on Carson from Poetry Foundation.

    • Troubles Poems — More poems relating to the Troubles conflict. 

    • The Troubles and Poetry — An article that explores poets' responses to the Troubles conflict. 

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