Flashcards
John Montague
Cards in this deck (16)
- 1Killing the Pig NotesGraphic process of the slaughtering of a pig. The poem focuses on "the noise" which the poet finds deeply disturbing. Only the heavens can ignore that awful noise. The poem highlights the conflict between man + nature. It describes the helplessness of the pig in the hands of the farmers.
- 2Killing the Pig SummaryThis poem typifies Montague, the compassionate image maker. This poem conveys the acceptance that suffering is a routine part of traditional farm life. Nonetheless, his sympathy for the terrified animal is beyond doubt.
- 3Killing the Pig LanguageOnomatopoeia (squealing + thump of the mallet)
Haunting verbal music, dissonant, harsh 'k' sounds (iron cleek sunk)
3rd stanza - direct tone bordering of anger
5th stanza - long line, contrasting short line depicts the trauma in the reader - 4Killing the Pig Quotes- The noise
- No single sound could match it - a big plane roaring off, a diva soaring towards her last note, the brain chilling persistence of an electric saw, scrap being crushed.
- Iron cleek sunk in the roof of his mouth
-A child is given the bladder to play with - 5The Locket NotesCommemorates the poet's mother after her death. His relationship with her brought a great deal of misery into his life. She never breastfeed him, she sent him to live in Ireland with his aunts + when she came home she never reclaimed him - he felt rejected + abandoned. He tries to court her but she urges him to stay away, afraid that she will get used to his company + will be lonely when he is no longer around.
- 6The Locket NotesAfter his mother's death Montague finds a locket around her neck with a picture of him in it. This shows that she had very strong feelings for her son. Their relationship is redeemed in the final stanza. It is a tragedy that him mother was incapable of expressing her feelings for her son while she was alive.
- 7The Locket SummaryWhile most of Montague's memories have focused on the damaging influence of an unsatisfying relationship with his mother this is essentially an unselfish poem which explores his mother's life + decisions from her point of view. Moving between past + present the poet allows us to hear her voice as well as his own. Such an intensely sensitive + honest approach is characteristic of Montague
- 8The Locket LanguageLong 'a' + 'ai' sounds (last...lady...fame)
Simple + plain (then you gave me away)
Repetition of 'l' (lovely Molly...belle...small) - 9The Cage SummaryMontague, though writing about "the least happy man" he has known, expresses no anger. It is a love poem + a poem of regret. A poem that quietly records the poets sadness at the nature of his father's life.
- 10The Cage LanguageWords such as "pallor...underground...shudder...grille...brute oblivion...small booth...beating" belong to his father's world in New York and contrast with the other world of Garvaghey "fields...hawthorn...summer hedges...sheltered primroses"
- 11The Cage Quotes- My father, the least happy man I have known
- And yet pick himself up most mornings
- As though he had never left; a bend of the road which still sheltered primroses - 12Windharp LanguageThe use of present participles throughout creates a sense of never ending movement, perpetual motion. The poem flows through 15 lines + ranges over bog land, lowland until it comes to the image of a mountain pony's coat.
- 13Windharp Quotes- Light hunting cloud
- Sound hounding sight
- Combing and stroking the landscape - 14All Legendary Obstacles Quotes- All legendary obstacles lay between us
- Long imaginary pain
- Monstrous ruck of mountains - 15Like Dolmens Round my Childhood Quotes- Like dolmens round my childhood, the old people
- Ancient Ireland, indeed
- Into that dark permanence of ancient forms - 16Windharp NotesThe poem describes the beauty of the Irish landscape. It offers us wonderful and memorable descriptions of the sounds and sights of the countryside. The poet describes the soft "whispering" of the breeze blowing through the grasses and ferns and says that his sound never ceases. The final image of the blown grass catching the light is particularly lovely
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- Leaving Certificate English Flashcards on John Montague , created by Tara Matthews on 03/02/2015.
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- Tara Matthews
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