8917205
Description
Flashcards by Holly Rebecca, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Holly Rebecca
almost 7 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Everybody's Mother Structure | No set structure in line or stanza length Free form Mirrors the key over-arching message of poem that there's no right/set way to parent. Structure perfect for the venting nature. Freq use of enjambment, shows lakc of control. Signifies how speaker has many thoughts on the issue. Line sof positivity singled out - reveal the true meaning of the mother's actions to the speaker - significant points of realisation - made into their own one-line stanzas |
| Everybody's Mother Rhythm/Rhyme | None of either, but instead venting without any set plotting. Highlights how everyone parents differently and there's no "rhyme or reason" to it. |
| Everybody's Mother Imagery | "ice-splinters that'd stick in your heart" - metaphor for power & harshness of the words. "float around above you/ big as a barrage balloon" - simile, gives parent mythical, omniscient being-like status - ties into how she "mythologised herself" "you got mixed up between dragons' teeth and blackmarket sotckings" - metaphor for the mother's viciousness & perhaps pride - she wants them to have things like dragons teeth but has to go to the blackmarket to get necessities, nevermind anything else. |
| Everybody's Mother Language | "Postive Feelings" capitalised: suggested they're a commodity which the speaker wasn't given. Hyperboles & generalisations: "absolutely everyone's mother" repetition of "everybody's mother" at start of most stanzas, shows frustration that their parent didn't live up to a list of social expectations. Sibilance: "silvers and ice splinters that'd stick" - create hissing sound, suggests anger, piercing nature. Plosive in ^ emphasises pain of the words/ice? Allteration: "perfumed presence with pearls" neither sharp nor soft, symbolic of being between 2 extremes. "sewing sequins/ on your carnival costume" - emphasises all the good she did. Juxtaposition: "always never" shows the double-sided nature of the contradictory mother, ties in with use of double negatives in final line "nobody's mother can't not do nothing right." Bursting with negatives - connotes poem message. Personal Pronoun: "You/Your" used throughout, speaks directly to the reader, as if a common situation. Creates empathy in reader. Cliche: "everyone's mother was artisitc" - feminine assumption Title polysemic |
| Everybody's Mother Critical Perspectives | FEMINISM: Highlights struggle to be perfect mother in a society where women's main role in life is assumed to be a parent. Mother in poem struggles to be the parent society expects her to be - "in her ball dress" and instead "slept with the butcher." Parents her way, but for society and the bitter child, that wasn't good enough. MARXISM/SOC CLASS: Proletarian family struggling in a post-war society. Mother does what she has to do so that they have food e.g., buying blackmarket knockoffs. Shows the struggle of the working class in a society where the bourgeoise do little to help them. |
| Everybody's Mother Tone | Crude, filled with pent-up anger, especially in 1st half for everything the speaker feels their mtoher did wrong with them. Changes after the volta "but she did" Positive twist connotes what they feel their mother did right (especially through the structuring of single line stanzas to emphasise points) Ultimately, poem comes dow to respect for the mother, because even though they did things wrong, they were permanent unlike their father. Bursting with negatives: showing there's no perfect way to parent Omniscient tone at times, speaks casually "and so on..." implies this is a disucssion they've had many times before. Loathing but also admiration. |
| The New-married Miner Structure/Form | Lack of halting of sentences. Full stops occasionally but often enjambment, showing through a constant flow of language reinforces the oppression of the wife and how amongst all these commands she has no room to speak. Four stanzas, no set structure overall - free verse - implies the husbands over-riding control over the wife. |
| The New-married Miner Tone | Occasionally affectionate towards wife through use of terms of endearment like "my love" and "bonny lass." However, latter can be read as demeaning - girl. Wife here losing status because of her role serving husband, becoming second to him. Affection come amidst the constant use of imperatives - demanding, bossy, showing husband's power in an unequal relationship. Tone very unromantic - dirty, unattractive, shows man to be lazy, expects his wife to clean up his mess "black snot flowers on my handkerchief." |
| The New-married Miner Language | Scottish colloquialism in "bonny lass" speaks to Lochhead's consistent rooting of her poetry in Scotland. Provides poem with distinct sense of place when up until this point the poem could've been set anywhere. (sexism is global) Imperatives in extended use: "bank/heat/squeeze/stretch/ hold & fold/ rub and scrub" - show the husbands cocmmanding, bossy nature without second thought for his wife. 2nd person use of "your", shows he's a possession of his wife, but their social positions & the imperatives (where she belongs to him) suggest he has more ownership than her. SPeaks directly to reader - repluses us. Suggests relationship common if speaking to whole readership. Politically incorrect language "blacked up like a darky minstrel." |
| The New-married Miner Critical Perspectives - Feminism | FEMINISM: Active husband & passive wife (he works, she's condemned to domestic life) Miner commands and demand sthroughout, she serves him. Relationship of dependency not love, where man dependent on woman to take care of him, rather than independency and equality. Only see from male perspective, suggesting his superiority in context of the time. Never hear from wife, suggesting she's now only seen in terms of a male prspective, acts to serve husband. |
| The New-married Miner Critical Perspectives Social Class and Marxism | Working Class, seem to be living a proletarian lifestyle - as a miner, he provides coal to the u/m classes and yet they themselves will struggle to get their "dark fire" ignited everyday. They surrender what they work for to hegemonic control, despite the fact that they have retrieved it they receive very little. Monotonous lifestyle essentially keeping the classes above them satisfied. "It's lowsan time" - he having to have "night time all day long" shows the amount of work he does contrasting to those whom he is serving. Mining tricky job, poor pay and strikes at time. Racism: dirt comparison to "darky minstrel" - politically incorrect today, suprises rader. racism at the time |
| The New-married Miner Imagery | Oxymoron: "night time all day long" - suggests endlessness of the job. Personification of the moon in "no moon tonight, so round and white - /its Davy Lamps gone out" makes a symbol of guidance into something human, friendly, on an isolating journey. Contrasting images of white and black, her being symbolic of purity - "white lacec of the lather black" Symbolism and metaphor of "Frost edges every blackened leaf," shows the lack of power wife has compared to husband's dominance. "black-snot flowers on my handkerchief" imagery of metaphorical flowers tainting something pure with dirt. Juxtaposition? Emphasises his filth compared to how she's expected to always be "white" and pure." "long white chalkmarks down my back" metaphor of him being so dirty he's a blackboard, soap as chalk. |
| The New-married Miner Rhythm and Rhyme | Rhyme in stanza 2 follows an ABABCC Alternate rhyme of "light/without/white/out" followed by rhyming couplet of "leaf/handkerchief." Outside of this no real rhythm or rhyme. |
| The Other Woman Form | Volta of stanza 3 changes the entire tone and direction of the poem. Lack of punctuation and instead caesuras and enjambment often, shows how to a degree she is out of control and crazed. Chaotic. Similar structure in terms of line lenght, but no set stanza lenght, suggesting the 3 sides to this complex story. Can't conform to one set structure, like she cannot conform to one set story - highlighting her split, lying nature. |
| The Other Woman Critical Perspectives | Feminism: shows how in a patriarchal society, people feel the need to degrade the assets of other women in a love triangle or an affair. Comments on beauty highlight a brutal nature in which people judge each other on appearance alone and see themselves in relation to others' appearances. The Female Gaze. Competition. |
| The Other Woman Tone | Starts livid, showing the destruction in her relationship blocked by another. Stanza 2 focuses on paranoia Stanza 3 shows twisted nature, as she reveals her true identiity and ending on the eerie note of "she does not mean you well." This blunt final line emphasisies her serious nature, almost open ended as we're aware of the chaos that could still ensue. Language and imagery earlier on highten her fury, yet the shift after the volta of S3 proves her to be crazed, scared of the threat but also is the threat Referral to "she" in S3 shows her separation from the person - split persnality. |
| The Other Woman Imagery | Metaphor of how her words are a "machine-gun" represents how she loses control when "the other woman" enters her mind Metaphor: "lies/on the other side of my own mirror" shows how the woman is actually her reflection. Simile of "like a bolster": other side of her personality is blocking her relationship. Metaphor "flurry of feathers a mere/ sneezing irritant" chaotic, and uncontrollable ocne unleahsed. Fragile but can cause disaster. Like a sneeze, always lurking, but cannot predict when it will be unleashed. Simile "she's rock solid/ the sandbag you hide behind" once again blocking the relationship, to a degree he's afraid of her and her personalities. |
| The Other Woman Language | Wordplay: "lies" has double meaning in terms of verbal falisties and physical presence. SHows her double nature. Repeated plosive "d" in "shaped and hardened words" mimics the sound of a machine gun, as mentioned in previous line Alliteration in "guts for her garterbelt": playing on her harsh tone, but also shows the speaker's twisted nature in how Lochhead deconstructs a cliche and makes it her own. "shes a hag she's just a kid" etc "she's no oil painting" rife with cliche's that people would often use or tell others surrounding an affair to make someone feel better. Suggest she's told others and she genuinely believes there's someone other than herself, wants to separate the two parts of her identity. Irony "I'd know her anywhere" Sibilance of s in "sometimes suddenly in some downtown restaurant" hissing sound, speaker's fury making her spit out her words. Same with alliterative "catch-casting crazily" Repetiion of "the other woman/lies" different meaning each time - dubious nature. "She does not mean you well" "you" pronoun speaks directly to the reader, as if we are threatened. |
| Sorting Through Critical Perspectives | Very little in terms of critical perspectives, except one line that could link to sexism/feminism. In context of the time of the mother, women would have been expected to wear dresses and skirts, trousers weren't yet a commodity. "dance dresses" shows the range of societal pressures on appearance. Marxism? Labels like "harella, gor-ray"etc shows need for status through owning something with a brand. |
| Sorting Through Structure/Form | One long stanza with no set structure. Shows lack of control and organisation in a time of death. They're almost too bereaved to compile their thoughts together in any manner other than venting. Lack of structure also fits with being hit with memories, thoughts and nostalgia for a time the speaker didn't know of themselves. Displacement? Use of italics in "my father's house" emphasises the drastic change, and the feeling of their mother's dispossession now that they do not exist. Use of a colon after "and this is useful:" shows the speaker tring to think of the positives of their actions but can onl think of the clothing in terms of pain. Enjambment: used multiple times - suggests running uncontrolled thoughts which are halted by pain or to emphasise a point through a full stop. |
| Sorting Through Tone | Snese of nostalgia for a time they don't know of. Overwhelmed by images, both physical and metaphorical of a time when their mother was young and still alive. Casualness in her tone, which coupled with the clinicality of the actions feels like through "yes," and "some beach" that casualness isn't denial, but the longer and more thought put into the actions, the harder it will be. CLinicalness comes in "ragbag scrap" - it is as if the best way to get rid of the objects, is to demean and crtique them into nothing, as opposed to being associated with their parent. Fact they have to take this approach shows underlying tone that they want their mother back. Ties into use of phrase "manhandle", blurring emotions of clinicality with fierce movement, pushing away grief? Final line "likee all that life that will not neatly end" summarises overall tone. No matter the distance in approach, speaker's mother is still dead. Hard enough to dispose of belonging s, but simulatenous anger in still possessing them. They have objects of their mum, but not their mum. Won't bring them back. |
| Sorting Through Language | Alliteration: "dance dresses" - almost reflects beat of dancing Silibance: "swinging from their anklestraps as she swaggers up" Asyndeton: (ommission of conjunction) "Old lipstick. Liquid stockings." and "Harella, Gor-ray, Berektex." Show bluntness in tone, clinicality and misery n grief. Elision: "what I'll have to learn" adds casualness Juxtaposition of "duster prints her even more vivid than an Ilford snapshot" juxtaposed ideas of the present bleakness with the vivid past and life of mother - everything dliuted in death. Like the moment is more vivid than the current state of the photograph. |
| Sorting Through Imagery | Symbolism of femininity in "dance dresses", nostalgia for mother's youth. Symbolism of "binbags" connotes dispossession, discarding, and upheaval. change Personification of "manhandle whole outfits" personifies the clothes, but the brutality of the action suggests the speaker is being clinical about it. Word "manhandle" itself suggests feels like they're doing the same to their mother as to the clothes. Phrase of "manhandle whole outfits into binbags" could additionally be read as an allegory for putting their mother into a coffin for disposal. Emotional version of the previous physical action of a funeral. Personification of the clothes: "sadness of dispossessed dresses", "the decency of good coats roundshouldered" "the gravitas of lapels" - show their loss of onwrship and beloning (maybe speaker feels the same) all grieving for owner too. Simile: "the invisible danders of skin fizzing off from them/ like all that life that will not neatly end" implies how in grief they believe life ended abruptly, adjusting to the mess in aftermath. Metaphor "every mote in my eye a utility mark" |
| Poem for my Sister Structure/Form | 3 Stanzas of different varying line lengths, suggest free verse form. Several cases of enjambment e.g., "I try to warn my sister/ about unsuitable shoe." But often quickly ended in following line with punctuation (sometimes caesuras). Reflects on the amount of restrictions and expectations that adulthood comes with: imagination is viewed differently, harder to enter stream of consciousness, unlike little sister. To little sister, adulthood equates to freedoms, when reality of seaker is that it has pressurs and expectations to be certain way, and they don't realise the freedom they have in youth. Control over wandering thoughts. |
| Poem for my Sister Critical Perspectives | Feminism: Heels are iconically shoes that men expect women to wear and "strutting"/"strut" connotes how men expect women to walk - how society tells women they should please men. Patriarchy. Younger sister is practicing these actions with excitement, suggest howo living in a patriarchal society, young children are forced to grow up a lot sooner than they should in male-controlled world, judging women on actions and physique rather than personality. Can see through the hopscotch/ "peever" that she's very young, and yet is now pressured to act like this. |
| Poem for my Sister Tone | Sense of admiration and love throughout. Speaker clearly loves sister, and speaks about watching them grow up as if a third parent - "she's quite competent at peever." shows a boastful celebration of little achievements. Underlying tone of regret for what they wish they hadn't done and now are warning their sister against. Hints at regret and pain of the speaker who has experienced more than just ill-fitted shoes, and she doesn't want her little sister to grow up embracing the patriarchy. "I should not like to see her in my shoes." |
| Poem for my Sister Language | Possessive pronoun and repetition of "my" and "I" throughout make the poem personal. Shows need to share, but makes it simultaneously relevant to reader. Irony in "She says they fit her perfectly, but woblles" shows how she wants to grow up faster but her innocence and naivety means she isn't ready mentally. Cliche: "over-stepping the line" shows mischief & rebelliousness Paraphrasing cliche: "I would not like to see her/ in my shoes" on idea of to walk in someone else's shoes. Doesn't want her sister to experience the adulthood that she has, and soesn't want her to make the same mistakes. "Peever" - colloquial, roots poem in Scotland. Sense of place. Silibance "this season's styles" hissing sound - warning, as with "sensibly shod." Sharpness of "quick peck" acts as threat, brusqueness of words warning Alliteration of "high heels" - makes them sound sophisticated. |
| Poem for my Sister Imagery | Extended metaphor of the shoes for adulthood and pain. Being able to walk in the heels would be to be ready for adulthood, and the sister saying "She says they fit her perfectly" is metaphorical for how she wants to grow up faster, but "wobbles" mena she isn't ready. High heels symbolic of a state of life, and through wearing them the girl is trying to be the adult her sister is. However the "hard skin" and "callouses" show the damage and mistakes the speaker has made in her "unsuitable shoes" and whilst she to wanted to grow up faster, being an adult is symbolised and represented as difficult. Wants sister to stay "sure footed" by making right decisions |
| Some Old Photographs Structure | Free verse, divided into 6 unequal stanzas. Suggets the flowing of thoughts in the mind. Essentially one long sentence. Enjambment used within and between stanzasa, making the poem a fluid, unbroken piece of writing. Lochhead uses synaethesia to good effect. Poem uses one sense, firstly sight to evoke another sense - by end all senses have been deployed. Pirmary sense used is sight - beiginning with the construction of the poem as imitating the way the eyes travel over photos, resting on specific details beforemoving on. Interesting structure in final line placement in stanza one. Indent creates pause before describing "long shadows and longer shafts of light" she sees. In dping so, speaker emphasises the length of the shadows, by elongating the line from rest of stanza. |
| Some Old Photographs Critical Perspectives | Feminism: "whipped up" skirt shows rebellius female nature in exposure - going against status quo of society at the time. However, all men going to work - shows society's sexist expectations. Marxism: lack of glamour in reality shows someone of the proletarian society desiring to add more sophistication and bourgeois to their parent's presumably hard lives. |
| Some Old Photographs Tone | Intense sense of nostalgia - almost overpowering, and wistfulness, as created through language and imagery. Speaker fully aware that scene is bleak, but her love for Scotland oerwhelming and thus romanticises the city out of adoration. Also done out of disconnection to younger parents, assuming they were fwild and glamorous and film-worthy before she was bron. Seeing images of them then makes her imagination ignite for what life must have been like at the time. Nostaliga through strcuture too, hits them in waves, and there's a mood of romanticism and wanting to give glory to to the past. To her, the photos aren't ageing by "silvering" - showing her lust for beauty, extraordinary in the ordinary. |
| Some Old Photographs Imagery | Uses techique of synaethesia several times; by using one sense to evoke another, triggering more memories. By end, all 5 senss have been emplyed. Helps to add to idea of waves of nostalgia, e.g., "weather evocative as scent." Metaphor of "drops on a rainmate are sequins" - humourous in fact that there's nothing romantic about wearing a cheap plastic covering, yet the speaker finds beauty in hindsight. Metaphor of "boat is yet to sail" connotative of life yet to fully begin. Looking back to their parents lives when young, speaker knows this is the start of their journey. "Permanent cloud" symbolises how nothing changes - routine e.g., work. Intertextuality in concept of film-noir and Hollywood, adds to the fascination the speaker has of making Glasgow glamorous and shows their obsession with sophistication. The rain "in the lamplgiht in the black-and-white" references to Singing in the Rain. And "hem of her dress whipped up" alludes to a famous photograph of Marilyn Monroe. Trying to add luxury to bleak Scotland, or has so much love for Glasgow that to her, it is worthy of Hollywood. |
| Some Old Photographs Language | Used throughout to add sense of glamour and sophisticaiton to a dank, bustling city. E.g., use of Hollywood-esque semantic field in stanza 2 especially "glamorous" "film-noir" "sequins" Neologism in "silvering" adds feeling of richness and entle, glamorous texture to the ageing, fading photographs. Incongruous irony in some of the language, e.g., the "romance of dark stormclouds" - nothing appealing about stereotypically dangerous weather, yet nostalgia creates a rose-tinted image. Neologism of "black-and-white" as a single hyphenated entity blends 2 juxtaposing ideas, saying they belong together. Almost as if bringing about overall message of poem - where there's dark, there's light, where there's bleak, there's beauty. Colloquialisms: "wee boays", "what-a-scorcher" roots in sense of place theme of Scotland Alliterative "f" and assoance "i" in "fabulous film-noir stills" give language luxurious, smooth texture. Alliterative "beach before you were born" takes blunt plosive b, hits disconnections with their parents |
| Some Old Photographs Monosyllabism, Repetition, Pronouns, Pluralisation Semantic field of Glasgow | Monosyllabic "noise and stink and smoky breath" adds bluntness to an unpleasant image Repetition of "in the snow, in the rain," etc emphasises the ongoing monotony of life even as seasons change Use of "your" pronoun invites the reader to consider own parents. Pluralisation of "dads" suggests they're interchangeable, and hard to distinguish, to a degree they're all the same through society's expectations. Semantic field throughout of Glasgow locaitons. ties to theme of sense of place. |
| For My Grandmother Knitting Structure/Form | 5 Stanzas of unequal lenght, but show straightforward, chronological order Bar final stanza, every stanza is 1 long sentence, enjambment used to draw attention to certain phrases Stanza 1&2 have parallel structure. 1st half focus on Grandmother as she is now, latter in her youth. Final stanza alone - here Lochhead deviates from 1st 4 stanza's pattern, uses series of one word sentences to change the rhythm and meter, preparing for conclusion Althhough written in 2nd perosn, done so from the grandmother's POV |
| For My Grandmother Knitting Imagery | Personification: "the needles still move / their rhythms" - shows they move automatically in her hands - instinctual, like they have a life of their own. "hand-span waist": symbolic of former "attractiveness" in youth, and how people age Personification of "as if your hands remembered" hands suggests this is instinctual movemnt, in both her knitting and attempts to unite her family "gran you do too much" symbolises how through knitting so much, she's pulled the family together in an apt "tight-knit" group rather than a big disjointed mess - ironic that she does this and yet it backfires because aside from the speaker, they seem to be united against her or maybe in putting her in a home (?) |
| For My Grandmother Knitting Critical Perspectives | Marxism: "made do and mended" - highlights a society in which through lack of money of the husband being a miner, they as proletariats cannot afford to by new items so instead have to keep repairing what they already possess Feminism: Once a fierce girl who wrked as a "fisher-girl" but patriarchal society's expectations eant that she became oppressed and now in older age is only perceived in terms of domesticity. Children see her as a burden and nothing more than the role in which she served them. |
| For My Grandmother Knitting Tone | Though sweet in sentiment and feeling of respect of the life of the grandmother, there's a deeper melancholy tone. Speaker respects all the grandmother has done for the family, but we're left acknowledging that she's no longer what she once was and is becoing increasingly out-of-place in the world. Simultaneously very matter-of-fact and little callous, perhaps the speaker intonating the clinicalness of their family's actions. Mood itself is mixed, as quite sad, creating pathos for the grandmother - she has done a lot and now the family seem harsh towards her as if she's a burden, didn't work so hard for this to be her end. |
| For My Grandmother Knitting Language | Repeated (sometimes altered) "The is no need they say" reinforces isolation and increasing sense of helplessness in age. As if family trying to enforce point and she's holding her ground. "they" isolates her from children, conforms to the "us and them" idiom. Family seen as collective higher force, more powerful than the grandmother & speaker. Collective dehumanisation as if force for evil. Wordplay of "grasp" - ambiguous in meaning, for it could mean in terms of grip on kneedles or unerstanding of events and mentality Cliche "made do and mended" Silibance of "scraped and slaved slapped sometimes" hissing sound emphasises harhness of action Assonance "slit the still-ticking quick silver fish" connotes her capapbility and skill in youth. Juxtaposing images of the fierce fisher girl, the serving wife, and the now helpless grandmother: age changes people Irony of how family say there is "no neccessity" in her knitting, and yet knitting is what keeps her hands working and makes her feel like she can still contribute |
| For My Grandmother Knitting Language - Blunt adjectives and the last sentence | Blunt adjectives "swollen-jointed. Red. Arthritic. Old" force readers to face the cruelty of the ageing process. THis is what her life has come down to. Last sentence "But the needles still move/ their rhythms in the working of your hands" is same as the beginning of the poem. Ends poem with comfort that the constant knitting didn't stop despite her "them." Can note intertextual reference to the New-married Miner. "miner's back" |
| The Bargain Rhyme | FInal 3 lines rhyme adds air of finality despite the ambiguity of the end. Both aware they're at a pivotal point in their relationship, but unable to find the energy to take action. Suggests via bluntness that a decision needs to be made. |
| The Bargain Structure/Form | 10 stanzas of varying line and stanza length - shows the changing and unpredictable nature of their relationship in whcih nothing feels quite right anymore. Isolation of stanza 2 amongst rest of the poem is poignant. The distance and reflectiveness of the characters contrasts the harried, hurried and loud bustle of the markets. Changes back to loud in S3 - isolation of these emotions hints at them running deep. Enjambment between S2&3 trying not to wallow in asadness of "don't know which way" - quick change of topic, swalling misery. Caesura in the structural spacing of "beat __ sings along it's easy" spacing suggests past thoughts, wanting partner to join in but silent, reflects beat. Isolation S8 enjambment of "I keep/ loosing you and finding you" shows the struggle of their dubious relationship |
| The Bargain Tone | Cold, bleak - ties into the pathetic fallacy of January weather There's a juxtaposition in the desperation to hold the relationship together whilst the speaker is simultaneosly lacking hope for the future. At a crossroads where they either breakup or get married, yet neither seems right. "I rub my sleeve" implies feeling uncomofrtbale, drifting aparat and dont' know how to act around one another Guilt, wonders if "pimary teachers in their thirties" means he had an affair - uneasy atmopshere. |
| The Bargain Critical Perspectives | Feminism: "pin-stripe waistcoat that needs a stitch" - sexism in that the partner seems to be suggesting that he expects the speaker to mend it. However, "it just won't get" shows her potential refusal, or that he'll just get it from another woman. |
| The Bargain Language: Cliches, wordplay, irony | Cliches show tenseness in relationship: "rubbing the wrong way" "every changing tune" "so we hadn't the stomach for it today" emphasises unpredictability of each other and the difficulty of their dying relationship which they won't just put out of its misery. Wordplay in "fiberglass is flabbergasted" upbeat despite worries. Wordplay of "gilt shows through" could mean guilt? Irony in the objects they have chosen compared to theirowrth and broken state. Suggests value of them, and their relationship is dubious "Yes today we're in love, aren't we?" - Question reflects uncertainty, doubt. |
| The Bargain Imagery | Personification: "whole splintering city" emphasis on how cold (physically and emotionally) it is that it is divisive. "brazen black Victorian heart" connotes city being full of history, but stiff-upper lip and controlled, contrasting their uncertain relationship. Metaphor "flinty Northern face" - sharpness, lack of gentleness in love Symbolism of "but three bent forks a torn/ calendar (last year's)/ and a broken plastic sandal" - everything is brokoen and nothing worth salvaging, like them as a couple Symbolism of "a dartboard a peacock feather/ a stucco photoframe" - All the list symbolises artificialness in their relatinship - they're only together because they haven't broken up yet. All objects tacky&impermanent - only responsibilities, as oppose to kids. Portable - perhaps making their bond less valid, as they want security that they can up and leave. "January/ it's the doldrums of the day" metaphor for relationship IS January: cold, stagnant, reflective and lacking life once had. "beady bag" "rosewood box with the inlaid butterfly and broken catch" - won't be mended. |
| The Bargain Imagery Metaphor of the relationship as a trap | MEtaphor: "slightly cracked/ trap us into such expenditure again." Metaphorically shows how fractured they are as a unit, no longer compatible. They've been lured and trapped into the relationship for what at the time seemed like a good deal - a bargain. They're weary of what they're buying because from past experience, in terms of relationships, this seemed like the bargain it hasn't turned out to be. Want portable objects so they aren't weighed down - which is just what they feel like they've done to one another. |
| The CHoosing Form | Often uses enjambment, s if blurring through the happier memories in their childhood in the early stanzas, but then the amount of commas and full stops punctuates the thoughts and increases after the 1st volta in S4. Shows how speaker is emphaisisng the divide between her and former friend Mary. Punctuation can be seen as literally blocking their equality to each & the other sex. Separates the speaker and their life of equality from Mary's oppressed one. |
| The Choosing Imagery | Metaphor of the "full-shaped vase" hints at dramatic, significant changes to life and domesticity. Objectification of women. |
| The Choosing Language | Repetition of "equal" - irony given the inequality that comes between them. Irony in "you can see where the attraction in Mary's life lies" as she finds Mary's repression, whilst she is free to do whatever she wants and isn't tied down, repulsive. "the houses we stayed in" interesting word choice in "stayed" - as if they weren't worthy of living in homes but instead were "kept" in them by their parents. Silibance in "small school's small class" hissing, like envy or blur into one, emphasising small scale. |
| The Choosing Critical Perspectives | Feminism: One of Lochhead's most explicitly feminist poems, addressing inequality between genders, inequality between women, and the "woman's role" in society, education and choice. Gender inequality: "Mary's father...dint believe in high school education" structuring of line with "especially for girls" added on adds to power of patriarchy. Despite having wealth, he sees Mary's education as futile, indoctrinating into her traditional gender roles. "Same houses different homes" shows divide in attitudes towards women. One equal, one sexist - shows how our lives are significantly shaped by our socialisation. CLear struggle to acheive any sort of gender equality in education, so have to compete for recognition on "top table" |
| Rapunzstiltskin Language | Semantic field of fairy tale-esque language used throughout. Traditionally meant to be light, which conforms to idea of the "maiden" but juxtaposes thhe sharpness and ferocity of the speaker. "This Prince" capitalised: makes him a product and commodity - a clcihed stereotype that she's seen so many times before it's nothing unusual. Knows he'll be the same as the others. Cliches of intertextual references to otehr tales e.g., "All the better/ to see you with my dear?" - Little Red Riding Hood and use of "Why, you're beautiful?" he doesn't know how to act or speak, so instead whips out cliches like she'd have never heard them before - assumed to be passive recipient. |
| Rapunzstiltskin Form/Structure | Use of the ampersand (&) makes the poem quick and sharp - could also argue that the symbol is commonly used in fairytale titles, as if this is conforming to the structure of one of those traditional stories - yet twists upon it. Enjambment throughout, occasionally halted by . or , making to poem read like an exhale and a vent on traditional fairy tales and society's expectations of men and women, and ends quickly - lacks structure other than being 1 long stanza, just like how fairy tales are simplistic in nature. Use of italics separates the speech from the story - showing the contrast between her feminist actions and the Prince's sexism. They also draw emphasis on the cliche's the Prince speaks in, like how she's heard it all before. Reads like a fairy tale. Brackets highlight international monologue and parts that need addition, e.g., showing in casual tone how typical this is in society. (the old hag inside) |
| Rapunzstiltskin Tone | Casual anger at the male lack of understanding of women: the Prince never really has certainty in his actions amongst how he "hazarded" and "guessed" aside from his bold entry - he is nothing more than a stereotype, and doesn't have a personality of his own other than what society expects of him. Implies how he knows how to attract and find her, but not how to "save" her. Voice teenage and almost fangirlish - but simultaneously mocking how men see women and their stereotypes - he thinks she needs rescuing when she's content being single. Bemused by Prince, but also attracted to them "he did look sort of gorgeous/ axe and all" Through tone, we understand the message of the poem - stereotypes of assuming women need saving don't make a man a prince - he doesn't know how to act beyond the fairy tale cliche. A criticism of how society teaches gender performance. Casuality of "of course" and "etc" hidden frustration, and mockerig of tales - she's heard it all before and it's getting repetitive. |
| Rapunzstiltskin Imagery | "her isolation" metaphor for singleness, ties into how the "tower" in an ironic way symbolises her independence and freedom - flips the sexual politics & gender expectations - she's expected like Rapunzel to hate singleness, but likes it "look for/originality in gingerbread" - symbolic of how society's expectations of woen to take whatever partner comes along and be passive acceptors of male dominance - speaker was never told that they could choose someone for themsleves, or find "gingerbread" - metaphor for men who subvert traditional masculinity. Simile "hollered like a fireman in some soap opera" conforms to stereotypical masculine idea of men being heroic saviours "humming & pulling/ all of the pins out of her chignon" pun for letting down hair - like Rapunzel - liberty. "She gave him till/well past the bell" - symbolic of Cinderella's midnight deadline, and how she's risking things to give him a chance "keener than a TV quizmaster" etaphor for how over-eager she is for him to be different and get it right, trying to give him chances, and desperate for him to not be the same |
| Rapunzstiltskin Imagery of "cut of her hair" "tore herself in two" | "cut off her hair" shows subversion from the Rapunzel ideal she has been stereotyped to be - showing an assertion of true identity, unwilling to conform for the sake of pleasing society. Symbolises cutting off the lifeline she was giving the Prince - given up on him "tore herself in two" symbolises the Rumplestilskin-esque end, where they are given three guesses. Twists the story where Rumplestilskin does this when the right answer is given, but the "maiden" does this when he can't get anything right - shows frustration at him being just the same as all the others. |
| Rapunzstiltskin Critical Perspectives - The Maiden | FEMINISM: - Criticism of fairy tales and how even as we use them in the modern day, we are teaching people to conform to traditional stereotypes of men and women, as oppose to challenging ideas in a society of 3rd wave feminism - Subverts traditional ideas of the maiden in a story. The Prince expects her to be in need of rescuing but instead the maiden wants to have her independence and doesn't want to be saved just for the sake of societal expectations. She challenges him, although physically attracted to him, she doesn't want another commodified duplicate of all the other stereotypical masculine men, but someone who is an individual. She gives him chances in the hope that he'll be different, but when he isn't she gets frustrated - thinking it better to be angered and alone than be ignorant and with others |
| Rapunzstiltskin Critical Perspectives - The Prince | Prince conforms to traditional hegemonic masculinity of fierceness and bold heroics. Believes that a woman cannot naturally be sexual but instead needs to be influenced by men hence the "sex manuals" Despite the physical attractiveness, he isn't what the maiden wants, because beyond the stereotypical cliche lines, he doesn't know how to interact with her or how to treat women. Criticism of traditional masculinity and ideas of men being saviours, when that just reaffirms the ideals of sexist society - puts across the message that it is more important to be individual and independent of the crowd rather than going along with it and conforming to a stereotype - which is the opposite of what fairy tales teach. Fairy tales make people aspire to be the stereotypes, but that is incompatible with modern society's views. |
| My Rival's House Form/Structure | Constructed in free verse using an irregular meter - but recognisable rhythm within this Occasional rhyme e.g., pararhyme of "satin" and "sink in" Divided into 6 stanzas of unequal length. Heavily punctuated including enjambment, leading to a clipped, stunted style, as if their is little rapport between the speaker and rival - conversation is difficult and brief. Could suggest interuption or silencing, rival competing for son's affections. Volta at "And yet I have so much to thank her for" - shows partial guilt in the relationship they have, because without her she wouldn't have her fiance |
| My Rival's House Critical Perspectives | Feminism? in how the son has complete ignorance for the competition between his mother and fiancee, yet seems to like the idea of women fighting over him? Marxism: images in semantic field of wealth in s1 & 2 - "Ormolu" "satin" "velvet" "parquet floor" - shows her wealth and contrast to the speaker. Bourgeois nature means she looks down upon the speaker, who is different from what she expected in a potential daughter-in-law. Wealth equates to dominance "Lady" & "Queen" both symbols of high status and power, but are belittled through cliche - suggests speakers hatred for someone who through wealth has domiance over her. |
| My Rival's House Tone | Reverent early on, especially in S2 "shuffle stocking-soled, tiptoe" creates trepidation and uncertainty, as if the speaker feels they are always walking on egg shells around the rival. "daughterly" is an unsure assertion - knows they will never gain the familial respect of the rival, and implies uneasy tone of feeling unwelcome and out of place in a world unlike their own. Tone of mockery throughout in "Lady of the House" and "Queen bee" cliches - has little respect for the rival and sees through their "surface colour" to their true nature, but is concerned for the fact that she is relentless in her hatred of the speaker, yet is willing to fight against it. |
| My Rival's House Imagery | Perfection of the furniture ties into the formality of the rival, suggesting that she has to keep her hatred of the speaker in check in front of her son. Furniture and protecton of the furniture could be symbolic of how uptight the rival is. "Dust-/cover, drawn shade,/ won't let the surface colour fade" metaphor for how the rival keeps a facade, and won't let true colours truly how. "I am all edges" metaphor for how she doesn't fit into the rival's smooth, pristine world, and instead is seen as a threat. Her "edges" could damage her "polished" world - isn't what the rival wanted in a daughter-in-law. "a shell" metaphor for how she is never herself around the rival, but retreats due to the threats "She dishes up her dreams for breakfast" - metaphor for power and contorl rival wants over son's life. Has expectations for his future "salt tears pepper our soup" juxtaposing salt and pepper are metaphor for mainuplation and duplicitous nature. |
| My Rival's House Language | Semantic field of protection and concealment - "capped tooth" "Dust-/cover" "Tables polished clear enough to see distortions in" all show how she has some wealth, but wants to preserve all items from damage - these scattered images throughout the poem could be an allegory for how protective she is of her son - and wants to protect him from the damage from his partner of "edges" could bring. Silibance "cushions so stiff you can't sink in" "Silver sugar-tongs and silver salver" create hisisng soun, protection, threat Wordplay of "silver salver" duplicitous nature Cliches of "scot free" and "sour potluck" show how speak feels trapped, can never escape criticism and feels she got unlucky in terms of parents-in-law "Lady of the house" and "Queen bee" show her welath from regal titles, but also her power and dominance over her son. |
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