Aunt Julia Flashcards
What is the poem about?
- Norman MacCaig’s Aunt Julia lived on Scalpay, a small island off the coast of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. She lived a traditional, hardworking life on a croft and she spoke only her native Gaelic language.
MacCaig sometimes described himself as three quarters Gaelic - three of his grandparents were Gaels and his mother came from the same small island. He was born and brought up in Edinburgh, however, and knew Scalpay only from visits. - He developed a deep affinity with the people, landscape and culture of Gaelic North West Scotland from his visits there.
- As is evident in the poem, MacCaig felt a strong attachment to his Aunt Julia despite the language barrier that existed between them. This is one of the most memorable of his studies of Highland characters.
Julia is depicted in a series of striking metaphors that show how the young narrator connects her with three elements of nature - earth, water and air. - The reason for this regret is that only after Julia’s death did the poet learn enough Gaelic to be able to communicate with her. Hence, all the questions that he would have asked to her must now remain unanswered, just as her questions to him as a child had been.
Form and structure first stanza -? second stanza -? third stanza -? fourth stanza- ? concluding stanza - ?
This is an autobiographical poem so the poet employs a first person narrative stance.
Like all MacCaig poetry, part of its success lies in his skilful and effective use of accessible language.
Writing in free verse helps to create a conversational style and tone, while the use of enjambment and repetition allow him to emphasise key aspects of the poem.
The poem is divided into five stanzas, each with a specific focus:
- The first introduces the subject of the poem - Aunt Julia.
- The second describes her physical appearance and the objects MacCaig most strongly associates with her.
- In the third stanza, the perspective moves to the way the poet felt when he visited her.
- In the fourth, he uses personification to create a sense of her character.
- The concluding stanza reflects his frustration that he could not communicate effectively with his aunt while she was alive. It also expresses his enduring affection and admiration for her.
“I could not answer her, I could not understand her,”
Repetition
- The speaker states I could not answer her, I could not understand her, immediately establishing one of the main themes - frustration at barriers in communication.
- Despite this language barrier he goes on to draw a picture of a strong, capable and passionate woman who created a haven of safety and security for the young boy in her house.
- Clarity and lucidity were qualities MacCaig constantly worked for in his poetry. They are evident in this opening stanza with its series of straightforward statements.
“I could not”
The poem has freshness and charm. This stems from the fact it is with the eyes and ears of a child that he remembers Aunt Julia. The repetition of I could not reinforces the idea of the barrier in communication.
In spite of this inability to understand or be understood, the tone is affectionate. This emphasises that, even without a common language, strong bonds can be created.
Already in this vivid description we have the impression of Julia as a dynamic, vigorous and forceful character.
“men’s boots”
- Imagery
The poet begins to create a picture of a woman who lives a life close to the soil in this rural landscape.
Her work is physically demanding, both out of doors and within her house. She is often barefoot but if shod, wears practical men’s boots and the poet clearly admires her completing these tasks with capability.
A middle-aged woman seated outside operating a spinning wheel
We see her engaged in one of the duties of her domestic life, spinning. This is a skill heavily associated with island life - Harris is famous for producing tweed.
“paddling with the treadle of the spinningwheel”
- Contrast
The long line paddling with the treadle of the spinningwheel accentuates the lengthiness of the spinning process. It also creates a sense of movement and activity which MacCaig associates with his aunt.
In almost every description of her in the poem she is either in motion or speaking. This creates stark contrast with the shocking, silent finality of her death in the final stanza.
“drew yarn/marvellously”
- Commanilty of visiting (idea of magic)
As he continues to recall the spinning process, the description of her right hand drew yarn/marvellously out of the air conveys the air of magic or illusion about the task. It is almost entrancing for the young boy watching.
“absolute darkness” and “hers”
Imagery and Metaphor
- It is enclosed and comforting. He vividly remembers lying in the absolute darkness listening to crickets being friendly. Again the affection he feels for her is evident in the decision to open this stanza with the pronoun “Hers,” emphasising her significance to him.
“winds pouring wetly/round house-ends”
- Personification
In the poet’s memory Julia becomes intertwined with the natural forces of wind and rain, in the description of the winds pouring wetly/round house-ends.
In stanza four, MacCaig employs personification to compare his aunt with the elements he associates with the landscape - the wind and water, and with the objects and garments that most strongly evoke her.
She appears to him to be vivid, larger than life. She is so connected with the landscape that she becomes part of it. The observations are those of a child, fascinated by both the curious and the ordinary.
“flouncing”
Again the impression conveyed is of a woman in constant motion. The transferred epithet used in the flouncing water gives a description of the deliberate, vigorous way she moved.
These metaphors extend beyond merely describing Julia as an individual. She is also a symbol associated with, or representative of, the particular landscape, lifestyle and culture of this geographical area.
Aunt Julia epitomises the specific way of life of the crofting islanders who worked the land in a harsh, unforgiving climate.
“silence”
Contrast
- The contrast between the loud, talkative, vibrant Aunt Julia in life and the utter, absolute quiet of death is emphasised using enjambment to position silenced at the opening of line five.
The tone seems almost accusatory, as if blaming death for suffocating and stopping her voice.
“black”
- Commanlity of darkness (visting hour, memorial)
This sinister, unsettling tone continues in describing the absolute black of her grave.
Unlike the comforting security of the absolute darkness of the box bed in the third stanza, the subtle shift from darkness to black conveys the frighteningly bleak void of death.
“But I hear her still, welcoming me/with a seagull’s voice”
Instead of sustaining this melancholic, maudlin tone though, the speaker seems to challenge the finality of death - But I hear her still, welcoming me/with a seagull’s voice She has left such a strong impression on him he can still vividly imagine her calling to him in welcome.
“hundred yards”
Her voice is loud, carrying across a hundred yards. It is shrill like a seagull’s piercing cry. Again, the metaphor used connects her to the natural world which played such a huge part in her life.
” getting angry, getting angry, with so many questions, unanswered.”
The poem ends with the poet imagining her getting angry, getting angry, with so many questions, unanswered.
The final word is left on a line of its own. This reinforces the speaker’s enduring sense of frustration. The ending of the poem is somewhat ambiguous and could be interpreted in a number of ways.
The questions he alludes to could represent, literally, her questions to the boy, which he was unable to answer as he had no Gaelic. Or they could represent all the questions he would have loved to ask but was unable to until it was too late.
Moving beyond the literal, the questions could represent the more universal queries we all have about the meaning and mysteries of life itself.
