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Norman MacCaig Poetry > Aunt Julia > Flashcards

Flashcards in Aunt Julia Deck (30)
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1
Q

Describe the structure/form of the poem

A
  • The poem is in the first person narrative, which highlights how this is a personal recollection
  • The poem is in free verse with irregular line length, no pronounced rhythm and regular rhyme scheme. As a result the poem reads as more like an autobiographical extract
  • This poem is in free verse which corresponds with aunt Julia’s eccentricity and unpredictability.
  • 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 still retains poetic structure which allows the poet’s repetitions to stand out e.g: “Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic/ very loud and very last” Aunt Julia’s Gaelic culture is clearly the aspect of Aunt Julia which fascinates the poet – probably because it makes her so different from most of the other people that he knows.
2
Q

What three elements of nature is Aunt Julia depicted through metaphors of nature?

A

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.

3
Q

How does the poem end with a tone of regret?

A

The last stanza introduces a tone of regret before ending with a picture of the larger than life character calling to him still “getting angry, getting angry/with so many questions unanswered.”
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.

4
Q

Outline the specific focus in each of the 5 Stanza’s

A
  • 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.
5
Q

Comment on the words used in this stanza and the poet’s use of repetition.

• What feeling does it create?

A

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. The simplistic language stems from the fact it is with the eyes and ears of a child that he remembers Aunt Julia, potentially highlighting his ignorance to his cultural identity. The repetition of “I could not” reinforces the idea of the barrier in communication.

“very loud and very fast” - repetition of very emphasises her vitality and life. The use of straightforward language reflects her straightforward and practical nature. The words “loud and fast” give a sense of energy

6
Q

Comment on how the punctuation in the first stanza creates a sense of impatience and frustration

A

The end stops and closed punctuation suggest that he was close minded and didn’t wish to understand gaelic.

7
Q

What impression of Aunt Julia are we given in the first stanza?

A

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.

8
Q

How does MacCaig create an impression of strength in the 2nd stanza?

A

The poet begins to create a picture of a woman who lives a life close to the soil in this rural landscape.

“Men’s boots” - shows how she was a strong woman who didn’t conform to society and she was a labourer, just as strong as a man.

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.

“Strong foot” - She is both physically and ideologically strong, placement at the end on line highlights this
“Stained with peat” - she is strongly connected connected to her landscape, crofting rural lifestyle and her cultural heritage

She is burly, and shows a sense of power and strength.

9
Q

What do you think are the key words in the second half of Stanza Two? – Consider the words ‘paddling’ and ‘marvellously’.

A

The long line “paddling with the treadle of the spinning wheel” accentuates the lengthiness of the spinning process. It also creates a sense of movement and activity which MacCaig associates with his aunt. “Paddling” links her to water, which is a natural image

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.

The long vowels in “her hand drew yarn” elongate the line. This helps to convey the impression of the wool being stretched out and made taut.
The use of the present tense throughout this stanza creates a sense of immediacy and shows how vividly and readily he can still access these memories.

10
Q

Stanza 3
• There is not much description of the woman here but rather a sense of the feeling of safety and comfort she creates.
• How does MacCaig create this feeling?

A

In stanza three we see that the language barrier was surmounted by an instinctive bond between the speaker and his aunt. As a result, the young boy feels safe and secure in the dark island of the box bed in Aunt Julia’s home.

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.

11
Q

What does MacCaig employ in stanza four to describe his aunt?

A

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.

12
Q

How is aunt Julia linked to water and air in stanza four?

A

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.

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.”
It highlights how she had to work in very harsh conditions. The line has a lyrical lilt as created by the alliteration. The fact she is linked to two elements shows her power. Wind is an elemental force which brings the life giving property of water.

13
Q

Describe the metaphor “she was buckets and water flouncing into them”

A

Word choice: “buckets”
A sturdy object which carries on a sense of moral and physical strength. She wasn’t particularly attractive, just functional. A bucket is vital to life by carrying water.
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.

14
Q

What mundane domestic objects was she associated with?

A

At the same time he remembers her through a series of mundane domestic objects.

She was “buckets/and water flouncing into them” and also “brown eggs, black skirts/and a keeper of threepennybits”

15
Q

What is the impact of the metaphors used in stanza four?

A

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. Despite the arduousness of this lifestyle, there is a pride and honesty to this life that the speaker obviously admires.

Julia could even be taken to symbolise the land and elements themselves in this part of the world – difficult at times, yet ultimately providing an honest, noble self-sufficient existence.

16
Q

Discuss the poet’s feelings towards AJ- nostalgia, love, respect, awe- and show how word choice, repetition ect builds this up.

A

The final stanza opens by repeating the opening lines of the poem - “Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic/very loud and very fast.” However a darker tone enters the poem at this point.

By the time MacCaig had learned a little Gaelic, his aunt was dead, lying silenced in her grave.

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.
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.

17
Q

Discuss the change of mood / tone in last stanza- how word choice achieves this.

A

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.

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.

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.

The repetition of the word angry in these final three lines suggests MacCaig is warning us to hold onto and cherish the culture and heritage of the island way of life.

He is afraid if we allow it to die, like Aunt Julia, then it too will be lost forever.

18
Q

What does Aunt Julia deal with

A

Aunt Julia’ deals with his relationship with his Aunt and the effect her death had on him.
• In it the poet celebrates her life force.
• MacCaig has often said that he has no belief in the traditional Christian view of a God or a heaven.
• However he seems to have no answer to the mystery of death and through reading this poem we can share something of his grief and anger when faced with the final reality of her death.

19
Q

Wry Humour in Aunt Julia

A

Metaphor: “she was buckets and water flunking into them”

Wry humour is used to affectionately create the picture of Aunt Julia who was part of the Highland landscape. The metaphors are both practical and sensible like her, but also witty in describing a child’s view of this powerful woman to suggest the significant impression she had on him. MacCaigs poetry often used wry humour which serves to highlight his more serious point

20
Q

Mans’s flaws and failings in Aunt Julia

A

The flaw is that we don’t realise peoples worth/culture or our heritage until it/they are dead

“I could not answer her -
I could not understand her”

He has an inability to communicate with her as child and he only learns gaelic in later life once its too late “by the time I had learned a little, she lay silence in the absolute black” there is a clear tone of regret and frustration . “getting angry, getting angry with so many questions unanswered”

“loud” versus “silenced”

She had been quietened by death and cannot speak to him now.
This could be referring to what he should have asked her when she was alive but its now too late.

21
Q

Quotes for celebration of natural beauty

A

“she was winds pouring wetly round house ends” - metaphor

“she was buckets and water flouncing into them” - metaphor

“welcoming me with a seagulls voice” - metaphor

“Crickets being friendly” - onomatopoeia and personification

22
Q

Quotes for man’s relationship with nature

A

Aunt Julia is still connected to nature after death, reincarnation “welcoming me with a seagull’s voice”

“getting angry, getting angry: - poet is frustrated because after she dies he finally realises what he has lost, she represented nature and crofting life. He therefore is afraid that if he neglect nature and traditional Scottish culture and heritage it will be lost forever, like aunt julia

“crickets being friendly”

23
Q

Change in speaker

A

“I could not answer her -
I could not understand her”

Change

wc “learned” and alliteration “learned a little”

“getting angry, getting angry with so many questions unanswered”

Wc “stained”

Change

“she was buckets and water flouncing into them”

24
Q

appealing to the senses

A

“crickets being friendly” - onomatopoeic

Synesthesia “winds pouring wetly”

“water flouncing”

“seagulls voice” implied sound

“absolute darkness”

25
Q

Love in Aunt Julia

A

“absolute darkness” - he should feel fear but she makes him feel safe and comforted

even after death they maintain their relationship

“welcoming me with a seagulls voice”

26
Q

Acceptance of death

A

“silenced in the absolute black” - contrasts to darkness, her death has forced him to accept she is no longer lively and after death her presence can be felt through nature

“hear her welcoming me with a seagulls voice” - he can connect with her after death through nature but he knows he is dead

27
Q

Theme of loss: How is it presented?

A
  • MacCaig uses personal experience to convey loss
  • His use of language emphasises the pain of loss
  • MacCaig uses loss as a vehicle to explore the finality of death
28
Q

How is the description os his aunt being “silenced in the absolute back” effective?

A

It contrasts with the vivid description of her life, which was full of energy. Death is seen as empty and bleak.

29
Q

What is the atmosphere/mood of the poem?

A

Nostalgic, regretful , affectionate

30
Q

Links with Other Poems

A

Because of it Personal and Experience related content - Aunt Julia can be linked with all other poems

  • Basking Shark: Both poems describe an experience and a character vividly
  • Visiting Hour: Both poems describe a relative and the feelings related to them
  • Memorial: both poems explore feelings/themes of loss and grief
  • Sounds of the day: both poems explore the theme of loss
  • Assisi: both poems use vivid imagery when describing a character/person