The Lammas Hireling Flashcards
What is this poem a retelling of?
Based on supernatural ‘hare folklore’ - an Irish belief that witches sometimes took the form of hares
What are the themes in this poem?
mystery, supernatural, atmosphere
‘light heart and a heavy purse’
polysemic ( 1. literal visual light or weight) the proverbial/antithesis is suggestive of the guilt/ something amiss
‘mine only dropped heifers, fat as cream. / Yields doubled’
listing to emphasise the farming is deeply impressed, suggestive of supernatural presence
‘That knew when to shut up.’
juxtaposes with ‘heart’ - queer reading? / demotic lang / end stop - blunt tone raises more questions than answers about farmer - did he actually murder his wife?
‘disturbed from dreams of my dear late wife’
plosive alliteration - harsh, aggressive tone raises questions about his relationship with his wife
‘hunted down’ ‘pale form’
metaphor - predatory nature
revisits ideas about super nature - vague lang?
‘to go into the hare gets you muckle sorrow’
raising questions about why he feels sorrow - duel meaning 1. lovers 2. sorrow about hiring warlock/ feels transgressive
‘the moon came out’
gothic convention - transformation - good to evil
‘lovely head’ ‘top lip’
alluding to queer reading - intimate description of physicality - farmer feels deep sense of guilt/regret
‘grew lighter’
polysemic - 1. physically lighter 2.mentally - not guilty
‘Bless me, Father for I have sinned./ It has been an hour since my last confession’
religious terminology - priest - admittance of guilt / revisits sticking sense of ambiguity / places reader in position of judgement
What form is the poem in?
dramatic monologue - capture magic and mystery of folklore - creates a sense of wonderment, intrigue and ambiguity
What does this poem imitate?
16th century border ballads - folk songs that are violent and contain configurations - pagan imagery vs christian
