The Shadow Doll by Eavan Boland Flashcards
In ‘The Shadow Doll’ by Eavan Boland, what description if given of the making of the shadow doll?
“They stitched blooms from the ivory tulle
to hem the oyster gleam of the veil.
They made hoops for the crinoline”
Give a quote shows the lifeless quality of the shadow doll in ‘The Shadow Doll’ by Eavan Boland
“airless glamour”
What are the themes in ‘The Shadow Doll’ by Eavan Boland?
Control and oppression
Women’s rights
What is the structure of ‘The Shadow Doll’ by Eavan Boland?
○Six stanzas of three lines
○Very structured
○Very controlled, just like the Victorian bride
What is the impact of the repetition and rhyme in the final lines of the poem ‘The Shadow Doll’ by Eavan Boland? (give the quote too)
“…pressing down, then
pressing down again. And then, locks.”
○Repetition of ‘pressing down’ and ‘then’
○’then’ and ‘again’ rhyme’
○Words in these closing lines mirror the gesture itself
○Punctuation and final verb click the case and sentence into place
○Very final and decisive
“Under glass…
“Under glass, under wraps, it stays
even now, after all, discreet about
visits, fevers, quickenings and lusts”
“…she could…
“… she could see herself
inside it all”
”..never feeling…
“…never feeling
satin rise and fall”
“astray…
“astray among the cards and wedding gifts -
the coffee pots and the clocks”
“the battered…
“the battered tan case full of cotton
lace and tissue-paper, pressing down, then
pressing down again. And then, locks.”
