Eavan Boland Flashcards
(75 cards)
1
Q
Front:
A
2
Q
What does the image “Idle as trout in light” from The Famine Road suggest?
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3
Q
A
4
Q
Back:
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5
Q
It evokes helplessness and passivity of the starving workers
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who are barely surviving—mirroring the indifference of those in power.
6
Q
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7
Q
Front:
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8
Q
How does Boland highlight female suffering in The Famine Road?
A
9
Q
A
10
Q
Back:
A
11
Q
Through the doctor’s cold remark to the woman: “take it well woman
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grow / your garden
12
Q
A
13
Q
Front:
A
14
Q
What is the significance of “carriage-horses / dragged it up those roads”?
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15
Q
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16
Q
Back:
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17
Q
It shows the absurd
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cruel nature of the Famine roads—built for punishment rather than purpose—emphasizing suffering caused by authority.
18
Q
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19
Q
🔹Poem: This Moment
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20
Q
Front:
A
21
Q
What moment is captured in This Moment?
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22
Q
A
23
Q
Back:
A
24
Q
A quiet
A
domestic evening scene—possibly a mother watching her child—filled with tension
25
26
Front:
27
What does “Apples sweeten in the dark” symbolize?
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Back:
30
It suggests natural growth and change occurring quietly
representing both literal ripening and emotional maturation.
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Front:
33
How does Boland use setting in This Moment?
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35
Back:
36
Simple details like “A neighbourhood. / At dusk.” ground the poem in the suburban everyday while elevating it to something magical.
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38
🔹Poem: Love
39
Front:
40
What is the emotional tone of Love?
41
42
Back:
43
Melancholic and nostalgic—marked by longing for a lost closeness and emotional connection.
44
45
Front:
46
Interpret “You walk away and I cannot follow.”
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Back:
49
Represents emotional distance or even death—expressing pain of separation and the limits of love.
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Front:
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Why is the setting of the Iowa River important?
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Back:
55
It personalizes the memory
anchoring the mythic tone in a real
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🔹Poem: The War Horse
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Front:
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What does the horse symbolize in The War Horse?
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Back:
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It represents violence and conflict (possibly The Troubles)
intruding into the speaker’s safe suburban world.
63
64
Front:
65
Explain “Only a leaf of our laurel hedge is torn— / just a leaf.”
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Back:
68
Minimizes the damage
reflecting society’s tendency to ignore or understate political violence and injustice.
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70
Front:
71
How does Boland criticize suburban detachment in The War Horse?
72
73
Back:
74
By showing how people witness violence (“we
we are safe”) but remain uninvolved
75
