effects Flashcards
(23 cards)
effects title
introduces the idea of the association between objects and identity- her ‘effects’
or
effect of her belongings- speaker feels guilty and regret
I held her hand
synecdoche represents the mother
that was always scarred/ from chopping, slicing/ in the bowls of washing-up, that was raw, the knuckles reddened, rough from scrubbing hard,
use of asyndethic listing characterises her as a resilient provider and associates her identity with a traditional WC mum of the old gen- contintious sense of care throughout his childhood
at saucepan, frying pan, cup and plate, and giving love the only way she knew
domestic listing of objects = associates her identity with the nurture the speaker received growing up
and I saw that they had taken off her rings
beginning to lose her identity with age and illness- traditional image of marriage importance ass with traditional mother
emph idea of objects being connected with her identity
(scent-sprays, tortoise-shell combs, a snap or two from when we went on holiday abroad)
paranthesis and listing depicts how the speaker reminisces
items reflects the significance of her identity - use of anecdotes + memories
she wanted everyone to know that she was his wife
only now that he was dead.
his mother’s own suffering after his father’s death = leads to her change in identity as she grieves
anecdotal tone- speaker considers the impact on his mother - decisive use of endstop reflects the finality of death = has a deep impact on his mother
and her watch?/ class ladies’ model, gold strap- it was gone,/ and I’d never known her to not have that on
caesura emph the mother’s loss of identity as the speaker zooms in again on the object + detailed description places her in the old gen
speaker’s simplistic descrption vs significance of the object to her identity
sat together/ watching game shows I’d disdain/ and not when my turn came to cook for her
speaker’s regret and guilt becomes to build up
anecdotal story - speaker regrets the sense of disdain her felt towards her - looking back now feels differently - diff between old and new gen
familiar flavours that she said she preferred/ to whatever ‘foreign funny stuff’
use of colloquial language/ apostrophes emph the divide between the old and new gen identities
Not all the weeks I didn’t come/ Not later in the psychiatric ward
repeated use of negators reflects the speaker’s self criticisms as he feels more regret for his actions- emph by caesura as he becomes remorseful and more emotional
from the knives that lay in wait
speaker expresses initial regret for the things he said to his mother- believes it caused her damage when it was actually her role as WC - beginning of the speaker’s perceived self criticism?
night after night
mother’s prolonged suffering as she’s isolated- parallelism
blinked and poured/ drink after drink, and gulped and stared- the scotch that, when she was alive, would never touch
pattern lang/monotony of the mother’s actions reflects how she copes with her grief and suffering as it changes her (becomes associated with the object of alcohol)
where she blinked unseeing/ and she took her pills and blinked and stared
motif of sight reflects the mother’s deterioration in old age which contrasts with her previous identity as a WC mother- uses of compounding/syndeton emph this idea it’s continious
I was born, or grew up and learned contempt
self criticism reflects his own suffering as he expresses them when trying to be anecdotal about his mother- his remorse is associated with her?
to drown some “poor soul’s” moans and curses
compounding reflects how the mother is environmentally surrounded by agony and suffering
as the others shuffled around and drooled and swore
polysyndethic list reveals the reversal in roles and the permanent damage the age/illness has had on her as she becomes almost childlike- expects a degree of care from speaker which is absent- emph his own guilt as his mother is helpless
but now she lay there with her name on it smudged black ink
objects reflect her fading identity- no longer clear as she transforms and loses herself/ her reality
on the hand I held, a blotched and crinkled hand/ whose fingers couldn’t clasp mine anymore
sp to synecdoche of the mother’s hands reflects her aged identity where illness has made her transform to a weak/vuln elderly women - she is unable to clasp the reality with her son where she is still resilient
Please don’t leave me/ but of course I left
use of italics= direct speech and the mother’s helplessness and desperation jxtp with the speaker’s cold exit (argument marker)
his perceived cruelty reveals his self criticism as he believed he abandoned her and made her suffer more
a nurse bring me the little bag of her effects to me.
repeated idea of objects associated with her purpose and identity- has been reduced to small items as she’s lost her life and identity
2nd use of endstop in poem suggests the finality of her life/ tragic resolution is emph
analyse structure effects
one stanza- speaker’s one emotional moment of thinking/thought towards his mother- confused and overwhelmed
frequent caesura/irregular rhyme/enj - speaker’s thought is scattered and riddled with guilt- cannot tell anecdote without resentment for himself
