Liz lochhead Flashcards
(22 cards)
Too ordinary to be nostalgia
Suggests that the mother is a prominent figure in her and she thinks about her a lot
Down on her hands and knees
Shows that she is hardworking and we feel sympathy for her because it’s on Hogmanay
Still giving it elbow grease
Suggests that the speaker admires her because she’s trying her best to make the house clean and tidy for New Years
Evidence of working class in “View of Scotland: Love Poem”
- Sockeyed salmon, normally tinned food isn’t appealing but she’s trying to display a good meal with what she can afford
- Vinolay suggests that she has cheap carpeting and that she can’t afford premium carpets
- The way she is cleaning shows the typical west Scotland middle class notion of being proud of the house
View of Scotland love poem
Pleasant tone
“Darling” shows that she’s close to her partner and loves him
“The Bells” shows that this is a time of celebration and hope in the people
“We didn’t know we were the happiness we wished each other”- literally they are each other’s happiness but it shows how much this relationship means to them.
“Wi as minny heads as days in the year” Scottish dialect adds humour and this is a typical Scottish prank played and adds a playful tone
Box Room
Difficult relationship with the mother
“She smiled” - could be seen as passive aggressive.
“She put me in my place” - pun and it shows that she feels disrespected by the mother
“Peace to unpack” she quotes the mother out of sarcasm feels the mother doesn’t care about her
“He brings a Friend” - capitalisation of friend shows that she doesn’t mean so much to her boyfriend that she doesn’t deserve the role she think she has
Change of mood: she loses confidence
“Peace to unpack but I found none”- she is restless in the room
“Spare room” - she feels that she doesn’t have a significant place in the boyfriends life she is superfluous
“Laugh it off in self defence”- she feels antagonised by the mother; threatened by the mother
“Persistent fear elbows me” her fear is tormenting her and she’s worried if her relationship will ever stay
Speaker feeling worthless and isolated
“Egg collection shatters me” - pun with the shattering shows her confidence in the relationship shattering but the eggs also represent the boyfriends past relationships.
“But where do I fit in the picture”- she is questioning the role she fills in the boyfriends life, she feels excluded
Revelation:
Terrifying nature of the bull
“Held my hand”- shows that the bull is terrifying and she needs protection from it
“They called him Bob” - irony that such a thing is given a simple name trying to hide it’s scary nature but doesn’t work
“Monster” - shows that the bull must be feared
“Merging with the darkness” - the idea that the bull camouflages himself in the dark, he could come out of anywhere which creates fear in the girls heart
Contrast of masculinity:
“Oblivious hens” - suggests that females are small and petite compared to the massive masculine bull
“Placidity of milk” - shows that women are calm and collected and do what they’re told
“Self contained… anarchy” contrast of masculinity and femininity, women can control themselves where men can’t they’re aggressive and let hell loose essentially.
Danger she encountered
Big boys- alliteration of harsh b sound shows the threat they pose to the speaker
Pluck wings off of butterflies- shows the anarchist nature of the boys they destroy everything beautiful.
Pigtails thumping on my back- the thumping reflects how fast her heart is beating and how frightened she is
The bargain
Establishing atmosphere
“Fast and high”- the rivers volume and speed suggests there is a threat.
“Twitch and fret” - suggests nervousness and a tense atmosphere
Mention of police could suggest dangerous criminal activity nearby
Change of mood in Stanza 2
She is unsure about the continuation of the relationship
She looks “back” at the history of the relationship but she also looks forward and isn’t sure if the relationship is gonna continue
Shift of mood again
Tense and uncertain to joyful
“Boy with the beautiful Bakelite lights” enjambment shows the boys excitement compared to the tension in The previous stanza
“Button hopping station hopping” the ing shows the grooviness and mimics the boys dancing
“Beautiful” contrasts to the ugly losers in the previous part
Fate of the relationship
Speaker is caught up in romance where her boyfriend is aloof
“Glint” shows a flicker of light therefore happiness and there isn’t much happiness there, shows that she’s desperate for a sign of affection.
“Glad eye” shows happiness therefore affection towards her boyfriend
My rivals house
Tense atmosphere
“Peopled with many surfaces”- shows that the house is overcrowded and the speaker is uncomfortable
“Cushions so stiff” shows that the cushions are rigid and she can’t even relax anywhere in the house.
“Slipper satin” - sibilance to show there’s danger nearby
Attitude towards the mother
She doesn’t like the mother
“What squirms beneath her surface”
Speaker thinks that the mother is hiding her true self and that she’s being fake.
“She thinks she knows me well” it shows that the girl feel she’s unsubstantial and has to act in front of the mother.
Power of the rival
“Thank her for the son she bore” - feels that she is indebted to the mother for giving her love
“She has even taken that away from me” even is a qualifier to show that the mother has taken everything from her, complete invasion.
“Lady of the house” shows that she is the most important figure in the house
Ending of the poem
“She won’t give up” the mother is resilient she won’t stop without a fight she’ll keep fighting with the speaker
“Salt tears pepper our soup” the gustatory language shows that she overwhelms them with her bad intentions about the relationship.
Conflict of emotions
Last supper
Determination and uncertainty
“She is getting good and ready to renounce”- shows that she is prepared to end the relationship but the use of the present continuous shows she’s not quite sure or ready
“Not just for lent but forever” short sentence shows her main focus and determination to fulfil her goal.
“Assembling the ingredients”- shows that she is contained and knows what she’s doing
Use of rhetorical questions and parentheses show that she’s not quite ready or she’s second guessing herself about her decision
Further enhancing breakup
“Leftover hash”- suggests that they’ll make a meal about the relationship and try to eat and gain some sort of emotional satisfaction from it
“Render from the bones”- to the bones suggests that they’ll go to lengths to fulfill their needs & they’ll cook something out of the relationship to get satisfaction.
Metaphor about the girlfriends
“Cackling around the caldron” shows that the girls are scheming something bad and don’t care about the girls relationship
“Gnawing on the knuckle bone”- repeated n sound shows how deep they feed into the relationship getting into the nitty gritty of her relationship
“Petit gout mouthfuls” they have little to feed on and “reported speech” suggests that they don’t care for the truth they’ll suffice with whatever
“Munching the lies fat and sizzling as sausages” they relish upon the lies of the relationship it fills them up it seems that they’re only there for the gossip.
