Material Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is the basis of the extended metaphor used in the poem Material?
handkerchiefs
What technique is used in the phrase ‘hanky queen’ (Material)
Oxymoron
Why does the speaker in Material call her mother ‘the hanky queen’?
This oxymoronic metaphor presents the mother as both respected and down-to-earth.
In Material, why does the poet juxtapose ‘paper tissues’ from ‘late-night garages’ with hankies being ‘things of cloth’ for ‘waving out of trains’
The speaker contrasts the temporary and generic modern world with a more romantic, meaningful past.
What technique is used here: - ‘spittled and scrubbed against my face’ (Material)
sibilance
In Material, why does the speaker refer to the mother’s actions (‘spittled and scrubbed against my face’) through sibilant verbs?
To present her as embodying a form of practical, hands-on love.
What technique is used here in the poem Material? ‘And sometime more than one fell out // as if she had a farm up there // where dried up hankies fell in love // and mated, raising little squares.’
Simile
In Material, why does the speaker humorously imagine the mother having a ‘farm’ up her sleeve ‘where dried-up hankies fell in love
Through this image, the speaker presents the mother as a nurturing, loving figure.
In Material, when referring to the past, the speaker describes ‘greengrocer George with his dodgy foot’ and ‘Mrs White, with painted talons’. Why?
She presents the past as defined by a sense of community and friendliness. This is later contrasted with the generic, impersonal modern world.
In Material, how is the regular structure and form temporarily broken?
When reminiscing about the past (stanzas 5 & 6) the regular rhyme scheme disappears as does the octave stanza structure.
In Material, why is the regular structure and form broken as the speaker reminisces about the past?
This is perhaps intended to show how the speaker becomes lost in the evocative memories of this bygone era.
After reminiscing about the past, what does the speaker in Material realise when she says ‘nostalgia only makes me old’?
She realises that, although looking back is seductive, she has to find her own place in the modern world.
How is there a shift in the final stanza of the poem Material?
We see a shift in voice, as the speaker imagines her mother’s words: this is your material/To do with, daughter, what you will.
Why might we suggest that the poem Material uses a regular rhyme scheme?
The regular rhyme scheme of the poem is suggestive of the more formal era the poet is evoking. It also perhaps suggests the constraints which the past still places on the narrator.
