Material - Key themes Flashcards
Ros Barber
How is childhood explored?
Throughout ‘Material’ there is strong consideration of childhood and childhood experiences, with the narrator looking at how situations have changed and developed over time and everything that has been lost in that time.
How is identity explored?
Core principals of the mother and narrator are considered, with their actions and opinions being used to build up the identity presented to the reader. There is also the concept of societal identity which can be interpreted as being alluded to in the poem, and how different objects or customs can be very important even if their physical value is low.
How is the past and present explored?
There is a clear transition of time in this poem, shown through the language and imagery as readers move from the nostalgic past to the more uncertain present, with considerations made for the future too. This would be quite noticeable to a reader because of the speed of the transition, in a similar way to ‘The Fox in the National Museum of Wales’.
