Memorial Flashcards
(44 cards)
What is the subject of the poem?
A sad, beautiful poem about they way in which the loss of a poet’s loved one pervades every aspect of this life. Her death is no in the past. The process of her dying stays with him constantly. The opening states “Everywhere she dies” and the final stanza reads “she can’t stop dying”. This poem is an elegy. Like an lament, a mournful poem especially for the dead. Sad and sombre feel.
What is the structure of an elegy
- Lament, speaker expresses grief and sorrow
- Praise and admiration of the idealised dead
- Finally consolation and solace
What makes the loss even more difficult for Norman MacCaig?
He was an atheist and as such, in the face of death, there were no easy comforts for him of promises of life or resurrection beyond the grave. For him death is presented as an awful finality “intolerable distance” and “ugliness”
The form and structure of the poem
Written from a first person stance in the past tense, the poem is divided by stanzas into three main sections. The fluidity and looseness of the structure helps to reinforce the key message of the poem which focuses on death and the grieving process. Death of a loved one itself represented a formlessness, a loss of structure, the disintegration of close bonds of a love and affection.
Central themes
Sense of unending grief that is felt when a love one dies
Loss and regret
Tone of poem
Utterly hopeless in its despairingly bleak outlook
Nevertheless there is an occasional glimpse of optimism and beauty contained within the image of the crocus, which is “never carved more gently than the way her dying shapes my mind”
This seems to imply one of the abiding effects of his grief is that it will forever and indelibly continue to shape and impact on his creative work.
What is the sentence structure in stanza one?
Blunt opening line - it immediately emphasises the constant impact of his loved one’s death, it introduces a negative feel and shows the closed mind to anything but grief of the speaker
Paradox in stanza one
Doesn’t make sense ““Everywhere she dies” - For him her death is inescapable, everything around him makes him think of it
Repetition in Stanza one
“Everywhere” - suggests the poet cannot escape the awareness of the death of is loved one
Word Choice to show isolation in stanza one
“I go” - intensifies his negativity, he feels isolated and gives a sense of self pity. It shows he reads his negativity
What do the simple and direct statements show?
The directness and bluntness of his feelings
Juxtaposition in Stanza One
“I” and “she” suggest the strong bond between the two people
Repetition of “No” - Anaphora
Nothing remains untouched by her death. Creates a heavy negative beat
How is climax build up in Stanza one?
The climax is that even in the most beautiful surroundings her death is present.
Triadic Structure creates a sense of power. The places in the triadic structure are not usually places you would associate with death. A city square is usually a bustling and busy place with many people, a sunrise and mountain are associated with providing aesthetic pleasure because of their beauty. These places are now gained with her death, it undermines the beauty and as such life for him now is seen in a negative light. Grief pervades everything and is everywhere for the speaker.
“lurking” present tense analysis
implies that his pain is still very present - it is there with him and around him all the time
WC “lurking” means be or remain hidden so as to wait in ambush for someone or something. Shows that her death is always there and it will always pop out of nowhere. Quite menacing and poses a threat.
Enjambement/Word choice “but” analysis
It indicates a change in the direction and highlights contras of the beautiful surrounding with the pain of death.
“But has her death in it” - monosyllabic feel creates and emotional intensity due to “h” alliteration
“The silence of her dying sounds through the carousel of language” - Analysis
“Language” = the words of sympathy he receives. The grief he feels creates a silence so intense that no words of comport make a difference to him. The silence of grief rings loud in his ears. Symbolically represents the sense of loss. Complexity of death is difficult to understand “dying sounds” - ambiguous
Metaphor “Carousel of language”
- Language is compared to something light hearted and frivolous. It creates tension as by contrast the “silence” of her death seems much more profound and serious. When a carousel goes round everything blurs into one and it is hard to get off. He cannot separate happiness from sadness as it is so overwhelming.
Metaphor “It’s a web/ on which laughter stitches itself”
Silence becomes “a web” on which laughter or loved one’s attempt to contour him and/or feelings of joy, is doomed to be stuck and not penetrate because neither comforting words nor language can penetrate his grief.
How does stanza one end?
It ends with a rhetorical question “How can my hand clasp another’s?” which creates a pessimistic tone. Because rhetorical questions have no answer, it reinforces his continued isolation. The “h” alliteration creates a breathy tone. Word Choice “clasp” creates a sense of desperation.
“Thick death, that intolerable distance” - analysis
“Intolerable” is an emotive word meaning unable to be endured, it shows the grief is so painful for him and he is distanced from the rest of the world. It is a disturbing image because death is given a physical form. Death is like a fog that we cannot get through.
Word Order in Stanza two
The opening of the stanza is a subversion of the usual order by asserting “she grieves for my grief”. This reinforces the bond the two shared while she was alive implying she couldn’t bear to see him sad and suffering. She wanted to protect the speaker from the pain of her death.
Positioning of “Dying”
“Dying” is emphasises and stresses the reality of the situation - she is dying, but tries to portray her death as part of the natural cycle.
Imagery “That bird dives from the sun, that fish leaps into it”
Ambiguous image which is full of energy and life. Both images represent a reversal of the normal order of things. The bird should fly towards the sun, and the fish should dive into the depths of the sea away from it. Death, by implication, is seen as a reversal of the natural state of living.
“No crocus is carried more gently than the way her dying shapes my mind” - Imagery
Her death is being compared to a crocus. SYMBOLISM
Crocuses are early flowers after winer period and it symbolic for beauty, hope and regeneration. It is a spring flower and therefore it can be equated with new life and a new beginning and a sign of hope. This suggests beauty and nature coming alive again. Her message is that death is natural and that life goes on - he must try not to suffer.
“crocus is carved” - Turns the natural image into a sculpture which is precious and valuable. All death is valuable and carved suggests created carefully with love.
The use of past and present tense in the stanza shows the event is over but the grief goes on. The longer sentence length shows he is more open.
