Patrick Kavanagh Flashcards
(29 cards)
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] alliteration
“There’s a dance in Billy Brennan’s Barn”
alliterative b sounds evoke noise of dance
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] line 1-4 isolation
“The bicycles go by in twos and threes”
the reference to people being together contrasts to Kavanagh’s loneliness
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] exclusion
“there’s the half-talk code of mysteries” which the poet doesn’t understand
“wink and elbow language of delight” refer to talk of gossip or perhaps flirting that Kavanagh doesn’t experience
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] assonance
“Upon a mile of road, no shadow thrown”
repeated o sounds set a dark, lonely mood now that the crowd has passed
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] romance metaphor
“not a footfall tapping secrecies of stone”
evokes the sounds of the barndance far away along with the romance that may come with it. Kavanagh cannot hear these sounds and laments that he will never truly know what the barndance was like.
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] Selkirk
“Alexander Selkirk knew the plight”
compares himself to scottish sailor who spent years alone on an island. Like Selkirk, Kavanagh’s isolation is self imposed
[Inniskeen Road: July Evening] Pun
“I am king of banks and stones and every blooming thing”
Blooming means “blossoming” but it can also by a synonym for “cursed”. I think this reflects Kavanagh’s mixed feelings as his isolation brings both extreme highs and extreme lows. His talents as a poet prosper but his social and romantic life evaporates.
[Shancoduff] personification
“My black hills have never seen the sun rising”
He sees them as living entities suggesting his fondness for the land could be akin to that one would have for a family member or lifelong friend.
[Shancoduff] Hyperbole
“They are my Alps and I have climbed the Matterhorn”
To Kavanagh his hills are as extraordinary as the tallest mountains on the planet. Also illustrates the hardship of these as climbing the Matterhorn is no easy feat.
[Shancoduff] Dialogue
"”Who owns them hungry hills” “Then by heavens he must be poor.””
Offers an alternative perspective that sharply contrasts Kavanagh’s warm feelings towards his lands. The cattle-drovers have no sentimental value attached with the hills and sees them as worthless. These cattle-drovers could also be metaphors for the self-doubt that Kavanagh has about his love for the land. I personally believe Kavanagh does not like to acknowledge that a part of him feels this way so he assigns his negative thoughts to anonymous cattle drovers.
[Shancoduff] Ambiguity + Contemplation
“I hear, and is my heart not badly shaken”
Kavanagh’s feelings are hurt by the unfiltered comments of the cattle drovers. Leaves an ambigous ending as the poet evaluates his own attitudes. He wonders if his desire to continue farming this subpar land is driven by a delusional sense of sentimentality.
[Shancoduff] Metaphor + symbol
“My hills hoard the bright shillings of March”
bright shillings are a metaphor for patches of white snow which don’t melt because the sun doesn’t reach them. Kavanagh admires the hills for their refusal to conform to the warm weather. This could help explain his deep attachment to them. Kavanagh perhaps sees the black hills as a symbol for himself since he too breaks from societal norms
[Epic] Realism
“I heard the Duffys shouting” and “Old McCabe stripped to the waist”
[Epic] War Imagery
“no-man’s land surrounded by pitchfork-armed claims”
Old McCabe is seen “Defying blue cast-steel”
Generates grandiosity for this insubstantial quarrel
[Epic] Juxtaposition / Reference to wider events
Kavanagh states it was “the year of the Munich Bother”
The use of “bother” seems to debase one of the most important events of the time as just a mild inconvenience. This reflects the perspective of the McCabes and Duffys who see their land dispute as far more significant than distant political affairs.
[Epic] Rhetorical Question
“Which was more important?”
The obvious answer to this question is Munich since it went on to have repercussions around the world. But for the families described in the poem, these repercussions weren’t felt until a while afterwards. on the other hand, the effects of their land dispute, were much more immediate and a large part of their daily lives.
[Epic] Irony
The title itself “Epic” as well as the opening lines where Kavanagh states he has “lived in important places” and “times”. This put great expectations in the mind of the reader which are soon shattered after we discover that the poem recounts a quarrel over “who owned that half rood of rock”. This local land dispute is far from the usual idea of “important” or “epic”
[The Hospital] Hyperbole
“I fell in love with the functional ward of a chest hospital”
Being in love is the most extreme of affection so Kavanagh’s claim of devotion lets us know that he truly feels connected to this place
[The Hospital] Irony
“square cubicles in a row” and “plain concrete, wash basins”
Kavanagh describes the features of this hospital that he claims to be in love with. Yet what he mentions is not what one would think of as typically beautiful. This suggests that Kavanagh’s love is not for shallow reasons of physical beauty and is in fact a much deeper and more personal bond.
[The Hospital] Kavanagh’s opinions on the nature of love
“but nothing whatever is by love debarred”
Kavanagh states nothing is incapable of receiving love. This is the hospital where Kavanagh had his life saved from lung cancer. It gave him a new lease of life and served as a great inspiration for his work, explaining why he feels so much passion for the mundane objects of this place
[The Hospital] Imagery
“The seat at the back of a shed that was a suntrap”
Kavanagh describes his favourite places in the hospital with specificity. This attention to detail informs reader that Kavanagh is very familiar the hospital and loves even the most minor parts of it.
[The Hospital] Kavangh’s reason for the poem
“Naming these things is the love-act and its pledge”
The poem’s last few lines finally unveil why Kavanagh is naming all these seemingly mundane things. He feels indebted to the hospital for saving his life and wants to “record love’s mystery” in the form of a poem as a token of gratitude.
[On Raglan Road] personification
“that her dark hair would weave a snare”
Personifies the woman’s hair as an evil creature making a trap reminiscent of the mythological Medusa, who had snakes instead of hair. This could reflect Kavanagh’s opinions on the woman as Medusa is known for her vain and evil nature. However, one must keep in mind that this could be a biased portrayal as he is clearly bitter that this woman doesn’t reciprocate his affection.
[On Raglan Road] foreshadowing
“I saw the danger”
This foreshadowing shows us that at first even Kavanagh knew his pursuit would lead to suffering yet he “walked along the enchanted way”. This ominous line makes the poem far more intriguing, as the reader realizes that it won’t be a typical joyous tale of love.
