Storyteller - Liz Lochhead Flashcards
(6 cards)
she sat down
at the scoured table
in the swept kitchen
beside the dresser with its cracked delft.
And every last crumb of daylight was salted away.
‘she’ no capital letter to show that she is is servant
‘she sat’ sibilance which creates auditory imagery of maids whispering (special moment)
‘scoured’ and ‘swept’ connotes hard labour
‘cracked delft’ porcelain (blue & white). Depicts people, places & stories. ‘cracked’ is a metaphor for retelling stories.
‘every last.. salted away’ is surreal visual imagery; daylight is compared to crumbs through a metaphor. ‘salted away’ means stashed. We are entering the world of nighttime storytelling.
No one could say the stories were useless
for as the tongue clacked
five or forty fingers stitched
corn was grated from the husk
patchwork was pieced
or the darning was done.
‘no one…useless’ compares storytelling to manual labour to show its importance.
‘tongues clacked’ onomatopoeia, similar to sound of loom.
‘patchwork was pierced’ plosive mimics puncturing of patchwork, metaphor for putting a narrative together piece by piece
Never the one to slander her shiftless.
Daily sloven or spotless no matter whether
Dishwater or tasty was her soup.
To tell the stories was her work.
It was like spinning,
gathering air to the single strongest
thread. Night in
she’d have us waiting, held
breath, for the ending we knew by heart.
‘never…shiftless’ do not talk badly of the storyteller, her job is crucial
‘like spinning’ merges textiles/sewing with storytelling through simile
‘thread’ metaphor for plot
‘for the ending we knew by heart’ implies that this storytelling is a nightly tradition/culture, which creates community
And at first light
as the women stirred themselves to build the fire
as the peasant’s feet felt for clogs
as thin grey light washed over flat fields
the stories dissolved in the whorl of the ear
but they
hung themselves upside down
in the sleeping heads of the children
till they flew again
in the storytellers night.
‘first, fire, feet felt’ is fricative alliteration which creates breathless sound like whispering.
‘feet felt for clogs’ implies poverty
‘grey light…flat fields’ bleak, weak, faint imagery
‘stories dissolved…ear’ since her stories are spoken, they are quickly forgotten and ‘dissolve’ into people dreams
‘but they’ volta (turning point) implies that her stories have long impact and influence children unconsciously.
‘hung themselves…flew again’ extended metaphor saying that stories are like bats. They are hidden during the day but will emerge at night to continue the tradition.
Key themes
Power of storytelling
Impact of language
Culture and community
Isolation vs connection through storytelling
What is enjambment frequently used in this poem?
It creates cliffhangers & a sense of interconnection between daily activities and storytelling. Mimics oral tradition/natural talking
