The Statue of the Virgin at Granard Square Speaks: IOE notes Flashcards
(42 cards)
What is this poem about (in terms of society)?
This poem is about the society that Meehan inhibited and it was a society that was hypocritical.
What type of poem is this that is characteristic of the poet?
It is a narrative poem
what does the very first line do for the poet?
“It can be bitter here at times like this,”
It introduces the subtle, nuanced, complex style in which Meehan writes
“The howling won’t let up. Trees
cavort in agony as if they would be free and take off”
What is this a superb example of that is stylistic of the poet? What other techniques are present here and give their effect?
It is an outstanding example of aesthetic language on her part.
It contains storm imagery like Shakespeare which is used as a symbol of disorder/chaos and pathetic fallacy to reflect the poet’s mood when she looks at the society in which she lives
Where is storm imagery seen in this poem? (quote)
The howling won’t let up. Trees
cavort in agony as if they would be free
and take off
What is the relevance of the storm imagery in the poem?
It is used as a symbol of disorder/chaos and pathetic fallacy to reflect the poet’s mood when she looks at the society in which she lives
Meehan is an activist by doing what?
Meehan is well known as an activist who raises poetry into public consciousness.
In this dramatic monologue, what does Meehan remember?
In this dramatic monologue, she remembers the heartbreak associated with one young woman’s tragedy.
Explain the setting of this poem (when, where, what happens?)
Set on All Souls’ Night, the iconic statue comes alive as the poet assumes the voice of the Blessed Virgin in the grotto recalling the past
What tone is heard in the opening stanza? What is there an emphasis on in this stanza?
Her resentful tone is evident throughout the opening stanza. There is an emphasis on rejection and alienation.
“It can be bitter here at times like this,
November wind sweeping across the border.
Its seeds of ice would cut you to the quick.”
There are two meanings to the harsh winter weather here. Explain them.
Harsh winter weather is an obvious symbol of cruel times.
But it also alludes to the bitterness caused by society.
What is the importance of the isolated statue away from the town?
“The whole town tucked up safe and dreaming,
even wild things gone to earth, and I
stuck up here in this grotto, without as much as
star or planet to ease my vigil.”
The isolation of the statue highlights the experience of the young girl who died here and her loneliness in death.
“The howling won’t let up. Trees
cavort in agony as if they would be free
and take off”
What do these images provide to the reader?
What type of scene does Meehan create with these images?
Graphic details of the desolate landscape in stanza two provide a disquieting context for the anguish of the terrible event. Meehan creates a surreal scene of chaos and suffering.
“where men hunt each other and invoke
the various names of God as blessing
on their death tactics, their night manoeuvres”
What is Meehan expressing her opinion on?
Meehan expresses contempt for the way murders have sometimes been carried out in the name of religion.
“I hear fish drowning.
I taste the stagnant water mingled
with turf smoke from outlying farms.”
What is wrong with these images? (2)
- Something is wrong in this society. There is disorder and it is disjointed and unnatural.
- Water should be fresh not stagnant (having no current or flow and often having an unpleasant smell as a consequence.)
Why is the repetition in the 3rd stanza important?
The insistent repetition creates a religious rhythm
What is the Virgin Mary normally associated with?
What does the statue dislike about this focus?
She is primarily associated with her passive maternal role, confined to the background in the story of Christ’s suffering. She is uneasy with the focus on violence ‘the scourging and the falling’.
Why are society’s prayers of little value to the statue?
The prayers go nowhere. The Virgin feels distanced from her role as an icon unable to help those who kneel before me. She has no illusions about her own lack of influence, their prayers/fly up like sparks
What stana has a positive change of tone echoing the first stanza?
an unexpected change af tone occurs in Stanza four Echoing the first line, the poem becomes more positive and nostalgic:
When does the statue interchange her anger for something new? Explain this new feeling using this quote:
I would break loose of my stony robes,
pure blue, pure white, as if they had robbed
a child’s sky for their colour. My being
cries out to be incarnate, incarnate,
maculate and tousled in a honeyed bed
For the first time, the statue exchanges her anger with passionate desire. She yearns for natural physical intimacy, to ‘break loose of my stony robes. The statue longs to break free, to be incarnate, incarnate.
I would break loose of my stony robes,
pure blue, pure white, as if they had robbed
a child’s sky for their colour. My being
cries out to be incarnate, incarnate,
maculate and tousled in a honeyed bed
What does the repetition present here emphasize? What is Mary crying out for?
Repetition emphasises her yearning to feel truly alive. In place of Mary’s traditional immaculate image, she cries out to be ‘maculate and tousled in a honeyed bed’.
Explain this quote:
. Death is just another harvest
scripted to the season’s play
‘Death is just another harvest/scripted to the season’s play. Dying is part of the cycle of nature too.
What happens in stanza 7? (place and parallels)
Stanza seven takes the reader back to the icy present. It is All Souls’ Night and the relentless keening gale returns, bringing more reminders of death
Explain the imagery in this quote:
I would not be amazed if every corpse came risen
from the graveyard to join in exaltation with the gale,
a cacophony of bone imploring sky for judgement
and release from being the conscience of the town.
The wild supernatural scene and disturbing image of the ghosts celebrating death becomes increasingly intense: ‘ a cacophony of bone’. The dead souls demand “judgement’ and ‘release from being the conscience of the town. It is time for the living to take responsibility for the horrific events that happened here.
