View of Scotland/Love poem Flashcards
(21 cards)
“hands and knees
at ten at night on Hogmanay,”
Establishes the evocative setting of the poem, Scotland on New Year’s Eve, and introduces the notion of tradition
“giving it elbowgrease”
To begin a new year with an unclean house was considered bad luck. Shows how important traditions are.
“(This is too
ordinary to be nostalgia.) “
Sentence structure - parenthesis speaker explains that despite the poem being a recollection of the past, it should not be considered nostalgic. She does not want to seem overly sentimental.
“sockeye salmon, black bun, petticoat-tails”
Typical Scottish food/ very traditional. Shows prosperity and how it was to encourage Good Luck for the new year.
“‘Last year it was very quiet…’”
Tradition to prepare for unexpected guests even if no one comes.
(N.V) This is spoken by the mother as she looks to the past. She will continue with the preparations even if no one is expected to show up.
“her rollers in with waveset
and her well-pressed good dress”
establishes the time and place of the poem (clearly a past memory).
It was tradition to look your best at Hogmanay
“half-ten already and her not shifted!”
Dialect adds humor, she is still cleaning away but must now rush to be ready.
This idea of the passing of time is one that Lochhead plays with in the poem. Here, her mum is acutely aware of the hands of the clock moving relentlessly towards midnight. Yet as the poem moves forward, the present is constantly being consigned to the past.
“even hope”
superstition/tradition. Start the year as you mean to go on.
“A new view of scotland”
Sentence structure - allusion to the poem’s title. The ‘new view’ relates to the opportunities awarded by the new year. Optimistic tone is established
“With a dangling calendar.. ready to take it’s place”
Imagery - new calendar is symbolic of looking forward/old calendar still “dangling” suggests clinging to the past. In Scotland, it is considered bad luck to replace the calendar before midnight.
“Darling”
(N.V) - opening of this stanza is immediately intimate as the speaker addresses her lover directly. Change in memory. She is now reminiscing about the evening she met her husband. She directly addresses him.
“it’s thirty years since anybody was able to trick me”
Playful tone
”'’looking into a mirror to see a lassie
wi as minny heids as days in the year’”
(N.V) - A voice from the past reinforces how vivid the memory is. Reminds us how much the past informs and influences the present.
Superstition here told through direct speech.
“we did not know that we were the happiness we wished each other when the Bells went, did we?”
Sentence structure - dash introduces a time skip.
Question. Conveys the love they now share without over embellishment. Shows how this memory has influenced the speakers entire life
“sunburst clocks”
Imagery - the clock symbolises the relentless passage of time.
Word choice - old fashioned clocks establishes the time as being set in the past
“All over the city” “highrises and tenements”
Theme - Scottish identity. People make their way to NYE parties, emphasises the camaraderie that bonds communities together during Hogmanay.
Familiar strangers
Theme - the setting has changed from the mother’s house to a party. No matter how old we are, we celebrate hogmany with friends and family.
Word choice - oxymoron - suggests that the people we learn to love in our lives were all once strangers to us.
“(for to even hope to prosper
this midnight must find us
how we would like to be).”
Sentence structure - repetition of line in stanza 2. Reminds us that traditions must be observed. Emphasised by the use of parenthesis.
“golden crusts on steak pies
like quilts on a double bed.”
Word choice - “golden” highlights optimism of future
Imagery - similie suggests warmth and comfort. Links to the past by recalling the mother’s dress on the bed and the shared love between the couple. This is the final mention of the past.
“There is no time like the
present for a kiss.”
Theme - past and present . Although the poem focuses on the past, the final message is to remember to seize the day - ends on an optimistic tone
“And this is where we live”
Sentence structure - short sentence and conjuction ‘and’ introduce this patriotic statement. Suggests the love Scots have for their country.
