A Child To His Sick Grandfather (1790) Flashcards
Author?
Joanna Bailey
Story?
A 1st person child speaker
Speaks to his silent ageing/dying grandfather
Themes?
Powerful emotions
Loss
Innocence
Memory
Tone?
Nostalgic
Sad
Regretful
Form and structure
Shortened last line-grandfather life is ebbing away
Contrast between past and present- sense of loss “you used to smile” “you take me seldom on your knee”
Final couplet breaks rhyme-grandfather is dead?
Language?
Repetition of dad-reflect child’s speaker and closeness in relationship
Vivid description of grandfather emphasises age “old and frail” “lank and think”
Symbolism of fire- suggests grandfathers fire is going out, coldness and death “and when the weary fire turns blue”
Context
Emotional topic in this poem is typical of romantic poems from this era
Female poets were unusual at this time and this captures domestic subject
Early romantic era focus on childhood innocence and strong emotion
Poets father died in 1783 7 years earlier could be a interpretation of her grown grief when she Refers to grandad and dad
“You do not hear me dad”
This is the last line of the poem this had a full stop which represents the end this represents finality no longer asking for a response
“Legs begin to fail”
It gives a sense of mortality and it occurs in the beginning stanza which sets the scene of the play
They say your old and frail
Reported speech- the pronoun ‘they’ indicates the child doesn’t want to believe it even if they know it’s true they are in denial
Simple adjectives ‘old’ is quite simple vocabulary which stresses the innocence and childish attitude the narrator has
You used to smile and stroke my head
Past tense-the grandfather is no longer capable of interacting with the child so the child looks back on the past fondly
Sibilance- this could indicate the child feels some bitterness or even resentment towards his grandfather for no longer being as fun as he was
As gossips come to ask for you and for your weal each neighbour cares and good men kneel and say Their prayers
And everybody looks so sad
Polysyndenton- intensifies the bewilderment of the child as it expresses how so many people being around was confusing
the grandfather was well loved as everyone is offering their help
Simple vocabulary- ‘say’ ‘good’ shows that the child felt very inexperienced and young in the presence of so many adults and confusing events
You will not die and leave us then?
Questions- the child is hopeful and optimistic about the condition of their grandfather improving because they love them so much
Collective pronoun- ‘us’ implies that there is a large family and group of friends who feel similarly to the child
And when the weary fire turns blue
Metaphor- life is fading away ‘blue’ implies emotionless and sad however blue flame is extremely hot so it could imply there is to much emotion not to little
You do not hear me dad
Euphemism- last line of the last stanza so it could show that the grandfather has died but the child doesn’t understand this
Direct address- the child is trying to connect with the grandfather to keep him occupied and entertained
