Aunt Julia Flashcards
Quotes and analysis
Stanza Openings
every stanza opens with a reference to Aunt Julia highlighting her importance
Aunt Julia
immediately establishies Aunt Julia as the subject of the poem
Gaelic
she is traditional
very…very
Repetition: emphasises his struggle to understand her but also her determinded nature
very loud and very fast
Word Choice: suggests how energetic and lively she is
I could not … I could not
Repetition: emphasises his inability to communicate
… - …
creates a pause puts focus on the idea that he can’t communicate with her
She wore men’s boots
Word Choice: she does mostly male tasks (outside, physical labour) she’s tough/ doesn’t confrim to expectations
when she wore any
Word Choice: she is often barefoot, shows she is at one with nature/the earth
strong
Word Choice: repeats idea that she is tough
stained with peat
reflects her traditional croft life, emphasises connection to/ love of nature
paddling
Onomatopoeia: reflects rhythmic movements
drew yarn
marvellously
Enjambment: shifts focus to marvellously and also reflects fluidity of movement
only
Word Choice: suggests her house is special, unique, exciting
absolute darkness
usually frightening for a child
of a box bed
unfamiliar but in this case exciting for him
crickets being friendly
shows that he feels safe/happy at Aunt Julia’s
sense of closeness to nature
She was buckets
Metaphor: buckets can carry a lot so too can Aunt Julia she is strong and useful
water ‘flouncing’ into them
Word Choice: suggets speed and energy of her movements
She was winds
Metaphor: just as the wind is strong and fast so too is Aunt Julia is energetic
winds … wetly
Alliteration: reflects fluid sound of her movements, again emphasises connection with nature
She was brown eggs, black skirts and a keeper of threepennybits in a teapot
List: emphasises amount of minor detalis he remembers , shows how important she was
Items show how traditional she was
Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic very loud and very fast
Repetition of first line emphasises communication barrier
By the time
phrase suggest being late
I had learned a little, she
balance between I/she suggests a feeling of regret, too little too late
she lay
silenced
Enjambment: brings our attention to silenced which tells us she’s dead
silenced
Contrast to opening lines of stanza 1 and 5
absolute black
Metaphor for death, ‘absolute’ tells us she’s not coming back, direcr contrast to her noisy life
But
change of direction/ pause, emphasises that her memory lives on
welcoming
Word Choice: suggests love, warmth shows close bond they had despite language barrier
seagull’s voice
once again identifies her with wild nature, her memory like a high pitched call of a seagull is hard to ignore
peatscrapes and lazybeds
firmly places her in a traditional, natural enviroment another reference to croft life
getting angry, getting angry
Repetition: emphasisies growing frustration and annoyance
Unclear whether she is angry he left it too late or he is angry with himself
so many questions
so much still to learn
questions
unanswered
Enjambment: places focus on unanswered
Sums up their inability to communicate but also his regret
Not only has he lost an important family member but her way of life died with her
Also lost a piece of his heritage, culture and himself
