Aunt Julia Flashcards
1
Q
‘Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
Very loud and very fast.’
A
- Spoke is past tense, this suggests death
- Shows she’s a close relative but the formality of ‘Aunt’ rather than the classic ‘Auntie’ suggests distance in their relationship
- Repetition emphasis how fast and loud she speaks
2
Q
‘I could not answer her-
I could not understand her.’
A
- Dash indicates his explanation of not being able to communicate with Aunt Julia
- Repetition of ‘I could not’ suggests his inability of speaking with her
3
Q
‘Her strong foot’
A
- She was masculine, she wore men’s shoes
- Or often wore no shoes at all
- Hard working and not phased by dirt and work
4
Q
‘marvellously’
A
- McCaig is impressed
- Admires his Aunt
5
Q
‘She was buckets and water flouncing into them’
A
- Association with domestic items
- Highlights her hard working persona
- Personification, water as if to suggest her attitude is bold and sassy, moving jerkily and bouncing around.
6
Q
‘She was brown eggs, black skirts’
A
-She’s a rustic character
7
Q
‘she lay silenced’
A
- Unwillingly, she didn’t want to go
- As if someone actively stopped her voice
8
Q
‘a seagulls voice’
A
- Throughout the poem McCaig talks about how loud she is, this adds onto her loud volume of voice.
- Metaphor
9
Q
‘getting angry, getting angry’
A
- Last stanza has lots of regret
- McCaig is angry because he couldn’t communicate with her
- He later learns Gaelic after her death
10
Q
‘So many questions unanswered’
A
- Poignant end to poem
- Sense of regret continues
11
Q
What was julia’s character like?
A
- She was hardworking
- Traditional
- Rustic
- Homely
- Masculine
12
Q
Potential links with other poems
A
- Visiting hour, Loss,Death
- Basking shark, Loss, Nature
- ALL ARE HUMAN EXPERIENCES
- Brooklyn Cop, Death
- Hotel room 12th floor, Death
