Aunt Julia - Norman MacCaig

Question 1

repetition off “very loud and “very fast”

Answer 1

denotes AJ’s vitality - full of life and energetic

Question 2

repetition of “I could not”

Answer 2

denotes frustration that language barrier exists between them

Question 3

dash (caesura) “I could not understand her -“

Answer 3

highlights the literal divide between them through purposeful break in the text

Question 4

word choice of “she wore men’s boots”

Answer 4

suggesting her hard-working attitude, function over appearance, practical, nature of the tasks she has to carry out as a crofter on the isle of Harris

Question 5

word choice of “- I can see”

Answer 5

suggests how vivid these memories are and that they are sacred to him

Question 6

word choice of “stained with peat”

Answer 6

reflects AJ’s unity with earth and land/nature of the tasks she is required to carry out as a crofter

Question 7

onomatopoeic “paddling”

Answer 7

mimics the movement of the spinning wheel being operated by her foot, regular and repeating rhythm

Question 8

length of line 9 OR long vowel sounds in “while her right hand drew yarn”

Answer 8

suggests the amount of time the spinning process takes, showing she is hardworking and patient

Question 9

word choice of “marvellously”

Answer 9

suggests a young MacCaig’s sense of magic/illusion which shows how much he admires her

Question 10

Positioning of the pronoun “Hers (was the only house)”

Answer 10

shows her significance to him since he feels this sense of security when in her company

Question 11

word choice of “absolute darkness”

Answer 11

suggests how frightening the experience must have been yet he feels comfortable since even the crickets are regarded as friendly

Question 12

personification “crickets being friendly”

Answer 12

removes feeling of threat by emphasising his proximity to the ‘warm and friendly’ world of nature

Question 13

metaphor of “she was buckets/and water flouncing into them”

Answer 13

suggests her vitality even as she carries heavy buckets, spring in her step since “flouncing” is a deliberate and vigorous movement

Question 14

metaphor “she was winds pouring wetly”

Answer 14

reflects AJ’s strong and forceful personality, through comparing her to the weather that surrounds her

Question 15

metaphor “she was brown eggs, black skirts”

Answer 15

traditional, pragmatic and domestic with same connotations of an egg - hard exterior with a soft inner

Question 16

word choice/metaphor “keeper of threepennybits/in a teapot”

Answer 16

suggests her frugality since now an obsolete coin as well as her eccentricity, individuality etc

Question 17

earthy colours “black” “brown”

Answer 17

reflect her unity with nature - she has spent so much time outdoors, she is starting to look like it

Question 18

Repetition of “Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic” in line 24

Answer 18

suggests turning point in the poem when the tone changes to a sombre and full of frustration/regret

Question 19

enjambment in “she lay/silenced (in the absolute black)

Answer 19

emphasises the fact she is now dead and highlights the contrast between her previously noisy self

Question 20

word choice of “absolute black”

Answer 20

contrasts “absolute blackness” in stanza 3, to suggest that now she is dead, he feels sadness since black is normally associated with loss/bereavement

Question 21

word choice of “with a seagulls voice”

Answer 21

emphasise her connection with nature OR her squawky voice and her desperation to communicate with MacCaig in the normal way families do

Question 22

repetition of “getting angry, getting angry”

Answer 22

shows the building of frustration felt by her/the poet now that he is no longer able to communicate at all with her

Question 23

positioning of “unanswered”

Answer 23

reinforces the frustration felt by them and implies that this will remain unresolved for eternity since she is dead