Aunt Julia (poetry)

Question 1

Aunt Julia stanza one

Answer 1

Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
very loud and very fast.
I could not answer her —
I could not understand her.

Question 2

Aunt Julia stanza 2

Answer 2

She wore men’s boots
when she wore any.
— I can see her strong foot,
stained with peat,
paddling with the treadle of the spinning wheel
while her right hand drew yarn
marvellously out of the air.

Question 3

Stanza 3

Answer 3

Hers was the only house
where I’ve lain at night
in the absolute darkness
of a box bed, listening to
crickets being friendly.

Question 4

Stanza 4

Answer 4

She was buckets
and water flouncing into them.
She was winds pouring wetly
round house-ends.
She was brown eggs, black skirts
and a keeper of threepennybits
in a teapot.

Question 5

Stanza 5

Answer 5

Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
very loud and very fast.
By the time I had learned
a little, she lay
silenced in the absolute black
of a sandy grave
at Luskentyre. But I hear her still, welcoming me
with a seagull’s voice
across a hundred yards
of peatscrapes and lazybeds
and getting angry, getting angry
with so many questions
unanswered.

Question 6

Aunt Julia key themes

Answer 6

Loss and frustration
Theme of Aunt Julia’s independence, strength and masculinity for her time.
Disconnection between Aunt Julia and MacCaig

Question 7

Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic very loud and very fast

Answer 7

“Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic,” word choice used to instantly establish the language barrier between them and the theme of disconnection between them.
“Very loud and very fast,” is repetition used to show that Aunt Julia was difficult to understand even if you spoke her language and developed the key theme of her personality straight away giving her a loud masculine quality.

Question 8

I could not answer her -

I could not understand her

Answer 8

“Could not,” is repetition used to emphasise his frustration by telling over and over how little he could do with her.

Question 9

She wore mens boots, when she wore any.

Answer 9

“She wore mens boots,” is a metaphor and word choice which can be interpreted to mean that she was practical because she she didn’t wear women’s shoes on the outer Hebrides terrain and can also mean that she did all the manly jobs in the house and filled their shoes, this developed her personality theme
“When she wore any,” is word choice telling the reader that sometimes she didn’t wear footwear bringing out her barbaric side as well and showing how tough she is,”
Caesura is used to make the reader reflect on these personality themes

Question 10

“I can see her strong foot, stained with peat,”

Answer 10

“Stained with peat,” and “strong,” are words chosen to show her strength and barbaric ways

Question 11

Paddling with the treadle of a spinning wheel while her right arm drew yarn marvellously out of the air.

Answer 11

“Marvellously,” is an example of word choice which shows the poets idea that the process is magical because the two are synonymous.

Question 12

Hers was the only house where I’ve lain at night in the absolute darkness of a box bed listening to crickets being friendly.

Answer 12

“Absolute darkness,” word choice used to show connotations of the poets peace and how far away they are from everyone else. Also links back to the idea of death.
“Crickets being friendly,” a metaphor which is used to show how innocent and young the poet is at the time because he doesn’t understand that the crickets are trying to mate, he just thinks they are being nice to one another.

Question 13

She was buckets and water flouncing into them.

Answer 13

“She was buckets,” “water flouncing into them,” the poet uses metaphors to describe their experiences together and tell us she is those experiences to show all the things that she did and develops her personality.
“Flouncing,” is an example of word choice used by the poet to show how the water moves and that a lot was falling out, from this you can understand that Aunt Julia wasn’t very careful when collecting water and didn’t care too much if some of it spilled.
Caesura used to show that the poet is thinking and reflecting over these memories whilst he was writing the poem.

Question 14

She was winds pouring wetly round house ends.

Answer 14

“She was winds pouring wetly,” is another metaphor which describes an experience in high winds and rain which describes the outer Hebrides climate well, and makes Aunt Julia seem even tougher for liver there herself all these years.
Caesura used again to show that the poet is reflecting on all of these memories from his childhood as he writes the poem.

Question 14

She was winds pouring wetly round house ends.

Answer 14

“She was winds pouring wetly,” is another metaphor which describes an experience in high winds and rain which describes the outer Hebrides climate well, and makes Aunt Julia seem even tougher for liver there herself all these years.
Caesura used again to show that the poet is reflecting on all of these memories from his childhood as he writes the poem.

Question 15

She was brown eggs, black skirts and a keeper of three penny bits in a teapot.

Answer 15

Use of visual imagery: “brown, black and teapot,” are used to show her practical personality, because it shows she doesn’t need fancy clothes or white eggs or even a place to keep her money because she will find something to replace it in her life, the connotations of brown and black also signify death and her plain lifestyle.

Question 16

Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic, very loud and very fast.

Stanza 5

Answer 16

Repetition is used to link back to the ideas and themes in the first stanza of the poem and emphasise that first idea that they are disconnected by a language barrier.
Caesura is used to make the reader think about why he is repeating this and question why this is repeated.

Question 17

By the time I had learned a little, she lay silenced in the absolute black of a sandy grave at Luskentyre.

Answer 17

“By the time I had learned a little,” is word choice used to show his regret of learning it sooner and breaking through the language barrier which stopped them from connecting properly.
“Absolute black,” used as visual imagery and repetition from stanza 3 to tell us that although she is gone, now she can finally rest and be at peace like MacCaig was in stanza 3.
“Sandy grave at Luskentyre,” word choice is very important because Luskentyre is a very beautiful place.

Question 18

But I hear her still, welcoming me with a seagulls voice over hundreds of yards of peat scrapes and lazy beds,

Answer 18

“But I hear her still,” use of a metaphor to tell us that he will always remember her and his experience with her.
“Welcoming me with a seagulls voice,” is a metaphor and word choice used to show her loudness and comment on her shrill voice but to also show that she always was kind and happy to see him.
“Hundreds of yards of peat scrapes lazy beds,” is a metaphor telling the reader about how he still thinks of her and how she lived.

Question 19

And getting angry, getting angry with so many questions unanswered

Answer 19

“And getting angry, getting angry,” repetition of Aunt Julia is used in the poem to show how the poet himself is frustrated and angry at her passing before he got to ask her about her life.
“So many questions unanswered,” is word choice showing his regret for not learning Gaelic sooner and losing that part of his heritage before he understood it.