Aunt Julia Quotes Flashcards
Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
Very loud and very fast
The repetition of “very” emphasises how incomprehensible Aunt Julia’s
language of Gaelic was to the young MacCaig. It also emphasises the
energy with which she spoke, and the vibrant nature of her character.
The words “loud” and “fast” have connotations of confidence and energy.
This adds to MacCaig’s idea that Aunt Julia is a strong, interesting
character.
She wore men’s boots
when she wore any
The words “men’s boots” have connotations of hardy and strong. This adds to MacCaig’s idea that Aunt Julia is a powerful, capable woman. “She wore any” has connotations of her going barefoot, adding to the impression of her eccentricity and oneness with nature.
I can see her strong foot stained with peat
The words “strong foot” have connotations of tough and capable. This adds to MacCaig’s idea that he admires his Aunt Julia because she works hard to live a self-sufficient life. The word “stained” has connotations of permanence. This adds to the poet’s idea that AJ spent so much time outdoors in bare feet that her foot is marked by it. This emphasises that she is at one with nature and does not mind this.
Her right hand drew yarn
marvellously out of the air
The word “marvellously” has connotations of mysterious, extraordinary and magical. This adds to MacCaig’s idea that he was fascinated by Aunt Julia’s skills at being able to transform a raw, natural material (wool) into something used for warmth and protection (the yarn she made would be turned into clothing)
Hers was the only house
where I’ve lain at night
…listening to crickets being friendly
Here, crickets are being compared to a friendly person. Just as a person who is friendly is kind and makes us feel good, so too the sounds of the crickets make MacCaig feel happy and safe; he is comforted by their noise. MacCaig is suggesting that he too feels a harmony with nature while visiting Aunt Julia. Even surrounded by unfamiliar sounds, he felt safe and secure at her house.
She was buckets
and water flouncing into them
Here, MacCaig uses a metaphor. Aunt Julia is being compared to water, a natural element, adding to the idea of her being part of the natural world. The word “flouncing” has connotations of splashing and movement, adding to the idea of AJ as an elemental force full of energy.
She was winds pouring wetly
round house-ends
Here, MacCaig uses a metaphor. Aunt Julia is being compared to the wind and rain. Just as the wind is strong and forceful, so too Aunt Julia is full of energy and speed. This adds to MacCaig’s idea that she is at one with her natural surroundings, and almost part of the natural world.
She was brown eggs, black skirts
The words “brown” and “black” have connotations of nature and are earthy colours. This adds to MacCaig’s idea that Aunt Julia is at one with the landscape around her, and her clothes reflect the practical nature of AJ’s life.
By the time I had learned
a little, she lay
silenced in the absolute black
of a sandy grave
at Luskentyre.
The words “absolute black” have connotations of a bleak void; this adds to MacCaig’s idea that death is final and there is nothing after life. This adds to the idea that his opportunity to communicate with his aunt is over. The word “silenced” suggest that she has been made to be quiet –almost as if only death could have stopped this vibrant woman from talking.
“But I hear her still, welcoming me
with a seagull’s voice
The word “welcoming” has connotations of a friendly greeting. This adds to MacCaig’s idea that his Aunt Julia was a kind, warm person.
“with a seagull’s voice”: Here, MacCaig uses a metaphor. Aunt Julia’s voice is being compared to a seagull’s. Just as a seagull’s voice is loud and wordless, so too was Aunt Julia’s voice loud and incomprehensible to him. The writer is suggesting that the connection between him and his Aunt Julia lives on in nature, even after her death. This is appropriate as she was one with nature during her life. The present tense adds to the idea that –although she is dead – he feels her presence even still.
Getting angry, getting angry
With so many questions
unanswered.
The use of repetition here emphasises the frustration he imagines AJ felt about his his inability to communicate with her, which meant she never got the answers to her questions. This ads to the idea of his regret at leaving it too late to learn a little Gaelic
