Box room Flashcards
First welcoming. Smiles all round. A space for handshakes.
Short sentences highlight the lack of warmth between the two women.
Enjambment emphasises the distance between the speaker and the mother-in-law
Put me in my place-
double meaning - shown to room but also shown who is in charge
dash indicates a pause. Parenthesis introduces an aside from the speaker.
(oh, with concern for my comfort)
Highlights the tensions between the women who keep up the pretence of pleasantries despite their dislike for one another
Irony-the mother is not concerned about her comfort at all
his and him
pronouns reflect how the mother only cares about her son, suggests possessiveness- she is over-bearing
Friend
suggests mother does not acknowledge the romantic relationship between the two which shows her possessiveness over her son
This highlighted/emphasised through the capital letter
I hope the bed is soft enough?
rhetorical question. Friendly in the surface
He’ll make do tonight
suggests that just as he will make do with the pull out bed, he is making do (settling) for the woman
For a night or two. Once or twice before
Suggests that he has had other girlfriends stay over
‘peace to unpack’
The speaker quotes the mother
sarcastic tone
inverted commas suggest she does not trust the mother’s intention and it shows her dislike
(Lightweight, glossy, made of some synthetic Miracle)
Parenthesis details the physical case - is this how she is approaching the weekend-‘lightweight’ and hoping for a miracle? She doesn’t believe it’ll be a good weekend
Not very long lasting material=not very long lasting relationship due to mother
glossy and synthetic suggest this is how the mother views the speaker and the relationship between the speaker and her son-superficial, lacking substance and lacking longevity
her pathetic shrine
metaphor compares the box room ti a holy place of worship l, suggests the speaker finds the mother’s worshipping attitude towards her son silly and unnecessary. Tone of disgust is established
your lost boyhood
‘lost suggests’ something that cannot be got back, she is grieving the loss if her son to the speaker
Mother does not accept that the boy had grown up.
can brush of time with dust from model aeroplanes
metaphor suggests that dust represents time (builds up over time) and that by dusting the room and in keeping it clean the mother is trying to cling to her son’s childhood (personification)
self-defence
connotes being ready to defend yourself. The speaker is aware of the conflict between herself and the mother. She is ready to win the affection of the man.
permanence
Trying to believe the relationship will last forever.
peace to unpack-but
repetition is used to emphasise the tension between the speaker and the mother.
but signifies a change in tone - before she was defiant, now she’s vulnerable
contained
connotes restricting. Suggests the mother wanted to keep her son at home for as long as possible
dun-coloured walls
colour- a greyish brown colour . Suggests lifeless, dull which suggests the mother’s unwelcoming personality.
Also a type of medieval fort which suggests the mother protecting her son
old horizon
connotes the past. when his hopes and dreams were stifled by his mother. Suggests she is his ‘new horizon’
unrest, insomnia?
connotes conflict
question emphasises her uncertainty: she cannot explain her feelings. Change in tone
Persistent fear elbows me
Fear is personified as something that can inflict pain. Suggests she has been caught unaware by her feelings and emotions
There is an ongoing thought in her head that the relationship will not work out. A gnawing feeling
(narrower but no narrower than the single bed we sometimes share)
Parenthesis introduces an aside and reveals the speaker’s in er thoughts
Single suggests there is no room for her in his bed or his life
sometimes suggests that he does not consider this relationship as permanent
Lack of rhyme (narrower and share) - alludes to intimate moments. Rhyming couplets normally used in romantic poetry - lack of rhyme suggests distance and discord
giltedged from long-discarded selves
gilt-edged-means the pictures are in frames of gold. The mother has turned the room into a ‘shrine’ for her son. However, he had changed over time and these photos are of ‘selves’ that have been left behind
(But where do I fit into the picture?)
Parenthesis emphasises the rhetorical question.
Idiom-The speaker questions her place in her boyfriend’s life
Your bookshelves are crowded with previous prizes, a selection of plots grown thin
Physical books are compared to the boyfriend’s past relationships which have ended
Just as books and these trophies hold stories, so too does his past life hold stories that do not contain the girl but have ended just like this relationship may also end.
crowded-suggests he had had a lot of previous girlfriends
Grown thin-suggests they ended because he became bored with them, like someone becoming bored by reading the same story over and over
Your egg collection shatters me
Metaphor
The image of the egg collection relates, literally, to the childhood hobby of collecting eggs but also , metaphorically, eggs are a feminine symbol which suggests that he has collected women over the years.
Shatters-onomatopoeia emphasises her devastation at this discovery
(You just took one from each, you never wrecked a nest, you said)
parenthesis introduces extra information-the words of the man paraphrased by the speaker
wrecked a nest-play on words. The idea of a ‘home wrecker’ and suggests that over the years, despite bringing many ‘friends’ home, this has never been at the expense of anyone else
You said-suggests the speaker doesn’t believe him (accusing tone)
position
enjambment-placing it at the end of the line imitates how precarious the girl feels, she is ‘on the edge’
precarious, closeted to - it’s dark
conveys a sense of claustrophobia and darkness. This room is literally small but it also suggests then speaker feels wrapped in her relationship
premonition
connotes seeing the future and suggests that observing her partner’s childhood room had made her reconsider their future together
deceptive mildness
connotes hidden truths and suggests the mother’s presence is all around - she is cold, uninviting and the speaker is beginning to realise the enormity if her lasting influence on the man
