Buying Winkles: IOE notes Flashcards
What does this poem catalogue the story of?
The poem catalogues the young girl’s joy at the adventure of striking out on a journey to purchase winkles for the family.
What is this memory of in the poem?
the memory is from her early childhood, when the family still lived in Dublin’s North inner city.
It is a relatively simple narrative poem, in which the poet recounts her experience of being sent to buy winkles (a type of mollusc like a mussel)
How does Meehan bring this poem to life?
The poem brings a particular time and place to life and contains a distinct pen portrait, this time of the old woman who sold the winkles.
Describe the beginning of the poem:
‘My mother would spare me sixpence and say,
‘Hurry up now and don’t be talking to strange
men on the way.’ I’d dash from the ghosts
on the stairs where the bulb had blown
out into Gardiner Street, all relief.’
The poem has a typically direct and engaging opening
What is the introduction of the mother’s character like?
The poet’s mother is introduced as a strong character, who seems
both loving (‘don’t be talking to strangers’) and impatient (‘Hurry up now’
What are the tell-tale signs the family is poor in the first stanza? (2)
The fact that the family were poor is clear from the note that her mother would ‘spare me sixpence’ and that the bulb on the stairs had blown but not been replaced.
” I’d dash from the ghosts
on the stairs “
What does the idea of running from ghosts introduce into the poem? What does it suggest?
The idea that the child had to flee from ‘ghosts’ introduces an element of drama and is perhaps suggestive of a childhood that was not exactly idyllic
“’d hold the tanner tight
and jump every crack in the pavement,”
One of Meehan’s characteristic traits is evident here. Name and explain it.
Meehan’s characteristic attention to detail is evident as she describes her younger self clutching the ‘tanner’ (a colloquial term for sixpence) tight as she ran through the streets.
Once the setting and atmosphere are established, what does Meehan introduce in?
And then, once the setting and atmosphere are established, the central character is introduced. The Winkle seller.
“‘sitting outside the Rosebowl Bar
on an orange-crate, a pram loaded
with pails of winkles before her…’”
What is the relevance of these minuscule details about the winkle seller?
All of these little details matter – the name of the bar, the fact that she was sitting on an orange crate, the fact that she has pails of winkles and uses a pram to transport them – these details combine to evoke a scene and a character with vivid and cinematic clarity.
“‘sitting outside the Rosebowl Bar
on an orange-crate, a pram loaded
with pails of winkles before her…’”
What is the relevance of these minuscule details about the winkle seller?
All of these little details matter – the name of the bar, the fact that she was sitting on an orangecrate, the fact thatshe has pails of winkles and uses a pram to transport them – these details combine to evoke a scene and a character with vivid and cinematic clarity.
how is the authenticity further emphasised and the senses stimulated after the detailed description of the WInkle seller scene?
That sense of authenticity is further emphasised and the olfactory and visual senses are stimulated with the observation that
‘When the bar doors swung open they’d leak
the smell of men together with drink
and I’d see light in golden mirrors.’
What about the winkle seller seemed magical to the child-poet?
this woman, who was poor and seemingly of little importance, was possessed of knowledge and skills that seemed magical to the child-poet.
What did the winkle seller teach the poet? What else did she do?
She taught the child to ‘slither him out’ and the ‘sweetest extra winkle brought the sea to me.’
She taught the child to ‘slither him out’ and the ‘sweetest extra winkle brought the sea to me.’ How did this effect the importance of the memory for Meehan?
The memory is golden. It is filled with love, with appreciation
