Effects - Alan Jenkins Flashcards
What is Effects about? (2 points)
This poem explores the relationship between a middle-class son and his working-class mother - her limited education and the conservative attitudes of her generation created a gulf between them
It explores a twofold loss - the mother grieving for her husband, and the speaker grieving for his mother - and focuses on their guilt, with both the mother and the son showing affection to their loved ones only after their deaths
What is the structure of Effects? (4 points)
The poem is one long stanza, comprising only two sentences - the piling on of clauses and sub-clauses creates a sense of tension as the speaker’s thoughts unfold
The rhyme scheme is irregular, often with several lines between the rhyming words, as in ‘plate’ and ‘wait’ and ‘scarred’ and ‘hard’ at the beginning of the poem
The lurching from closeness to distance reflects the nature of the mother-son relationship
Finally, three rhymed lines at the end of the poem signify the finality of the woman’s passing.
What is the language and imagery of Effects? (4 points)
The voice is that of the speaker, who may be the poet, using the first person singular pronoun ‘I’
The portrayal of the elderly woman’s character and attitudes is made vivid by lists of things she did and objects she used
The son’s attitude to his mother’s ways is conveyed briefly and, by implication, suggests self-criticism or regret for his lack of tolerance and compassion
The soaps and game shows that ‘I’d disdain’, in just two words,, set up the tricky relationship issues that many readers may understand - the problematic generation, class and education gap
