Laundrette Flashcards
‘It calms the air and makes the windows stream’
What technique is used here?
The steam is personified
‘Rippling the hinterlands big houses to a blur’
Analyse…
HINTERLAND
BLUR
HINTERLAND - areas remote from cultural centres
BLUR - links back to the idea of nebulous is the previous stanza, which connotes ambiguity
‘Of bedsits - not a patch on what they were before’
What is the significance of using the imagery of bedsits? Think back to the previous line
What does this line suggest?
Analyse the language used in the second part of the line
BEDSITS - communicates the idea that the area is poor and poverty stricken - creates contrast with the idea of ‘big houses’ on the previous line
The line suggests that the area has changed beyond recognition
The language is relatively colloquial
‘We stuff the tub, jam money in the slot’
What do the words ‘stuff’ and ‘jam’ suggest?
A sense of frustration and carelessness
‘We sit nebulous in steam’
What is the significance of using the word ‘nebulous’?
NEBULOUS
- Cloudlike, hazy
- Unclear, vague
‘Sit back on rickle chairs not’
What does rickle mean?
Scottish lexis (the author is Scottish) meaning unsteady
‘Reading. The paperbacks in our pockets curl’
What does this line suggest about how the people are behaving?
They are silent and isolated, watching each other rather then reading their books
‘Our eyes are riveted, our colours whirl’
What does this suggest?
We are lonely and isolated, despite the presence of others around us
‘We pour in smithereens of soap. The machine sobs’
What does smithereens mean in this context? W
Fragmented, splintered pieces
The writer is perhaps making an observation of society and the people around her
‘Our duds don’t know which way to turn.’
What is implied?
- We are filled with uncertainty and do not know which direction to go in
- Could also be speaking in the literal sense that the people in the laundrettes do not know which way to look, they are all avoiding each other’s eye
What is the reason behind the repeated sibilance in the third stanza?
Sibilance is repeated in order to mimic the repeated motion of the washing machines
What structure does the poem follow?
Why is this done?
- Quatrains and couplets
- In order to mimic the rhythm of the washing machine
‘The dark shoves one man in.’
What technique is used (in reference to dark)
What technique is used (in reference to punctuation)
- The dark is personified
- Caesura is used to bring a pause, which mimics the rhythm Of the washing machines
‘Lugging a bundle like a wandering Jew’
Why is a Jew used?
Jews are traditionally archetypal of a lonely figure - dates back to biblical times
‘Linen washed in public here’
What does this infer?
You’re life is exposed, out on display for everyone to observe, it cannot be hidden
‘We let out of the bag who we are’
What is this symbolic of?
- Refers to a loss of identity - metaphorical of life, emptying into the washing machine, wash away problems
‘This young wife has a fine stack of sheets, each pair
A present. She admires the clean cut air’
The sheets are possibly a…
Wedding present
She is proud of them
‘Of colour schemes and being chosen. Are the dyes fast?’
Why is the question mark used?
To suggest that she is unsure, she is naive and inexperienced, she is looking for help
‘The christening lather will be the first test’
What is meant by ‘christening’
First
‘This woman is deadpan before the rinse and sluice’
We guess the woman is a….
What is meant by deadpan?
….mother
DEADPAN - experienced and hardened, in contrast to the naive, inexperienced newlywed
‘Let them stew in their juice’
What do we learn about the woman?
She is referring to the family - she doesn’t want to go home, wants to escape. The clothes are metaphorical of issues at home
‘To a final fankle, twisted, wrung into rope’
What is meant by fankle?
Scottish dialect meaning tangled up
What is the significance of describing the three different characters in the poem?
Perhaps in order to reflect the development of life; from a naive newlywed, to a worn out mother, to a lonely, washed up man
‘For her to narrow her eyes and blow smoke at, his overalls’
What is referenced by ‘his overalls’ and what do we learn?
The woman’s husband is referenced
We learn that he is possibly a manual labourer, so the family are maybe quite poor
‘And pants ballooning, tangling with her smalls’
What is this sentence reflective of?
They are joined and intertwined as a family
‘And the tee shirts skinned from her wriggling son’
- Skinned - aggressive lexical choice
- Everyday imagery
‘She has a weather eye for what might shrink or run’
What does this line suggest about the woman?
The sentence underlines her experience
‘This dour man does for himself. Before him,’
What does dour mean?
What does the line suggest?
Dour means sour
The line suggests that he is isolated and alone
‘….before him
Half lost, his small possessions swim’
What does this suggest?
Only his clothes
Perhaps suggests insignificance
‘Cast off, random’
What does this suggest?
There is no system or process
‘They nose and nudge the porthole glass like flotsdam’
What does this sentence suggest?
What is meant by flotsam?
- Was he maybe widowed or divorced?
- Flotsam - ship wreckage
