Letters from Yorkshire Flashcards
What type of poem it?
Romantic
What are the key themes?
- Connection
- Contrasting lifestyle
- Romanticising partner
Key quotes for connection?
“Our souls tap out messages across icy miles.” - “souls” suggest that they are connected and unified and are one entity, icy miles = obstacles, so letters help cross obstacles and get over issues, they can do anything and get through any obstacle or challenge, healthy relationship as they can get over their challenges, talk it out and get over stuff, long distance doesn’t stop them
Key quotes for contrasting lifestyles?
“Me with a heart full of headlines / feeding words onto a blank screen.” - very bare and boring description, clearly doesn’t enjoy her job or doesn’t enjoy it becuase she’s got a vision that his is better, could be inferred as letters feed words onto or into her blank life - letters are life giving and her the energy to live
“Digging his garden, planting potatoes” - romanticising him, he’s working hard and doing manual labour very contrasting to her “blank screen” which is linked to technology and office work, it’s quite physically demanding - she’s demanding to have a similar life or be with him
“Indoors” & “Garden” - contrast, polar opposites, being indoors is just said as “indoors” and being outside is “garden” which can be linked to blossoming flowers and life and nature, could create a sense of jealousy or rather a longing to be with him, constantly rejecting the possibility of her life being fun or exciting
Key quotes for romanticising her partner?
“Seeing the seasons / turning” - the enjambement creates a gap between their lives again, jealousy, he’s out there seeing the blossom of nature and how the world is changing but she’s stuck inside and being unhappy with her life
“His knuckles singing” - choir and purity, glorifying his knuckles as they do hard labour, personification of knuckles, their knuckles are very different - his sing as he’s outside with the nature and hears birds chirping and singing but hers are so boring and so aren’t even worth talking about hence why she doesn’t talk about hers
