Letters From Yorkshire Flashcards
Context
Maura Dooley was born in 1957 in Truro, Cornwall. She lived in Yorkshire for a few years before moving. to London, where she’s now a lecturer in Creative Writing. ‘Letters From Yorkshire’ was published in 2002.
summary
1) A man is working in his garden. He sees his first lapwings of the season and writes to the narrator about it.
2) The narrator reflects on their different lives the man lives in Yorkshire and spends time outside, whereas she lives a long way away, presumably in a city, and spends her time inside writing.
3) The narrator wonders if his life is more fulfilling because he’s closer to nature. She feels as though he lives in a different world, but the letters he writes help her to feel connected to him and his way of life.
form
1) FORM - The poem is written in free verse, which makes the poem flow like natural speech or a letter.
Eniambment allows lines and stanzas to flow into each other - this continuous movement reflects the way the seasons are constantly changing. The use of three-line stanzas instead of an even number of lines makes the poem look disjointed - this reflects how the narrator feels disconnected from the man.
structure
STRUCTURE - In the first three stanzas, the narrator shows how she and the man live different lives.
Despite this, it becomes clear in the final two stanzas that they have a deep connection.
physical verbs
PHYSICAL VERBS - A series of active verbs (e.g. “digging”, “planting”) describe the letter writer’s physical work in his garden. They are ordinary but satisfying actions that emphasise his connection with nature.
contrasts
CONTRASTS - The narrator presents her lifestyle as different to the letter writer’s - he works outside while she sits at a computer. Whilst he sees his life as ordinary, she romanticises it and sees her own life as inferior. Alliteration emphasises the contrast between her “heartful of headlines” and his “seeing the seasons” - the word “headlines” sounds melodramatic and artificial compared to the natural “seasons”
communication
5) LANGUAGE ABOUT COMMUNICATION
- Communication bridges the distance between them and
emphasises the things they have in common. Figurative language suggests their connection is almost spiritual.
quote about Longing?
“pouring air and light into an envelope”
-metaphor shows joy they receive from writing letters to each other - image created of someone pouring air & light into an envelope suggests that the speaker feels trapped in her urban life and longs to be closer to home
-speaker longs for emotional closeness despite vast geographical separation from Yorkshire - the letters are a method of preserving an emotional tie to home, maintaining a sense of connection despite physical distance
quote about Nature?
“our souls tap out messages across the icy miles”
-poem ends w beautiful metaphor showing how they aren’t letting themselves become disconnected from each other.
-“icy miles” usually acts as pathetic fallacy to denote something negative however, Dooley has not allowed it to do so here
“In February, digging his garden, planting potatoes”
-use of natural imagery in poem illustrates that just as seasons undergo constant change, speaker will be constantly inextricably connected to her home.
