Litany Flashcards
summary
- a poem that explores the themes of childhood, societal standrads and women’s restrictions
- speaker depicts her mother’s influence on her during childhood
- towards the end of the poem, the speaker is able to push against the world she’s grown up in
time
remembering events of the past, a reflection on a different time
place
mostly the Lounge and the playground, poem centres around the Lounge and the women in it
relationship
women and her mother are depicted as a very formal and unforgiving group in opposition to her as a child learning
characteristics of the poetic voice
solemn
senses of seriousness paired with humour
“bristle” “broken” “sharp” “hard”
semantic field of aggression/pattern of plosive sounds
reflects the tense atmosphere created by the women’s rigidity
implies a sense of nowhere being safe or feeling safe for the speaker
PV is vulnerable and feels unsafe
free verse structure
contrasts the rigid and controlled lifestyle that the speaker has to follow
speaker lacks freedom in their own home
- candlewick bedspread three piece suite display cabinet -
parenthetical listing/italics
represents superficiality of the home which has led to the lack of a close relationship with her mother
home is decorated for looks and not comfort, shallow materialism
PV is bored and reminiscing on the home environment
introduction of first-person pronouns
purposeful transition into the personal and emotional part of the narrative
she didn’t enjoy her childhood
PV is emotional and reflective
“stiff-haired” “terrible” “embarrassing”
pattern of adjectives
voicing her opinion now as she wouldn’t have been able to in her childhood
feels like she’s gaining a voice she didn’t have when she was younger
PV is reminiscing
comparison to other poems
Before You Were Mine - both reflect on their mothers and the childhood that existed with their mothers
