On Her Blindness

Question 1

Structure

Answer 1

• no rhyme scheme shows a free flowing and authentic account of personal loss
  -similarly, endless enjmabment shows the overhwhkem of grief and the unending nature of the mothers suffering
• each stanza has two lines: could symbolise the coupled relationship ended int he final one by the finality of her death. Could also show a facade of order but really there is no organisation showing grief moving forward

Question 2

On her blindness

Answer 2

• based off of john Milton’s ‘on his blidness’ where he threats of illness but urges for stoicism in the face of death and disease. Whilst the mother too is diligent and faces issues with dignity, she does not resign to her circumstances
• the female pronoun her is personal and individual showing an authentic experience

Question 3

My mother could not bear being blind to be honest

Answer 3

• plosive alliteration creates a heavy stop reflecting how the blindess has stagnated her life
• irony as the whole poem is about how she facades coping with her illness
• dictation of lexis ‘bear’ connotes to the real burden that it imposes

Question 4

One shouldn’t say it. One should hide…

Answer 4

• impersonal pronoun ‘one’ dissociates speaker from personal account and makes the poem allegorical universal criticism for societal attitudes towards dignity in disabilities- much like on his blindness
• enjmabment here creates an overwhelm that mimics the unbearable flowing suffering and yet the constant desire to conform to societies perception of dignity

Question 5

Bear it like a Roman

Answer 5

• repetition of lexis bear put emphasis on the difficulty to persevere in bodily pain and turmoil
• however this si contrasted by the simile which reflects how society expects people to have ancient levels of emotional dignity and strength, likening them to roman soldiers

Question 6

Still not finding the food on the plate..

Answer 6

• vivid imagery of her being unable to to basic human rites like eating expresses the humiliation of disabilities
• the fact the restaurant is in public and in paris puts emphatic pressure on the idea that there is dignity around her and she is the one being ridiculted
• fosters empathy

Question 7

It’s living hell to be honest Adam

Answer 7

• verb ‘whispered’ symbolises how one has to break there dignity in a DIGNIFIED way and can never deal with her blindnesses consequences in a public manner
• contrasts the line before which was very satirical to show the harsh reality that’s often ignored by societies jokes
• oxymoronic phrase ‘living hell’ underscores a sense of entrapment in a situation that paradoxically will never end until she dies

Question 8

I’d bump myself off

Answer 8

-colloquial Euphamism of suicide shows how entrenched her despair is
- lexis ‘bump’ is re[eated below which shows how the daily humiliation of being blind leads to suicide
- lexis bump is emphatically placed at the end of an enjambed line which creates shock at the colloquialism of her wish to die

Question 9

:the locked in son

Answer 9

• medial caesura and end stop make his words appear physically caged in on the page
• symbolises how he feels inadequate to help his mother in a time of need and can’t express the extent of her distress to anyone else in society
• ironic because if he feels caged by her illness we must get a lot of sympathy for her Whois physically caged in her world