On her blindness Flashcards
“On her blindness”
An allusion to John Milton’s “on his blindness” where he is afraid without his sight he cannot write poetry and serve God but eventually he realises its not about seeing God but feeling God.
Describe the structure of the poem
In couplets - symbolizes 2 pairs of eyes. The last line stands on its own - the mother cannot pretend her 2 eyes work in death
“My mother could not bear being blind, to be honest.”
Opening confessional statement immediately creates vulnerability
Colloquial language - raw. Feels like we are being let in on a family secret
Plosive B
“One shouldn’t say it. One should hide the fact that catastrophic handicaps are hell”
Almost like a biblical command which handicaps are expected to obey.
Alliteration of “h” creates a hushed tone, almost like a whisper which symbolizes the way handicaps are expected to conceal their disability and become not only blind but mute as well
–> idea is reinforced when the mother whispered in the Paris restaurant
“from those who bear it like a Roman or somehow find joy in the fight.”
Stoic simile - criticizing the façade blind people have to create
“joy in the fight” - ironic as battles and fights are only ever meant for able bodied people not handicaps. Now handicaps are expected to fight in a battle that was never really meant for them
Enjambment from joy to fight highlights the juxtaposition between the two
“its living hell, to be honest, Adam. If I gave up hope of a cure I’d bump myself off.”
A colloquial, inelegant euphemism, contrasted against the elegance of Paris
“:the locked- in son”
Caesura physically separates the son from the rest of the sentence to highlight how he is emotionally trapped whereas his mother is physically trapped
“No built-in compass, as my father joked. Instead she pretended to ignore the void, or laughed it off.”
Ghostly assonance created by Thorpe suggests the mother is like a living dead person
“no built- in compass” echoes “locked- in son” They both have to deal with the consequences with her blindness
“Her last week alive (a fortnight back) was golden weather, of course, the autumn trees around the hospital ablaze with colour
“Golden” = regal, glory of life and a promise of heaven which contrasts against the constant references of hell. Perhaps if not in life, then she can find peace in death
“Her eyelids were closed in the coffin: it was up to us to believe she was watching, somewhere in the end.”
“somewhere” slows the poem down, accepting the truth. It is met with an end stop to highlight the finality of death
