Paul Durcan- Six Nuns Die In A Convent Inferno Flashcards
Type of narrative
Durcan takes the voice of one of the nuns and emerges himself sing artistic licence
Buoyancy and Optimism through the winding narrative
Upon seeing the “punks” the nun says?
I knew it was myself who was the ultimate drop-out… to opt out of the world and to / choose such exotic loneliness.
Why does she call herself the original punk?
Punks are still part of the real world but she has chosen a more counter cultural and lonely option, being a nun. She’ll never have a family or children of her own, hence loneliness
A bird metaphor for the nuns? Q
When we went to bed we were as eerie an aviary as you’d find
Explain the use of eerie aviary and bird metaphor
Nuns are not very eerie, but she considers herself as the original punk so perhaps assumes others do too.
Inventive simile as their room is up high in the “rooftops of the city” like a birds nest, as birds they are closer to Jesus.
Vivid image of elderly nuns at night? Q
Scutting about our dorm, wheezing, shrieking, croaking
Nuns personality? Q
“We’d not stand a snowballs chance in hell”
Discuss nuns personality
Bubbly
Uses Dublin voice and colloquialism
Jokes
Jokes about dying - happy to die - has lived life to fullest and has reached a spiritual content
What’s the weirdest thing the nun did? Q
“For we had done weirdest thing a woman can do / - surrendered the marvellous passions of girlhood, / the innocent dreams of childhood”
Why was the nuns choice to become a nun weird?
By making this choice she is suppressing part of what it is to be human - having children and family.
She sacrificed all this to dedicate her life or Jesus
Rather than committing to a man through marriage, she ironically commits to Jesus by becoming a nun
What’s the nun missing out on? Q
Never to have children of our own: / never to have a home of our own
Another bird reference? Q
Beating our wings
Why is the nun happy to die? Q
Christ is the fire in whose waves / we are doomed but delighted to drown
Explain why she is “delighted to drown”
Going into the sea as the sea is Christ and he will take her.
She is willing to leave earth to meet Christ
She really has nothing left to live for, her purpose was to follow Jesus and now she’s finally getting the chance to meet him.
She’s ok with dying as she’s met a spiritual contentment
How is the nun selfless? Q
Poor fire-brigade men
