Sestina Notes & Quotes Explained

Question 1

Explain the quote ‘time to plant tears’ in the case of Elizabeth Bishop and the child

Answer 1

The phrase ‘time to plant tears’ could mean that it is time for the adult Bishop to bury her tears.

It could also mean that for the young child, the time for tears is over.

Question 2

Explain the quote ‘the grandmother sings’

Answer 2

The grandmother now sings, which also suggests a change in her attitude. Her singing shows that she has become more optimistic and positive about life.

This is also the only home the child knows and the grandmother is trying to make it more homely.

Question 3

Explain the quote ‘the child draws another inscrutable house’

Answer 3

The child draws another house which may suggest that she is hopeful for the future as her last painting had been affected by the ‘tears’ from the almanac.
But ‘inscrutable’ describes an uninterpretable future that may possibly result in more tears and sadness to accompany it.

Question 4

quotes creating a domestic scene

Answer 4

“beside the little marvel stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking”

Question 5

Quotes layering sadness onto the scene in the first stanza

Answer 5

‘September rain’, ‘failing light’ and the grandmother hiding ‘her tears’

Question 6

important domestic details in the home quotes

Answer 6

“the iron kettle sings on the stove.
she cuts some bread”
“it’s time for tea now”

Question 7

Explain the quote “she thinks her equinoctial tears and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac”

Answer 7

Sadness abounds. It is even foretold by the almanac. The grandmother believes that her autumn tears and the rain were ‘foretold by the almanac’.

Question 8

Quote the grandmothers tears and the rain being foretold by the almanac

Answer 8

“she thinks her equinoctial tears and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac”

Question 9

Explain the following quotes as one:

‘September rain’, ‘failing light’ and the grandmother hiding ‘her tears’

Answer 9

Sadness is layered onto the scene with these fine details that suggest a mood of sorrow.
They contrast the domestic notings like the ‘little marvel stove’ that adds a sense of warmth to the pain and suffering.

Question 10

Explain the quotes in stanza 3 ‘the teakettle’s small hard tears dance like mad’ in terms of Elizabeth Bishop and her past.

Answer 10

The phrase ‘dance like mad’ strikes a poignant note as Bishop’s mother was committed to a psychiatric hospital when she was only 5; they never met again

Question 11

Explain the quotes ‘‘but the child is watching the teakettle’s small hard tears’ and ‘the way the rain must dance on the roof’

Answer 11

The child interprets sorrow everywhere. The droplets of steam from the kettle are transformed into the unwept tears of the grandmother.

The rain, tears and drops fuse here and emphasise the presence of sadness strongly.

Question 12

Explain how the choice to have the characters remain nameless effect the poem in terms of the poet

Answer 12

Bishop attempts to put order to her early childhood trauma in this poem; this can be seen in the complicated, restrictive structure of the sestina.
The story is told in the 3rd person. Bishop remains apart from the experience so she may observe her own childhood.

Question 13

Explain the quotes ‘Birdlike, the almanac hovers half open’, ‘hovers above the grandmother’

Answer 13

there is a sinister presence, personified as a bird of ill-omen

Question 14

The sinister presence of the birdlike almanac is connected to the following quote ‘her teacup full of dark brown tears’. How is this so?

Answer 14

The mood of misgiving is heightened by the grandmother’s ‘teacup full of dark brown tears’

Question 15

a sense of synonyms

Answer 15

an impression of, a feeling, believe, parodies, creates an atmosphere of

Question 16

synonyms for this explains more clearly

Answer 16

elucidate, explicate, expound, (implies)

Question 17

How does the quote ‘it was to be’ add to the poem

Answer 17

It creates an atmosphere of inevitability

Question 18

Quote the appearance of the first picture drawn by the child

Answer 18

‘the child draws a rigid house and a winding pathway’ and ‘a man with buttons like tears’

Question 19

The quotes ‘the child draws a rigid house and a winding pathway’ and ‘a man with buttons like tears’ carry profound importance to the poem and the poet, elucidate.

Answer 19

Poem importance:
The house is ‘rigid’, inflexible.
There is a certain tension around the word ‘rigid’, giving a feeling of lacking homeliness in the house.

Poet: The ‘rigid’ house gives the impression that Bishop’s traumatic childhood cannot be altered.
The ‘winding pathway’ is difficult to follow. It implies the difficulties Bishop faces in life searching for a home.
I understand the man with ‘buttons like tears’ must represent her late father who passed when she was 8 months old. The tears may possibly describe her sorrow and grieving for the lack of a paternal figure in her life.

Question 20

Explain the quote ‘the little moons fall down like tears from between the pages of the almanac into the flowerbed’

Answer 20

The child looks at the almanac and imagines tears falling from it, hinting at future sadness and trouble to come, foretold/prophesied by the almanac.

Question 21

Quote the lines speaking of the moons of tears in the almanac falling to the child’s drawing

Answer 21

‘the little moons fall down like tears from between the pages of the almanac into the flowerbed’

Question 22

Quotes the final three lines of the poem

Answer 22

‘time to plant tears, says the almanac.
the grandmother sings to the marvellous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house’

Question 23

The quote ‘time to plant tears’ has deeper meanings, expound this statement

Answer 23

‘Time to plant tears’ can employ multiple meanings, two of which contrast each other powerfully.
The first has optimistic notes seen that the sorrow and pain are being buried; the time for regret is over and a hopeful future will grow from the misery.
The second explanation employed a far more depressing explication. It suggests that sorrow will accompany the growth of the child. We can only hope that the child makes good of what little home stability they have.

Question 24

How does this poem mirror Elizabeth Bishop’s childhood?

Answer 24

There is a lack of mother and father in this poem just as in the poet’s life. The tense and sad atmosphere in the home was quite like hers as she was moved around from relative to relative for her childhood.