Storyteller Flashcards
Summary
Talks about a women who worked on a shelter or orphanage for kids. Her formal work was to wash the dishes, cook, and clean. But her really work, what mattered about her , was telling stories
Intention and purpose
Bringing the spotlight to the ones who worked hard and didn’t get recognition they deserve or silenced and belittled by society
- domestic workers
- lowly workers
- women
Showing the values of stories (hence the name of the story storyteller) and how difficult telling stories are
Structure
The poem is written in unrhythmed verse. The lines aren’t metered and have no repeating patterns of rhythm. Stanza are of differing length l the way the poem could be read aloud suggest the loose controlled form of a master storyteller
The stanza are presented a single sentence. Lines run from one to another without pause or punctuation called enjambment. The flowing of the structure suggests both the skill of the storyteller as well as constant shifting and movement int he quiet scene
Deeper meaning
The poet tried to say that the story is the important method for passing knowledge or ideas to the next generation
“ she sat down at the scoured table in the swept kitchen”
“She sat down” the first of the poem mimics the storytelling rituals, as an audience of listener prepare to hear the story
—> the “she” doesn’t have a capital letter at the start of the stanza unlike other stanza that Starts off with capital letters, conveying unimportance and poverty
“Scoured” and “swept” diction helps set the scene ;many of the words suggest the hardworking nature of a subsistence community. Later in the poem the listener will be described as ‘peasants’
“Dish water or tasty was her soup”
Metaphor, give the image of her soup and tasteless taste. This indicates that she can’t afford decent meals all the time compared to the quality of her stories “dishwater” means it’s not always good
“Gathering air to the single strongest thread”
Use of the spinnning wheel, spinner draws out the fibre of wool and twist them to form a single strong thread. Her stories start from nothing and build to an anticipate and colourful tale. Sibilance used
A simile compare storytelling to spinning . The storyteller ‘weaves’ stories out of the words- they seem to come from thin air
—> her stories are strong and powerful as suggested by the image of a single strong thread .one of the theme of the poem is how stories can bring people together this reinforced by sibilance as well
“The stories dissolved in the whorl of the ear “
‘Dissolved’ is a curious word. It seems to suggest the stories disappear but something dissolved in water hasn’t vanished completely; it is still there, but can’t be seen
The image of the stories ‘dissolving ‘ is a metaphor that suggest they are still present , all though invisible , the minds of the listener. By giving the stories the ability to ‘dissolve themselves’ the poem suggest that stories take on a life of their own
It talk about how it become morning and is everyone is back to their daily routine. Which suggest how they have forgotten the story
As thin grey light washed over flat fields
The colour ‘grey’ combines with ‘flat fields’ to create a thin , lifeless image of the world , as if by day everything is a bit wash out boring and bland.
Images at the start of the stanza are tactile, connected to the movement suggest the physical effort of the days work. The image of light ‘washing’ over the land makes an explicit link between daylight and work
