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English H > The Bargain > Flashcards

The Bargain Flashcards

1
Q

January

A

(T) Passage of Time -
First month of the
new year, a time for
change/ resolutions

cold and bleak weather is suggestive of their emotional state

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2
Q

You and I

A

(S.S) Separate
line to represent
the distance
between the
couple

OR they are in this together/still love each other

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3
Q

Barrows

A

(I) The Barrows is
used as an extended
metaphor to explore
and reflect on the
relationship.

(C) Famous market
in the east end of
Glasgow.

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4
Q

twitch and fret

A

(W.C) suggests
anticipated trouble.
In the same way the
police are waiting
for the football
supporters to cause
trouble, the speaker
is waiting for trouble
to erupt between
them on what should
be a happy day out.

twitch connotes restless, agitated
fret connotes worry and stress

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5
Q

kick-off
three thirty

A

implies a football match

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6
Q

rubbing the wrong way

getting ready to fly

A

idiom and metaphor

(W.C) suggests discomfort as they
walk against the football
supporters and the beginning of a
disagreement between the
couple.

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7
Q

where the two rivers meet.

A

(I) Literally the two streams that
meet to forge the River Clyde,
metaphorically suggests the sectarian
nature of the violence at the football.

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8
Q

January (line 11)

A

repetition reaffirms the idea of a new era for the speaker

theme of the passage of time

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9
Q

looking back, looking forward

A

repetition

(I) Extended
metaphor of the
Barrows. The
couple are literally
lost in the market
but metaphorically
lost in their
relationship.

keep changing their minds (back and forth in relationship)

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10
Q

don’t know which way

A

(S.S) Enjambment forces us to read
on from the end of this stanza to
the beginning of the next.
Suggests the speaker is allowing
herself to be distracted so that she
doesn’t have to think about her
failing relationship.

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11
Q

but the boy
with three beautiful Bakelite
Bush radios for sale in Meadow’s Minimarket is

A

(I) Alliteration of ‘b’ adds to the
quickness of the line
Suggests she wants to
change topic quickly

The plosive ‘b’s in ‘boy’, ‘beautiful’, ‘Bakelite’, ‘Bush’ imitate a bopping rhythm. This makes the market seem alive

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12
Q

buttonpopping stationhopping

A

(W.C) made up
words help
present the boy
in a precise way
and create a
playful tone

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13
Q

doesn’t miss a beat sings along it’s easy

A

(S.S) Deliberate spacing conveys
effectively the static as the boy switches
between stations/the voice of the
stallholder. Represents the distance
between the couple.

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14
Q

to every changing tune

A

(T) breakdown of the relationship, the couple keep changing their mind

metaphorically

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15
Q

Yes today we’re in love aren’t we?

A

The question continues the uncertainty. ‘today’ they’re in love-but what about tomorrow?

suggests unsureness in the relationship. Yes, they are currently in love but there is uncertainty whether they feel the same in the near future

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16
Q

splintering

A

word choice
commits breaking apart, broken and shabby
Refers to the sectarianism dividing the city and also links to the couple’s relationship that is breaking apart

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17
Q

brazen

A

implies the idea of Glasgow is loud, brash

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18
Q

wintry bridges

A

Metaphor
suggests the literal coldness of the city in January but also the disinterestedness of the couple in their relationship; things have grown cold between them

19
Q

So what if every other tenement
wears its hearth on its gable end?

A

(W.C) play on the phrase ‘wear
your heart on your sleeve’ –
refers to the honest nature of
Glaswegian people but suggests
the couple should do the same. They should be emotionally open and honest

the question continues to depict their uncertainties in the relationship

20
Q

All I want
is my glad eye to catch
a glint in your flinty Northern face again
just once.

A

(T) Complex
relationships –
speaker hopes for a
reconciliation

21
Q

underneath the arches

A

reference to weddings is ironic given the state of their relationship

22
Q

Somebody absolutely steamboats he says on
sweet warm wine
swigged plaincover from a paper bag

A

alliteration/sibilance mimics the voice of a man, slurring his words

23
Q

squats in a puddle with nothing to sell
but three bent forks a torn
calendar (last year’s)
and a broken plastic sandal.

A

(I) Everything he
sells is worthless/
broken – the couple
are selling each
other a broken idea

24
Q

So we hadn’t the stomach for it today.

We don’t deserve a bargain then!

A

(S.S) short sentence
reflects how tiring
the argument has
become. Tone of
defeat.

exclamation mark creates a tone of anger

25
There was no doubt the rare the beautiful and the bugle-beaded the real antique dirt cheap
(S.S) spacing becomes more frequent suggesting the growing distance between the couple. (T) Relationships - they are looking for something of value but they don’t want to pay the price. There is a price to be paid in commitment and compromise which they don’t seem to be willing to pay.
26
At the Barrows everything has a price
Relationship-suggests there is a price to be paid for everything, including a relationship
27
believe me this boy knows his radios.
relationship. (S.S) take the reader back to the boy selling radios in stanza 3, suggests the couple are going round in circles.
28
fibreglass is flabbergasted
(I) Lochhead again vividly brings to life the people of Glasgow through alliteration
29
struggling families wound up
the couple do not have any strong relationship to look up to
30
All the couples we know fall apart | or have kids
enjambment emphasises the idea that for some couples having children is a choice they make to try to save the relationship enjambment also emphases that the couple are falling apart
31
Oh we’ve never shouldered much
(T) Breakdown of relationships. The couple only ever buy small, trivial things, similar to their relationship. They refuse to commit. But also that they’ve failed to invest much emotionally, or never taken on the burdens of what should be a committed relationship.
32
We’ll stick to small ikons for our home– as long as they’re portable –
ikons-(c)implying that the word is misspelled at the market parenthesis reinforces that they are ready to move on as long as they’re portable-(T)Breakdown of relationship. ‘portable’ suggests each is ready to move on if necessary.
33
no connoisseur can afford to be too scrupulous
scrupulous-connotes careful, thorough, attentive to details suggests for their relationship to be fixed, they must look over the little issues they have
34
stucco
(c)types of material
35
grit our teeth
(W.C) play on words – grit from the sugar or to grit your teeth to prevent you from saying something you might regret/to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation and get through it-deal with it in a determined way
36
I keep losing and finding you
key idea of the poem-true of their trip to the Barrows and of their relationship double entendre
37
gilt
word play on the word ‘gilt’ which also makes us think of ‘guilt’. Each feel guilty about the cracks in the relationship which they can no longer hide
38
Oh come on we promised we’d not let our affection for the slightly cracked trap us into such expenditure again.
(I) Extended image of the Barrows as a metaphor for the relationship. They have promised each other before that they will not stay together out of habit
39
she says see January it’s been the doldrums the day
(i)Scottish dialect introduced-lochhead creates a realistic character through the stallholder doldrums-a depressing word which could also be used to speak of their relationship
40
And it’s packing up time
(c) It’s time to go home, the market is coming to an end: this could also be true of their relationship double entendre
41
dark coming early and as cold as the river.
W.C) The words here are ominous – darkness is coming and it’s cold. Reference to the river in stanza one – the day is coming to an end but nothing is resolved.
42
the inlaid butterfly and the broken catch. you’ve bought a record by the Shangri-las a pin-stripe waistcoat that needs a stitch it just won’t get
(I) The broken things they have bought are a metaphor for their relationship. Neither will be mended
43
The raw cold gets colder.
(S.S) short sentence is abrupt – suggests the distance between the couple is growing.
44
There doesn’t seem to be a lot to say. I wish we could either mend things or learn to throw them away.
first sentence-(T) They have lost the ability to communicate with each other – this is often regarded as fundamental in any relationship second sentence-y relationship (T) Links to the previous stanza and the broken items. The speaker wishes they could mend their relationship or end it, yet they seem unable to do either, leaving the poem on a tone of uncertainty. say and away-S.S) The rhyme in the last lines adds to their finality

English H (6 decks)

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