The Hearth Lesson: IOE notes Flashcards
what type of Meehan poem is this? and what is it about?
Another of Meehan’s memory poems, ‘Hearth Lessons’ is an honest and troubling personal depiction of poverty and marital strife.
How is the poet’s narrative style evident in:
‘Either phrase will bring it back –
money to burn, burning a hole in your pocket.’
the poet’s narrative style is evident as she crafts a clever and engaging opening:
‘Either phrase will bring it back –
money to burn, burning a hole in your pocket.’
‘Either phrase will bring it back –
money to burn, burning a hole in your pocket.’
How and why does the poet create curiosity?
Here the poet deliberately creates curiosity for the reader. What is ‘it’ and why do those particular phrases ‘bring it back’? The reader now has questions, and the answers can only be found by reading the poem.
What is the ‘it’ memory?
‘It’ is a memory of an extraordinary moment in the poet’s childhood when her mother took money presented to her by her husband and ‘threw the lot in the fire.’
‘The flames were blue and pink and green,
a marvelous sight, and alchemical scene…’
‘The flames sheared from cinder to chimney breast
like trapped exotic birds;
the shadows jumped floor to ceiling…’
What is important about the imagery here? what does it evoke?
The moment is evoked in startling, clear imagery, and the reader witnesses the notes burn though the power of the poet’s imagery.
On its own, these lines make this a memorable poem.
What rare ability does Meehan have, to do with the senses?
Meehan has the rare ability to stimulate the senses, transporting the reader to a time and a place in their imagination in which they share the poet’s life experiences.
Meehan has the rare ability to stimulate the senses and has a great command of aesthetic language. How does she do this in these quotes below?
‘The flames were blue and pink and green,
a marvelous sight, and alchemical scene…’
‘The flames sheared from cinder to chimney breast
like trapped exotic birds;
the shadows jumped floor to ceiling…’
The use of simile, the sibilance, the list of colours, the unusual noun-adjective combination and the precision of the verb choice all combine as evidence of the poet’s command over aesthetic language.
What relationship is explored in this poem?
This poem is an exploration of a relationship, that between the poet’s mother and father
How is the fractious relationship of the parents introduced in the poem?
their fractious relationship is cleverly alluded to in the classical allusion in the 2nd
stanza
‘I am crouched by the fire
in the flat in Sean McDermott Street
while Zeus and Hera battle it out…’
Explain the classical allusion in the title
Classical allusion is also evident in the poem’s title, a reference to the Roman emphasis on the hearth as emblematic of family and identity.
The lessons we learn when we are young are lessons we learn from family and they are lessons which have a profound and formative impact.
What does the poem suggest about the type of people her parents were?
This poem suggests that her parents were both strong people and that, as a child, the poet was witness to their battles.
Spot the techniques here and explain their effects:
she’ll see his fancyman
and raise him the Cosmo snooker hall;
Once again, the poet’s forensic eye for detail (‘the Cosmo Snooker Hall’) and use of
colloquial language (‘airs and graces’ and ‘fancyman’ lend a sense of authenticity to the scene(s) being described.
What does the metaphor in the following quote tell us about the poet’s childhood?
‘I’m net, empire, and court; most balls
are lobbed over my head.’
The poet was caught in the middle, helpless as conflict between her parents exploded
in front of her and she captures this reality in the metaphor
‘I’m net, empire, and court; most balls
are lobbed over my head.’
How is the terrible reality of being caught between feuding parents communicated? (a quote)
The terrible reality of being caught between feuding and beloved parents is communicated when the poet refers to ‘the particular hello of the unsaid, of ‘tell your mother…’ ‘ask your father….’ ’
what were these fights about?
These fights were invariably about money.
