The Lammas Hireling Flashcards
Who is the speaker in The Lammas Hireling?
Farmer living with cattle in an isolated area whose wife passed away
Key events of The Lammas Hireling?
Hires young man to help him on the farm
Cattle loves young man (they prosper)
Farmer dreams about his wife
Farmer wakes up by scream
Farmer finds naked hireling in a fox trap
Farmer shoots hireling who transforms into a hare
Farmer dumps body in river but feels guilty and disorientated
Quote for colloquialism in The Lammas Hireling
“muckle care”
Quote for religious imagery in The Lammas Hireling
“bless me father”
Quote(s) for supernatural imagery in The Lammas Hireling
“warlock” -> male witch
“elf-shot” -> cursed
Quote for a simile in The Lammas Hireling
“his eyes rose like bread”
Quote for alliteration in The Lammas Hireling
“disturbed from dreams”
- builds an unsettling tension
- symmetry cut by jarring effects
Quote for juxtaposition in The Lammas Hireling
“light heart… heavy purse”
- found a hardworking farmer who was not expensive
Quote for light imagery in The Lammas Hireling
“pale form… dark lantern”
- oxymoronic
- uncertainty
-frequent shifts between light and dark
What is the tone of The Lammas Hireling?
Becomes increasingly dark over 5 stanzas
- represents stages of the tale
What is the structure of The Lammas Hireling?
Regular pattern of syllables and line organisation
No conventional rhythm/rhyme
Themes in The Lammas Hireling
Passion, sin and guilt
Superstition and folklore
Remorseless and religious duplicity
