the skunk Flashcards
he’s missing his wife and for the first time in eleven years
•he’s writing her love letters
•usually, he wouldn’t have to if living at home
seems strange to him to write the word ‘wife’ and
•he compares the word to a cask of wine that has been stored away but now is about to be opened and savoured
what is the image of wine representative of
•this is an image of their marriage: something self contained and precious
•he focuses on the word ‘wife’ itself- its strangeness highlighted by inverted commas around it, and reflects on the sound of it, like he’s never really heard it before
what does the beautiful eucalyptus tree remind him of
•reminds him of his wife, as does the aftertaste of wine
the euphony in “beautiful, useless / Tang of eucalyptus” reflects what
•both the loveliness of the trees scent and the poets wife’s loveliness
he remembers inhaling his wife’s scent
•”off a cold pillow”
•the word “cold” evoking a sense of loss and emptiness
as heaney sits at his desk each night looking out the window, he’s aware of what
•the silence of the house
•the intermittent noises the fridge makes seem unusually loud, like the whinny of a horse
heaney use of “refrigerator” rather than “fridge” emphasizes what
•the american usage emphasizes how far from home heaney is
•he’s in a place where even the ordinary appears strange and exotic to him
the only light is that on his desk, and it illuminates what
•the veranda and orange trees outside
•the language in the poem is intensely sensual, as befits the theme
the visual imagery is particularly striking because
•the harsh glow of the lamp light is softer by the time it reaches the veranda, and the oranges take on a dramatic aspect looming in the tree
•this sense of drama is heightened by the arrival of the skunk, parading around in all its glamorous mystery
the skunk appears when
•each evening “snuffing” around the veranda
•the word “snuffing” is part of the ordinariness of the skunk
the skunks showy tail is so much in evidence that
• it appears to lead the skunk
•”the skunk’s tail / Paraded the skunk”
the tail appears “damasked”, which simply means
•shiny and patterned
what does the skunks tail remind heaney of
•the vestment a priest would wear at a funeral mass
•this reference to church links the skunk to the sacred and mysterious
skunk is confident as it walks around garden, intent on
•it’s own business and unaware of or uninterested in the poet
to an irishman like heaney, what is this skunk like
•it’s quite an exotic and “glamorous” creature, although it would be a common sight in california
the contradictory or paradoxical language here shows
•how to heaney, commonplace has taken on special meaning for him.
•it also epitomizes a lasting marriage in that it must be both ordinary and mysterious for it to survive
on a practical level, people become familiar with one another and go about their everyday lives together, but
•they must also retain a sense is mythology and mystery that are a part of romantic and sexual love
the nightly ritual of the skunks appearance leads to
•the poet becoming tense and excited as he wonders if she’ll appear tonight
he says that the thrill he gets from watching the skunk is almost like
•the thrill a voyeur would experience as he secretly watched a woman
this tension and excitement along with his admiration of
•the skunk beauty and confidence makes heaney long for his wife
•this feeling is exacerbated by his loneliness and sexual frustration
last stanza returns us to heaney present.
•he’s back home, some years after his stay in california
•he and his wife are getting ready for bed & he heard the sensual,gentle “sootfall” of her clothes as she undresses
the word “sootfall” is
•an evocative one
•he’s “stirred” by this and she bends down to get her nightdress from the bottom drawer,he’s reminded of the skunk “snuffing” around the veranda
•the sexual tension he felt then is linked to his arousal now
worth taking note of the word “sootfall”
•like the skunk, it seems a strange image to connect to a loved one and to sexual desire
•soot is dirty, yet heaney is aroused or “stirred” by the sound
one critic said that if we think about it practically, clothes taken off at the end of the day
•and let fall to the floor are dirty too, and henry’s reaction is part of the ‘ordinary mysteriousness’ of marriage
or heaney could’ve used the word “sootfall” to
•continue the link to the colour black (skunk, chasuble, soot, nightdress)
poem ends on happy note
•from the “cold pillow” of his time alone in california and the funeral image of the priests chasuble, we move to the shared marriage bed at home in ireland
the black chasuble is replaced by
•the black “plunge-line” nightdress
•the poet longed for his wife at the beginning, and longs for her now
•this time, the longing is more like anticipation, though, as she is about to join him in bed
theme of love and marriage
•shows how couple can retain their love & desire for each other even after eleven years of marriage
heaney deeply misses his wife during his time in california and
•is reminded of her by sensual pleasures such as the scent of the eucalyptus or taste of wine
the separation forces heaney to
•look at his relationship anew and he’s once again like a besotted suitor, charming the object of his affections with carefully written love letters
poem is also a celebration of
•the erotic love that exists in marriage
•at end of poem, heaney is “stirred” by the mere sound of his wife’s clothes falling to the floor, even though they’ve been together for many years
theme of memory
•shows just how intense and powerful memory can be
at start, heaney remembers his wife when he
•tastes wine, smells eucalyptus, and even when he finds himself anticipating the nightly visit of the skunk
back in ireland, his wife reminds him of
•the skunk by her “tail-up” search for her nightdress in a bottom drawer, and this in turn reminds him of how much he missed her & longed for her during his stay in america
