EAVAN BOLAND Leaving Certificate Poetry

EAVAN BOLAND Leaving Certificate Poetry

Boland: Biography Born 24th September 1944 She moved around a lot (her father a diplomat) living in London and New York. Returned to Dublin at 15, then studied at Trinity, lectured at Trinity before resigning to write full time.

Boland: Biography Eavan Boland abandoned an academic career because she felt restricted and threatened by its structured version of literature. She wanted to write about what was important to her in a way that was not bound by traditional ideas about how poetry should be written. Her poetry reflects her desire to explore previously uncharted regions of the female experience and to give voice to realities that she felt had been silenced. Her reality as an Irish female poet living in the suburbs of Dublin, dealing with the ebb and flow of her relationships with her husband and daughters, and finding her own identity in the midst of these, is reflected throughout her work.

Boland: Biography She explores issues of Irish significance, such as the famine in The Famine Road and the Troubles in War Horse and Child of Our Time. Her focus is not, however, on "a cause" in these poems but on the human tragedy and suffering at the heart of the conflict. Boland refers to a "new language" in her poetry which means the language of women and others whose voices have been excluded from or mythologised in literature and history. Through her poems, she explores what it means to be woman, Irishwoman, poet, mother, daughter and lover, and allows the voices of the past to enter her work and be heard.

Child of Our Time: Background This poem was written in response to the death of a child in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974. On this day there were a series of co-ordinated car bombings – three detonated in Dublin during rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost ninety minutes later. Thirty-three civilians were killed, as well as a full-term unborn child and almost 300 people were injured. The bombings were the deadliest attack of the conflict known as the Troubles and the deadliest attack in the Republic’s history. Most of the victims were young women, although the ages of the dead ranged from five months to eighty years.

Child of Our The poet has been Time moved by the child’s tragic death to “order” this poem or “lullaby”. Though normally lullabies are associated with a soothing song to ease a child to sleep, Boland acknowledges that the sleep that this lullaby accompanies is the “final sleep”, death.

Child of Our Time Boland describes the almost impossible task that faces her: – How do you write a “song” or lullaby for a child that can no longer listen? – How do you make sense out of something that has no logic? – How can you discover a “tune” in the terrible sound of a child’s “final cry”? – How can you create a rhythm or harmony out of an event that is the result of a lack of harmony amongst communities? Yet this is the task that faces her if she is to compose something comforting out of this terrible tragedy. She must find a way to deal with these complexities.

Child of Our Time The second stanza presents us with a terrible irony: the very people who should have been teaching this child about the world must now “learn from [the child], dead”. The poem implies a collective responsibility for what has gone wrong – there is a sense that society has failed the child. The poet lists the other things society should have given this child: nursery rhymes, songs, its first words, names for their teddies and dolls, stories that teach right and wrong. Bishop feels these “legends” would have later served to “protect” the child when it came to dealing with difficulties later in life.

Child of Our Time Boland suggests that the child’s death is proof society has utterly failed and that we must change in a fundamental way if we want to ensure that we do not repeat the past. She mentions the “idle / Talk” that has resulted in this child’s death. She is referencing politics and its failure to lead to any meaningful reconciliation. Bishop believes that we must find “a new language” if we want to make any meaningful change – it is not possible to carry on as before. The child’s death ought to be at the centre of what is rebuilt from the rubble of this event: “rebuild / Themselves around your limbs”.

Child of Our Time The child is tragically “Of our time”, a time of great discord and violence. Our “times” have robbed this child of its life: “our times have robbed your cradle”. The only silver lining Bishop can grasp is that this child’s death will finally have awoken the world it has left behind: Sleep in a world your final sleep has woken”

Theme: War and Violence This poem is a heartfelt and emotional response to a terrible event and Boland suggests we have created a world that makes victims of our children. Our times are marked by violent acts and bloodshed and it is time to that we learnt from the tragedies and start to do things differently. This poem was written at the height of the Troubles and after this particularly brutal incident there seemed little hope that peace would come about unless things changed radically. Boland’s poem conveys the deep sense of anger and frustration at how little progress was being made. She characterises the talk of the time as “idle”.

Theme: War and Violence Boland points the finger of blame at society as a whole and not at one particular group. We as a society must take responsibility for the war and violence that occur. We cannot hide away from this and hope that it goes away or resolves itself of its own accord.

Tone The tone is one of great sadness and despair as the poet tries to come to terms with the great tragedy of this child’s needless death. The final lines are incredibly tender and sad as the poet addresses the child, hoping that it will discover some peace in the afterlife: “Sleep in a world your final sleep has woken”.

Imagery The poem features a number of very poignant and sad images. There is the image of the “animals” or toys that the child ought to be taking to bed. There is also the image of the robbed cradle, a heartbreaking reminder of the child’s death.

Personal Response to Child of Our Time: Starter Sentences ‘Child of Our Time’ by Eavan Boland is a poem about (discuss subject matter) I liked this poem because it opened my eyes to (discuss theme) I loved the poet’s wonderful use of detail (discuss imagery) This poem’s language helped me to understand the difficulties of the time (discuss language) I liked the fact that you can see how strongly Boland feels about this issue (discuss emotions)

This Moment The poem describes an ordinary suburban street: “A neighbourhood. At dusk”. A light is on in one of the houses, making the window seem ”yellow as butter”. There is an apple tree that looks “black” in the falling darkness. This seems like a quiet and uneventful scene. It strikes us as peaceful but also maybe a little dull – there seems to be little dramatic or engaging taking place.

This Moment However, in spite of this initial impression, the poet assures us that “Things are getting ready / to happen / out of sight”. Moths lurk in the street’s hidden places, preparing for flight. When it gets dark enough they will flutter through the neighbourhood. The stars, too, are “out of sight” for the moment. But when its gets dark enough they will suddenly become visible in the sky above the neighbourhood. The poet also mentions the apples that hang hidden in the tree’s branches. She beautifully describes how the apples’ skins curve around the sweet inner flesh: “rinds slanting around fruit”. The stars, moths and apples are preparing to take action. However, they are not yet ready: “But not yet”. Line 8, then, brings a sense of suspense and tension to the poem. It represents a moment of calm before the action begins.

This Moment Then somewhere in the neighbourhood a child runs into her mother’s arms. As if triggered by this act, the moths, stars and flowers finally act. We’re told that the stars “rise”, suggesting they suddenly become visible in the darkening sky. The moths leave their hiding places and begin to “flutter” through the neighbourhood. The apples hanging from the trees’ branches “sweeten”, suggesting that they advance a stage towards ripeness.

Theme: Suburban Life The idea of the suburbs is one that recurs often in Boland’s poetry. Suburbs have seldom been regarded as offering much in the way of inspiration to an artist, rather suburbia is generally seen as a place of humdrum boring family life, lacking in energy and excitement. In this poem, however, Boland attempts to rediscover the suburbs as a site of artistic inspiration. She shows the beauty, magic and inspiration can be found in even the most humdrum housing estate: moths fluttering through the dark; fruit ripening; a child running into a woman’s arms, the stars flickering in the evening sky. The poem suggests that even a window with its light on can seem beautiful: “One window is yellow as butter”

Theme: Suburban Life The poem demonstrates that even the most ordinary and comfortable housing estate can provide the impetus for art and writing. Such places can seem dull and boring in the surface but there are always things happening “out of sight”. ‘This Moment’ shows that this ordinary place with its humble and everyday events can be worthy of art and a source of wonder and delight if only we truly appreciated it.

Theme: Motherhood Mothers play a vitally important role in most of our lives, raising us from helpless children to responsible adults. However, all too often the work of mothers goes unappreciated and uncelebrated, their unstinting efforts taking place “out of sight”. Boland shines a light on the world of motherhood and domesticity which has been largely ignored by the artistic world. This poem, however, presents a world where nature celebrates motherhood and the work mothers do. The poem focuses on three different aspects of the natural world: the stars, the apples and the moths. Each is preparing to do something. However, they hold off on taking action as if they are waiting for some signal or command: “But not yet”. Only when the mother picks up the child do they swing into action. Only then do the stars rise, the moths flutter and the apples sweeten.

Theme: Motherhood Their actions seem almost a tribute to the mother in the poem. It’s as if they celebrate her daily work of nurture by waiting until “this moment”, until this everyday instance of motherly care and affection. The poem presents a world where even the stars themselves pay tribute to the role of this particular mother and mothers everywhere. In doing so, however, the poet reminds us of how often mothers and their work are taken for granted in our everyday lives.

Tone and Atmosphere ‘This Moment’ is a wonderfully atmospheric poem. Using only a few short fragmented sentences, Boland conjures up an atmospheric portrait of a street at dusk. The poem’s twilight setting creates an air of suspense and mystery about the poem. This is reinforced when the poet declares that “Things are getting ready / to happen But not yet”.

Imagery For such a short poem ‘This Moment’ is rich in imagery. We can almost visualise the street at dusk with the lights coming on, the moths, the stars and the dark apple tree. There is a beautifully simple and vivid image: “One tree is black. One window is yellow as butter”. Particularly memorable is the depiction of the apples’ rinds “slanting” around the fruit’s sweet pulp. The poem’s central image, however, is that of the child running into her mother’s arms.

Sound Effects The language of the poem is simple overall. However, the sibilant ‘s’ sound that dominates the poem conveys a sense of perfect peace.

Personal Response to ‘This Moment’: Starter Sentences ‘This Moment’ by Eavan Boland is a poem about (discuss subject matter) I liked this poem because it opened my eyes to (discuss theme) I loved the poet’s wonderful use of detail (discuss imagery) This poem’s language showed me how nature appreciates the work of mothers (discuss language in relation to the theme of motherhood) Though it is a very short poem I thought ‘This Moment’ was wonderfully atmospheric (discuss emotions/tone)

Love Having lived in Iowa years previously with her husband and infant children, Boland returns for a visit in the poem, She goes for a walk at twilight and ends up in an area near where she and her husband lived: “Not far from here is our old apartment”. The period in Iowa seems to have been a golden one in her marriage. Her fond and vivid memories come flooding back to her as she crosses the bridge, particularly the view from the apartment’s windows, the kitchen and the Amish table. During that time, the love between her and her husband was so intense it was almost a physical presence in their home. Love, she says, “had come to live with us”.

Love Love is depicted as having “the feather and muscle of wings”, reflecting both romance and great strength in the relationship. Boland uses personification to convey the depth and strength of their emotions for each other at that time: “it offered us ascension / even to look at him”.

Love However, their time in Iowa was not all love and romance. While there one of their children became seriously ill: “touched by death in this town” but “spared”. It is a long time since this period but their marriage has endured and they love each other and continue to communicate well with one another: “we speak plainly. We hear each other clearly”. They are obviously well able to handle the “day-to-day and ordinary distances”. Yet the poet is forced to admit that their relationship has lost some of the intensity it had when they lived in Iowa. Their “ordinary” life is fine but it cannot compare to their previous magic and she longs to somehow return to those glory days: “Will we ever live so intensely again? / Will love ever come to us again?” .

Love As the speaker crosses the bridge, she is struck by an exceptionally vivid memory of her husband when he was young. The memory is so clear she can almost see him before her one the bridge, “snow on the shoulders” of his coat. – She imagines this vision of her young husband as the great her o Aeneas: “I see you as the hero in a text”. – She imagines this ordinary Iowa waterway transforming into the River Styx, becoming “the water the hero crossed on his way to hell”. Its waters start to “slide”, suggesting it becomes slick and dangerous. – She imagines her present-day self as one of Aeneas’ companions in the underworld. She longs to reach out, to communicate with this young vision of her husband. – Yet she can no more talk to this memory than the souls of the dead could talk to Aeneas when he visited the underworld. Her “words are shadows” which he cannot hear. – She wants to walk with this memory but she can more do that than the dead could follow Aeneas out of the underworld: “You walk away and I cannot follow”.

Theme: Love and Marriage ‘Love’ provides a powerful depiction of a relationship at its most intense. When they were in Iowa “love had come to live with us”. The love they shared was so strong and “formidable” that even to contemplate it filled them with ecstasy: “it offered us ascension”. The poem can also be regarded as the story of how even the most intense emotions fade over time, as the couple’s relationship no longer reaches the heights it did in Iowa. The speaker wonders: “will we ever live so intensely again?”. The poem, then, reflects the sad fact that in any marriage it is difficult to maintain the same level of passion year after year.

Theme: Love and Marriage Yet the poem also celebrates how marriages survive and endure over long periods. Their passion may have faded in intensity, their lives may be more “day-to-day and ordinary”. However, the poet and her husband “love each other still”. They still communicate well: “we speak plainly”. The poem, then, celebrates how even after years of togetherness, a husband and wife

Theme: Recovering the Past This poem deals with the power of memory. It shows how when we revisit a place where we used to live the memories come flooding back. We remember even trivial or seemingly insignificant details like a kitchen and an Amish table. The poem also shows how memory can sometimes play tricks on us, how something or someone long ago can suddenly appear before us in a way that seems vividly real. One of the dominant emotions in ‘Love’ is nostalgia. We sense that the poet longs to follow this vision of her young husband through the darkening Iowa streets. She is filled with longing for that golden period in her life.

Theme: Recovering the Past The poet would love to somehow recover this lost era, to live those days all over again and experience her husband as he was during that unique and special times: “I want to return to you as you were”. However, there can be no going back. It’s simply impossible to relive earlier periods of our lives, no matter how much we might like to and we can never experience younger versions of the ones we love. The poet’s use of Aeneas’s story wonderfully illustrates this tragic point. The poet cannot interact with the memory of her young husband, just as Aeneas’s companions couldn’t interact with him as he journey through the underworld.

Tone and Atmosphere This poem, for the most part, uses plain and simple language. However, there is some fantastically atmospheric imagery when the poet depicts the bridge in Iowa, with dusk falling on the city, with the river sliding and deepening mysteriously, with the vision of her husband as a young man walking across the bridge.

Personification and Metaphor Boland personifies the emotion of love, depicting it as a winged cupid-like creature that came to live in her home: “And we discovered there / love had the feather and muscle of wings”. She describes this creature as a formidable and powerful force of nature, a brother of “fire and air”. The poem’s final lines feature an interesting metaphor when the poet compares her words to “shadows”. Her words are simply the shadow of words because you cannot converse with the past.

Myth and Legend In this poem, as in ‘The Pomegranate’, Boland makes use of classical mythology. As we’ve seen, the myth of the hero visiting the underworld is used to explore the speaker’s desperate longing for a time that has passed. Her personification of love as a winged creature is influenced by the depiction of Cupid, the god of love in classical myths and legends. The phrase “when myths collide” suggests how her time in Iowa was a time of happiness caused by the intensity of her relationship with her husband, but also of great sorrow and tension caused by her daughter’s illness.

Personal Response to ‘Love’: Starter Sentences ‘Love’ by Eavan Boland is a poem about (discuss subject matter) I liked this poem because it made me think about (discuss theme) I loved the poet’s wonderful use of detail (discuss imagery) This poem’s language helped me to understand the difficulties of recapturing the past (discuss language) I liked the fact that you can see how much Boland loves her husband even though that love has changed over the years (discuss emotions)

The Pomegranate: The Myth of Ceres and Persephone Zeus decides it's a good idea to give his daughter, Persephone goddess of spring, as a bride to his brother Hades, god of the underworld. The king of the gods doesn't bother to tell Persephone or her mother, Ceres, goddess of agriculture, of his decision. One day, Persephone is picking flowers with some nymph friends of hers when, all of a sudden, Hades bursts out of the ground, driving a chariot of black horses. He grabs Persephone and starts dragging her down to the underworld. The girl screams for help. Her mother, Ceres, hears her screams, but she's too far away to do anything about it. Ceres is terrified and wanders all over the earth with torches in her hands looking for Persephone. Ceres decides to ask Helios, the sun god, since he's up in the sky all day and sees pretty much everything. Helios tells Ceres the whole story – Zeus gave Persephone to Hades and Hades hauled her down to the underworld. The sun god tries to cheer Ceres up by pointing out that Hades is a good husband for her daughter; after all he's a pretty important and powerful god. Ceres doesn't buy it. She is even sadder

The Pomegranate: The Myth of Ceres and Persephone A terrible famine assaults the earth, and people are starving everywhere. Seeing this, Zeus sends Hermes, the messenger god, down to the underworld to order Hades to let Persephone go and Hades agrees. Hermes and Persephone then fly out of the land of the dead in Hermes's chariot. Ceres is overjoyed to see her daughter again, but upon seeing her, she immediately asks Persephone if she ate anything while in the underworld. It turns out that, if you eat something while you're down there, you have to stay there forever. When she first arrived in the underworld Persephone was offered all kinds of delicious food but refused until finally, in desperate hunger, she ate 6 pomegranate seeds. Discovering that Persephone has eaten 6 pomegranate seeds, Jupiter decrees she must remain in the underworld for 6 months of every year. Ceres reluctantly agrees with this, but says that when Persephone is in the underworld, nothing on earth will grow. And that is where the seasons come from!

The Pomegranate The story of Ceres and Persephone is the only myth the poet “ever loved”. She summarises the tale in the opening lines, highlighting the key themes of the story. It is a tale of “love and blackmail”, the love of a mother for her daughter and the deal she had to make to see her again. This myth is particularly special to her because she has been able to relate to it at different stages of her life. The story speaks to her regardless of her age or where she is living: “I can enter it anywhere”. As a young girl, the poet felt a connection with Persephone, the abducted daughter. Boland moved to London when she was a child, something she found strange and difficult. She likens the experience to being “in exile”. She found the city “strange”: “a city of fogs and strange consonants”.

The Pomegranate The second time that the myth really resonated with the poet was years later, when she had a daughter of her own and was living in the suburbs in Dublin. She describes that she “walked out in a summer twilight / searching for my daughter at bed-time”. In the moments waiting for her child to return to her Boland becomes increasingly anxious and worried. When her daughter finally reappears the poet says that she was “ready / to make any bargain to keep her”. This time it is Ceres with whom Boland identifies: “I was Ceres then”.

The Pomegranate Being a mother and older, the poet has an understanding of the world she didn’t as a child. Now the poet knows that everything changes and nothing is permanent. The poet looks at the leaves on the trees and thinks how “winter was in store for every leaf / on every tree on that road”. Though it is summer now, Boland knows winter must inevitably arrive. She knows that a “winter” awaits her also. She knows a day will come when her daughter, just like Persephone, will have to leave home.

The Pomegranate The poem then shifts forward a number of years to a winter night when the poet’s daughter is a teenager. Looking in her daughter’s open door, the poet can see her daughter sleeping and beside her “teen magazines, / her can of Coke” and a “plate of uncut fruit”. The fruit brings the myth to Boland’s mind once again and this time she thinks about the pomegranate in the story. Boland mentions how Persephone, had she not eaten the seeds, could have been free to come home and never have to return to the underworld. “She could have come home and been safe / and ended the story”. Persephone’s action, however, is “proof” that even in the most dismal of places, the simple facts of life abide. The simple truths of life exist: “a child can be / hungry”.

The Pomegranate The poet thinks about her own daughter’s state of innocence. As a mother she has tried to shield her child from the unpleasant realities of life and part of her would like that her child never know these things. She thinks about warning her daughter, to try and prevent her from discovering such things: “I could warn her. There is still a chance”. And yet the poet knows that everyone must experience grief and heartache at some stage. In order to experience the full richness of life, we must risk disappointment and despair. Boland knows her daughter needs to experience these things for herself and to grow and learn. If the poet defers or delays “the grief” she will diminish “the gift”.

The Pomegranate The poet decides that she will not warn her or prevent her doing things that might lead to grief and suffering. Her daughter will make mistakes and suffer heartache, but these will ultimately help her and enable her to make good decisions and have a fulfilling life. Boland uses the pomegranate as a metaphor for her daughter’s loss of innocence. Her daughter can’t be protected forever, she needs to live and learn: “She will hold / the papery flushed skin in her hand. / And to her lips”. The poet has decided she will not interfere: “I will say nothing”.

Theme: Womanhood The poem touches on the potential dangers that women face in the world – the myth at the heart of the poem is a story of abduction. The poet was not concerned about such dangers when she was a child in London but now that she is a mother, she naturally worries about her daughter. Boland describes the anguish she experienced one summer’s evening when she had to go searching for her child. The poem is ultimately about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Boland speaks of the “beautiful rifts in time” that she can offer her young daughter, referencing moments of happiness. She describes the mother’s natural impulse to protect her child from the unpleasant realities of life. However, she understands that her daughter needs to experience the good as well as the bad in order to live a rich and full life.

Theme: Suburban Life The poem depicts suburbia as a pleasant and safe environment. Although the first time it is mentioned is when the poet anxiously searches for her daughter, the description of the neighbourhood is almost idyllic. Boland mentions the pleasant smells of the flowers in the gardens, “the honeyscented buddleias” and the “white beams” of the street lights. It seems a very different world from that of the London of her own childhood, which she likens to “the crackling dusk of / the underworld”. Suburban Dublin is nothing like the underworld. It is “another world”. The rain might be “cold” and the wet streets the colour of “flint”, but inside her home, the poet’s child is comfortable and secure. She has her “teen magazines” and her “can of Coke”. But even this secure environment cannot shield her daughter from the grim realities of life forever. It might be a place where the poet can offer her child a pleasant childhood but even here a time will come when her daughter will learn about the bad things in life. Her childhood innocence will be lost no matter where she lives.

Imagery A number of images recur throughout the poem. On two occasions the poet describes the stars being hidden from view. When the poet was a young child in London she says the stars were “blighted”. The second mention is when the poet is watching her sleeping child and considering what to say to her. The other important image is of the pomegranate. It is central to the myth that the poet loves. Boland describes how Persephone “plucked a pomegranate” and condemned herself to half of each year in the underworld. The image of the pomegranate ultimately serves as a symbol for the daughter’s innocence. The poet knows that her daughter must grow up and discover the unpleasant realities of life. She wonders whether she should prevent her from eating the metaphorical fruit but decides that it is best to say “nothing”.

Myth and Legend The poem emphasises the importance of myths and stories to people’s lives. As a child, the myth about Persephone helped the poet to cope with moving to London, a strange and unfamiliar place. She could identify then with the character of Persephone. However, having a daughter of her own allows Boland to fully understand the heartache of Ceres.

Personal Response to ‘The Pomegranate’: Starter Sentences ‘The Pomegranate’ by Eavan Boland is a poem about (discuss subject matter) I liked this poem because it opened my eyes to (discuss theme) I loved the poet’s wonderful use of detail (discuss imagery) This poem’s language showed me how complicated the motherdaughter relationship can be OR how stories can help us in moments of difficulty etc. (discuss language) I liked the fact that you can see how she identifies with the poem at many times in her life (discuss emotions)

The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me The poet recalls the beginnings of the relationship between her parents in pre-war Paris: “They stayed in the city for the summer”. The city was gripped by a severe heatwave. There was a drought and the air was unpleasantly humid or “stifling”. Cloud cover hid the stars, making the night sky seem “starless”. The poet describes the “first gift he ever gave” her mother. On this evening, while her father is “later” than usual and her mother waits for him, the heat is even more oppressive: “The heat was killing”.

The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me The fan given to her mother on that longago evening has now been passed on to the poet herself. She contemplates the beautiful object, particularly the bold craftsmanship with which the roses have been “appliqued”. Using a wonderful metaphor she describes the fan’s black lace as “overcast”. The fan was first opened on that long-ago night to offset the heat and it’s as if the dark storm clouds that accompanied that heat had somehow entered the fan’s very fabric: “The lace is overcast as if the weather / it opened for and offset had entered it”.

The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me The poem’s focus then shifts back to that Parisian evening. The storm is about to break and the humidity makes the streets feel “airless”. People sense the coming thunder and have taken shelter indoors: “The past is an emptying café terrace”. The father rushes through the emptying streets to meet the mother. What will happen next? Will the father get there before the mother leaves? How exactly did events pan out all those years ago? And what will happen to the lovers over the course of their relationship? There is an air of sorrow when the poet laments that such things can never be truly discovered.

The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me We can be told about such long ago events but because we weren’t there we will never know the details. All the speaker can do is “improvise”. All she can do is use her creativity to fill in the blanks in the story. The poem switches back to the present day and the poet watches a blackbird pecking the ground for food: “buds, worms and fruit”. It uses its own wing as a fan to cool itself: “Suddenly she puts out her wing”. The speaker imagines the bird’s outstretched wing as symbol of her parents’ marriage. The long duration of their marriage is represented by the wing’s broad “span”. The wing is described as “whole” and “full”, suggesting the fulfilment and satisfaction her parents found in their long partnership. The “flirtatious” wing symbolises the physical side of her parents’ marriage as it endured through the years and the decades.

Theme: Love and Marriage The poem provides a powerful depiction of the excitement of the beginning of a relationship. But it also highlights the fears and uncertainty we experience as we begin to fall in love and embark on a relationship. The city’s hot, humid and thundery weather wonderfully captures the tension. The earlyrelationship tension is wonderfully captured in the poem: the increasingly agitated woman as she waits for her date, standing up, preparing to storm off and the man stopping to buy a gift then running to get there before she leaves.

Theme: Love and Marriage An interesting feature of the poem is that Boland uses the fan as a symbol of her parents’ marriage. In this heirloom she sees an account of the ups and downs they enjoyed and endured. She sees the good times in the beauty and craftsmanship of this fine heirloom, in its lush black silk, in the exquisite clarity of the tortoise-shell frame. Yet the fan is also associated with storms and violence, symbolising the difficult and negative periods in their relationship.

Theme: Love and Marriage The poet also uses the blackbird’s extended wing as another symbol of her parents’ relationship. In a sense, the wing echoes the black lace fan: they have a similar physical appearance and both are extended to “offset” heat. However, the blackbird serves as a more straightforwardly positive symbol of their marriage. It celebrates the survival and endurance of their love – its beautiful “span” of years and the physical attraction that remained between them – rather than dwelling on the difficulties they experienced. The poem’s final lines sounds a triumphant note. What matters not is the detailed story of the parents’ love, with its ups and downs and weathered storms, but the fact that their relationship survived and flourished.

Tone and Atmosphere There is a sense of tension in the poem’s first twelve lines, lurking beneath the few straightforward details we are given about that longago night. This sense of tension is created due to Boland’s use of short, clipped sentences that shift focus rapidly from one subject matter to the next. This rapid-fire burst of short sentences conveys the agitation of the late young man as he hurries to keep his appointment and the nervous tension of the young woman, anxiously waiting for her boyfriend to appear: “She ordered more coffee. She stood up”. There is a restless jerky quality to lines 13 and 14 which feature a rapidfire burst of short phrases followed by commas: “There are wild roses, appliqued on silk by hand, / darkly picked, stitched boldly, quickly”. The verse here has an edgy, restless quality, reflecting the almost palpable tension that vlogs the air in the hours before the storm.

Sound Effects To a large extent this poem uses plain rather than poetic speech. Yet there are several lines where sound patterns are used very effectively: – We see assonance in lines 15 and 16, where the repeated “e” and “a” sounds in the phrase “clear patience of its element” generates a pleasant and musical effect, suggesting the beauty of the tortoise-shell material. – The assonance in line 22, with its repeated “u” sound, generates a powerful verbal music in which we can almost hear the storm that is about to break – The poem’s final line has a pleasant effect, generated by its repeated broad-vowel sounds: “the whole, full, flirtatious span of it”. This sweet word music reflects the beauty of the blackbird’s wing.

Symbolism As discussed in our theme notes, the fan and the blackbird are used as symbols of the parents’ marriage throughout the poem. The coming storm also serves a symbolic function. It could represent the difficulties and tribulations that will occur during the couple’s relationship. However, it could also symbolise something more positive. The storm, after all, will break the heatwave and relieve the oppressive heat and humidity that has gripped the city. Perhaps, then, it represents an easing of the tension that seems to have characterised the early days of the couple’s relationship.

Personal Response to ‘The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me’: Starter Sentences ‘The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me’ by Eavan Boland is a poem about (discuss subject matter) I liked this poem because it opened my eyes to (discuss theme) I loved the poet’s wonderful use of detail (discuss imagery) This poem’s language helped me to understand the parent’s relationship better (discuss language – particularly symbolism) I particularly the atmosphere created in the poem (discuss tone and atmosphere)

6th YEAR: BOLAND EXAM QUESTION: 2011 “Boland’s reflective insights are expressed through her precise use of language.” Write your response to this statement, supporting your answer with suitable reference to the poetry on your course.

6th YEAR: BOLAND EXAM QUESTION: 2011 Marking Scheme: Reward responses that show clear evidence of engagement with Boland’s “reflective insights” and “precise use of language” in her poetry. Allow that “reflective” may be addressed explicitly or implicitly. Code RI /– for reflective insights. Code PL /– for precise use of language. Code RI /- for reflective insights Code PL /- for precise use of language

6th YEAR: BOLAND EXAM QUESTION: 2011 Indicative material: Simple language/delicate imagery captures the essence of significant moments Insightful perspective on recurring themes of identity, love, history, violence, suburbia Dramatic/narrative treatment of the marginalised and outsiders Clear poetic voice connects with tribal echoes/poignant moments Specific use of mythology/folklore in her explorations of life’s experiences

Address the Q immediately and throughout the essay. In your introduction give an overview of her reflective insights (on history, precious moments, suburbia, mythology, memory etc ) and how they are expressed through her precise use of language. (imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, tone, mood, sound effects, symbolism etc.) Eg: I agree with the statement that Boland’s precise use of language helps her to express reflective insights. Boland is a memorable poet who I believe has interesting insights on a broad range of topics. I appreciated her insights on history and politics in ‘Child of Our Time, her reflections on moments in time and memory in ‘This Moment’ and ‘The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me’, as well as her treatment of mythology in ‘Love’ and ‘The Pomegranate’. As someone who lives in the suburbs, I also greatly respected her insights on the beauty that can exist in suburbia, something I have not seen in other poetry. Boland brings these themes vividly to life through use of her beautiful imagery, symbolism and tone. State the five poems that you will discuss. The key words in the question should continually come up in your essay. Don’t forget about the Q once your intro is done!

5th Year: Boland Essay Preparation “The appeal of Eavan Boland’s poetry.” Using the above title, write an essay outlining what you consider to be the appeal of Boland’s poetry. Support your answer with reference to the poetry of Boland on your course.

5th Year Boland Essay Preparation 1. Establish a point of view: The first thing you have to do when planning your essay is to find your point of view. What do you think about Boland’s poetry? What reason does it appeal to you? This is going to be the point of view you argue throughout your answer so you have to pick something definite. You cannot just say ‘it appealed to me because it was good’. You must be specific.

5th Year Boland Essay Preparation 1. Establish a point of view: I’m going to say that: – Her poetry is interesting because she writes about themes she feels passionately about, including her personal life – Her vivid imagery and language brings the themes of her poetry to life. I now have a definite, specific point of view. I will not be rambling or summarising in my answer. Everything I discuss in the poem will relate back to the point above.

5th Year Boland Essay Preparation 2. Which poems to talk about: You don’t have a choice in the poems you talk about. You must discuss all 5 poems we have studied: – ‘Child of Our Time’ – ‘This Moment’ – ‘Love’ – ‘The Pomegranate’ – ‘The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me’ Before you begin to write your essay, jot down a few quotes for each of these poems that relate back to your point of view. Quotes that connect to the themes and that show her use of language.

3. Structure the essay: Now, before I begin writing my essay, I’m going to plan all the paragraphs I intend to include. The first paragraph, the introduction, will clearly state my point of view. The second paragraph will deal with ‘Child of Our Time’. I will be discussing how Boland deals with the theme of war and violence. My third paragraph will discuss ‘This Moment’. I will discuss how Boland feels passionately about life in the suburbs as a mother. My fourth and fifth paragraphs will discuss ‘Love’ and ‘The Pomegranate’. I will discuss how Boland uses mythology to explore her personal relationships. My sixth paragraph will discuss ‘The Black Lace My Mother Gave Me’. I will discuss how Boland deals with the theme of love and marriage. The final paragraph will be my conclusion.

5 Year Boland Essay Preparation th 4. Writing the introduction: I’m going to write my introduction. The first one or two sentences of my introduction will simply state the point of view I came up with in the planning stage or the point of view stated in the question asked. “I really enjoyed the poetry of Eavan Boland. I found her poetry original and particularly liked the themes she deals with, such as violence, motherhood, love and relationships. Her vivid imagery stayed with me long after I read the poems.” I am now going to flesh this out in a few more sentences. It is good to make these sentences personal, if possible, to describe the impact the work had on you. In this instance, I am going to emphasise the impact Bishop had on me.

5 Year Boland Essay Preparation th 4. Writing the introduction: “I really enjoyed the poetry of Eavan Boland. I found her poetry original and particularly liked the themes she deals with, such as violence, motherhood, love and relationships. Her vivid imagery stayed with me long after I read the poems. I appreciated that she gives an insight into her personal life and I was moved by the issues which are close to her heart. I also found her use of myth and legend very appealing. Anyone can connect with these poems because the myths she uses can be applied to anyone’s life, not just her own. Boland’s use of vivid imagery and language helped bring to life these themes and personal issues and made the poetry very enjoyable for me.”

5 Year Boland Essay Preparation th 5. Writing the body paragraphs: I can see from my plan that my first body paragraph will deal with the theme of war and violence in ‘Child of Our Time’. So I’m going to start my paragraph with a topic or lead sentences, declaring what the paragraph is going to be about: “In ‘Child of Our Time’ we see Boland expressing an emotional response to the war and violence which have ended this child’s life.” Every other sentence in this paragraph is going to relate to or expand on this topic sentence. If I find myself writing something that does not relate directly to this topic sentence, I know I’ve gone wrong.

5. Writing the body paragraphs: To complete this paragraph I am going to write more sentences about ‘Child of Our Time’: Example: “In ‘Child of Our Time’ we see Boland expressing an emotional response to the war and violence which have ended this child’s life.” . Boland suggests we have created a world that makes victims of our children. Our times are marked by violent acts and bloodshed and it is time to that we learnt from the tragedies and start to do things differently. We must find “a new language”. This poem was written at the height of the Troubles and after this particularly brutal incident there seemed little hope that peace would come about unless things changed radically. Boland’s use of language brings to life the deep sense of anger and frustration at how little progress was being made. She characterises the talk of the time as “idle”. The child is tragically “Of our time”, a time of great discord and violence. The poem features a number of very poignant and sad images. There is the image of the “animals” or toys that the child ought to be taking to bed. There is also the image of the robbed cradle, a heart-breaking reminder of the child’s death: “our times have robbed your

5 Year Boland Essay Preparation th 5. Writing the body paragraphs: Note how every sentence I have written relates to my topic sentence. I don’t wander off the point by talking about every single detail about the poem or the history of the time. Note also how I don’t fall into the trap of summarising the poem, of telling the examiner everything that happened in it. I simply take a few aspects that are relevant to my topic sentence. Note also how I back up every point with a quote. The golden rule here is ‘Always be quoting’.

5 Year Boland Essay Preparation th 5. Writing the body paragraphs: I see that my next paragraph is going to deal with feelings about motherhood and suburban life in ‘This Moment’. Once again I start off with a simple topic sentence: “ ‘This Moment’ displays Boland’s passionate feelings about motherhood and life in the suburbs.” Once again I am going to write a number of sentences that relate to this topic sentence. I’m going to make sure that nothing I write strays away from this topic. The remainder of the body paragraphs will follow the same format outlined above.

6. Writing the conclusion: The idea here is to sum up what I have said in the essay without repeating myself too much. I am going to bring the point of view I established in the introduction. I am going to try and get personal. The first thing I am going to do is rewrite my point of view in slightly different language: “For me, then, Boland’s poetry stands out because of her interesting themes and careful use of language.” Now I am going to add a sentence that contains a phrase like ‘In the poems discussed above’ or ‘As I have outlined above’ or ‘As I have discussed”. This sentence will refer back to the essay I have just written “For me, then, Boland’s poetry stands out because of her interesting themes and careful use of language. In poems like those discussed above, she gives us insights into what she cares most passionately about, including memories, love and relationship.”

5 Year Boland Essay Preparation th 6. Writing the conclusion: “For me, then, Boland’s poetry stands out because of her interesting themes and careful use of language. In poems like those discussed above, she gives us insights into what she cares most passionately about, including memories, love and relationship. Reading Boland’s poetry, I felt she was really talking to me, that she was describing issues and experiences that I and every other human could experience at some point. The powerful imagery, like that of the “robbed” cradle and the blackbird’s “flirtatious” wing, have remained with me long after finishing studying these poems. Note how, though the conclusion is substantial, it is not too long and does not ramble on and on repeating the points made in the essay. Also note how the conclusion describes a personal response. Finally, not how the conclusion is tied into the point of view established at the start of the essay.

THE SEVEN GOLDEN RULES 1. Read the question carefully. This sounds obvious but I can’t stress how important it is. 2. Establish a point of view. Do this at the beginning of your planning stage. Remember that every sentence in your essay will relate to this point of view. 3. Structure the essay carefully. Determine what every paragraph is going to be about before you start writing. 4. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. Every other sentence in the paragraph will relate to this sentence.

THE SEVEN GOLDEN RULES 5. Don’t paraphrase. Don’t retell the story or the action of the poem, - the examiner already knows this. Just identify the elements of the poem that relate to your topic. 6. Always be quoting. 7. Be aware of the genre. Are you being asked to write a straightforward essay or are you being asked to do something else like write a letter or give a short talk, then the introduction and the conclusion of your piece will need to reflect this.