Aunt Julia

• How does this poem display contrast?

  Her powerful character while alive vs the silence and stillness after death
• How does this poem display loss?

  Lost opportunity to communicate with a muchloved/respected relative
• How does this poem display suffering?

  Frustration at barriers to communication
• How does this poem display relationships?

  Between the speaker and his aunt
• How does this poem display character and surroundings?

  Aunt Julia’s dynamism is linked with her environment
• How does this poem display symbolism?

  Aunt Julia symbolises the landscape and culture he admires
• Contrast quotes

  • “Water flouncing”
  • “Very loud and very fast”
  • “Silenced in absolute black”
• “Water flouncing”

  WC “Flouncing” connotations of exaggerated, impatient, angry. Shows pace Aunt Julia worked at and suggests constant motion. Harsh contrast to no movement in death. Also links to having to carry water due to her environment.
• “Very loud and very fast”

  Repetition emphasises her big character and full of life. Contrast to death.
• “Silenced in absolute black”

  Morbid tones of death. Silenced death is contrasted to very loud and very fast which she is no longer, also can no longer attempt communicate with him. Black suggests definitive and finality of death.
• Loss quotes

  • “getting angry, getting angry”
  • “Silenced in absolute black”
  • “with so many questions/unanswered”
• “getting angry, getting angry”

  Repetition emphasises frustration. Angry they can no longer communicate or attempt to. He admires her but is annoyed at language barriers restrictions.
• “with so many questions/unanswered”

  Enjambment leaving unanswered separated. Suggests those questions will never be answered due to her death and he has lost the opportunity to have them answered. Also emphasises frustration that he cannot get them answered.
• Suffering quotes

  • “I could not answer her-/I could not understand her”
  • “with so many questions/unanswered”
  • “getting angry, getting angry”
• “I could not answer her-/I could not understand her”

  Repetition emphasises inability to communicate. Left suffering in the frustration he cannot communicate with her.
• Relationships quotes

  • “getting angry, getting angry”
  • “Silenced in absolute black”
  • “I could not answer her-/I could not understand her”
• Character and surroundings quotes

  • “Stained with peat”
  • “with a seagull’s voice”
  • “water flouncing”
• “Stained with peat”

  Suggests Aunt Julia is one with the landscape in speakers mind. The landscape will always have memories of her in them and vice versa. They have a relationship between land and inhabitant to speaker.
• “with a seagull’s voice”

  Metaphor comparing Aunt Julias voice to a seagulls cry. Links her to the environment and the relationship they had to the speaker. Also reflects the idea he still cannot understand her.
• Symbolism quotes

  • “Stained with peat”
  • “with a seagull’s voice”
  • “water flouncing”
• Themes of Aunt Julia?

  • Isolation due to inability to communicate