Aunt Julia

• Themes:

  • Isolation (through communication and death)
  • Love
  • Disappearing heritage
• “Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic very loud and very fast“

  T-word choices of ‘Gaelic‘ ‘loud’ and ‘fast’

  A-‘Gaelic‘- reveals that there is a Language barrier/cultural Divide between the speaker and Aunt Julia

  -‘loud‘ and ‘fast’- suggests that Aunt Julia was forceful, confident, and dynamic
• “I could not answer her-I could not understand her“

  T-Repetition

  A-suggests the speaker Is frustrated by the communication barriers. reinforces that he tried and tried
• “She wore men’s boots“

  T-word choice of ‘mens’

  A-word choice suggests strength/an unrefined character. she is unladylike and doesn’t conform to the social norms of what females should wear.
• “When she wore any”

  T-

  A-suggests that Aunt Julia was barefoot a lot of the time- she had a free personality, she was close with nature, and she goes against conventional norms.
• “Stained with peat“

  T-word choice of ‘peat’

  A-peat is an earthy substance- suggests nature/ her connection with the land. she is synonymous with nature.
• “Paddling with the treadle of the spinning wheel“

  T-

  A-long process- he associated her with the movement and activity
• “Her right hand drew yarn”

  T-long vowels

  A-elongates the line- like wool being stretched out. present tense- suggests the speaker vividly remembers Aunt Julia
• “Marvellously out of the air“

  T-word choices of ‘marvellously‘ and ‘out of the air‘

  A-‘marvellously‘-means amazingly and suggests in the poem that the speaker held true love and admiration for everything that his Aunt did- she could do no wrong. the phrase ‘out of the air‘ again has reference to Aunt Julia being close to nature as ‘air‘ is a natural element. however the phrase also suggests that the speaker believed that his Aunt had a magical aura to her.
• “Hers was the only house where I’ve lain at night“

  T-word choice of ‘only’

  A-highlights the uniqueness of Aunt Julias character- her special qualities made him feel safe as a child. illustrates their close bond.
• “In the absolute darkness of a box bed”

  T-word choice of ‘darkness’

  A-darkness Has connotations of evil and monsters- most children are scared of the dark- this suggests that as a child the speaker was not scared of the darkness- he felt so safe with his Aunt.
• “Crickets being friendly“

  T-word choice of ‘friendly‘

  A-suggests that the speaker found this childhood experience pleasant and enjoyable despite its potential to be terrifying. it pays tribute again to her special ability to make the strange/unknown very comforting.
• “She was buckets and water flouncing into them”

  T-metaphor

  A-describing Aunt Julia as buckets emphasises her close connection to nature as just as buckets are typically kept outside, so to was Aunt Julia almost always outdoors. furthermore, Aunt julia also being described as the water flouncing into the buckets suggests she Is comparable to water, free moving and not bound by anything- this is a natural element she is compared to so this yet again emphasises her connection to the natural world but also her free personality.
• “She was winds pouring wetly“

  T- Metaphor

  A-Just as winds are fast moving and forceful, so to is Aunt Julia always on the move and is forcefully confident- she is also never in one place for long.
• “She was brown eggs, black skirts, and a keeper of three penny bits“

  T-Metaphor

  A-this illustrates Aunt Julias hard life- the hard work she had to undertake and the bleakness of the surroundings she had to work in along with the financial difficulties suggested. Emphasis on simplicity.
• “In a teapot“

  T-word choice of ‘teapot‘

  A-this suggests that she may have been eccentric.
• “Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic very loud and very fast“

  T-repetition/echo of opening line

  A-Aunt Julia is now gone and so is her language- creates a regretful tone.
• “Learned a little“

  T-Alliteration

  A-indicates the speakers boyhood frustration/Aunts exasperation did have an impact on him and he attempted to learn Gaelic.
• “Silenced”

  T-word choice

  A-Aunt Julia can no longer share her language or personality- suggests the speaker blames death for stopping her voice (one of the things that he loved about her)- contrast to her previous vivacious, noisy existence. this creates an Accusing tone.
• “absolute black“

  T-contrast

  A-contrasts with ‘absolute darkness‘ from stanza 3. Word choice of ‘black’ conveys bleak void of death that has been left by his Aunt Julia. (frightening image)
• “But I hear her still”

  A-present tense: the importance of her voice and language suggests death has been unable to stifle the vivid memories of her because of the strong impression she made on him.
• “With a seagulls voice across a hundred yards“

  T-metaphor

  A-a humorous image. describing her loud, shrill, piercing, incomprehensible voice. again connects her to the natural world. her voice travels a great distance, again emphasising how loud she is
• “Getting angry, getting angry”

  T-repetition

  A-past tense: suggests Aunt Julias repeated attempts to communicate. emphasises her frustration at him being unable to respond or understand her.

  present tense: the speaker is angry that he has so many unanswered questions about his aunts life and culture.
• “Unanswered”

  T-word choice

  A-shows the cultural gulf and the speakers loss that he will never get the chance to truly understand his Aunts life and culture