Material
, About
• The title of this poem is ambiguous. ‘Material’ refers to the fabric of w
handkerchiefs are made, but also it means ‘relevant’ and ‘importa
yet another meaning is ‘tangible’. All these apply to this clever, hu
poem about motherhood. Also, as one contributor points out ‘mater
well as meaning a tangible object or fabric, contains the Latin word
mother, ‘mater’, combining the themes of the poem into one word.
• The poem is about the changing role of a mother and the significan
the ‘hanky’, in that it is a metaphor for the caring role and for
generational change. The poem is diffused with nostalgia and sad
that the speaker, as a mother, can’t give her children the same style o
and care that her own mother did.
• At the end there is a tone of acceptance as the speaker recognise
times change and there is no point in mourning the loss of a way of l
when it has been overtaken by a new culture.
, About
• The title of this poem is ambiguous. ‘Material’ refers to the fabric of w
handkerchiefs are made, but also it means ‘relevant’ and ‘importa
yet another meaning is ‘tangible’. All these apply to this clever, hu
poem about motherhood. Also, as one contributor points out ‘mater
well as meaning a tangible object or fabric, contains the Latin word
mother, ‘mater’, combining the themes of the poem into one word.
• The poem is about the changing role of a mother and the significan
the ‘hanky’, in that it is a metaphor for the caring role and for
generational change. The poem is diffused with nostalgia and sad
that the speaker, as a mother, can’t give her children the same style o
and care that her own mother did.
• At the end there is a tone of acceptance as the speaker recognise
times change and there is no point in mourning the loss of a way of l
when it has been overtaken by a new culture.
