Summary English FAL Poetry Grade 12

Poems Gr 12
Analized




pg. 0

,Table of Contents:
Table of Contents: ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Reciprocities: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
What life is really like: ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Sonnet 73 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 14
On the Grasshopper and Cricket ..................................................................................................................................... 20
The lake isle of innisfree: ................................................................................................................................................ 27
Inversnaid........................................................................................................................................................................ 33
You laughed and laughed and laughed: .......................................................................................................................... 41




pg. 1

,Reciprocities
- Cathal Lagan




pg. 2

, Reciprocities:
Summary:
 The poem is a tribute or ode to the poet’s mother. He reflects on their relationship – the lessons and
experiences that bind them.
 In this narrative poem, the speaker reflects on how he used to help his mother during her knitting sessions.
 He would hold skeins of wool so she could roll them into a ball.
 He is now a writer, and the writing process reminds him of those childhood years.
 He compares his writing to his mother’s knitting. Both benefitted from the close bond, the talks, and the
time they shared.
 This poem is something he has made for her, in the same way, she made things for him as a child. There is a
“thread” that will always bind them.
 This is how it starts = The bond – the thread that binds you. The mother gave him life. In the end, he gives
something in return and dedicates a poem to her. Between those two incidents lies a whole life filled with
advice, guidance, stern reprimands, and love. There is always a thread that binds them, the umbilical cord, a
thread of wool, or the words in his poem.


Structure:
 Refer to the repetition of the possessive pronouns = I me my she her us
 They are woven through the poem like a golden thread.
 There are the only two words in the poem that rhyme = me she
 Three stanzas, varying length.
 First long stanza reminds us of the tedious process of wool winding and the long chats they had.
 Second short stanza links with a compact ball of wool.
 Third stanza shows the bond is still there and the memory of his mother too.
 All stanzas are connected by conjunctions
 Stanza 1 has 10 lines
 stanza 2 has 4 lines
 stanza 3 has 5 lines.

Theme:
 Nostalgia: The speaker refers to specific events that happened in the past.
 Mutual dependence: The mother benefitted from the boy who held skeins of wool for her and he benefitted
from the time spent with her

Type:
 Narritive poem

Rhyme:
 Free verse

Tone:
 Nostalgic
 Sentimental
 appreciative




pg. 3

, Title:
 reciprocate = equal exchange
 mutual give and take/benefits
 respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one
 mutual dependence
 reciprocities = shared lessons /experiences
 Note plural – more than one experience

L Line Analyze
Stanza 1:
 10 lines
1 She gave me skeins of wool  “She” = the poet’s mother.
 “Skeins” = loops or twists of wool are held by him so that she
can wind them into a ball.
 The mutual ‘give – and – take’ begins.
 The mother initiates it.
 It reminds him of how he later in his life held his hands as a
priest during mass.
 A simple ritual prepares him for his future.
 The literal thread between them suggests a deeper, emotional
bond.
 Do you share a “ritual” or action with a parent that is more
about the shared experience than anything else?
2 To hold out (like a priest at Mass),  FIGURES OF SPEECH:
Simile – he holds out his hands and wool like a priest holds out
his hands at mass. Parenthesis = separates adult life from
childhood/info about his adult life.
 similar action reminds him of his duties as a Catholic priest
later in life.
 A priest has to follow clear instructions or “rubrics” when he
conducts a service.
 In the same way he had to follow his mother’s strict rules as a
child.
3 With stern rubrics not to fidget,  “stern” = strict but loving, she disciplines when necessary.
while she  “rubrics” = instructions from his mother/life lessons/career
 “fidget” = small movements indicating impatience or
nervousness/lack of concentration

4 wound it into a ball, unwinding me,  “wound” and “unwind” = while she winds the wool into a ball,
with her talk and advice.
 Mutual ‘give–and–take’ suggests a close bond.
5 Unravelling my hands and arms,  FIGURES OF SPEECH:
checking metaphor = “unravelling” = literally taking the wool off his
hands. Figuratively she helps him to relax, they talk, and she
shares advice.
6 my lapses with a gentle tug  “checking my lapses” = brings him back to the present if his
imagination starts to wander and he loses focus. Already a
creative soul?
 “gentle tug” = pulling on the wool softly to bring him back to
the present moment. She is both ‘stern’ and ‘gentle’. She keeps
him grounded.
 she teaches him valuable life lessons; she keeps the
connection/bond alive.
pg. 4