| Poetic Devices | Nature | Themes | Relationships | General |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Metaphor
What literary device does Clarke use in this line of Clocks? "He blows me a field of gold."
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Possible answers: comparison of bat’s wings to Bible paper, pressed rose; “dusk unwinds its spool”
Describe Clarke’s use of imagery in Pipistrelle.
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Abandonment - The babysitter represents abandonment to the baby because she will eventually leave
What is a theme in Baby-sitting, and how is it shown?
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Brass and relationships
Describe a connection made in Still Life.
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Gillian Clarke
Who is the main perspective in most of the poems?
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She personified the skull to make the reader feel connected to the skull in the same way that Clarke does.
How does Clarke utilize personification in Lunchtime Lecture?
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The narrator likens herself to the skull.
Describe a connection made in Lunchtime Lecture.
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Helplessness - The narrator is simply a passenger and can do little about the journey she is on
What is a theme in Journey, and how is it shown?
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The box symbolizes memories that are worthy of remembrance
Suggest symbolism used in My Box.
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No rhyme scheme or meter is consistently used at all.
What is Gillian Clarke’s general rhyme scheme and meter?
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Rhyme scheme and meter
What differentiates My Box from other poems from Clarke?
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Clarke assigns human traits to the skull. By imagining it as still alive and flying in the sky, she is better able to relate to the skull and almost make it its own character.
How does Clarke utilise personification in Buzzard?
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The power of words - The man who speaks for the first time in a long time
What is a theme in Miracle on St. David’s Day, and how is it shown?
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The ‘tight red rope of love’ is an umbilical cord
Suggest symbolism used in Catrin.
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Give an example of a poem that takes an everyday object and adds meaning to it. What is the object and what is the meaning?
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The repetition of the ‘s’ sound sounds like the hissing of machines.
How does Clarke utilize syblance in “The steel town’s sulphurs billow like dirty washing. The sky stains with steely inks and fires, chemical rustings, salt-grains, sand under snow.“
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Based on Clarke’s upbringing in Wales, nature serves as an inspiration for many of her poems.
What impact does the natural world have on Clarke’s poems?
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Unity from disaster - The many little towns of Europe twinned to Chernobyl
What is a theme in Neighbours, and how is it shown?
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Repetition is used at the end to show the lack of connection between the narrator and child.
Describe how poetic devices are used in Baby Sitter to create a relationship.
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Past and personal experiences
What is Clarke’s inspiration for most of her poems
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