Letters From Yorkshire
Juxtaposition – ‘February’ is associated with coldness and ‘garden’ The father works closely with nature
associated with warmth. Suggests physical distance/separation
Alliteration – emphasises that it is
In February, digging his garden, planting potatoes, an repetitive and ordinary action
he saw the first lapwings return and came The father is connected with nature and its cycle
indoors to write to me, his knuckles singing Personification – suggests the delight the
Shows love father feels – shows that he is positive
Reflects his
simple way as they reddened in the warmth. While the speaker might romanticise the
of life father’s life, for him it is just reality. This could
It’s not romance, simply how things are.
also be a description of their relationship
You out there, in the cold, seeing the seasons
Metaphor – contrasts between her feeding people
Imitates the changing seasons with news and with her father feeding people his
turning, me with my heartful of headlines potatoes. Her actions seems artificial compared to his
experiences with nature
feeding words onto a blank screen.
Is your life more real because you dig and sow? The computer shows the contrast between their lifestyle
Rhetorical question – reflects how this issue and professions – so ‘blank screen’ sounds lifeless and
is at the centre of what the poem is about empty compared to his ‘knuckles singing’
Sense of emptiness – the speaker is jealous of her
You wouldn’t say so, breaking ice on a waterbutt,
Conversationalclearing a path through snow. Still, it’s you father’s life
tone who sends me word of that other world Shows how the father sees his life as ordinary, but
Reflects how his letters makes the speaker feel close to also reiterates his connection with nature. This
his world but also reminds her that she is distant from it could also suggest that the speaker wants to break
pouring air and light into an envelope. So that the distance between them
Sense of jealousy – the father wouldn’t say that
Sense of unityat night, watching the same news in different houses,
there is anything special about his life but the
and hope – our souls tap out messages across the icy miles.
speaker thinks there is
shows that
they have a Communications brings them closer Metaphor – represents life giving life into her world
meaningful despite the distance between them – because of his action, she was brought to life
and deep More natural than the words the father writes. He
connection Sense of sadness – describing writes to her about his day-to-day life and she
the distance as ‘icy’ suggests romanticises about it by describing it in terms ‘air and
Maura Dooley that the speaker dislikes being light’ – an almost magical descriptions
so far away from him ‘Watching the same news’ hints that their lives are
not that different – this shared experience makes
her feel closer to him and his world
Juxtaposition – ‘February’ is associated with coldness and ‘garden’ The father works closely with nature
associated with warmth. Suggests physical distance/separation
Alliteration – emphasises that it is
In February, digging his garden, planting potatoes, an repetitive and ordinary action
he saw the first lapwings return and came The father is connected with nature and its cycle
indoors to write to me, his knuckles singing Personification – suggests the delight the
Shows love father feels – shows that he is positive
Reflects his
simple way as they reddened in the warmth. While the speaker might romanticise the
of life father’s life, for him it is just reality. This could
It’s not romance, simply how things are.
also be a description of their relationship
You out there, in the cold, seeing the seasons
Metaphor – contrasts between her feeding people
Imitates the changing seasons with news and with her father feeding people his
turning, me with my heartful of headlines potatoes. Her actions seems artificial compared to his
experiences with nature
feeding words onto a blank screen.
Is your life more real because you dig and sow? The computer shows the contrast between their lifestyle
Rhetorical question – reflects how this issue and professions – so ‘blank screen’ sounds lifeless and
is at the centre of what the poem is about empty compared to his ‘knuckles singing’
Sense of emptiness – the speaker is jealous of her
You wouldn’t say so, breaking ice on a waterbutt,
Conversationalclearing a path through snow. Still, it’s you father’s life
tone who sends me word of that other world Shows how the father sees his life as ordinary, but
Reflects how his letters makes the speaker feel close to also reiterates his connection with nature. This
his world but also reminds her that she is distant from it could also suggest that the speaker wants to break
pouring air and light into an envelope. So that the distance between them
Sense of jealousy – the father wouldn’t say that
Sense of unityat night, watching the same news in different houses,
there is anything special about his life but the
and hope – our souls tap out messages across the icy miles.
speaker thinks there is
shows that
they have a Communications brings them closer Metaphor – represents life giving life into her world
meaningful despite the distance between them – because of his action, she was brought to life
and deep More natural than the words the father writes. He
connection Sense of sadness – describing writes to her about his day-to-day life and she
the distance as ‘icy’ suggests romanticises about it by describing it in terms ‘air and
Maura Dooley that the speaker dislikes being light’ – an almost magical descriptions
so far away from him ‘Watching the same news’ hints that their lives are
not that different – this shared experience makes
her feel closer to him and his world
