Reciprocities
What life is really like
Sonnet 73
On the Grasshopper and Cricket
The lake isle of innisfree
Inversnaid
You laughed and laughed and laughed
The slave dealer
The night jar
Hard to find
,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
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