National 5 Set Texts

‘Divorce’

Analysis

Before you look at the poem, bullet point the connotations the title of the poem suggests to you. What do you think it will be about? What do you think the key theme/message will be?

• Highlight and identify the key poetic techniques used (word choice, imagery, repetition, tone etc.)

• Analyse how these techniques are used to convey the speaker’s personality, views, key themes etc.

• Two stanzas, one stanza break: reflecting idea of divorce/splitting.

• Each stanza has 14 lines with an end rhyming couplet. An ironic adoption of a loose sonnet form, with its associations with romantic poetry?

• Alternating line lengths reflecting the theme of contrast and difference between the speaker and parents.

• Poem is closest to a dramatic monologue in style: the speaker’s words are addressed to a present but silent audience; their words help to characterise the speaker; there is a clear disparity between what the speaker says about their situation and what the reader infers.

Register

• High, formal register created through language and grammar

• Repetition of ‘I’ throughout creates a strident declarative tone – knowingly theatrical and pompous

Structure

Discussion Topics

• Sum up the key reasons why the speaker wants a divorce

• Explain the speaker’s purpose (what do they want us to understand/realise about them/their life/their parents etc.)

• Explore the speaker’s character (age, personality, mood etc. and explain how we know this – use key details from poem to back up your views)

• Analyse the speaker’s childhood (what was it like, how do we do know, effect on speaker/reader e.g. emotions evoked.)

• Key themes/messages of the poem and effect on the reader

• Effect on reader (to what extent does it affect you/can you identify with subject/relate to speaker’s concerns etc.)

I did not promiseto stay with you till death do us part, oranything like that,so part I must, and quickly. There are thingsI cannot suffer any longer:

Misleading – implies speaker is an adult looking for a divorce. Suggests lack of connection/commitment – ‘I did not promise’

States how difficult the situation has become to justify why they want a divorce: ‘so part I must, and quickly.’ and ‘there are things I cannot suffer any longer’

Comical when the perspective changes to a child wishing to divorce her parents as it is not what we are expecting.

Delays revealing this until line 6 –enabling Kay to build up the speaker’s views on the damaged relationship prior to this.

Colon introduces speaker’s rant of all the many ways she feels hard done by her parents.

Suggests immaturity etc.

Mother, you never, ever saida kind wordor a thank-you for all the tedious chores I have done;Father, your breathsmells like a camel’s and gives me the hump;all you ever say is:‘Are you off in the cream puff, Lady Muck?’

Ironic role reversal. Speaker thinks she does lots to help mother and this goes unnoticed; perceives her to be ungrateful.

Also suggests she views her mother as cold/unloving – ‘never, ever said a kind word’ (repetition to emphasise how upset she is)

Emphasises distance from parents – very formal terms to address them – Mother, Father.

Suggests her pettiness and immaturity – ‘you breath smells like a camel’ (simile)

Pun/play on words – ‘gives me the hump’ – suggests puts her in a bad mood because his breath offends her. Suggests she is easily irritated by minor, inconsequential grievances.

‘all you ever say…’ suggests she is prone to tantrums/strops regularly so they are used to dealing with them. Father deals with her in a calm and jovial manner to try and diffuse her anger.

‘Lady Muck’ – suggests she is considered haughty/theatrical, overdramatic etc.

In this day and age?I would be better off in an orphanage.

Question implies that in today’s times, an orphanage would be preferable and more comfortable for her.

Conclusive statement: conveys ironically, her lack of understanding. Thinks life would be easier on her own away from them. Clearly, not the case.

Echoes idea of title – complete rejection of parents. Imitative of what all teenagers say when fighting with parents – OTT, theatrical etc. - very much in keeping with speaker’s personality.

Doesn’t realise she brings the misery/unhappiness on herself (self-inflicted) by being so judgemental/tetchy/impatient towards her poor undervalued parents.

Very relatable for the readers – most people at times think their parents are too harsh/unfair/don’t understand them etc.

I want a divorce.There are parents in the world whose faces turn up to the lightwho speak in the soft murmur of riversand never shout.There are parents who stroke their children’s cheeksin the dead of nightand sing in the colourful voices of rainbows,red to blue.

Blunt tone created through simple declarative statement conveying finality. She has had enough. Closure/separation is needed.

Marked shift in tone. This second stanza is more serious/earnest/poetic in tone – suggests there is real pain/sadness in her life and she feels uncared for/unloved.

This is her perception remember; there is nothing that implies her parents are unloving towards her – they seem patient in dealing with her tantrums etc.

Stanza = idealised images of childhood which she feels she doesn’t experience/have. Language used echoes fantastical descriptions of fairytales/children’s stories/nursery rhymes – underscores speaker’s juvenile naivety and lack of worldly understanding.

Repetition/parallelism of ‘there are parents’= ironic. Her view of perfect parents is fiction; from tales she has read – not reality and she is upset because they don’t fit/reach her expectations which are unrealistic.

These parents are not you. I never chose you.You are rough and wild,I don’t want to be your child. All you do is shoutAnd that’s not right.I will file for divorce in the morning at first light.

Hyperbolic, grandiose tone returns. Short declarative sentences convey speaker’s sense of pomposity/superiority. This is conveyed too when she judges them as inferior to her and embarrassing in their ‘rough and wild’ ways.

Misjudges/unfair to parents – no hint in poem that ‘all [they] do is shout.’ instead, dad is jokey/tries to placate her/alleviate her mood which gives reader the impression he is a good-humoured man. She, on the other hand, is bad-tempered/volatile etc.

Irony – speaker in fact comes across as ‘rough and wild’ but is not perceptive to realise the fault is her own; easier for her to transfer her unhappiness/blame onto innocent parents.

Accusative address of the poem suggests underlined sections are most likely what she has shouted at parents in her fury/annoyance/frustration.

‘And that’s not right – enjambment suggests she has considered this over time – pause before she asserts her view on her parents’ alleged constant shouting.

Grand/dramatic ultimatum. Mention of ‘morning’ and ‘first light’ implies in the morning all her criticisms will be forgotten; her temper will have cooled and she will have forgotten her grievances (mainly because they are imagined/not real.) If real complaints, would act immediately; she decides to divorce them in ‘the morning.’ Calls to mind phrases like ‘everything will look better in the morning’ and ‘you’ll see things in a different light at the dawn of a new day.’

Poet’s purpose/key themes

• Conveys the incongruity/distance between the young and old (she imagines this)

• Conveys complexities of relationships

• Teaches us to value those around us as what they do, is in our best interests, even if we, like the speaker, don’t accept/realise this at the time

• Teaches us to think before voicing our frustrations/anger as it hurts/affects others and often, when thinking logically/calmly, we realise there wasn’t really an issue in the first place