Eilean ni chuilleanain

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Eilean ni chuilleanain

• 6th YEAR POETRY

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Street

• This short poem tells the story of a man who
  fell in love with a girl when he saw her
  passing in the street. On one occasion he follows
  the girl home.
• The girl in question is a butchers daughter and
  the man would see her walking from the shop along
  the street.
• She wore a butchers knife on her belt Dangling
  a knife on a ring on her belt. The knife would
  be bloodied from her work and drops of blood
  would fall on the pavement.

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Street

• One day he decided to follow her as she made her
  way to the shambles or slaughterhouse.
• The door at the back stood half-open and inside
  the girls shoes were placed neatly at the foot
  of the stairs.
• Red moon-shaped marks were visible on each of the
  steps, darkest at the bottom and fading as they
  reached the top.
• It seems the girls feet were bloodied as she
  climbed the stairs and every step she took left a
  red outline of her heel.

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THEME A strong, assertive woman

• The girl in the poem is an interesting character.
  She is doing a job that would normally be
  associated with a man slaughtering and
  butchering animals.
• The knife that hangs from her belt dripping blood
  upon the pavement is a very masculine symbol,
  something that represented power and strength.
• In what seems to be an otherwise very normal
  street, this girl is a striking character.

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THEME A strong, assertive woman

• When the man follows her back home we see another
  side to this strong, assertive woman.
• He sees her shoes neatly arranged at the bottom
  of the steps that are immaculately clean. It is
  an image of domesticity, something more
  traditionally feminine.
• However, the bloodied footprints on the step are
  a reminder of the work she has been doing.
• That they fade towards the top suggests that she
  is leaving behind one world that she inhabits
  the masculine world of the butchers and
  entering the more feminine.

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THEME Love

• The poem suggests that love is something that
  often happens locally. We fall in love with
  people we see in our daily lives.
• We might imagine that the man has watched this
  girl passing by on many occasions. Perhaps he
  lives or works on the same street as her.
• To him she appears a fascinating character, the
  knife hanging from her waist, dripping blood on
  to the ground.
• Perhaps he is too shy to speak to her,
  intimidated by the power she displays striding
  past in her butchers gear.

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THEME Love

• Some readers feel that the poem hints at the
  darker side of love and attraction.
• The images of the knife and blood in the poem
  hint at violence and the fact that the man
  follows the girl, seemingly silently, back home
  down a winding path behind the slaughter house is
  quite unsettling.
• We never quite know what his intentions are and
  we never find out if the man followed her into
  the house or left.

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LANGUAGE

• Imagery
• There is something cinematic about the story of
  the poem. The poet focuses on the girls trousers
  and her belt and then zooms into the drops of
  blood on the pavement.
• We are then following the path down to the back
  of the shambles where we are brought to a door
  half-open. We move inside the door and are
  presented with an image of the stairs with the
  shoes neatly arranged and the blood marks on the
  steps.
• The images are intriguing and suggest much about
  the girl and the world she inhabits.

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The Bend in the Road

• The poem describes a spot along a road where the
  poet once stopped when her child felt sick.
• There was a bend in the road where they stopped
  and a tall house cast a shadow over the car.
  There was also a tree shaped like a cats tail.
• Twelve years have passed since this occurred.
  Since that day, however, this particular spot on
  the road has been remembered as the place where
  their child felt sick on the way to the lake

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The Bend in the Road

• Though the road is still as silent as ever it
  was on that day some things have change since
  then.
• The child has grown taller than the poet and her
  husband. The strange looking tree has also grown
  and the house is covered with green creeper
• This causes the poet to think about the passage
  of time and all that has happened since they
  first stopped at this particular spot.

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The Bend in the Road

• She thinks about all that went on in those
  years and about the people who have since passed
  away, their absences
• She remembers how some of these people suffered
  long illnesses before they died. Their sickness
  seemed to wrap itself around their bodies we
  saw them wrapped and sealed by sickness
• These people looked so fragile when ill, and the
  space they occupied seemed hollow and
  insubstantial the airy space they took up

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The Bend in the Road

• They were so weak that their sleep seemed too
  heavy a burden for them. Rather than revitalising
  them, sleep stole the energy of these fragile
  beings the piled weight of sleep/We knew they
  could not carry too long
• The poet suggests that all that happened over the
  twelve years and those who have passed away since
  then are somehow present in this particular place
  along the road.
• She imagines these events and people to be Piled
  high here, softly packed together like the
  air or a single cloud floating in a perfect
  sky. The poet can sense their presence in this
  particular place.

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THEME Nature

• The natural world features as a friendly and
  gentle presence in this poem.
• The tree near the house seems to wait with the
  family as they wait for their child to feel
  better. Over the years the poet has noticed how
  this tree has grown taller just as her child has.
• The image of the cloud floating in a perfect
  sky is similarly caring and peaceful. The poet
  imagines that the collected events of the past
  twelve years and all those who have departed are
  gathered together like one cumulus cloud/ in a
  perfect sky

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THEME Memory

• The poem highlights how certain places and events
  remain with us and take on an importance over
  time.
• The rather unremarkable place along the road
  where they stopped that day has always been
  remembered by the family as the place where
  their child was sick. Each time the poet passes
  it she thinks of all that has happened since that
  day and all those who have since died.
• The poem also describes how the faces of those we
  know and love remain with us after they have
  passes away. Though they are physically absent
  from our lives they are never long absent from
  thought

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LANGUAGE

• Atmosphere/Mood
• The atmosphere of the poem is very tranquil and
  peaceful. We know this because the road is
  described as silent and nothing moved. The
  description of the cloud in the perfect sky and
  the green creeper covering the house adds to
  this sleepy atmosphere.
• Metaphor and Simile
• The poet uses a simile when she likens the shape
  of the tree to a cats tail.
• She also uses a simile to describe the way the
  events of the past and all those who have died
  are present in this particular place. They are
  wrapped lightly, like one cumulus cloud/ In a
  perfect sky.

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Questions

1. Describe the place where the family stopped on
   the way to the lake.
2. How has the place been remembered by the family
   since that day?
3. What has changed and what has remained the same
   since they first stopped there?
4. What impression of the natural world does the
   poem offer?

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To Niall Woods and Xenya

• The poet addresses her son and his Russian wife
  on the day of their wedding. The poem features
  many references to traditional stories,
  especially fairy tales
• There is a reference to a story in which a poor
  mother sends her eldest son off to seek his
  fortune and offers him a full loaf with her curse
  or half a loaf and her blessing. He takes the
  full loaf and receives his mothers curse. Later,
  the youngest son sets out after him to assist him
  and he leaves home with half a loaf and his
  mothers blessing. The tale ends with the
  youngest son marrying a beautiful princess.
• The poet mentions the story of Sleeping Beauty.

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To Niall Woods and Xenya

• She refers to a Russian fairy tale about an
  emperor whose apple trees bear golden apples.
  Every night one apple is stolen from the tree by
  the Firebird, a magical glowing bird. The
  emperors son Ivan begs to be allowed catch the
  bird and is finally given permission. The story
  ends with Ivan catching the bird and falling in
  love with a beautiful princess.
• The King of Irelands Son and the Enchanters
  Daughter concerns an Irish folk tale about a
  Prince who meets an enchanter. The enchanter
  tells the prince that he must accept a challenge
  or else suffer great misfortune. Whilst
  performing the challenge the prince falls in love
  with the enchanters daughter. He successfully
  completes the tasks set and marries the daughter.

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What is it about?

• The poet associates the couples marriage with
  these stories. She suggests that marriage is the
  beginning of an adventure or an exciting journey
  together.
• In keeping with these tales she says that a
  signal will appear in the sky to tell them when
  to set out on their journey When you both see
  the same star/Pitching its tent on the point of
  the steeple / That is the time.
• She also tells them they will have her support
  when they do get married With half a loaf and
  your mothers blessing

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What is it about?

• The poet tells the couple to be adventurous and
  not be afraid to journey away from what is
  familiar Leave behind the places that you
  knew.
• Anything they leave behind will be rediscovered,
  particularly in the stories she references. These
  are the tales they will encounter again, possibly
  when they have children and tell them bedtime
  stories.
• The poet imagines that a character from the fairy
  tales assist them in their task, coming to them
  when they need him and telling the stories
  associated with their different traditions When
  the cat wakes up he will speak in Irish and
  Russian/ And every night he will tell you a
  different tale

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What is it about?

• This cat is familiar with many tales but the poet
  says it wont know of a story from the Bible that
  she feels is relevant to the couple.
• The poet does not have time to tell them exactly
  what happens to Ruth, however, she does tell them
  that Ruth was brave, honest and willing to place
  her trust in strangers. This is another story
  with a happily ever after ending.
• As such, the story has a lot in common with the
  other fairy tales mentioned in the poem, only the
  protagonist is female.
• The poet is probably drawing a link between Ruth
  who travelled far from her home to find love and
  her sons wife who has also found her home in a
  very different culture.

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THEME Love

• There is a sense throughout the poem that love is
  something fantastical and magical. The poet uses
  the world of fairy tales to show this wonder and
  magic.
• The different stories the poet mentions suggest a
  number of things about love. Each story involves
  a character journeying far from home and
  overcoming ordeals. Love is seen as a reward for
  their noble efforts.
• Love is shown to come to those who adventure and
  persevere.

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THEME Love

• The stories are also a celebration of the
  romantic notion that love is forever. Each story
  ends with a marriage and a promise that they
  couple lived happily ever after
• The different stories also involve characters
  leaving their parents and embarking on their own
  independent lives.
• In this way the poem is also a celebration of the
  poets love for her son and her hope that his new
  life will bring him joy.

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LANGUAGE

• Imagery
• The poem contains a number of fantastical images
  that lend the poem a magical feel.
• There is the image of the star/ pitching its
  tent on the point of the steeple.
• There is also the image of the cat telling the
  couple different stories each night.

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Questions

1. How does the poem give a sense that marriage is
   an adventure?
2. Why do you think the poet urges the couple to
   Leave behind the places that they knew?
3. What values does the poem celebrate?