'Material' - blog entry by Ikram & Oye

Material – Ros Barber

This poem talks about the importance of material and how material was valued more in the past than nowadays. It talks about handkerchiefs and how they were there for people in the past when people needed them. The shift in generations is spoken about and how society nowadays do not carry the same traditions as people in the past.

One interpretation we made was that the hanky was a metaphor for the mother always being there. It is given the characteristics of being soft and comforting just like a mother. The mother eventually ends up dying and gives her permission to her children to live life how they please. The mother shows love through handkerchiefs. Another interpretation we made was that it was tradition in the personas family to pass down handkerchiefs but nowadays people do not do this anymore. It says ''presents from distant aunts''. We concluded from this that handkerchiefs were meant to be family related and bring the family close in other words the hanky is family oriented. We also have this idea because it says ''neglected looking kids'' meaning that handkerchiefs were a way of bringing people together even strangers.There is a contrast in hankies and tissues. Hankies are strong and always there, however tissues are disposable and only used once. The hanky brings consistency and security and this can be concluded from the way the poem is set out in a chronological order of how time passes. The repitions of ''hanky'' shows how significant it is to the persona.

The poem is structured in 10 stanzas there is no regular structure. There is rhyme in the poem on lines 2 and 4 as well as lines 6 and 8. The words '' cloth'', ''shop'' and ''lace'', ''faith''. The persona believes community ties were stronger as well as people's relationships with mothers. The poem tells a story within itself which means there is use of an anecdote. The poem is based on experience. We can conclude this as it takes us back to the poets childhood and their relationship with their mother. ''I never did.'' The use of this minor sentence suggests the persona is reliant on their mother as she was the one always handing  her handkerchiefs. The use of the drop in clause ''she'd have one, always, up her sleeve'' also supports this point. This is because the adverb of frequency ''always'' elicits the hanky is always there just as a mother is always there for her children and there for causing her children to be reliant on her.

In the last stanza the persona becomes personal when mentioning their own mother. The use of the first person creates an impact on the reader as the reader will feel sympathy and may be able to relate.