‘My Grandmother’ – Christopher Rush

Rush remembers his Grandmother standing at the kitchen sink trying to hold back an asthma attack.

Stanza 1

Rush recalls the scene vividly

◦‘I’ shows that the poem will be personal

◦‘her’ the subject of the poem has made a lasting impression

I see her now

Syntax of metaphor is unusual to place emphasis on ‘frailty’

Onomatopoeia – ‘wheezing’ implies breathing difficulties

◦‘grey’ connotations of old age and hair colour

◦‘frailty’ connotations of old age, weakness and a delicate thing

In her wheezing grey frailty

Metaphor – shows that she is struggling to not have an asthma attack/spends a great deal of time at the kitchen sink

◦‘clutching’ – connotation of desperation and a struggle

◦‘kitchen sink’ – juxtaposes the seriousness of the event with a mundane object

clutching hold of her life at the kitchen sink;

Simile – breathing rises and falls like the waves and sounds rough/

Alliteration – mirrors the sound of the sea

the noise of her breathing like the sound of the sea

Alliteration caries on image – her breathing sound like the noise the sea makes is rough and harsh

◦‘sucking’ breathing carefully ◦‘shingle’ technical term linked with the sea. Sound of soft sibilant “sh” with harsh guttural “g” sound creates the sound shingle being washed back by the sea and asthma attack

sucking back shingle

Shows the strength of his Grandmother and how present she was in Rush’s early years

Stanza 2

Alliteration – emphasises her close link with the sea working, living beside etc. and relates to breathing in waves of asthma

Metaphor – she lived by and worked with the sea in partnership

Syntax – inversion places emphasis on “was she”◦ “was she” – speaking directly to the reader,

reminiscing and confirming that she is no longer alive

Woman of the waves was she

Metaphor – shows she is a strong character who would not give in to her condition◦“fought” shows it was a constant

struggle◦“asthma” confirms that this is why she

has breathing problems

She fought back her asthma

◦“standing there” – a strong and constant figure

◦“while I grew up” – she was always there for Rush, teaching him and helping

standing there while I grew up

“tides” is ambiguous – represents the passing of time or that her breathing difficulties came and went

the tides came and went.

Describes the grandmother’s role as a fishwife, gutting and preparing the fish.

Stanza 3

Alliteration – shows the quickness and deftness of her gutting the fish

Metaphor – the knife seems to be part of her showing that she was skilled and had worked on it for years

Her fingers flashed silver,

Metaphor – the knife was so sharp it made quick work of the gutting◦“gullie” – Scots word for large knife, his

Grandmother is passing on the Scots language and her knowledge to Rush

◦“terrible” – ambiguous as it means that it was terrible for the fish (it was gutting them) and that it seemed out of place in the grandmother’s hand

the gullie terrible in her hand

Metaphor – shows that she was comfortable with the sea and like she was a part of it

List of fish shows how much of her time was spent at work – syntax stresses the amount of fish there seemed to be

she was at home among the herring and flounders and cod.

Rush recalls his fear of the crabs that his grandmother used to cook in a pot to the extent that he had nightmares

Stanza 4

“red” symbolising violence and fear

the crabs boiled red in the pot

Rush’s grandmother helping to calm his fears – reassuring even though the crabs would be dead

a stone on its iron lid

Alliteration – stresses how frightened rush was◦“crawling” shows Rush’s fear and how

the crabs move to create a tense atmosphere

to keep from crawling out

Metaphor – shows that Rush had nightmares about the crabs but his grandmother helped to stop them

Shows that Rush was young/ childish when this happened

crawling out/ into my dreams.

Rush goes into further details of his nightmares as he imagines the crabs tearing him to pieces. Rush states that his grandmother was able to stop these nightmares

Stanza 5

Alliteration – highlights how scary found the eyes of the crabs

Metaphor – underlines that Rush thought the crabs as evil creatures and the way their eyes move seems unnatural◦ “stalks” – the eyestalk of the crabs seem thin and

delicate

Eyes that wobbled wickedly on stalks

“gobbets” = a piece of meat Rush describing the content of the

nightmares◦ “gobbets” guttural ‘g’ sound emphasises the

unpleasantness of the dream

and claws that tore me to gobbets as I lay

Repetition stresses the boy’s fear and powerlessness over the situation and the fact that he struggled for breathe when awaking from the dream

His grandmother was able to stop the nightmares◦ “terrors” show how scared Rush was and another

word for nightmare or metaphor where the crabs are the “terrors” that are being taken away by his grandmother

drowning, drowning – she took these terrors away.

Rush’s grandmother teaches him about the fish she is gutting and her generosity is shown.

Stanza 6

Emphasises the old age of Rush’s grandmother and her knowledge of the fish

She is teaching rush about traditions and the ways of the sea◦ “St Peter’s” – patron saint of fishermen

She showed me St Peter’s thumb-print/ on the side of the haddock.

Rush’s grandmother was affectionate and caring

She gave me the top of my grandfather’s egg.

The grandmother is in pain every night because of her asthma and cries

Stanza 7

Metaphor – demonstrates the oneness Rush’s grandmother had with the sea as brine is another term for salt/sea water

“washed me” – implies that as Rush hugs his grandmother the tears fall onto him

She washed me in the brine of her tears

Alliteration – ‘sh’ soft sibilant sound that mirrors the sound of the sea creating a peaceful scene

that she shed nightly

Personal reflection to show how much knowledge was passed from one generation to another.

Stanza 8 – She taught me the ways of the sea.