Jackie Kay Poems

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Bed Commonalities

  • My Grandmother's Houses - The sound of ambulances at the end of MGH is similar to the idea of final years of an aged relative in Bed. Contrasts the elderly characters. The grandmother is stubborn, energetic and determined, not impeded with illness and not dependant on her family.
  • Lucozade - Central relationship also between mother and daughter, the mother is confined to her hospital bed for a period of time. However this mother will not just lie ill. She demands a bottle of brandy and other luxuries. In contrast, the daughter listens to her mother, but she is a lot younger and not worn down by constantly caring for her mother.
  • Gap Year - Contrasts as it depicts a very warm and close parent-child relationship. Kay is learning to give her son his independence and in turn be less dependent on him which contrasts with the mother being solely reliant on the daughter.
  • Divorce - Both written in dramatic monologue form. Both have personas have a strong personality and both suggests a breakdown in communication feeding resentment between parent(s) and child
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Divorce Commonalities

  • Keeping Orchids - Tension and lack of communication between parent and child. In divorce the child wants to give away or reject her parents and yet in keeping orchids the daughter feels rejected by her parents. In Divorce the persona describes the parents' annoying habits which upset her and in KO the mother's coldness distresses the speaker. The tone contasts, Divorce's speaker is melodramatic. She exaggerates her emotions and concentrates on herself - repeating "I". In KO Kay remains detached. Rather than the speaker talking about herself directly she uses the orchids as a separate image on which to project her emotions.
  • Divorce - Both written in dramatic monologue form. Both have personas have a strong personality and both suggests a breakdown in communication feeding resentment between parent(s) and child.
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Gap Year Commonalities

  • Lucozade - Both poems are about a close relationship between mother and child. The daughter is able to revive her mother and carry away the burden of suffering just as Kay's longing is transformed to happiness and pride through the experiences and images of her son.
  • Divorce - Contrasts as D is about a difficult relationship between parent and child. In GY the son communicates well with his mother and it is almost as if she is with him as he journeys the world. However, in D the speaker wants nothing to do with her parents. She wants a permanent separation - not just a gap year.
  • Bed - GY also contrasts with B which depicts a broken parent/child relationship, where the parent has become solely reliant on the child. The mother and daughter portrayed in B lack the communication and understanding of relationship in GY,  resulting in a sense of dependence and resentment. It is through communication and respect that her son has his own life, that the mother and child relationship brings happines and liberation.
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Keeping Orchids Commonalities

  • Divorce - Both about strained parent-child relationships. In KO the mother is detached from her daughter emotionally and keeps her secrets hidden. In D there is poor understanding between parent and child, and the speaker seeks better parents "whose faces turn up to the light". This implies that her current family hides the truth (perhaps impending divorce) from her, in a similar way to the mother in KO keeping details of her life secret like the flowers that "did not open out".
  • Bed - Bed shows a disintergrated relationship between mother and daughter. In Bed it is clear that the mother resents the daughter for neglecting her and wants her to feel guilty. Similar feelings are implied in KO, but they are by no means explicit. Rather, the daughter is left in her "winter room", unable to open the "hidden album" of her mother's past. In both, there is a lack of warmth and communication that leads to resentment and a detachment between parent and child.
  • Gap Year - Unlike KO, the relationship is close and positive. While memory of the brief meeting in KO is quickly lost as Kay and her birth mother travel off to different destinations, in GY Kay's relationship with her son stays strong despite the geographical distance between them. There is an openness and a sense of sharing experience that brings them together in contrast in KO the mother's closed nature and secretiveness prevents a close bond forming.
  • Lucozade - Both deal with a mother-daughter relationship from the daughter's perspective. But there is a significant difference in how the daughters feel about their mothers, and in their mother's personalities. In L the daughter feels worried and protective towards her mother. There is warmth and openness in the relationship and it is clear the mother is willing to tell her daughter what she is feeling. Both make symbolic use of flowers.
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Lucozade Commonalities

  • Gap Year - Both poems portray a loving relationship between mother and child. In ‘Gap Year’ the mother is energised by thought of her son and his exploration of the other side of the world. This is similar to the mother in 'Lucozade' being energised by her daughter removing symbols of illness. In each case, through their children the mothers experience a sense of life and freedom.
  • My Grandmother's HousesBoth poems depict women with strong characters. The mother in ‘Lucozade’ wants her ‘luxuries’ to cheer her up and will not conform to the conventional behaviour of an invalid. The grandmother in the latter poem is also particular about gifts. She vehemently maintains her routine and standards despite her age. Both are spirited and unconventional in their behaviour.Both poems also recognise the possibility of death. In 'Lucozade' the poem begins with worry about mother's illness and ends with images that suggest the mother passing beyond illness to a heaven-like place. In 'My Grandmother's Houses', Kay reflects that her grandmother will one day die with the cemeterysideboard solid like a coffin and the final image of screaming ambulances.
  • BedBoth poems feature mothers confined to bed, one through illness, the other through age. In ‘Bed’ the speaker complains about the situation just as the mother complains about her gifts in ‘Lucozade’. However, in ‘Lucozade’, we see a character who will not give in to the ‘routine’ of illness. She demands a bottle of brandy and a meringue, and her daughter supports her and carries out her wishes. In contrast, in 'Bed' the mother seems to have given up on life. She doesn't have the energy to fight her situation and her daughter seems to go through the motions of looking after her, rather than actually caring.
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My Grandmother's Houses Commonalities

  • Lucozade - ‘My Grandmother’s Houses’ portrays a spirited woman who takes on the challenges of life wholeheartedly. We see a similar strength of will in the mother figure in ‘Lucozade’ who refuses to be surrounded by the trappings of an invalid. The grandmother is also particular about gifts and maintains her routine and standards despite her age. Both are determined and unconventional in their behaviour.
  • Bed - The vigorous grandmother contrasts with the elderly woman in ‘Bed’. She lacks the strength to do things for herself. Her routine is not one of her choice - it is a mundane, passive existence. However both women are linked by their separation from the rest of life. The woman in bed has lost track of what goes on in her neighbourhood. And the grandmother seems out of place in her new flat in the high rise.
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