How does the poet use the technique of the juxtaposition of the past and present to recollect his mother?
How does the poet use the technique of the juxtaposition of the past and present to recollect his mother?
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The poet makes the use of images and symbolism to describe the past and the present of his mother. He throws light on her youth, middle and old age.
In the first stanza, he sees his mother who is bent like twisted blackbone tree and memorises her youth when she was soft and beautiful. Note that the poet uses he image of “twisted blackbone tree” to describe her old age and “silk and whitepetal” to describe her youth. Both the images depict the opposite appearance of his mother.
In the second stanza, he uses the images like “rags of tree” and “eagle” to describe her sacrificing nature. According to him, his mother sacrificed her youth & her middle age for the sake of her children. Like the eagle, she faced all the hardships to make her children happy.
In the final stanza, the poet tells us that her hand has four fingers which depict that one of her fingers was cut while doing some household work. Hence we see that the whole poem is a comparison of poet’s mother’s past and present (and the reason behind her present condition).
Read summary of this poem.