Textual Analysis
The central relationship in “Divorce” is between the two parents and their angry, frustrated
child who says very clearly “I want a divorce”. She clearly has a hatred towards her parents,
describing them as “rough & wild”. Kay uses hyperbole there to show thae extent of her
anger. Jackie Kay cleverly splits the poem into two clear stances, symbolising the distance
between her and her parents.
In Jackie Kay’s “Lucozade” the theme is again to do with anger and relationships but this
time the anger is from a hospitalised mother towards being stuck in the hospital. The central
relationship is between the ill mother and her caring little daughter. At the beginning of the
poem we see how negative the mother’s mind is when she rejects the daughter’s kind
gesture of flowers saying “They only wilt and die” strongly illustrating how the mother takes
her anger out on her child instead of the hospital. She describes the flowers as “sad
chrysanthemums” the use of transferred epithet putting across her sadness onto the flowers.
We clearly see how the mother really is when she sees “her eyes go back into her head”
clearly illustrating that that’s not normal. But throughout the poem the mood lightens as her
mother says what she really wants “Where’s the big brandy, the generous gin” the use of
alliteration strong, sharp sounds emphasising the stuff of life. The daughter, even though
her mother’s so ill, sees the beauty she has describing her as “light and radient” saying “she
is beautiful”. And we see that she leaves her mother on her “high bed”, “bags full”,
symbolising her taking away her illness as she leaves for home “singing an old song”.
In “Divorce” Jackie Kay explores a hateful relationship between a daughter and her parents
“I would be better off in an orphanage”. This relives that the writer would prefer if her
parents were dead than to put up with them.
However in the poem “Lucozade” the 16-year-old writer is scared for her mother’s life “I’m
scared my mother is going to die” highlighting that if the writer in divorce were to have her
parents be ill she would too be scared as both writers are a similar age.
However, in “Lucozade”, the mother is determined not to seem ill or to be treated as such
“Where’s the brandy, the generous gin, the bloody mary?” Using alliteration and a rhetorical
questions it highlights that the mother doesn’t want to be ill and wants all the things she’s
used to.
The mother and daughter have had their roles reversed as the confident seemingly happy
mother is meant to be doing what the daughter is doing which is worrying and being scared.
However, as the poem goes on, the daughter feels more positive “I leave carrying bags of
Lucozade oranges grapes singing a cheerful old song” suggesting that the daughter has left
with all the mother’s burdens and hers.
The role reversal in this poem is perfect to describe the relations between generations as it
shows us that we need to be grateful for what we have.
The poem “Divorce” by Jackie Kay highlights the difficult relationship between a daughter
and her parents. The daughter feels hard done by and wants a divorce between her and her
parents instead of the typical divorce between a married couple. The line “I will file for a
divorce in the morning at first light” suggests the daughter is putting the divorce off as she
delays it until the morning, conveying she not be serious about it.
Another poem by Jackie Kay is “Keeping Orchids”, similar do “Divorce” the poem concerns
the relationship between a parent and a daughter yet in “Keeping Orchids” the daughter is
meeting her birth mother for the first time after being adopted as a child. When they meet
the mother gifts the daughter with orchids. “The bud, remain closed as secrets”, this simile
cleverly conveying that, much like the flowers, the relationship is yet to blossom. There are
still things they do not know about each other, it also may convey awkwardness in the
relationship as they are unable to open up to each other.
The title “Keeping Orchids” may have symbolism related to the adopted child as a baby.
Orchids are hard to keep and have connotations of delicate. This may resemble how the
mother was unable to look after the baby and had to give it up.
The final line of the poem is “So does cutting the stems with a sharp knife”. This is said
when Kay is writing about ways to kill the flowers, so this may mean the relationship
between the mother and daughter is failing and they might give up on it. The word cutting
has connotations of painful and difficult, this suggest they may not want the relationship to
end yet, it could just be the right thing to do.
The poem also uses a variety of other techniques such as alliteration; “he face is fading
fast”, conveying fast and hard sound. Personification is also used “A sad squire” and
enjambment is seen throughout to keep the poem on a continuous flow.
This poem has the central relationship between a daughter and her parents. Instead of a
good relationship they have a bad relationship. “I did not promise to stay with you ‘til death
do us part” highlights that she would rather have other parents and not them. It makes it
sound like she would not have chosen them if she did have a choice. This point is backed
up when she says: “I want a divorce” clearly portraying that she does not want to be around
her parents and is very determined to get away.
Another Jackie Kay poem which explores a key relationship is “Keeping Orchids”. “Keeping
Orchids” is about a young girl who was adopted. When she meets her birth mother she gets
given some orchids which are hard to keep. “The buds, closed as secrets” is a simile which
suggests that, although Kay has met her birth mum, there are still answers that she isn’t
getting. It could also mean that, as their relationship is blossoming, so are the flowers.
Later on in the poem Kay uses the flowers as symbolism again. “They hang their heads in
shame” implies that the health of the flowers is declining and also that they are about to die.
It is also transferred epithet as Kay’s birth mum could be guilty and ashamed of what she
has done about the adoption.
At the very end of the poem Kay once again uses the flowers for symbolising her mother’s
relationship. “Cut the stems with a sharp knife” makes you think that she has failed to look
after the flowers and that they have died. It could also mean that Kay and her mother have
given up on their relationship and that she wants to “cut” her mother out of her life and get a
fresh start.
In this poem “Divorce” by Jackie Kay, Kay does the dramatic monologue form to convey
what the speaker feels is a harsh reality. The speaker is a teenage girl who believes that
she is used by her parents as a slave and is not happy with her family. Kay conveys the
frustration of the writer when she says “all you ever say is,” this is further exemplified when
she says “in this day and age?” The use of role reversal here highlights the speaker’s
seriousness and maturity over the matter. We can tell that the relationship is strained
between generations in this poem when she says “I want a divorce.” Blatantly highlighting
the loss of love in this relationship. The writer’s tone at this point in the text completely
changes and we can tell that the relationship between generations in this poem is greatly
flawed.
Another one of Jackie Kay’s poems “Bed” is also told in the dramatic monologue form and
focuses on a mother-daughter relationship, this time to do with illness. The speaker in an
elderly bed-bound woman who has to be cared for by her daughter. You can sense the
mother’s humiliation when she says “ma great tent o’nappy.” The mother is embarrassed by
the fact that she has to wear such a thing as a nappy at her age and this severely damages
her confidence. You can see the writer’s frustration at her illness and condition when she
says “blastit bed,” the use of heavy sounding alliteration conveys the mother’s annoyance
and frustration about her entrapment in her bed. You can tell that the relationship between
generations is strained in this poem when the mother says that “the blethers ha been
plucked oot o’ us” conjuring up an image of a chicken that has had it’s feathers plucked, this
normally means that the chicken will be dead soon. It also conveys the lack of conversation
between the mother and the daughter, they no longer have anything to talk about but the
mother’s illness which neither want to discuss, this highlights the damaged relationship
between generations in this poem.