Object Lessons: Plot

Structure

“Object Lessons: Plot” is a thought-provoking poem composed in free verse. Boland’s use of this form allows her to freely express her ideas and feelings without the constraint of conventional rhyme and meter.
The poem is divided into two distinct parts. The first part represents her past and her memories, while the second part focuses on the present and her reflections on her experiences.
The singular narrative voice provides a direct and personal perspective, helping to build a strong connection between the reader and the speaker.
Boland utilises a complex sentence structure with multiple clauses. This highlights the intricacy of the speaker’s thoughts and emotions.

Imagery is effectively used in the poem to convey the strong emotion and vivid memories of the speaker. For instance, Boland utilise visual descriptions such as the “Vesuvian crimson” to create a visual image in the reader’s mind.
The poem contains frequent use of metaphor to illustrate the speaker’s experience and emotions, such as “the plot of the plot is the shadow of the hen house”. The metaphors express the speaker’s longing, nostalgia and her complex relationship with her past.
Boland’s choice of diction, such as “snake”, “garlic”, and “umbilical”, have deeply symbolic experiences. They are concrete and tactile, reflecting the speaker’s strong connection to her past.
The device of repetition is used to emphasise key ideas in the poem such as the phrase “this is what is real”. The repetition underscores the speaker’s longing for understanding and emphasis on the importance of authenticity and truth.
Boland uses personification throughout “Object Lessons: Plot”, attributing human emotions and intentions to non-human entities and abstractions. For example, “this is my bitter knowledge” personifies knowledge with the capacity to hold bitterness.

The plot of land plays a central symbol in the poem, representing the speaker’s past, her family, and her roots.
The garden and nature are recurring symbols used to reflect on the passage of time and the speaker’s longing for her past.
The hen house symbolises a place of reproduction and life, and its shadow represents the past that lingers and influences the speaker’s present.
The use of animals such as the snake in the plot serves as a symbol for danger and fear, illustrating the darker aspects of her memories.
Garlic is a symbol referring to her mother’s kitchen and her family’s culinary traditions, embodying her sense of nostalgia and yearning for her childhood.