The Pomegranate: Structure & Language Techniques

Structure of “The Pomegranate”

The poem is structured with seven stanzas of different lengths, mirroring the disconnection and fragmentation Boland experiences being a mother and struggling to navigate through her daughter’s inevitable journey into adulthood.
Its irregular rhyme scheme is suggestive of the unpredictable nature of time and the unforeseen trials of motherhood.
A reflective and admonishing tone dominates the first half of the poem, but shifts to fearful and apprehensive as the mother grapples with letting go of her daughter.

Boland employs anecdotal evidence to provide historical context, blending personal trauma, history and mythology into an uncanny mix of reality.
Metaphors are used extensively. The pomegranate symbolises multiple things such as the cruelty of time, the inevitability of daughter’s transformation and loss of innocence, and the ruptures between the past and the future.
The poem is full of figurative language. For example, in the line “I was ready to make any bargain to keep her”, Boland uses hyperbole to illustrate the desperate lengths she would be willing to go to shelter her child from growing up.
Imagery is another technique Boland uses throughout the poem. Words like ‘bitter’, ‘star’, ‘moon’, ‘winter’, and ‘dark’ are used to paint vivid pictures and elicit emotional responses from readers.
She makes use of alliteration, as in “I could warn her. There is still a chance.”, to enhance the rhythm, and create a sense of urgency and dread.
The poet’s use of enjambment effectively conveys the flow of her thoughts and emotions. The stretching of sentences across lines reflects the continual and inevitable process of aging and the relentless passage of time.