‘Bed’ by Jackie Kay

The Title: ‘Bed’

Dictionary definition: a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.What connotations does a bed have for you?

The Title: ‘Bed’

What a bed is usually vs. What it is for the speaker• Comfort

• Safety

• Relaxation

• Haven

• Restriction• ‘Prison’

‘Bed’

What is it about?

A dramatic monologue told through the voice of the elderly female persona who is bed-ridden. Written in Scots, the poem explores themes of dependency and aging.

Dramatic Monologue

Watch the following clip. • The poem and the video are about very

different subjects, but they use a similar technique.

• What things do they have in common? (think about presentation rather than content)

• What effect does the clip have on the audience? How is this different than the poem?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KFVLWX7eEY

Dramatic Monologue: also known as a persona poem. Shares many characteristics with a theatrical monologue: an audience is implied; there is no dialogue; and the poet speaks through an assumed voice—a character, a fictional identity, or a persona.

First Thoughts: ‘Bed’

In pairs, discuss these questions:

• What are your initial thoughts on the poem?

• What language techniques does the writer use?

• What is she trying to say by using these techniques?

‘Bed’: The Important Stuff

• Uses the dramatic monologue form to convey the stark realities of extreme old age.

• The speaker is an elderly bed-bound woman, completely dependent on her daughter for her care.

• Uses colloquial Scots which is direct, expressive and bleakly humorous.

• Honestly describes the physical effects of old age and the guilt and frustration she feels.

• She has become the child.

• Tone changes to reflection and contemplation in the final two stanzas. She thinks about the inevitability of death and what it will mean to her daughter.

She is that guid tae me so she isan Am a burden tae her, I know Am ur.

Stuck here in this big blastit bedyear in, year oot, ony saint wuid complain.

There’s things she has tae dae fir meA’ wish she didnae huv tae dae.

Am her wean noo, wey ma great tent o’ nappy,an champed egg in a cup, an mashed tattie.

written as if someone was speakingheavy problem/weight on her life

alliteration shows her frustration

repetition shows the length of time – feels like forever sense of martyrdom

humiliation/indignity of being cared for

role reversal – she is the child/cared for

metaphor continues role reversal

food of an invalid is unexciting and mundane

Aw the treats A’ used tae gie her,she’s gieing me. A’ dinny ken whit happened.

We dinny talk any mair. Whether it’s jistthe blethers ha been plucked oot o’ us

an Am here like some skinny chicken,ma skin aw bubbles and dots and spots,loose flap noo (an yet as a young wuman

A’ took pride in ma guid smooth skin.)

role reversal continuedenjambment emphasises her bewilderment over the change

small talk – loss of intimacy like feather they have been (violently) removed

extended into a simile

looks vulnerable/ugly/unnatural prepared for death

list of ailments shows how ill she is

contrast shows age as bad and youth as good

Aw A’ dae is sit and look oot this windae.A’ve seen hale generations graw up

an simmer doon fray this same windae –that’s no seen a lick o’ paint fir donkeys.

The Kerrs have disappeared, but the lastCampbells ur still here so Am telt –

tho’ hauf the time A’ dinny believe her:A’ve no seen any Campbell in a lang time.

everything she haspassive

she can look, but not communicate

time passingyouth = vibrant (bubbling)age = going off the boil

sameness/predictability

time passing: window as a symbol for the speaker – aging and uncared for

enjambment – focus on end of family line

2nd hand infofeels like she is being mislead

limited view/perspective – looking for things and people she recognises

My dochter says ‘Awright mother?’haunds me a thin broth or puried neep

an A say ‘Aye fine,’ an canny helpthe great heaving sigh that comes oot

my auld loose lips, nor ma crabbit tut,nor ma froon when A’ pu’ ma cardie tightaroon ma shooders fir the night drawin in.

Am jist biding time so am ur.

question isn’t expecting a real answer because they know it

weak/insubstantial like the speaker also meaningless

enjambment to replicate the sigh

long vowel sounds to show the sigh

sharpness of sounds suggest irritationprotection

fear/vulnerabilitynight – age/on coming darkness (death)

waiting for bed, also waiting to die

Time is whit A’ hauld betweenthe soft bits o’ ma thumbs,

the skeleton underneath ma night goon;aw the while the glaring selfish moon

lights up this drab wee prison.A’ll be gone and how wull she feel?

No that Am saying A’ want her guilty.No that Am saying Am no grateful.

shift in tone more philosophical/reflective

life/death

loose grip reminder of death, no skin just bones

personification – probably the daughter; speaker feels she is ‘selfish’

but also a small amount of light/joy – enjambment shows conflicting emotions

bed/body is a prison, but her mind is still active

how does she want her to feel?

she does want her to feel guilty

repetition of ‘no’ – suggests this is not what she actually feels, just how she ought to feel

‘Bed’• Themes of restriction, confinement and

imprisonment.• Provides a voice from the margins – an

invalided and aged mother. • Written in a Scots dialect, often reflecting the

patterns and inflections of real speech.• Offers a perspective on the sad reality of her

life, being cared for at home by her daughter. • HOWEVER, almost Shakespearean in its

assessment of time as a great destroyer of youth and beauty.

• Tone is ambiguous – unclear whether she is grateful to or resentful of her daughter.

‘Bed’ Diary Entry

• Read the poem carefully.

• Translate the main ideas from the poem into a Standard English diary extract.

• Begin the diary in the morning and end at night. Use as many of the details from the poem as you can.

– Should be at least three paragraphs long.– First person – from the perspective of the old woman.

Lost in Translation

• Is anything lost in the act of translation?– Poetry to Prose– Scots dialect to Standard English

Quote HuntFind:

1. a word that shows the speaker feels like she is an inconvenience to her daughter2. an expression that shows she is angry about her situation3. three words or phrases that show she feels she is being treated like a child4. three words or phrases that suggest she feels ugly5. the four food stuffs mentioned in the poem6. a word that tells us things have changed suddenly7. an expression or word that tells us the mother and daughter don’t communicate

anymore8. something mentioned that is aging and uncared for, besides the speaker9. an expression that suggests the speaker isn’t certain her daughter tells her the truth10. two expressions that suggest the mother and daughter find it difficult to talk about

anything important11. an expression that suggests the mother’s unhappiness12. an expression that tells us the mother feels cold13. a word or expression that suggests death14. a word that suggests the mother feels trapped by the room that she is in15. a word or expression that suggests the mother is frail16. four words that are repeated at the start of the last two lines.

1. Look at the poem as a whole and identify four of the main ideas contained in the poem.

2. By referring to lines 1―20, show how word choice and sentence structure give a description of the speaker’s helplessness/reliance on others.

3. By referring to lines 16―40, explain one thing that we learn about:

(a) the community the speaker lives in(b) the speaker’s attitude to her life at this time.

4. Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay.