Abre los ojos

Beachcomber Do you often remember scenes from your childhood? Maybe you can bring to mind specific experiences that can be clearly pictured in your mind. Perhaps you have also wondered whether, with what you know now, you could or would change, if anything. This is one of the issues addressed by this poem.

What is a beachcomber? Beachcomber can mean two things: a long wave rolling in from the sea. a vagrant who makes a living by searching beaches for articles of value and selling them. In the context of this poem, the title could also have a deeper meaning, which we will return to later in the lesson.

Beachcomber If you think till it hurts you can almost do it without getting off that chair, scare yourself within an inch of the heart at the prompt of a word. How old are you now? This is what happens – the child, and not in sepia lives, you can see her; comes up the beach, alone; bucket and spade. In her bucket, a starfish, seaweed, a dozen alarming crabs caught with string and a mussel. Don’t move. Trow. Go for the sound of the sea, don’t try to describe it, get it into your head; and then the platinum blaze of the sun as the earth seemed to turn away. Now she is kneeling. This is about something. Harder. The red spade scooping a hole in the sand. Sea-water seeping in. The girl suddenly holding a conch, listening, sssh. You remember that cardigan, yes? You remember that cardigan. But this is as close as you get. Nearly there. Open your eyes. Those older, those shaking, hands cannot touch the child or the spade or the sand or the seashell on the shore; and what what would you have to say, of all people, to her given the chance? Exactly.

Feedback to sheet: Stanza 1 Line/ word(s) Questions Other interpretations   “If you think till it hurts” Who is speaking here and to whom? Consider this question for the poem as a whole. Narrator throughout the poem is seemingly in a dialogue with an older person, the second person pronoun “you” is used. Could be Duffy talking to herself? Why would thinking hurt? Memories could produce hurt- perhaps through regret, lost youth – perhaps it is being suggested that the older person should confront the issues of the past. "scare yourself/ within an inch of the heart" Why would thoughts scare you? Realisation of how old you are; regrets. "This is what happens" Why the use of the present tense? The subsequent stanzas convey a temporal shift as something which happened long ago is replayed now in memory as if it is actually happening now.

Feedback to sheet: Stanza 2 Line/ word(s) Question(s) Other interpretations   "the child/and not in sepia,/lives" Who is this child? Could be the older person as a young child. “a dozen alarming crabs” Why the use of the word ‘alarming’? This is the effect that crabs have on most people, but possibly not on innocent kids. “Trow.” What does ‘trow’ mean and why does Duffy use an archaic word? It means to believe or think. It is an archaic word, which could suggest the age of the memory, i.e. the word was contemporary when this really happened.

Feedback to sheet: Stanza 4 Line/ word(s) Question(s) Other interpretations   "This is something. Harder" This seems rather an odd line to put in here. What do you think it means? This is not simply a memory which is meaningless, but is perhaps about something deeper and ‘harder’, perhaps something more permanent/ lasting than a trivial, fleeting or even happy memory.

Feedback to sheet: Stanza 5 Line/ word(s) Question(s) Other interpretations   "But this is as close as you get". What does this line mean? Perhaps one cannot actually re- experience a moment in the past, no matter how vivid it might seem. Later there is the bitter realisation that one cannot change the past. “Those older, those shaking, hands cannot touch/ the child on the shore.” Why can these old hands not touch? And why would they want to touch? They (old) cannot go back and re- live and change their past; they might want to in order to right wrongs and undo regrets. “and what what would you have to say, of all people, to her given the chance? Exactly.” What do you think these lines mean? To paraphrase: if you were given the opportunity to give some advice to make a difference to the life of a girl – what would it be? This begs the question as to whether you could or would change the course of your life if you had your time again.

Stanza 1 A word can become a trigger or catalyst to a host of memories Sarcastic tone. Is this addressed to the person who has become old mentally as well as physically A word can become a trigger or catalyst to a host of memories If you  think till it hurts   you can almost do it without getting off that chair, scare yourself   within an inch of the heart at the prompt of a word. How old are you now? This is what happens – Is this because the old person has a weak heart (like ‘an inch of your life’) or because it is an emotional recollection? Speaker is deictically distant in time and/or place. The deictic (word whose meaning depends on the context in which it is used) ‘that’ places the referent ‘chair’ distant from the speaker Question shows that the memory gives the speaker a new perspective on how old the person is

Stanza 2 "sepia" is a form of brown monochrome photograph characteristic-ally used early in the 20th century; this therefore implies that this memory is / must be vivid and in full colour “See” is not used in a literal sense, but it emphasises the extent of the vivid imagination that is required. “Imagine” would not produce the same vivid effect/ sense of realism, alongside the idea that in the memory the child “lives” the child, and not in sepia  lives, you can see her; comes up the beach, alone; bucket and spade. In her bucket, a starfish, seaweed, a dozen alarming crabs caught with string and a mussel. Don’t move. Trow. Lexical detail mirrors that of a photograph and the detailed list shows the richness of the memory This is a typical childhood memory of crab fishing. An activity for fun, rather than purpose, perhaps suggesting a more carefree time The listener is instructed not to move their attention or focus from this scene

Stanza 3 This passage is almost a running commentary; a continuous encouragement to make the imagery/ memory more vivid and real Go for the sound of the sea, don’t try to describe it, get it into your head; and then the platinum blaze of the sun as the earth seemed to turn away. Now she is kneeling. Later, you will write a practice paragraph answering the question ‘How does Duffy use imagery to convey her memories in this stanza?’ More vivid and detailed memory which ‘interrupts’ the fragmented style. Consider the symbolic connotations of the words ‘platinum’ and ‘blaze’ and of the earth turning away The listener is being instructed to relive the memory, not just remember it but is this ever possible?

Stanza 4 Onomatopoeia could suggest the beginning of a journey of self- discovery but later on in the poem she is unable to listen Again, this puts details into the memory, the colour of the spade, the specific cardigan This is about something. Harder. The red spade scooping a hole in the sand. Sea-water seeping in. The girl suddenly holding a conch, listening, sssh. You remember that cardigan, yes? You remember that cardigan.  As discussed, the word sentence ‘harder’ is very important in unlocking the meaning of the poem Short phrases reflecting a childish recollection. Not everything is vivid Repetition as interrogative moves to declarative, perhaps speaking to herself or reassuring herself? Stirs memories across time

Stanza 5 But this is as close as you get. Nearly there. As discussed, these words mark the turning point in the poem, when the deeper meaning suggested earlier becomes evident. The listener cannot fully relive that time But this is as close as you get. Nearly there.  Open your eyes. Those older, those shaking, hands cannot touch the child  or the spade or the sand or the seashell on the shore; and what   what would you have to say, of all people, to her given the chance?   Exactly. The listener may have had their eyes closed to concentrate but the imperative brings them back to reality; the here and now The older hands are juxtaposed with the child and list of childish words The adjectives “older” and “shaking” suggest (the hands of) the listener are old and frail as does the use of sibilants. Pay careful attention to the way Duffy has punctuated this line - fragmented The word sentence concluding the poem perhaps suggests that nothing the older person could say would change the future of the younger person and that the older person cannot be the younger person again or relive her experiences (Childish) tongue twister may show it is impossible to describe/ imagine the past

FORM AND STRUCTURE Duffy uses the technique of a dialogue, in this case, between a narrator and an old person. This old person never replies, but appears to be following the narrator's instructions. This technique allows the narrator to effectively talk to the reader, who is implicitly asked to participate in a similar searching and questioning of memory. It could be Duffy challenging herself (the older person) about her childhood (as the girl). The speaker asks questions of the reader/ listener (and therefore, possibly herself). There are many short lines with incomplete sentences. This could increase the impact of specific words, particularly when repeated, like “remember”. The very short run-on lines (enjambment) represents the way the listener is able to switch from past to present and back but the fragmented structure (irregular line lengths and no set rhyming pattern) could show that this is not a perfect process.

Why the title beachcomber? On an obvious level, the girl is a beachcomber of sorts. On a more figurative level the process occurring in the poem is one of combing one’s memory for valuable worthwhile memories; one is then able to find them but not fully relive them.

What do think are key themes? Your ideas… Regret Childhood Growing up Memory Age Time passing What is the poem’s main message? No matter how hard we try, we can never fully relive our childhood experiences/memories. Your ideas…

‘How does Duffy use imagery to convey her memories in this stanza?’ Go for the sound of the sea, don’t try to describe it, get it into your head; and then the platinum blaze of the sun as the earth seemed to turn away. Now she is kneeling.

Basic/ incomplete answer Beachcomber also uses the weather to show how time has passed; “the platinum blaze of the sun as the earth seemed to turn away”. The use of “platinum blaze” shows how uncomfortable it is for time to pass for the persona, ‘platinum’ presents the idea that it is valuable and bright, but the ‘blaze’ turns this negative, showing that it is negative.

Improved answer In ‘Beachcomber’, a rich description of the beach setting is given with “the platinum blaze of the sun as the earth seemed to turn away.” This description appears on the longest line of the poem and is therefore foregrounded as ‘Beachcomber’ is mostly constructed of relatively short lines. This seems to be a positive description because of the beautiful and evocative meanings usually associated with the terms ‘platinum’ and “blaze”. The adjective "platinum" juxtaposes the verb "blaze" because platinum, a precious metal, could connote that these memories are important and valuable to the persona. However, "blaze" suggests a scorching heat. The memory could literally be of a painfully hot day, but Duffy could be implying that the memory itself is painful, perhaps because her childhood was not perfect or perhaps because it hurts her to remember a time which she cannot fully recapture. Metaphorically, it may be that this experience has left a mark on Duffy, burning and blistering her as if she was on fire. Reference to the earth "turning away" is also ambiguous. It could suggest that Duffy felt rejected during her childhood, and that even the planets shunned her, or it could show how time moves on as the earth turns on its axis.