Aunt Julia Norman MacCaig

What do you know about Gaelic? In your groups What do you know about Gaelic? Where do you hear Gaelic being spoken now? Do you? What is the significance of that?

Context Background Norman MacCaig's Aunt Julia lived on Scalpay, a small island off the coast of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. Aunt Julia lived a traditional, hardworking life on a croft and she spoke only her native Gaelic language.

Gaelic Scottish Gaelic, or Scots Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. In 1018 after the conquest of the Lothians by the Kingdom of Scotland, Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith in Scotland. Elites spoke Gaelic although some commoners in the Lothians retained Old English.

By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots emerged as the official language of government and law. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse’ (Irish) and their own language as 'Scottis'. Gaelic was no longer the language of Scotland, and has been marginalised ever since.

Do you know any ‘scots’? Do you speak in ‘scots’?

Crofting What is a crofter? A crofter is the person who occupies and works a small landholding known as a croft. What is a croft? A croft is a small agricultural unit, most of which are situated in the crofting counties in the north of Scotland being the former counties of Argyll, Caithness, Inverness, Ross & Cromarty, Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland. The Work Croft work was hard, back-breaking work, mainly done by women which yielded a subsistence living.

The Poem The poem focuses on MacCaig’s Aunt Julia and the language barrier that existed between them. Aunt Julia lived a traditional, hardworking life on a croft and she spoke only her native Gaelic language. The last stanza introduces a tone of regret as it was only after Julia's death that the poet learned enough Gaelic to be able to communicate with her. All of the questions that he would have asked to her must now remain unanswered, just as her questions to him as a child had been.

Key themes Barriers of communication Frustration Isolation (felt by speaker & Aunt Julia) Spirituality Strength of relationships Fragility of Scottish heritage, language & culture Loss/Mortality History/tradition Nature Place Barriers of communication Frustration Isolation (felt by speaker & Aunt Julia) Strength of relationships Fragility of Scottish heritage, language & culture Loss History/tradition Nature

The Poem Copy down: It is an autobiographical poem, about the relationship between MacCaig and his Aunt Julia. Discusses the language barrier between them – she spoke Gaelic and he did not. However get the sense that they had a strong relationship despite of this. At the end, Julia has died, and MacCaig emphasises his regret at not being able to converse with her.

Stanza 1 Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic very loud and very fast. I could not answer her — I could not understand her.

I can see her strong foot, stained with peat, Stanza 2 She wore men’s boots when she wore any. I can see her strong foot, stained with peat, paddling with the treadle of the spinning wheel while her right hand drew yarn marvellously out of the air.

Poet begins with affectionate childhood memories of Aunt. Repetition Poet begins with affectionate childhood memories of Aunt. However, goes on to discuss the difficulties of relationship. Repetition of “very” &“I could not” highlights difficulties speaker had in communicating with Aunt Julia, & frustration felt as a result of this. Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic very loud and very fast. I could not answer her — I could not understand her. * Tone is affectionate here, despite the inability to communicate, demonstrating that even without a common language, strong bonds can be formed.

I can see her strong foot, Word choice “men’s boots” demonstrates her practicality. Suggests her work is physically demanding – she lives a life close to the soil (connected with the land). Word choice of “strong foot” reinforces great physical strength. She wore men’s boots when she wore any. I can see her strong foot, stained with peat “Peat” is a fertiliser made up of decomposed vegetables. It is used for gardening and as fuel. The fact that her foot is “stained” with the material again reinforces her connectedness with the land – it is a part of her. Connotations of energy from the fact that peat is used to ‘fuel’ the land – she a lively and active character. * Present tense throughout this stanza creates sense of immediacy and shows how vividly and readily he can still access these memories *

while her right hand drew yarn marvellously out of the air. Long sentence emphasises the length of time the spinning process takes. “Paddling” suggests she is constantly moving, again emphasising her hard-working, active nature. paddling with the treadle of the spinning wheel while her right hand drew yarn marvellously out of the air. Word choice: “drew yarn marvellously out of the air” conveys sense of magic or illusion about the task, entrancing the young boy watching his Aunt work. “Marvellously” has connotations of excellence and wonder - emphasises this sense of spectacle.