‘Rapunzstiltskin’ Liz Lochhead Revision ‘Rapunzstiltskin’ Liz Lochhead

Quotations On the next page there are a list of quotations. You should identify what part of the text the quotation is taken from and explain what the quotation is about. E.g. “& just when our maiden had got good & used to her isolation.” This quotation is taken from the beginning of the poem and conveys several pieces of information to the reader. The way Lochhead begins with an ampersand ‘&’ shows us that she expects us to already have some background knowledge about the poem and that she is expecting us to fill in the missing details. It also suggests that there is a ‘maiden’ in the story who is trapped somewhere, which is similar to the fairy tale Rapunzel, but Lochhead’s poem contrasts with this because her ‘maiden’ has got ‘good & used’ to her tower. This already conveys a different message to the reader from more conventional fairy tales as it demonstrates that the woman is: more independent, has stopped waiting around for her prince, has accepted the situation that she is in and is trying to make the most of it. You may also wish to comment on things such as: imagery, theme, setting, etc.

Quotations 1. & just when our maiden had got good & used to her isolation, stopped daily expecting to be rescued, had come to almost love her tower,   2. This Prince 3. With absolutely all the wrong answers. 4. she had not been brought up to look for originality or gingerbread 5. …strung together cliché

Quotations 6. ‘Just hang on and we’ll get you out of there’ he hollered like a fireman in some soap opera   7. when she confided her plight (the old hag inside etc. & how trapped she was); 8. well, it was corny but he did look sort of gorgeous axe and all. 9. …humming & pulling all the pins out of her chignon, 10. throwing him all the usual lifelines

Quotations 11.…shimmying in & out every other day as though he owned the place 12.…sex manuals & skeins of silk from which she was meant, eventually, to weave the means of her own escape. 13. She gave him till well past the bell on the timeclock. 14. She mouthed at him, hinted, she was keener than a T.V. quizmaster that he should get it right. 15. She screamed, cut off her hair. ‘Why, you’re beautiful?’ he guessed tentatively. 16. ‘I love you?’ he came up with as finally she tore herself in two.

Important notes on the poem ‘had come to almost love her tower,’ This is not a cliché. She is expected to hate her tower, like Rapunzel, but she doesn’t she rather likes it. She’s happy in herself and is very self-contained and independent. ‘it was corny but he did look sort of gorgeous axe and all’ This is an unconventional use of ‘corny.’ It shows her feelings towards the Prince using modern language. ‘Axe and all is a representation of electric guitar. He could be in a band – this is playing on the idea that all women are attracted to people in bands and she is in this case. ‘she was keener than a T.V. quizmaster’ She’s became very enthusiastic, she’s encouraging/ supportive of the Prince in rescuing her. Remember T.V. quizmasters are very eager and overly keen for you to get the answer right. She’s giving the Prince all of the answers and he’s still unable to help her to escape. ‘throwing him all the usual lifelines’ She’s helping the Prince out, throwing her hair out of the tower. ‘So there she was, humming and pulling all the pins out of her chignon,’ It seems like she is making a lot of effort and the Prince isn’t really doing anything. Her hair might be causing her pain or she might be enjoying pulling the pins out her hair for a sense of relief as her long hair has been tied up all day. ‘as finally she tore herself in two.’ Interests the reader as she is so frustrated that she ‘tore herself in two,’ relates back to Rumpelstiltskin. This shows her aggression and anger. It also tells us that the Prince is useless and he could not give her what she needed.