1. Mementos, 1
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH
W D Snodgrass

2. MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

3. 1. something that reminds one of past events; souvenir
memento [mɪˈmɛntəʊ]
n pl -tos, -toes
1. something that reminds one of past events; souvenir
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

4. Sorting out letters and piles of my old
    Canceled checks, old clippings, and yellow note cards   
That meant something once,
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

5. Your picture. That picture.
I happened to find
    Your picture. That picture.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

6. Like a man raking piles of dead leaves in his yard
I stopped there cold,   
Like a man raking piles of dead leaves in his yard
             Who has turned up a severed hand.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

7. Still, that first second, I was glad: you stand
    Just as you stood—shy, delicate, slender,
In that long gown of green lace netting and daisies
    That you wore to our first dance. The sight of you stunned   
Us all. Well, our needs were different, then,
             And our ideals came easy.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

8. Then through the war and those two long years
    Overseas, the Japanese dead in their shacks   
Among dishes, dolls, and lost shoes; I carried
    This glimpse of you, there, to choke down my fear,   
Prove it had been, that it might come back.
             That was before we got married.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

9. —Before we drained out one another’s force
    With lies, self-denial, unspoken regret
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

10. And the sick eyes that blame; before the divorce
    And the treachery. Say it: before we met.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

11. I put back your picture. Someday, in due course,
Still,   
I put back your picture. Someday, in due course,
             I will find that it’s still there.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

12. The poet is rummaging through old documents when he comes across a picture of his wife, but at a time when they were still dating. He is initially shocked upon seeing it but then it brings back a sense of nostalgia because it was this picture which had helped him through the fearful war years.
He is also reminded of the dreadful days of their marriage, when affection disappeared and their relationship ended in divorce. Nevertheless, he keeps the picture and knows that one day he will look at it again.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

13. Which two words prove that the poet is American?
Sorting out letters and piles of my old
    Canceled checks, old clippings, and yellow note cards   
Which two words prove that the poet is American?
canceled = cancelled
check = cheque.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH
Articles of interest from newspapers or magazines which the poet had cut out and kept
The note cards were so old that they had become yellow with age
That meant something once,
These souvenirs had some meaning to the speaker – some emotional attachment

14. Note the use of enjambment
I happened to find
    Your picture. That picture.
The italics of the word ‘That’ prove that this was a picture of some significance.
This is a photograph of his ex-wife.
It is a picture that brought back long forgotten memories.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH
Note the use of enjambment
The poet cleverly places the phrase ‘Your picture’ at the beginning of the new line.

15. simile I stopped there cold,
Like a man raking piles of dead leaves in his yard
             Who has turned up a severed hand.
The poet uses a disturbing image:
He wants us to feel his shock – he gives the reader something to relate to.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH
Hand - cut off

16. Note the apostrophe – the poet addresses her directly
Still, that first second, I was glad: you stand
    Just as you stood—shy, delicate, slender,
In that long gown of green lace netting and daisies
    That you wore to our first dance. The sight of you stunned   
Us all.
The poet uses images of beauty to describe the woman.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

17. Well, our needs were different, then,
Young people do not have many needs.
They did not have all the responsibilities and commitment of later life.
Needs of young people are very different from those of married couples. Their lifestyles tend to be more simple. They can adapt to hardship more easily.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH
When one has few possessions to lose, one can afford to be idealistic
And our ideals came easy

18. Here we learn of the significance of the photograph
Then through the war and those two long years
    Overseas, the Japanese dead in their shacks   
Among dishes, dolls, and lost shoes;
The poet refers to World War II, more specifically to the period when the Americans were fighting the Japanese after Pearl Harbour.
Emphasises the length of time
It was a difficult time – but also a time in which they probably changed – grew apart.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

19. I carried
    This glimpse of you, there, to choke down my fear,   
Prove it had been, that it might come back.
The picture enabled the poet to think of other things than war and killing. It enabled him to talk to his fellow soldiers of the good times and the fun times he had had back at home before he had been drafted into the navy.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH
That was before we got married.
The TONE is one of sarcasm or bitterness. The picture reminded the poet of the good times, the happy times. But all that changed once he returned home and got married.

20. What is implied by the use of the pronoun ‘we’?
—Before we drained out one another’s force   
    With lies, self-denial, unspoken regret
What is implied by the use of the pronoun ‘we’?
It proves that he does not blame her entirely for what happened between them.
He is realistic – they were both responsible for the divorce.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

21. And the sick eyes that blame; before the divorce
    And the treachery. Say it: before we met.
The speaker lists the things that caused the break-up.
The tone is bitter: the speaker implies that they both believe that their lives would have been better if they had not met.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

22. I put back your picture. Someday, in due course,
Still,   
I put back your picture. Someday, in due course,
             I will find that it’s still there.
Despite all the painful memories of the marriage, the photograph nevertheless brings back nostalgic memories of his life before and during the war, when the woman was still the person he loved and who meant a great deal to him.
MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH