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The herb garden ((She was short - "with a spade taller than…
The herb garden
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"Long heart-stopping drought" - Time he didn't accept his English culture. OR When his mom died - heart stopping mourning
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Structure
The poem has four disciplined stanzas. Each refers to the herb garden and the role it played in the lives of the speaker and his mother. It is emotive and the poet uses simple words and phrases to depict meaning. There is no punctuation and the run on lines produce a flowing rhythm
Mood
The mood is one of nostalgia. The speaker remembers his mother's love for the "Garden of sweet remembrance" and her determination to cling to her social and cultural roots. In the last stanza, the mood shifts to one of acceptance and hope.
Intention
The poet recognises the importance of adapting to circumstances in which one finds oneself. Whilst he acknowledges the importance of one's past, he maintains that in order to survive and thrive, one needs to change
Diction and imagery
The diction is descriptive and emotive. Words such as "rough South Africans" and "soggy pages" symbolise the negative aspects of South African life, while "tenderness", "old" and "sweet" portray the mother's yearning for the past. The poet's use of the subjective "I" personalises the poem and allows the reader to experience his ambivalence
Stanza 1
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The garden was a symbol of her "English soul" - her youth, and she was determined that her son, who was born in South Africa, would retain the values of her English identity
Stanza 2
her resolve is emphasised in the phrases "a spade taller than herself" and "a cigarette tightly in her lips"
In the line "chives made life worth while" we realise that she had never come to terms with her life in South Africa
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Stanza 3
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Her sense of alienation is emphasised in the lines "Always finding the sun too hot / the soil far too dry for the gentler herbs"
Stanza 4
Whilst the speaker absorbs and embraces the legacy left by his mother, he has come to the realisation that it is necessary for him to adapt to his physical and social circumstances
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However, her legacy remains with him and is in the "crevices of fingers" and "under my very nails" and "I remember her every gesture"