A full analysis of Isobel Dixon’s poem ‘Plenty’, tailored towards IGCSE students but also suitable for those studying at a higher level.
Includes the following:
VOCABULARY
SUMMARY
SPEAKER/VOICE
ATTITUDES
LANGUAGE
FORM/STRUCTURE
THEMES
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Plenty
“When I was young and there were five of us,
all running riot to my mother’s quiet despair,
our old enamel tub, age-stained and pocked
upon its griffin claws, was never full….”
Isobel Dixon
(Full poem unable to be reproduced due to copyright)
VOCABULARY
Plenty — A lot / more than you need.
Grimace — A painful smile.
Sybarite — An ancient Greek person who lived in Sybaris, a luxurious city in what is now. Southern Italy.
Sybarites are pleasure seekers who live an extravagant lifestyle.
Disgorged — Poured out from, the word ‘gorge’ means ‘throat’, so the term ‘disgorged’ has a sense
that a liquid is pouring out from the throat of something, in this case the ‘fat brass taps’.
Co-conspirators — People who plot together against something.
, STORY / SUMMARY
Stanza 1: We learn that there are five young children and one mother. The
mother finds it difficult to look after so many kids.
Stanza 2: We learn that the family is poor, and the mum is struggling.
Stanza 3: The mum has to do a lot of maths and worry about money, and
keep track of shopping lists to make sure the family has enough to eat.
Stanza 4: Details of things that the mother could afford with the money that
she has — petrol, porridge, aspirin, bread, toilet paper — everyday items, bare
essentials (no luxuries).
Stanza 5: The children thought the mother was very mean and disobeyed
her because she had such strict rules, so they stole extra biscuits and
undermined her.
Stanza 6: The children also stole extra water for their baths, and thought this
was a luxury.
Stanza 7: The focus shifts here (VOLTA / TURNING POINT) into the present
tense, we focus on the poet herself. This allows us to compare the poet’s
life now to her mother’s life when the poet was young. The poet’s life is very
luxurious now — she leaves the heating on, she has long baths.
Stanza 8: The poet (in this case, the mother’s daughter) misses her
childhood, her sisters who are now “scattered”, and her mother, the difficult
time they shared together. She has a deeper appreciation for her mother’s
sacrifices and harsh rules now that she is mature.
SPEAKER / VOICE
Stanzas 1–6 is from the point of view of the poet, as a child, looking at her
mother and not being sure why she’s so mean.
Stanzas 7–8 from the daughter’s point of view when she’s grown up — she
sees her mum and childhood differently, she realises how lucky she is now.
Personal point of view, memory / reflection on the past.
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