Stabat Mater

A basic PPT file to aid in lecturing and analysis of Stabat Mater by Sam Hunt for IGCSE Literature

1. Stabat Mater Sam Hunt

2. Sam Hunt Born in Auckland, NZ His father was 60, his mother 30 when he was born He rebelled against the puritanism of his Christian school. His poems are deliberately simple and colloquial in style His poetry focuses on his own experiences; moments in his life, love and loss, and his family relationships.

3. What’s the poem about? How a relationship changes as people age How our perception of someone’s greatness changes as they age The transitory nature of life The unstoppable aging process What’s up with the title? Hunt has borrowed the name of a 13 th Century latin hymn describing the sorrows of Mary at the cross. Why?

4. Stabat Mater My mother called my father ' Mr Hunt' For the first few years of married life. I learned this from a book she had inscribed: 'To dear Mr Hunt, from his loving wife.'

5. She was embarrassed when I asked her why But later on explained how hard it had been To call him any other name at first, when he - Her father's elder - made her seem so small.

6. Now in a different way, still like a girl, She calls my father every other sort of name; And guiding him as he roams old age Sometimes turns to me as if it were a game...

7. That once I stand up straight, I too must learn To walk away and know there's no return.

8. What parallels can you see between the grieving Mary and the poet’s mother? Mary, mother of Jesus Poet’s mother

9. Form & Structure Sonnet form (14 lines) Unorthodox rhyme scheme Final rhyming couplet enhances the resolution of the poem Simple, colloquial language Direct and matter-of-fact narration Tone: Wistful, sad Mood: Mildly depressing?

10. Diction & Imagery Many words focus on posture, physical health and size : “made her seem so small” mother’s inferiority “guiding him as he roams old age” father’s senility “once I stand up straight” alluding to maturing into adulthood “to walk away” those who still have their youth and strength must leave the elderly to die?

11. Themes Love and relationships Feelings of inferiority in a relationship Changing perceptions of a loved one as they age The duty/obligation to care for aging loved ones The unstoppable cycle of life and death

12. Check out the Prezi here… https://prezi.com/ptvj08sj_ljk/stabat-mater/ And listen to Sam Hunt recite some of his own poems here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyZMO9B1jyk

13. Essay question: Comment on the significance of the Title. Why in your opinion has Sam Hunt named his poem ‘ Stabat Mater ’? OR How does Sam Hunt vividly portray his mother’s changing perspective about his father, in the poem Stabat Mater ?