The Black Lace Fan my Mother Gave Me (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes

The Black Lace Fan my Mother Gave Me

Introduction

This moving poem by Eavan Boland tells the story of a family heirloom - a black lace fan passed down from mother to daughter. The poem explores powerful themes of love, memory, time, and family connections through this treasured object.

Overview of the poem

The poem presents a fictionalised story about the origins of a black lace fan that once belonged to the poet's mother. Set in pre-war Paris, it traces the romantic history of how the fan was first purchased as a gift between lovers.

Poem extract

The poem begins with these evocative lines:

Structure and form

The poem consists of 28 lines arranged in stanzas of varying lengths. While it doesn't follow a strict rhyme scheme, Boland employs several sound techniques:

The mix of shorter and longer lines creates a rhythm that mirrors the flow of memories - sometimes quick and fragmented, sometimes more flowing and lyrical.

Key poetic techniques

Repetition

Boland uses repetition throughout to create emphasis and musical quality:

• Words ending in "-ing" appear frequently in almost every stanza
• Weather-related imagery repeats: "overcast", "drought", "dusk", "heat"
• The phrase "They wrapped the fan. He looked at his watch" appears twice, creating a refrain-like effect

Alliteration

Words beginning with the same sound create rhythm and emphasis:

Anaphora

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive lines:

• "She" starts multiple lines (nine, ten, twelve), emphasising the female perspective
• This technique creates rhythm and draws attention to important elements

Caesura

Lines are deliberately broken or paused, sometimes with punctuation:

Enjambment

Lines flow into each other without natural stopping points, forcing readers to move quickly between lines. This technique creates the feeling of memories rushing past and helps recreate the swift passage of time.

Detailed analysis

Stanza one: The original gift

The opening establishes the fan as "the first gift he ever gave her", immediately marking it as significant in their relationship. The purchase "for five francs in the Galeries" grounds the story in specific, realistic detail.

Stanza two: Summer routines

The description of their summer meetings reveals character through contrast: "She was always early. He was late." This detail suggests different personalities and approaches to their relationship.

The scene builds tension as "That evening he was later" while they wrap the fan and "He looked at his watch" - time becomes pressured and significant.

Stanza three: Her perspective

Focus shifts to her experience: she looks down "the Boulevard des Capucines", orders more coffee, stands up. The heat becomes oppressive ("The heat was killing"), and she senses distant "rain and lightning".

This weather imagery suggests both literal discomfort and emotional tension - perhaps uncertainty about the relationship or the future.

Stanza four: Description of the fan

The poem shifts to describe the fan itself: "wild roses, appliquéd on silk by hand". This craftsmanship represents patience and care, contrasting with the urgency of the romantic scene.

Stanza five: Present day condition

Moving to the present, the speaker notes how the fan has changed: "the lace is overcast" as if the weather from that original stormy night has somehow "entered it" and become part of its character.

This suggests how objects absorb the emotions and atmospheres of their histories.

Stanza six: Reflexion on the past

A crucial stanza acknowledges the limits of memory: "The past is an empty café terrace". The speaker admits that much of the past is unknowable - "none at all — unless, of course, you improvise".

Stanza seven: The blackbird conclusion

The poem's powerful ending introduces new imagery: "The blackbird on this first sultry morning" with its "full, flirtatious span".

Central themes

Memory and imagination

The poem explores how the past cannot be fully recovered. The speaker openly acknowledges inventing details: if the past "is to be lived again, it must be reinvented. Some improvisation is needed."

This celebrates the power of imagination to create meaningful family narratives even when factual details are lost.

Intergenerational connection

The fan serves as a bridge between generations, carrying stories and emotions from mother to daughter. It demonstrates how objects can hold family history and continue to generate new meanings.

Love and relationships

The original purchase represents romantic love, while the poem itself represents maternal love - the mother passing both object and story to her daughter.

Time and change

The poem moves between past and present, showing how both people and objects change over time. The fan that was once part of a romantic story becomes something different in the daughter's hands.

Language and imagery techniques

Weather imagery

Weather runs throughout the poem as a pathetic fallacy - external conditions reflecting internal emotions:

• "stifling" heat suggests passion or tension
• "starless drought" creates ominous atmosphere
• "rain and lightning" suggest approaching change
• The "overcast" lace shows how weather has become part of the object's character

Sensory details

Boland uses specific sensory information to make scenes vivid:

• Visual: "wild roses, appliquéd on silk"
• Tactile: "stifling" heat
• The "Boulevard des Capucines" provides geographical precision

Symbolism

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