Street-Eilan N Chuilleanin

Street is a short narrative poem written in the third person.

The poem is inspired by an actual person; a real girl who worked
in a butchers shop that the poet once saw and never forgot.
The poet was also influenced by Joseph Conrads novel The
Rover set during the French Revolution. It tells the story of a
beautiful, mysterious girl who would accompany the mob when
they went out killing people. One day she returned home with
her skirt bloodied up to her knee. This image stuck with N
Chuilleanin and we can see how it may have inspired the
danger and mystery in this poem.
The images created in the poem give it a cinematic quality.
The opening stanza describes how the man has fallen in love
with the butchers daughter and there is an air of mystery
surrounding the girl.
From the outset we are introduced to an unusual combination
of themes; romance, death, beauty and danger.
The image of the woman dressed in white and dangling a
knife on a ring on her belt seems to captive the man and he
has fallen in love at first sight.
The male character appears to be almost hypnotised by the
droplets of blood she leaves in her wake:
He stared at the dark shining drops on the paving-stones
The first stanza is intriguing; the reader is left asking many
questions, such as; is the girl aware of the mans feelings?
What is it about her that captivates him?
The second stanza describes how One day he followed her
down a lane to the back of the shambles. This further
intensifies the mystery created in the first stanza and reminds
the reader that this is the place where she butchers animals.

 The door half-open seems to suggest that the man does not
belong there; he is not part of her world and so he can only
catch a glimpse of it.
The place is described as brushed and clean, not an image we
would necessarily associate with a slaughter house.
A final reference to blood comes in the closing lines of the
poem as the poet describes the girls bloody footprints
disappearing up the stairs:
Each tread marked with the red crescent
Her bare heels left, fading to faintest at the top.
The closing lines reinforce the fact that the butchers
daughter is unattainable and very separate to the man who has
fallen in love with her.
Points to Note
Themes-Romance/love, danger
Imagery-contrasting images of beauty and blood. White and
red (blood)
Atmosphere-danger and mystery
Leaves the reader asking questions
Structure-free verse