Plenty by Isobel Dixon

The context:
 The change in perspective from a child to an adult, an appreciating mother seeing

childhood as a time of riches not just scarcity; as a time to be cherished.

 Sense of loss as the poet is missing her sisters; now there is plenty of water unlike in her

childhood and no financial constraint but luxury seems an empty pleasure.

 Poem is a testament to mother’s “quiet” struggle – presumably a single parent.

 Poem celebrates aspects of childhood shared with sisters. Poem questions notion of

“plenty”.

Nostalgic means looking back at the

Tone: past and you feel sad about the past
memories

 Nostalgic (memories); there is the heavy use of past tense

 Regretful/guilt/shame mixed with warmth and appreciation, yearning, tenderness,

reverence, admiration tinged with sadness … Don’t feel sad when you think about your childhood? This
is what the poet feels here. Nostalgic

Significance of the title:

“Plenty”: Then (in the past)- Drought of water and material wealth but plenty of fun and

love as discussed in stanzas 1-6. Now –There is plenty of water/luxury but dearth/ absence of

joy/ happiness and intimacy as discussed in 7 & 8.

Now let’s move on to the analysis/ annotation of the poem

Stanza 1-4
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.
Such plenty was too dear in our expanse of drought
where dams leaked dry and windmills stalled.
Like Mommy’s smile. Her lips stretched back
and anchored down, in anger at some fault –   with the poet’s adult verdict in the poem later when she uses “expanse of
of mine, I thought – not knowing then
it was a clasp to keep us all from chaos.
She saw it always, snapping locks and straps,
the spilling: sums and worries, shopping lists
for aspirin, porridge, petrol, bread.
Even the toilet paper counted,
and each month was weeks too long.
Her mouth a lid clamped hard on this.
Introduction to childhood and family life: drought, poverty and mother’s
struggle to sustain the family in stanza one. We learn that there are 5 young
children and one mother. The mother finds it difficult to look after so many
kids as there is a drought and no water for the family.
Contrast sense fun from the alliteration and hyperbole of “running riot” with
static hopelessness of “quiet despair” – this contrast emphasized by rhyme of
opposite words “riot”/” quiet”)
The words “us”, “our” and “all” – give a sense of the togetherness of the
family even in poverty
In stanza 2, drought symbolize firstly the scarcity of water but also the
scarcity of mother’s smiles according to the poet. (see underlined words)
The diction “too dear” would have been the mother’s word to describe the
scarcity, a word choice by the mother to not worry her children. This contrast
drought.” to describe the same drought. Only a mother will tailor her words to
not worry her children.
The mother’s “lips stretched back” is evaluated and understood as not anger at
daughter but “clasp to keep us all from chaos” (to protect her daughters from
knowing how poor and wrecked they are)
In stanza 3, we note that the tension/anger of the mother is related to the
poverty they live in and her worries of how will she feed her children.
Lots of words relating to fastenings (“straps”, “locks” connecting to the idea
of security. These emphasize the mother’s struggle. Sibilance (saw and
always, snapping and straps, sums and worries) tying the words together into
endless worries about security for her family
In stanza 4, the poet catalogues a list of things that the mother spends her
money on: aspirin(medicine), porridge (rice), petrol (fuel to cook), toilet
paper– everyday bare essentials and no luxuries at all.
“her mouth a lid clamped hard on this” is a metaphor used by the poet to show
how - she kept her anxieties to herself, sparing and protecting her children and
giving them freedom.
So far, “plenty” seems to be a time only of shortage and drought .

We thought her mean. Skipped chores,
swiped biscuits – best of all
when she was out of earshot
stole another precious inch
up to our chests, such lovely sin,
lolling luxuriant in secret warmth
disgorged from fat brass taps,
our old compliant co-conspirators.
Now bubbles lap my chin. I am a sybarite.
The shower’s a hot cascade
and water’s plentiful, to excess, almost,
here.
I leave the heating on.
And miss my scattered sisters,
all those bathroom squabbles and, at last,
my mother’s smile, loosed from the bonds
of lean, dry times and our long childhood.
● Being poor can be difficult.
Stanza 5 and 6
Children’s attitude and behaviour: they thought their mother mean and
enjoyed secret subversive acts against her, especially stealing extra bath water.
First sentence, brevity of syntax - child’s language and verdict
2nd long sentence straddling 2 stanzas = listing pleasures of casual
disobedience (informal “skipped”/” swiped”) and the superlative (“best”)
luxury of real sin (formal “stole”) of extra bathwater.
Sounds alliteration, such lovely sin, Lolling luxuriant, our old, compliant
co-conspirators
Assonance: Fat brass taps (brass with a northern short a), such lovely
together these give a richly mellifluous language, appropriate for luxury and
pleasure.
The diction - “precious inch” = metaphor for water here– a magical, precious
commodity to have added the word “water” would have been mundane but for
them it was precious.
Here we see plenty in the sense of plenty of pleasure despite drought
Stanza 7 and 8
Now the poet is an adult and living in comparative luxury but despite the
material comfort there is a sense of loss and emptiness.
There is a diction of luxury but brevity of sentences and absence of melodious
sounds (compared to sounds in previous stanza describing secret, stolen
luxury) indicate that now water can be taken for granted the pleasure seems
less.
Here water is simply called “water” unlike in stanza 6 where it is referred to as
a “precious inch”
the consonance of “miss my scattered sisters in stanza 8
all those bathroom squabbles” ties the words together to create a complete
picture of childhood which was precious
Plenty? “Now” & “here” water is plentiful and luxury taken for granted – but
such plenty seems an “excess” that can’t be enjoyed fully – despite abundance
there is a lack, a yearning. The “Lean, dry times”, of childhood were
paradoxically full and rich.
Is poem nostalgic? Childhood might have been fun for the kids but it wasn’t
for the mother.
● “where dams leaked dry and windmills stalled.” > Without water you cannot clean the

dishes, shower, etc, so we realise that the poet’s childhood was tough and that her family

struggled to cope with basic necessities.

● The children formed an alliance against the mother, playfully resisting her strict rules —

they “swiped biscuits” / “Stole another precious inch” of water for the bath.

● Because the poet was poor she had limited supply of food and very limited access to

luxurious or pleasurable experiences, this suggests that the few things she did have were very

special to her — we shouldn’t feel sorry for her because she did enjoy her childhood, but we

should learn to appreciate and be thankful for what we have.

● Being poor can sometimes be fun as it brings people close together, especially families and

siblings.

● When we’re older, we can realise that we didn’t fully understand something important in

our childhood.

● The daughter misses the squabbles that she and her mother used to have when they had a

long time ago, suggesting that they were a form of entertainment and never too serious,

perhaps they were an important bonding experience for her and also a way for her to create

her own identity by being defiant against her mother’s strict rules.

● Later when the poet is mature she realises that the mother’s strictness wasn’t because she

was mean, but instead because she was trying to protect the family and make sure they had

enough money to live. She changes her attitude towards her mother and begins to appreciate

everything she did for her as a child.