Nostalgia

Overview

This poem captures what it is like to experience nostalgia (a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past). It describes the first known cases of nostalgia, Swiss mercenaries in the 16th Century, and then moves on to talk about more modern victims of nostalgia, such as a priest and a schoolteacher. It makes the point that everyone, no matter who they are, will experience nostalgia at some point and that despite having better knowledge of nostalgia, we are still no closer in finding a cure. It describes a time when nostalgia was not recognised, which raises the question of whether people can have a condition that is not yet defined. Read the poem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgjKhJfbkI4 (Embed)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siH1_b4vot4 (Embed)

Main points:Strong sense of sounds; Harsh, consonant sounds in stanza 1, like d and t Softer sounds in stanza 2, like e, r and a sounds - like music, illustrates wistful longing There is a sense of hope created in stanza 3.

What is nostalgia?

Nostalgia is originally the psychological suffering caused by  desperate desire to return to one's homeland. Now, it is taken to mean longing to return to a certain time, place, or person of the past. It comes from the two Greek words, 'nostos' (meaning desire for return) and 'algos' (unbearable suffering). The History of Nostalgia In 1688, Hofer studied the symptoms (weeping, anorexia and suicide attempts) of Swiss mercenaries who had nostalgia coming down from the mountains. Swiss mercenaries were fighting on behalf of various European rulers in distant lands, so had to leave their homes in the mountains.

Hofer believed that nostalgia was a medical disease caused by demonic possession. 'Early mercenaries' in stanza 1 is likely a reference to Hofer's work. In 1732, J.J. Scheuchzer, a Swiss-German physician argued that nostalgia was caused by sharp changes in atmospheric pressure acting on the body, which drove blood from the heart to the brain.  'High fine air' in stanza 1 is also likely to be a reference to Scheuchzer's work. Nostalgia was widely believed at this time to only affect the Swiss.  Military physicians thought it was caused by the clanging cowbells in the Alps, causing damage to the ear drum and brain cells. 

Stanza 1 - Mercenaries

Swiss mercenaries were nostalgic when they were on a mission.  Nostalgia was not widely understood, so the line 'They had an ache here, Doctor', makes sense because they didn't understand what was wrong with them and asked the doctor for advice. It was considered a medical condition after Hofer defined 'nostalgia' in 1688. Duffy suggests that we are no closer to understanding nostalgia because people still suffer from it today. 'The schoolteacher / opened a book to the scent of her youth, too late' is a more modern example of someone who might experience nostalgia.

3f8e531e-bf35-4e92-a4d9-db15402f374f (image/jpg)

Caption: : Swiss mercenaries

Stanza 1

Repetition: 'down' - emphasises they were a long way from home in the mountains, links to J.J. Scheuchzer's research, this could also be emotional (sadness of leaving home) Imagery contrast between 'high fine air' and 'down' 'Dull crude coins clenched' - people would bite coins to check their authenticity, 'clenched' suggests frustration at how receiving money is not worth leaving home. The auditory techniques of alliteration and onomatopoeia help us to hear the coins being clenched. This sharp sound is a constant reminder of the mercenaries' nostalgia, and possibly links to the clinking or harnesses and climbing equipment.  'Strange food' - literal and metaphorical, literally reference to unfamiliar culture and metaphorically a reference to the money (keeping them alive, but it feels wrong, strange because this is what mercenaries do) 'Stones in the belly' represents the heaviness of feeling nostalgic - 'wrong light', light as in low weight? Repetition: 'wrong' - emphasises how everything feels out of place, unfamiliar to them, even the light

Sensual imagery; Visual: 'dull, crude coins', 'wrong light', 'down, down' (image of climbing), 'an ache here, Doctor', (imagine pointing to area of body). Olfactory (smell): 'high fine air,' 'the wrong smells', Gustatory (taste): 'dull crude coins clenched in the teeth', 'the wrong taste' Tactile (touch): 'stones in the belly' (heaviness and discomfort of loss), 'clenched in the teeth' Auditory (hearing): 'dull crude coins' (alliteration sounds like coins clinking together, and perhaps clinking of harnesses and climbing equipment?), 'the wrong sounds' Kinaesthetic (moving):  'down, down', 'every breath - wrong'

Stanza 1 cont'd

'It was killing them' - the 'it' refers to nostalgia. Avoiding its name expresses that people didn't know what it was or what to do with the feeling of longing for the past, as it is hard to satisfy. The word 'ill' is found in the word 'killing', as if linking them together.There is repetition of harsh 'i' and 't' sounds.There's an image contrast of 'high' and down'. 

Stanza 2

'It was given a name.' - offers change of perspective, 'it' is also used to refer to nostalgia, the word becomes more real, people do not feel comfortable using the word, like they do not feel comfortable having it.  'stayed put' - stopped travelling 'Sweet pain in the heart' - relates to the dictionary definition of nostalgia., people say love comes from the heart, missing a loved one or time or place is like losing love, 'sweet' because they once had something good, but 'pain' because they have lost it, or as relating to the mercenaries, 'sweet' because they are pursuing ambition, but 'pain' of homesickness. 'sad pipes -' caesura, separation between mercenaries and homeland 'maybe you met a girl' - memory is unreliable, cannot remember clearly 'long grass' + 'yellow ball' - memory is detailed and clear 'mother called you in' - staying at home restricts you Lots of h sounds (heart, hurt, heavier, hear and home) - sounds like sighing or sobbing, mirrors frustration of nostalgia

Line 8 'wrong. They had an ache here, Doctor' and line 16; 'a particular place - where maybe you met a girl,' are linked - the 'ache' in line 8 is 'sweet pain in the heart', missing the girl from line 16 many result in pain in the heart. A musical quality is achieved through 'ch' sounds

Stanza 3

'The word was out' - two senses in this expression. This is auditory because words are being spoken to spread them, and kinaesthetic because of the movement of information from person to person. 'Some would never / fall in love had they not heard of love.' Perhaps the person was too young to know what love is, and if they were to go back, they would have known they were in love. Duffy emphasises that we under-appreciate the present - we never know how good we have it until it's not there anymore. This part also means that once things are defined, people understand much better what is happening to them. This is like the question can you have PTSD if PTSD doesn't exist? Duffy emphasises the importance of language in creating concepts. The priest is 'crying at the workings of memory' as he is remembering how good the past was. 'Through the colour of the leaves' is ambiguous because it could mean that Autumn brings back memories for him, or that the changing colour of the leaves represents a change in the priest's life as well as being a seasonal change as well. The green leaves could also signify a new beginning. 

'scent of her youth, too late' - the smell cannot be retrieved, it is too late to go back and smell it again. Perhaps the perfume she wore when she was a teenager? The priest and the schoolteacher are both authoritative figures, which emphasises that nostalgia strikes everyone. This is supported by the variety between their roles. 'It was spring when one returned' - refers to a mercenary coming home. The season could represent they have a new beginning in their home town, after the pain and suffering in winter away from home. 'his life / in a sack on his back' - everything he owns in in the bag. He has placed no value on relationships with people or on anything outside of home.  The repetition of 'same' emphasises the continuity of his surroundings and his memory of them. We almost get deja vu with him. The place the mercenary returns to is the same, but time has passed and the person has changed. The repetition of the word 'same' followed by 'everything changed' illustrates that it is impossible to recreate the past.  Time moving on is also signified by the clock 'chiming the hour.'

Imagery

"an ache here doctor," - this image indicates that the patient is pointing to where the pain is (perhaps the heart; "sweet pain in the heart") "searched for a yellow ball in the long grass" - creates a highly detailed memory

Form

Mixture of dialogue (address) and narrative It is unclear who is speaking, which allows for it to be told by anyone - shared experience of nostalgia. Perhaps it is a mercenary or a historian. This poem is not a personal disclosure poem, instead it is a record of other people's experiences. The way it is written suggests a story-like structure, much like the stories told amongst friends for entertainment.

Structure

The stanzas are almost regular, the 1st and 2nd stanzas having 9 lines, and the 3rd having 10. The extra line on the last stanza could perhaps suggest that the familiarity of the place 'one' returned (and the familiarity of 9 lines) is no longer there. It links with the idea in the final lines that places change over time. There is also no apparent rhyme scheme, which could also link with the idea that repeated experiences or returning to the past is not what you expect, as you would expect a poem to rhyme.

Tone

There is a sad and melancholy feel to the poem, as people are mourning their loss of an ideal past. There are also elements of regret towards the past. The narrator has a thoughtful and musing sort of way of speaking, using unspecific terms like 'maybe' and 'perhaps', which means a thought process is still ongoing. The tone changes when the sense of address shifts; 'They had an ache here, Doctor,' the emphasis on 'here' shows the patient is pointing to the pain. This provides a brief snapshot into someone's iife, and we can imagine what they see.

Themes

Nostalgia (duh!) - 'The same bell chiming the hour on the clock, and everything changed'. Isolation - the mercenaries and all victims of nostalgia are isolated in some way, because others will not have seen their past experiences/what they are nostalgic about. However, because she implies that we are all likely to suffer from nostalgia, she is also suggesting we are all isolated in some way. Nostalgia also includes the idea of being isolated from your home and ordinary life. Passing of time - In this poem, the past is presented as better than the present. A place can stay the same but people will always change, because the passing of time will change people. 'Colour of the leaves' shows the change in seasons as time passes. Loss and grief - In the first stanza, the repetition of 'wrong' shows how the mercenaries lost their sense of familiarity. The use of the phrase 'too late' shows how the schoolteacher has lost the opportunity to experience her youth. 'They had an ache here' is an expression of pain. Mean time - 'It was killing them'

Love and fondness - Fondness for the past can cause pain when it is no longer the present, as shown through the phrase, 'sweet pain in the heart' There is also a sense that people may lose love as they grow up. For example, adults may have had a childhood sweetheart who they wish they had stayed with - 'some would never / fall in love had they not heard of love.' Direct address - The poem directly addresses the reader, but not from a personal point of view. Instead, they share the history of nostalgia and make assumptions that the reader has suffered from it; 'maybe you met a girl.' Universal marginalisation - Nostalgia is about being isolated from your home and normal life, permanently. Duffy argues we all experience this. It could also be argued that we are no closer to solving the problem of nostalgia than in the time of the Swiss mercenaries because we still suffer from it today. e.g) 'schoolteacher' is more modern than 'mercenary' Writing from an outsider's POV - Swiss mercenaries are historical figures, and narrator is not one of them; unknown outsider.

Comparison

Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team Common theme of nostalgia Same undertone of regret and sense of wanting to change something - the 'captain' wants to change his present, and Nostalgia tells us we can do nothing to return to the past. Both poems show suffering/discontent due to nostalgia; (Nostalgia - 'it made them ill') (Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team - 'I want it back.')