Welcome to Your Study Guide for Elizabeth Smither’s ‘Plaits’

Hello IGCSE students! Elizabeth Smither’s poem ‘Plaits’ takes a close, thoughtful look at a childhood memory: wearing two visibly uneven plaits of hair. Smither uses this everyday personal experience to explore profound ideas about inequality, cooperation, and justice. By the end of these notes, you will be able to confidently analyse how the poet turns this physical reality into a striking moral and tactile lesson. Let's get started!

1. Poem Overview and Context

The Poet: Elizabeth Smither

  • Elizabeth Smither (born 1941) is a celebrated New Zealand poet and novelist.
  • Her work is widely praised for its precision, careful observation, and ability to find depth and significance in everyday moments and objects.

Summary of ‘Plaits’ (AO1: Knowledge)

The speaker recalls having an uneven hairstyle in childhood: because of a side parting, one plait was thick and full, while the other was small and thin. Rather than treating this imbalance as a flaw, the poem describes how the two plaits were tied together at the end with an equal ribbon, transforming the physical asymmetry into a tangible lesson about balance, fairness, and justice.

Structure and Form (AO3: Writer's Methods)

  • Free Verse & Stanza Layout: The poem consists of 15 lines structured into 5 three-line stanzas (tercets) in free verse. This structure gives the reflection a disciplined, deliberate shape on the page.
  • Enjambment: Smither relies heavily on enjambment (lines running into one another without end-stopping), allowing the thoughts and descriptions of the hair to flow naturally like water.

2. Detailed Analysis of Imagery and Language

The Contrast of the Two Plaits (AO1 & AO3)

The core of the poem is built on contrasting metaphorical descriptions of the speaker's two unequal plaits:

  • "an anaconda plait" vs. "more like a thin grass snake": Smither uses contrasting zoomorphic metaphors. The thick plait is compared to a powerful, heavy anaconda, whereas the smaller plait is likened to a slight, harmless grass snake.
  • "a harvest, a rich waterfall" vs. "a thin trickling river": Smither expands the contrast using imagery of nature and abundance. The thick side represents wealth and abundance ("harvest", "rich waterfall"), while the other side is sparse and minimal ("thin trickling river").

Unity and Equality: The Wide Ribbon (AO2 & AO3)

The poem moves from describing division and disparity to unity:

  • "and tied with a wide ribbon / whose loops and bows were equal": The equal loops and bows of the ribbon serve as a balancing force that unites the two disparate plaits. This physical symmetry creates equilibrium despite the underlying imbalance of the hair.
  • "The weak and the strong / were strong together": Smither highlights cooperation. The disparity between weak and strong does not lead to conflict; instead, they complement and support each other.

The Distribution of Justice (AO2)

The concluding lines bring out the poem's central thematic realization:

  • "a lesson that hung down my back / so though I could not see justice / I could feel how it was distributed."
  • Tactile Understanding: Justice is often an abstract concept that cannot be seen directly. However, feeling the weight and balance of the two plaits united behind her back provides the child with a direct, physical understanding of fairness and distribution.

Quick Review Box (AO1/AO3):
1. Disparity: Anaconda vs. grass snake; rich waterfall vs. thin trickling river.
2. Resolution: The equal ribbon unites weak and strong, teaching how justice is distributed.

3. Key Themes in ‘Plaits’ (AO2: Understanding Themes)

A. Justice and Equality

The central concern of the poem is how fairness is achieved. Justice in the poem does not mean making everything identical; rather, it means recognizing differences in strength and wealth and distributing care and balance equally through cooperation.

B. Unity Between Weak and Strong

Smither demonstrates that natural inequalities exist (one side of the hair is thick, one is thin), but when joined together ("The weak and the strong / were strong together"), they create mutual strength rather than division.

C. Childhood Experience and Embodied Knowledge

The speaker learns an ethical lesson not from an abstract lecture, but through the physical sensations of her own body—a lesson literally hanging down her back.

4. Preparing for Examination Responses (AO4: Personal Response)

A. How to Write About Methods and Effects

Use this structured approach when discussing Smither's language:

  1. Identify the Method: Smither employs contrasting metaphors (e.g., "anaconda plait" and "thin grass snake").
  2. Quote the Example: "a harvest, a rich waterfall / and a thin trickling river".
  3. Explain the Effect/Intention: The juxtaposition of abundance and scarcity emphasizes the inherent asymmetry of the plaits, making the subsequent unification by the equal ribbon far more impactful.

B. Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Mistake: Assuming the speaker is unhappy or embarrassed about her uneven plaits.
  • Correction: Notice the playful and appreciative tone—the speaker views the plaits as an enlightening, tactile lesson in fairness.
  • Mistake: Treating the poem as merely a literal description of hair styling.
  • Correction: Always connect the physical plaits to the abstract theme of how justice and equality are perceived and distributed.

Key Takeaway for Revision:
‘Plaits’ moves from natural disparity (anaconda vs. grass snake, waterfall vs. trickling river) to harmonious balance through the equal ribbon, offering a concrete and felt understanding of justice.