Sam Hunt's poem "Stabat Mater" describes the changing relationship between the poet's parents over time. It explores how his mother grew to see his father differently as she aged, initially referring to him formally as "Mr. Hunt" due to their age difference, and now caring for him in his old age. The poem examines themes of love, aging, duty to care for elders, and the inevitable cycle of life and death. It takes its unusual title from a 13th century Latin hymn describing Mary's sorrows at the crucifixion, perhaps alluding to the mother's grief at her partner's decline.

1. Stabat Mater
Sam Hunt

2. Sam Hunt
• Born in Auckland, NZ
• His father was 60, his mother 30
when he was born
• He rebelled against the puritanism
of his Christian school.
• His poems are deliberately simple
and colloquial in style
• His poetry focuses on his own
experiences; moments in his life,
love and loss, and his family
relationships.

3. What’s the poem about?
• How a relationship changes as people age
• How our perception of someone’s greatness
changes as they age
• The transitory nature of life
• The unstoppable aging process
• What’s up with the title?
Hunt has borrowed the name of a 13th
Century latin hymn describing the sorrows of
Mary at the cross. Why?

4. StabatMater
My mother called my father 'Mr Hunt'
For the first few years of married life.
I learned this from a book she had inscribed:
'To dear Mr Hunt, from his loving wife.'

5. She was embarrassed when I asked her why
But later on explained how hard it had been
To call him any other name at first, when he -
Her father's elder - made her seem so small.

6. Now in a different way, still like a girl,
She calls my father every other sort of name;
And guiding him as he roams old age
Sometimes turns to me as if it were a game...

7. That once I stand up straight, I too must learn
To walk away and know there's no return.

8. What parallels can you see between the
grieving Mary and the poet’s mother?
Mary, mother of Jesus Poet’s mother

9. Form & Structure
• Sonnet form (14 lines)
• Unorthodox rhyme scheme
• Final rhyming couplet enhances the resolution
of the poem
• Simple, colloquial language
• Direct and matter-of-fact narration
• Tone: Wistful, sad
• Mood: Mildly depressing?

10. Diction & Imagery
• Many words focus on posture, physical health
and size:
“made her seem so small” mother’s inferiority
“guiding him as he roams old age” father’s senility
“once I stand up straight” alluding to maturing
into adulthood
“to walk away” those who still have their youth
and strength must leave the elderly to die?

11. Themes
• Love and relationships
• Feelings of inferiority in a relationship
• Changing perceptions of a loved one as they
age
• The duty/obligation to care for aging loved
ones
• The unstoppable cycle of life and death

12. Check out the Prezi here…
• https://prezi.com/ptvj08sj_ljk/stabat-mater/
And listen to Sam Hunt recite some of his own
poems here:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyZMO9B
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13. Essay question:
• Comment on the significance of the Title. Why
in your opinion has Sam Hunt named his
poem ‘Stabat Mater’?
OR
• How does Sam Hunt vividly portray his
mother’s changing perspective about his
father, in the poem Stabat Mater?