'Guys' - Pugh

'Guys' - Pugh

1. 1st Stanza

   • "littered". Tech: Metaphor.
     • The men are wate & rubbish, they are of no value.
   • "old". Tech: Adjective.
     • The men are elderly. This connotes vulnerability and makes the reader feel sympathy.
   • "ownerless". Tech: Adjective.
     • The literal meaning is that there's no one to look after them.
     • But there's a link to "masters" later in the poem, both these terms are from the semantic field of control. this suggests these men have no authority.

2. 2nd Stanza

   • "resentfully these rivals canvassing for pity". Tech: 'resentfully' adverb and alliteration.
     • The children feel the beggars don't deserve money. The homeless men are cheating the children out of money that would've been spent on them.
     • Alliteration of the 'r' sound in "resentfully" and "rivals". This sound conveys aggrivation and annoyance. The children are irritated by the beggars.
   • "expire". Tech: Verb.
     • The literal meaning is the men are reaching the end of their lives.
     • But it implies they can 'go off'. The men are out-of-date. This objectifies and dehumanises them. They're viewed as unimportant as gone off food.
   • "tobacco, loneliness and spilled meths". Tech: List.
     • The men are probably using drugs to escape their lives and their emotions.
     • The layout of the quote is significant too. The core of their problems "loneliness", is encased/surrounded by their addiction.

3. 3rd Stanza

   • "straw and sacking". Tech: Nouns.
     • The models of Guy Fawkes are weak and artifical - they're not real.
   • "merry death". Tech: Oxymoron.
     • The words "merry" and "death" contrast, as dying isn't normally seen as something positive and jolly.
     • People burn Guy Fawkes for fun; the quotes refers to bonfire night celebrations.
   • "finally fall". Tech: structure.
     • "fall" is at the end of a line. This empathsises the finality of death and also creates the image of something descending.
     • "finally" shows the watchers anticpation, eagerness and impatience for the model of Guy Fawkes to burn.
   • "clap their hands". Tech: Verb.
     • Shows the children's enjoyment and merriment.
   • "old man burn". Tech: Ambiguous.
     • Literal meaning is the straw Guy Fawkes on the bonfire. But the implied meaning is watching the elderly homeless men die.