In The Snack Bar by Edwin Morgan -Analysis-

In The Snack Bar by Edwin Morgan -Analysis-

1. Connotations

   • "Formica"
     • hard-wearing
       • made to get dirty and easily cleaned
         • greasy spoon cafe
   • "Few"
     • little
       • not many
         • nobody cares about the old man
   • "Crowded"
     • busy
       • packed
         • little space (to care)
   • "Tent"
     • circus
       • makes him a freak
   • "Sways"
     • unsteady
       • swing
         • unbalanced
   • "Hanging"
     • Loose
       • not in use
         • dangling
   • "Fumbling"
     • not controlled
       • nervous
         • unsteady movement
   • "We"
     • more than one
       • together
         • connection to narrator
           • man and narrator are a team
   • "Drift"
     • float
       • uncontrolled
         • unkown destination
           • helpless
   • "Clings"
     • tight
       • grip
         • not letting go
           • needs narrators help
   • "Probing"
     • testing
       • examining
         • exploring
   • "Doubtfully"
     • unsure
       • nervously
   • "Gently"
     • carefully
       • protectively
         • softly
           • Quietly
   • "Contraption"
     • gadget
       • device
         • complicated
           • unreliable
   • "Face the stairs
     • turn
       • start to climb
         • challenge
   • "Shudders"
     • shiver
       • cold
         • anxiously

2. The writer contradicts himself

   • "That endless yet not endless waste of floor" "The faltering, unfaltering steps
   • the floor isnt endless
   • yet it feels endless because of the amount of time it takes to cross
   • the the mans steps are hesitating and failing
     • Yet not failing as of his perserverance to continue

3. Phrases with literal and metaphorical meanings

   • "No one sees his face"
     • Literally - no one can see him because of his hunch back forceing his head/ face towards the ground
     • Metaphorically- no one sees his face as he isnt known or accepted by society,
       • he has no friends for support
   • "The dismall hump looming over him forces his head down"
     • Literal - weight of hump is pushing his head down
     • Metaphorical -his life is depressing/ miserable because of disablities "looming over him"

4. Exclamation

   • "Dear Christ, to be born for this! "
   • He is perhaps calling out to a higher being to ask why this man is in such an awful situation
   • He is wondering why this man was born into suffering and relying on others

5. Contrast

   • "His brooding reflection darkens the mirror but the trickle of his water is thin and slow"
   • The man seems dark strong and intimidating against the 'clinical gleam' of the bathroom
   • His urine reflects what he really is like- slow and weak

6. Contrast

   • "White tiles and mirrors at last. He shambles uncouth into the clinical gleam
   • The man seems dirty and unclean compared tp the brightness and cleanliness of the bathroom
   • The bathroom could reflect society- not 100% clean but looks it compared to the man
     • Society isnt perfect but the man stands out as imperfect due to his disabilities

7. Use of Senses

   • Sound
     • "Hiss of the coffee machine, voices and laughter."
     • Losing one sense makes the others stronger
     • We start to become more like the man and more aware of the sounds around him
   • Touch
     • "Slidy puddles, ...table edges, peoples feet"
     • Again we concentrate on what is happening around the man
     • We begin to sympathise with him as he cant see these obstacles in his way
   • Smell
     • "Smell of a cigar, hamburgers, wet coats steaming"
     • Tells us tw
     • Tells us what cafe is like
     • Shows us that others arent helping as their too busy eating and smoking
     • Details of rain show us that today than usual due to the rain
     • It would be easy for him to slip and people not to take notice of him

8. The writer is concentrating his life to the mans- trying to understand the way he lives

9. Repitition

   • of whole words
     • "And slowly we go down. And slowly we go down." "And slowly we go up. And slowly we go up."
     • Its as if the writer has said the first line but realises its taking so long to walk down the stairs he writes it again to fill the silence
       • and re-emphasises how slowly the man is walking
     • Has the same slow effect- shows the writers impatience
   • of 'Inch'
     • "inch by inch we drift...slow dangerous inches"
     • Emphasises how small the steps are
       • And also emphasises how long its taking for the man and author to walk across the room
   • of 'Climb/s'
     • "He climbs, and steadily enough. He climbs, we climb. He climbs"
     • Again emphasises how long its taking for the man and author to walk up the stairs
     • Makes it seem like climbing a mountain and that its never ending

10. Oxymoron

    • "Dangerous inches"
    • Inches are small so walking one is never dangerous really
    • But to this man everything is hazardous & dangerous

11. Simile

    • "Like a landscape to be negotiated"
    • The space inside the cafe isnt big but to the man it is
    • He must chose his path wisely-- however because he cant see he must trust the author to guide him

12. Simile

    • "Like a monstrous animal caught in a tent"
    • He looks threatening and hideous
    • He looks as if he is trapped in his tent-like coat
    • Like an old circus tent that 'freaks' were put on display

13. Dashes

    • "I want- to go to the- toilet"
    • Pauses or breaks in speech perhaps:
      • The mans disability affects his speach -or-
        • He is embarrased to ask for help to go to the toilet
    • He is nervous of speaking to strangers in case they make fun of him, hurt him or play a nasty trick on him

14. Transferred epithet

    • "Blind hump"
      • The hump isnt actually blind But It could represent the man -A Blind Hump
      • Connotations of 'Hump' is -uneccarary growth taking up space and time-
      • The man can be seen as an interferring waste of time
    • "Dismal hump forces his head down"
      • The hump is causing him grief because he cannot stand up straight to look at people when he talks to them
        • He cant keep his head up physically or emotionally
          • Because he doesnt have anything to be happy about because he cant do much

15. Alliteration of...

    • hard 'St' sounds
      • "He stands in his stained beltless gaberdine"
      • Draws attention to the mans dirty clothes
        • Suggests that there is no-one taking care of him at home
    • 'P' sounds
      • "He climbs with many pauses but with that one persisting patience of the undefeated"
      • In case our attention has wavered whilst reading- -morgan draws our attention back in
        • He is about to write the messege of the poem
    • hard 'C' sound
      • "A cup capsizes along the formica"
      • grabs readers attention
        • Just as the actual sound of the cup falling grabs the authors attention and makes him focus on the man
      • Makes us focus on the line

16. Personification

    • "Forces his head down
    • as if the man was a slave and his body is being controlled by a slave master forcing him into disability and dehamanises him

17. Realistic details

    • "A cup capsizes along the formica slithering with a dull clatter a few heads turn in the crowded evening snack-bar"
    • "Capsizes" is present tense like in Good Friday and Trio -makes the poem seem like it is happening in front us
    • "Formica" -material unique to basic cafes
    • Details of crowded cafe give even more realistic details