Edwin Morgan In the Snack Bar

Página 1

Edwin Morgan Poems

In the Snack Bar

>Alliteration of hard C sound

" a cup capsizes along the formica"

Hard C sound grabs reader's attention

makes us focus on the line

just as the actual hard sound of the cup falling grabs Morgan's attention

> Realistic details

"A cup capsizes along the formica,

Slithering with a dull clatter.

A

few heads turn in the crowded evening snack-bar"

‘Capsizes’

present tense and, like ‘Good Friday’ and ‘Trio’, makes the poem seem as if it

is happening in front of us

Formica-

material unique to basic cafes

Details

of a crowded café gives more realistic details

>Present tense

‘trying’

‘levers’ ‘sways’

Makes

the poem seem realistic and as if it is happening now

> Personification "forces his head down"

It is as if the man is a

slave and his body is being controlled by a slave master forcing him into disability and dehumanising him

> Alliteration of hard 'st' sounds

"he

stands in his stained beltless gabardine"

Draws

attention to the man’s dirty clothes

suggests

that there is no one caring for him at home

> Alliteration of '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 us back in

he is about to write the message of the poem

> Transferred epithet

"dismal hump forces his head down"

His

hump is causing him grief because he cannot stand up straight to look at people

when he talks to them

He

can’t keep his head up physically or emotionally because there is nothing for

him to be happy about because he cannot do much

> Transferred epithet

"blind

hump"

His

hump is not actually blind but it could represent the man- a blind hump

Connotations

of humps are unnecessary growths taking up space and time

The

man can be seen as an interfering time waster

> Dashes

"I

want-to go to the-toilet"

Pauses or breaks in speech perhaps:

The man’s disability affects his speech

He is embarrassed to ask for help to go to the

toilet

He is nervous about speaking to strangers in

case they make fun of him, hurt him or play a nasty trick on him (eg leave him

while he’s halfway down the stairs

> Similes

"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 tents where ‘freaks’ were on display to be mocked

> Similes

"like

a landscape to be negotiated"

The

space inside the café is not big but to the man it is

he

must choose his path wisely, however because he can’t see he must trust the

author to guide him

> Oxymoron

"dangerous inches"

Inches

are small and walking an inch is never very dangerous

to

the man everything becomes hazardous and dangerous

> Repetition of 'inch'

"inch

by inch we drift….. slow dangerous inches"

Emphasises

how small the steps are and how long it is taking for the man and the author to

walk across the room

> Repetition of 'climb(s)'

"He climbs,

and steadily enough. He climbs, we climb. He climbs"

Again,

emphasises how long it is taking for the man and author to climb the stairs

Makes

them seem never ending, like climbing a mountain

> Repetition of whole

sentences

"And

slowly we go down. And slowly we go down And

slowly we go up. And slowly we go up."

It’s

as if the author has said the first line but realises that it is taking so long

to go down the stairs he writes it again to fill the silence and re-emphasise

how slowly the man is walking

Has

the same slow effect. It shows the authors impatience

> Use of senses- Hearing

"hiss

of the coffee machine, voices and laughter"

Losing

one sense makes the others stronger

We

start to become like the blind man and are more aware of the sounds around him

> Use of senses- Touch

"slidy

puddles….table edges, people’s feet"

Again,

we concentrate on what is happening around the man

We begin

to sympathise with him as he can’t see these obstacles in the way

> Use of senses- Smell

"smell

of a cigar, hamburgers, wet coats steaming"

Tells

us what the café is like

shows

us how others are not helping as they are too busy eating and smoking

Details

of the weather show us that the day may have been harder than usual due to the rain

it

would be easier for him to slip and people would not take notice of him as they

would be rushing to get out of it

> Contrast

"White

tiles and mirrors at last. He shambles uncouth into the clinical gleam"

The

man seems dirty and unclean compared to the brightness and cleanliness of the

bathroom

The

bathroom could reflect society- not 100% clean but looks clean compared to the man

Society

is not perfect but the man stands out as imperfect due to his disabilities

> 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 is really like- slow and weak

> Exclamation

"Dear

Christ, to be born for this!"

The

author has discovered how unfair the old man’s situation is

He

is perhaps calling out to a higher being to ask why this man has such an awful

situation

He

is wondering why this man has been born into suffering and relying on others

> Example of a phrase with literal meanings and metaphorical meanings

"The

dismal hump looming over him forces his head down"

The

man is being pushed down by his hump

it is a literal weight on his shoulder

it is metaphorical one as he has the burden of having to ask people for help

with everything he does

> Example of a phrase with literal meanings and metaphorical meanings

"No-one

sees his face"

Literally,

no-one can see his face as it is facing the ground due to his hump

Metaphorically,

no-one sees his face because he is not known or accepted in society, he has no

friends or support

> Examples of the writer seeming to contradict himself

"The

faltering, unfaltering steps"

The

man’s steps are hesitating

but they are not because of his perseverance

> Examples of the writer seeming to contradict himself

"that

endless yet not endless waste of floor"

The

floor is not endless

but it feels endless because of the amount of time it is taking to walk across

it

> Connotations

"formica"

Hardwearing

made to get dirty and easily wiped

greasy spoon cafe

>Connotations

"few"

little

not many

>Connotations

"crowded"

busy

packed

full

little space

> Connotations

"tent"

big

campsite

circus

makes him a freak

> Connotations

"sways"

unsteady

swing

unbalanced

> Connotations

"hanging"

loose

not in use

dangling

> Connotations

"fumbling"

unsteady movement

not controlled

nervous

> Connotations

"we"

more than one

together

connection to narrator

>Connotations

"drift"

float

uncontrolled

unknown destination

driftwood

helpless

> Connotations

"clings"

tight

grip

not letting go

needs narrators help

> Connotations

"probing"

testing

poking

examine

explore

> Connotations

"doubtfully"

unsure

nervously

> Connotations

"gently"

Carefully

protectively

softly

quietly

> Connotations

"contraption"

Gadget

device

complicated

unreliable

> Connotations

"face the stairs"

turn

start to climb

view

challenge

> Connotations

"shudders"

shiver

cold

anxiously

New Page