'Guys' - Pugh

Description

A mindmap analysing Sheenagh Pugh's poem 'Guys'. Start to finish of poem moves clockwise around the title. Each node has a quote, a technique and an annotation with the analysis/meaning. Part of the WJEC AS-level English Literature syllabus.
Heloise Tudor
Mind Map by Heloise Tudor, updated more than 1 year ago
Heloise Tudor
Created by Heloise Tudor over 9 years ago
31
1

Resource summary

'Guys' - Pugh
  1. 1st Stanza
    1. "littered". Tech: Metaphor.

      Annotations:

      • The men are wate & rubbish, they are of no value.
      1. "old". Tech: Adjective.

        Annotations:

        • The men are elderly. This connotes vulnerability and makes the reader feel sympathy.
        1. "ownerless". Tech: Adjective.

          Annotations:

          • 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
          1. "resentfully these rivals canvassing for pity". Tech: 'resentfully' adverb and alliteration.

            Annotations:

            • 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.
            1. "expire". Tech: Verb.

              Annotations:

              • 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 The men are out-of-date.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.
              1. "tobacco, loneliness and spilled meths". Tech: List.

                Annotations:

                • 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.
              2. 3rd Stanza
                1. "straw and sacking". Tech: Nouns.

                  Annotations:

                  • The models of Guy Fawkes are weak and artifical - they're not real.
                  1. "merry death". Tech: Oxymoron.

                    Annotations:

                    • 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.
                    1. "finally fall". Tech: structure.

                      Annotations:

                      • "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.
                      1. "clap their hands". Tech: Verb.

                        Annotations:

                        • Shows the children's enjoyment and merriment.
                        1. "old man burn". Tech: Ambiguous.

                          Annotations:

                          • Literal meaning is the straw Guy Fawkes on the bonfire. But the implied meaning is watching the elderly homeless men die.
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