Edwin Morgan Trio

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Edwin Morgan Poems

Trio

Trio

> Present tense

" the young man carries a new guitar"

gives poem immediacy

makes it seem real

as if it is happening in front of us

> Realistic details

"Coming up Buchanan Street"

realistic details

a familiar setting

makes the reader connect

> Symbol

"under the Christmas lights"

suggests they are watched over and protected

allusion to the three wise men bringing gifts

author sees them as gifts under the tree

> Repetition of " young" and "girls

"a young man and two girls"

suggests youth, happiness, hope, vitality

> Repetition of "carries"

"the young man carries"

suggests protection and safety

> Negative sounding first line

"Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening"

the author is not feeling in a festive mood- cold, trying to get somewhere fast

shows how precious this sight was to the author - it warmed him up and filled him with Christmas cheer

suggests happiness can be found in unlikely places

> Glasgow dialect

"Wait till he sees this, but!"

gives location, seems more realistic

> Ideas of fragility

"the Chihuahua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan coat, like a teapot holder"

teapot made of china, easily broken, fragile

shows the Chihuahua is well cared for, protected, treated well (Royal tartan)

> Ideas of safety and protection

"Laughter ringing them like a cloud"

their laughter is surrounding them, warding troubles off

their happiness is enough to protect them from life's troubles

> Very long descriptive lines

"the guitar swells out under its milky, plastic cover, tied at the neck with silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig of mistletoe"

Morgan doesn't want to interrupt the love and the happiness of the trio so does not break the line

> Exclamation marks

"Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm Chihuahua!"

the author is shouting with joy at the glorious sight

> Humour

" Melting baby!"

bizarre phrase makes us smile

adds to the joy of the poem

>Allusion to the myth of Orpheus"Orphean sprig!"

something so delightful it can charm anyone out of any dark situation

> Allusion to the nativity story

"Trio" "under the Christmas lights"

three wise men with their gift for baby Jesus

under the star

> Allusion to hymn words

"The vale of tears is powerless before you"

life's darkest moments cannot affect the trio because of their love and happiness

they are protected by their love and happiness

> Ambiguity of "march"

"this march of three"

could be them physically marching

or metaphorically marching into battle with their happiness protecting them

> Ambiguity of "ringing"

"laughter ringing round them like a guard"

could be the sounds of their laugh

or their 'invisible cloud' of happiness forming a ring around them

> Parenthesis made of dashes

"under the Christmas lights-....- and the three have past"

tells us all about the trio (mood, chat they are carrying, their speech)

shows us what the author saw of the in the space of a few seconds

protects the trio, encloses his encounter

> Parenthesis made of brackets

"( yet not vanished...like a guard)"

tells us that they have not vanished because the author has remembered them and treasured what he saw

the brackets protect them

their joy and laughter is protecting them from all unhappiness

> Line layout on page"it abdicates

under the Christmas lights"

line literally steps down

as if fate is stepping away from this happy sight because it does not wish to spoil it

> Connotations

"Trio"

three people

musical trio

harmony

> Connotations

"under"

protected

safe

shelter

> Connotations

"white"

pure

clean

innocent

young

angellic

> Connotations

" bright"

happy

alert

positive

interested

> Connotations

"cloud"

heavenly

light

floats easily (no worries)

peaceful

> Connotations

"favours"

surprises

small

special

gift

> Connotations

"fresh"

new

unspoilt

warm

> Connotations

"sweet"

pleasant

cute

pudding(!)

> Connotations

"swells"

pride

struggling to contain something

> Connotations

"milky"

white

young babies

pure

> Connotations

"silver"

precious

valuable

> Connotations

"mistletoe"

Christmas

love

kiss

> Connotations

"abdicates"

leave

step down (from high/important/powerful position)

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