‘In The Snack-Bar’
Edwin Morgan
Good Morning S5!

In today’s lesson, we will…
Practice textual analysis.
 Study Morgan’s poem ‘In the Snack-Bar’.
 Talk about poetic devices.

In the Snack-Bar
This poem describes an encounter with
an old disabled man in a busy snack-bar.
 The poem explores the extent of his
disabilities, the effect they have on his
life and society’s attitude to the disabled.
 As well as society’s attitude to the
disabled, the other main theme in the
poem is determination of the human
spirit.

In the Snack-Bar
Stanza 1
 This stanza reveals the full extent of the old
man’s disabilities through the eyes of an
outsider observing the incident.

How does the poet arouse sympathy for the
old man in this stanza?
 Note down your thoughts on word choice,
simile, personification and sentence structure.
In the Snack-Bar
Stanza 1
 CONTRAST is shown with “A few heads
turn in the crowded evening snack-bar”.
 This shows society’s lack of interest in
those less fortunate.
 Every movement the old man makes
takes momentous effort.
 “Slowly he levers himself up..”
In the Snack-Bar
Personification – “The dismal hump
looming over him forces his head down.”
 Simile – “He stands in his stained
beltless gabardine like a monstrous
animal caught in a tent in some story.”
 At first the observer looks at him like he
is a monster in a scary story.
 The old man has outsider status.

In the Snack-Bar
At first the old man evokes revulsion –
“dismal hump”, “Stained beltless
gabardine”, “monstrous animal”.
 “His face not seen” – no face visible to
express and affirm his humanity. He is
faceless and inhuman.
 Note the clever positioning of “if he could
see” – at the end of the sentence to
emphasise.

In the Snack-Bar

The reader now starts to sympathise with the
old man as he is blind and looks uncared for.
 “his stick, once painted white but scuffed and
muddy..”
 Morgan uses a list to emphasise the multiple
physical disabilities the old man has to
contend with.
 The horror of his predicament is conveyed by
the words used to describe him.
In the Snack-Bar
Stanza 2
 Sensing the old man’s need, the speaker
quickly relinquishes his role as observer
and moves to help him.
 Morgan enters the poem here and
empathises with the old man.
 This has the effect of generating
understanding and compassion in the
reader.
In the Snack-Bar




“I take his arm. “Give me – your arm – it’s better,” he
says.”
The old man accepts the stranger’s help – but only as
long as he can direct it.
CONTRAST; “A few yards of floor are like a
landscape..”
The dangerous journey across the floor is described
with a focus on the senses. The poet experiences
what the old man does, being blind his other senses
are heightened. “crunch”, “table edges”, “hiss” etc.
In the Snack-Bar
“And slowly we go down. And slowly we go
down.” This repetition conveys the slow
rhythm of their movement as well as
emphasizing the disabilities of the old man.
 CONTRAST – the appearance of the toilet
with the appearance of the old man. “White
tiles and mirrors…He shambles uncouth into
the clinical gleam.”
 The old man’s actions increase our sympathy
for him. “Painful”, “doubtfully”, “feebly”.

In the Snack-Bar






Repetition – “He climbs, we climb.” “And slowly we go up. And
slowly we go up.”
CONTRAST – “with that one persisting patience of the
undefeated which is the nature of man when all is said.”
This contrasts from our first impression of the old man as
monstrous.
Morgan uses the old man to highlight mankind’s determination
and will to prevail.
PARADOX – “The faltering, unfaltering steps.” “that endless, yet
not endless waste of floor.”
This shows the old man’s determination.
In the Snack-Bar
Stanza 3
 Morgan moves beyond the incident in
the snack-bar to examine what impact
the old man’s disabilities have on the
quality of his life.

What comment is Morgan making about
the nature of human beings?
In the Snack-Bar
The poet helps us understand the
problems faced by the old man and the
effect he has on others.
 The CONTRAST is in the darkness of
his blind world where he must “trust
men.”
 “Without embarrassment or shame he
must announce his most pitiful needs in
a public place.”

In the Snack-Bar




“Does he know how frightening he is...” Society fears
him.
“His life depends on many who would evade him.”
Morgan emphasises his vulnerability in a society which
would prefer to pretend he doesn’t exist.
Morgan criticises the nature of humans who would
ignore the old man.
The poet’s reaction - “Dear Christ, to be born for this!”
conveys pity for the old man’s condition and yet also
wonder at his reality.
In the Snack-Bar

Techniques in the poem include...

Alliteration
Enjambment
Onomatopoeia
Repetition
Contrast
Simile
Personification






Tone
Metaphor
Rhyme