Sir John Betjeman
Final poetry analysis
Biography
•
Sir John Betjeman (1906-84) was one of Britain’s best-loved poets during the 20th
century. He was also a BBC broadcaster and preservationist whose love of old
buildings and tradition informed much of his work. Betjeman was born and raised
in London, but the time he spent in rural Cornwall was very influential to his
writing as well. He attended Oxford, where he was tutored by C.S. Lewis, but did
not receive a degree. His first book of poetry, Mount Zion, was published in 1931,
and would go on to write nearly two dozen collections, as well as numerous works
of nonfiction about history and architecture. He became a member of the Anglican
Church at a young age, and the Church of England figured heavily in his poetry. So
did his decades-long affair with Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (although Betjeman
remained married and had two children). Betjeman became Britain’s Poet
Laureate in 1972, and achieved even greater fame through a series of BBC specials
he filmed in the 1970s that called attention to historic and endangered sites. He
also recorded several albums of spoken-word poetry, reaching out to younger
listeners through rock music-related arrangements. Betjeman, who always
dismissed his poetry as the work of a “hack,” suffered from Parkinson’s disease and
died in 1984, but his legacy survives in part through the patronage of many famous
fans, including the singer Morrissey.
Betjeman’s Poetry: Imagery (Chapter
4)
• In the poetry of John Betjeman, imagery often takes the form of
reverent depictions of nature and withering descriptions of the
modern world. A good example of this contrast comes in the poem
“Cornish Cliffs,” filled with images of freshness and light (“the
shadowless, unclouded glare”) and an implied contrast with the
man-made objects (the “gun emplacement of the last war,” which
looks older than the timeless natural objects around it). Betjeman
also casts a dubious eye at modernity in “Slough,” which gives us
the image of everything – even thoughts and breath – being
“tinned” today, and says that we’d be better off with “grass to graze
the cow” and “cabbages.” And the imagery of “The City” also paints
an unflattering picture of today’s businessmen, with their “awkward
hips” and “plump white fingers.” In Betjeman’s poetry, this duality
of images underscores one of his major themes: the superiority of
the old ways, and the often-problematic nature of the new things
replacing them.
Betjeman’s Poetry: Rhyme/Meter
(Chapter 6)
• Undoubtedly, one reason for Betjeman’s popularity was that he
often wrote in rhyme and used regular metrical patterns. (It was
also a reason he thought of his verse as “light” and considered
himself a “hack.”) However, Betjeman used this combination and
end rhyme and meter to create different effects in his poetry.
Sometimes, as in “Cornish Cliffs,” these qualities lend the poem
(written in iambic pentameter) an ease that compliments the
relaxed setting. At other times, the rhyme and meter contrast with
the serious subject matter (“The City,” and its tales of cheating
businessmen, written mostly in iambic tetrameter, or “Slough,”
which cheerfully wishes for annihilation of a modernized village,
and is written in alternating iambic tetrameter and dimeter) to
sweeten the bitter pill of Betjeman’s message. Betjeman sometimes
wrote in formal styles, but more often he adapted them (“Slough”’s
ballad-like structure) into his own forms, maintaining rhyme and
meter to keep his poems accessible.
Betjeman’s Poetry: Persona (Chapter
10)
• Betjeman frequently adopted the persona of radically
different characters, often to offer views that
contrasted sharply with his own. In “In Westminster
Abbey,” he takes the persona of an impatient elderly
woman, whom we learn believes she has a special
status with God. In “Executive,” he adopts the point of
view of a rising young businessman who is full of
himself. And in “The Lift Man” and “The Retired Postal
Clerk,” he speaks as those characters to get across
thoughts about societal hypocrites (“Lift”), and to paint
a picture of a widowed man’s family dilemmas. (“Postal
Clerk”)
Betjeman’s Poetry: Irony (Chapter 10)
• In many cases, when Betjeman adopts a persona, he
does so to express a viewpoint we understand is the
opposite of his own. In “Executive” and “The Town
Clerk’s Views,” he takes on characters who wish to tear
down old structures and take obvious pleasure in
modernity. In “In Westminster Abbey,” meanwhile, the
character he inhabits is deeply unpleasant and
hypocritical in her religious views. In all cases, the
views expressed are different than those Betjeman
held, and we can see from the unflattering portraits he
paints that we are to view these characters with scorn,
not admiration.
Conclusion
• In the poetry of John Betjeman, we see the
use of imagery; meter and rhyme; persona
and an ironic tone, all in support of
Betjeman’s major themes: the importance of
preserving the buildings and traditions of Old
England, and the complicated relationship we
often have with Christianity (the Church of
England in particular).