Think
• What do you feel when you walk down the
street and see a homeless person?
• Do you give them money?
• Do you ignore them?
• Do you apologise and say that you have no
change?
• Why?
A command/imperative
Give
Read the poem
Stanza One
The narrator is a homeless
person – we are not given any
details about the narrator
Of all the public places, dear
to make a scene, I've chosen here.
‘to make a
scene’ is a
pun – it can
mean to
create a
disturbance
but it also
means to
put on a
show
The poem opens with a couplet
Stanza Two
Of all the doorways in the world
to choose to sleep, I’ve chosen yours.
I'm on the street, under the stars.
‘under the stars’ makes the
situation seem romantic
Stanza Three
In this stanza the narrator says all
the things they are prepared to do
for money
For coppers I can dance or sing.
For silver-swallow swords, eat fire.
For gold-escape from locks and chains.
The stanza is given a
structure through the
repetition of the same first
word
Stanza Four
The word ‘change’ is a pun –
the speaker might want
change (as in money) or
change (as in a new start in life
or a change in people’s
attitudes towards him)
In Christian belief the son of God was
also homeless when he was born
Frankincense = a sweet smelling
resin from Arabia
Myrrh = an aromatic gum
extracted from plants
It's not as if I'm holding out
for frankincense or myrrh, just change.
The speaker doesn’t want
these – he wants the ‘gold’
instead
This stanza mentions the gifts
that Jesus was given by the
Wise Men
Up to and including this section there is a ‘jaunty’ tone which is helped by a
regular rhythm and occasional rhyme
Stanza Five
There are pauses midline
(caesuras) – these full stops
mean that these pauses are
heavy and disrupt the
rhythm of the poem
You give me tea. That's big of you.
I'm on my knees. I beg of you.
This final couplet changes the tone
The half-rhyme of ‘beg’ and ‘big’
create a sense of sadness or
‘pathos’
Think
• How do you feel about the homeless?
• Has this poem changed your opinion? If so,
why?
• Does it make you feel annoyed? Sympathetic?
Compassionate?
Why was this poem written?
• To highlight the plight of all homeless people
• To remind us of Jesus and the gifts that were
given at his birth
• To suggest that something about our attitude
to the homeless must change