S5
 Sometimes the title of a poem can give us a
great insight into the subject of the poem.
Before we read any further, I want you to look
at the title and create a mind map to reflect
what words/images/ideas/emotions these
words evoke for you.
 Now share your ideas with a partner. Be
prepared to share your ideas with the rest of
the class.
The title suggests quite clearly what is to follow, points towards
the very specific content of the poem and introduces the word
‘cop’ a colloquialism that will be repeated later. We are not given
the name of a particular policeman. It is deliberately impersonal
because as a ‘cop’ he has lost his individuality and personality. He
is a symbol of authority either to be accepted or defied. It is a
stark non-poetic title and the use of the word ‘cop’ highlights the
disrespect he faces on a day to day basis. The word cop can also be
seen as a pun. It can be interpreted in the sense of ‘to be caught’.
Is it the policeman trapped in his role or the criminal trapped in his
or both? This makes us look to society for an answer which is a
recurring theme in both poems. The imperfections of society lead
to the misery and hopelessness that permeate these poems.
Re-read the poem and write down any words
that you are unsure of. Take a few minutes to
look up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary
and write the definitions in your jotter. I will
quiz you...
Read the poem carefully and construct some
notes for yourself under the headings
 WHO
 WHAT
 WHERE
 WHEN
 WHY
to help you identify the situation or story of
the poem.

Once you have done this, you will be asked to
use your notes to draw a graphic
representative of the poem (a poster) OR a
storyboard to represent the main ideas in the
poem. You should include as much detail as
you can, including quotations from the poem.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What time of day is the poem being written?
b)What words reveal this?
Where is the poem set?
Write down three phrases that describes the cop.
b)What does this tell us about him?
What is the ‘thin tissue’?
Why does he ‘hope’ to see his wife again?
To what does the poet compare the cop in lines 1
and 8? b) In what two ways are they alike?
What is the poet describing in the last line of the
verse?
Where is the cop in verse two? b) How do we
know this?
2. What does the poet mean by ‘should the tissue
tear’?
3. Name two sources of the violence that the poet
encounters outside.
4. What are ‘Phoebe’s Whamburger’ and Louie’s
Place’ symbolic of?
5. Explain the contrast between verses one and
two.
1.
What does the poet mean by ‘who would be
him?
2. How does the fact that he is a ‘gorilla’ who
carries a ‘nightstick’ add to our perception of
the cop?
3. Why does the poet use these words?
4. Who does the poet refer to as ‘the victims’?
5. Do you think this is a positive or negative
conclusion to the poem? Why?
6. What do you think is the overall message of the
poem?
1.

Brooklyn Cop by Norman MacCaig is a short eighteen
line poem in four unrhymed stanzas of varying length
in which the poet describes and reflects upon the
appearance duties and lifestyle of a Brooklyn
policeman. It seems that MacCaig is writing from an
actual experience here, probably the same visit to
New York which inspired the poem ‘Hotel Room 12th
Floor’. These poems both indicate the poet’s negative
feelings about the urban noise, violence and rush of
NY. In Brooklyn Cop, it is the danger of violence and
death with which the cop is perpetually faced and his
relationship with the criminals he deals with that
interests MacCaig.
Now that we understand WHAT is happening in the
poem and WHAT MacCaig’s message is, we now
must think about HOW he chooses to express this
message.
MacCaig uses many techniques to express his opinions
. An understanding of these techniques and their
effects are CRUCIAL to success in the higher course.
 On the following slide you will see a number of
poetic techniques and their definitions.
 Can you match them up?
Personification
Synecdoche
Onomatopoeia
Imagery
denotation
Allusion
The repetition of initial
consonant sounds.
The repeating of
words, phrases,
lines, or stanzas.
A reference to
another time,
work, person,
etc.
A comparison
between two
objects using a
specific word
or comparison
such as "like",
"as", or "than".
Point-of-view
Repetition
Metaphor
The use of words which
imitate sound.
A comparison between two
objects with the intent of
giving clearer meaning to
one of them.
the vantage point
of the speaker, or
"teller", of the
story or poem.
Hyperbole
Connotation
Euphemism
Words or phrases that appeal
to any sense or any
combination of senses to
create a mental picture.
The meaning suggested by a
particular word
The dictionary definition or literal meaning of a
word
An
exaggeration
of any sort,
added for
effect.
An understatement, used to lessen
the effect of a statement.
Brooklyn Cop
Simile
Alliteration
A description of a non-human
or its actions that seem to give
it human characteristics.
In which a part is used to
represent a whole
1Synecdoche
5Onomatopoeia
10denotation
2Personification
6Imagery
11Allusion
3Point-of-view
7Repetition
8Simile
4Alliteration
9Connotation
12Metaph
13Hyperbole
14Euphemism
or
5The use of words which
6Words or phrases that
4The repetition of initial
imitate sound.
appeal to any sense or any
consonant sounds.
combination of senses to
12A comparison between
create a mental picture.
7The repeating of
two objects with the intent
9The meaning suggested by a
Words or phrases,
of giving clearer meaning to
particular word
one of them.
11A reference
3the vantage
10The dictionary definition or literal meaning of a
to another
point of the
word
time, work,
speaker, or
person, etc.
"teller", of the
2A description of a non-human
story or poem.
13An
or its actions that seem to give
exaggeration
8A
it human characteristics.
of any sort,
comparison
added for
between two
effect.
objects using
1In which a part is used to
"like", "as", or
14An understatement, used to
represent a whole
"than".
lessen the effect of a statement.
Brooklyn Cop

Stanza One
1 Look at lines 1 – 4. Do you think that this is a stereotypical image of a policeman?
Choose two quotes, and explain why they make you feel this way. (3)
2 Quote the line that shows that the divide between civilization and violence is only
ever paper-thin. (1)
3 What technique is this? (1)
4 Consider what you learn about the cop at home. Quote a line that shows the
difference between his personality at work, and that at home. Explain your
answer fully, including how you feel about the character. (3)
5 The poet changes from saying the cop is “like a gorilla” to being “a gorilla”. Explain
fully how the techniques have changed, and why you think the poet does this. (2)
Stanza Two
6 Think about the place names in the poem – what kind of area is he policing? (2)

7 Explain how the word “plunge” is effective. Include comment on connotation and
denotation of the word as well as the structure. (3)
8 How does stanza two remind us of the themes of the poem? (1)

Stanza Three
1 What do you notice about the structure of this stanza? (1)
2 Explain the significance of “gorilla with a nightstick” (2)
3 Show how the poet tries to get us to sympathise with the cop (4)
Stanza Four
4 Who is the poet referring to as “victims”, and why do you think they are referred to
as such? (2)


Overall
5 Why do you think the Brooklyn Cop remains anonymous? (1)
6 How successful do you think this poem is in conveying a complex picture of the
cop? (4)
The first verse is concerned with the man
himself. We are given an insight into his
physique, general appearance and there is a
stark contrast between his outward
appearance of brutality and his inner
vulnerability and emotions.
How is the ‘cop’
gradually revealed
to the reader?
Quotation
Technique
How does this quotation
reveal the ‘cop’?
“built like a
gorilla”
simile
The opening simile
immediately appeals to the
sense of sight and we think of
him as thick set and muscular,
ugly and solid. The gorilla is a
fierce animal but by
comparison it is ‘timid’. This
simile is used to evoke an
image of ferocity and brute
strength.
Steak coloured
Connotation/
imagery
The thick fleshed/steak
coloured nature of his
appearance is quite visceral
and again suggests violence,
blood and savagery. Steak is
the by product of animals
dominated by man and
destroyed for his own survival.
This harks back to the idea of
survival of the fittest and is
suggestive of the death and
violence that the cop has
witnessed and survived.
Brooklyn cop
Verse two takes a closer look at the day to day
life of the policeman, the risks he takes and
the dangers he faces in his job. The verse is
full of the threat of violence and highlights
the fragile line that exists between the law
and the criminals.
How does MacCaig
communicate the
violence surrounding
the cop?
Quotation
Technique
Brooklyn cop
How does this quotation
reveal MacCaig’s
attitude?
Quotation
Technique
How does this quotation
reveal MacCaig’s
attitude?
‘should…’
repetition
tells us what kind of thing
might happen if the tissue
over violence breaks, if the
cop has to become involved
in fighting crime. To show
the continuing uncertainty,
MacCaig opens the verse
with inversion – using an
incomplete question to
demonstrate his point. The
possibility that this could
happen is emphasised by the
repetition of ‘should’ in the
first line of the verse.
plunge
connotation
The theme of the delicate
balance between civilisation
and savagery is repeated and
emphasised with the use of
the word ‘plunge’ to indicate
just how precarious and
dangerous his position is,
suggesting speed and
Brooklyn cop
MacCaig moves from description to reflection
in the final two verses where he asks society
to consider the reality of the cop’s position by
putting ourselves in , not only his shoes, but
the criminals.
How does MacCaig
force us to reflect
on the cop’s
position?
Quotation
Technique
Brooklyn cop
How does this quotation
reveal MacCaig’s
attitude?
Quotation
Technique
How does this quotation
reveal MacCaig’s
attitude?
‘who would be
him…’
Rhetorical
question
We are left with a question
to ponder ‘who would be
him...’ This is a deliberate
move to evoke further
sympathy for the cop as
we are forced to imagine
ourselves in his situation.
‘gorilla with a
nightstick’
metaphor
MacCaig brings to mind
the image of an animal on
the rampage in the night
time jungle but there is
also the feeling that he
may need the stick for self
defence.
‘whose home is inversion
a place, he
might, this time’ Brooklyn cop
Again, we are reminded of
the uncertainty of getting
home with the words ‘this
time’ to underline the
immediacy and reality of
In ‘Brooklyn Cop’ MacCaig highlights one of the problems in
society – violence – and leaves us with the uncomfortable
feeling that we are all involved. We cannot stand back and
think it has nothing to do with us. Society has created these
victims – the cop who has to put his happiness and life on the
line to try to curb the effects of a corrupt society and the
criminal who has been condemned to a life of violence and
crime because society has failed them. MacCaig sees only
too well the problems in society and the root of these
problems but he leaves the solution in the reader’s hands,
making for an altogether poignant and thought provoking
work of literature that goes far beyond our initial
assumptions of ‘cops and robbers’.
Like many of MacCaig’s poems, Brooklyn cop’ can be studied in
isolation but it does have much in common with ‘Hotel Room 12th
Floor’ and it pays to be aware of these similarities and be able to
comment on them.
1 Both are set in America or specifically NY
2 They arise out of something the poet witnessed firsthand and
MacCaig is detached observer
3 They both demonstrate the thin division between peace and
violence
4 The use night time settings to symbolise danger and vulnerability
5 They show mans struggle to control humanity’s inherent savagery
6 They both depict the violence in society and blame society itself for
these failings
There are several obvious links between these two poems; they share
the same location and theme. They both recognise that the violence
of the big city, especially at night, seems to brutalise its inhabitants.
Even with its technological sophistication, humanity cannot
overcome the darkness that lies within itself. The irony of this is
heightened by the fact that America is a relatively young country and
the settlers who travelled there saw themselves as bringing
civilisation to the wilderness and taming the savagery of the original
inhabitants. The result of this seems to ‘blood glazed on sidewalks’
and the ‘gorilla with a nightstick’ who patrols the streets attempting
to keep the peace. The Brooklyn Cop seems to be as savage as any
Indian but walks around inside the stockade. A grim and rather
pessimistic picture of modern America emerges from these two
poems. The first presents an overview from the first floor, almost a
philosophical discussion of the problem of violence in society, while
the second looks at that problem in close up by focusing on one
individual.
“Choose a poem where the poet expresses
criticism about a particular aspect of society.
State briefly what this is and go on to show
how the poet effectively communicates his
ideas to you”