CONTENTS
1. Homework Instructions
2. Slate – example of an annotated poem
3. In The Snack Bar
4. Trio
5. Hyena
6. Winter
7. Good Friday
Edwin Morgan
Homework Instructions
You should have a printed version of all 6 Edwin Morgan poems (‘Slate’, ‘In the SnackBar’, ‘Trio’, ‘Hyena’ ‘Winter’ and ‘Good Friday’). You do not need to print this whole
booklet if you do not want to – you can refer to it on the computer instead.
In this booklet, each poem will be accompanied by a series of questions which will help
you to annotate your copies of the poems. However, the most important thing that you
should be able to identify in all of the poems is:
 Who (who is speaking? What do we learn about them?)
 What (you should be able to summarise what the poem is about/what happens in
the poem)
 Where (identify the setting of the poem)
The tasks on the first poem, ‘Slate’, have been completed for you as an example. These
annotations have been done in a lot of detail. Your teacher will not be looking for the
same level of detail across all of the poems, but you need to try and answer all of the
questions in order to gain a better understanding of Morgan’s poetry.
If you are struggling with any of the questions, you should go to the following websites to
find out more about the poems:
http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/learn/teachers/classroom-resources
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zcnp34j
Before you get started on Edwin Morgan’s poems, you should complete the ‘Bibliography
Task’ so that you can find out a bit about who he is and what influenced his work.
Bibliography Task
Edwin Morgan Research:
You should go online or to your local library to try and find out what you can about Edwin
Morgan’s life and poetry.
SLATE
There is no beginning. We saw Lewis
laid down, where there was not much but thunder
and volcanic fires; watched long seas plunder
faults; laughed as Staffa cooled. Drumlins blue as
bruises were grated off like nutmegs; bens,
and a great glen, gave rough back we like
to the think the ages must streak, surely strike,
seldom stroke, but raised and shaken, with tens
of thousands of rains, blizzards, sea-poundings
shouldered off into night and memory.
Memory of men! That was to come. Great
in their empty hunger these surroundings
threw walls to the sky, the sorry glory
of a rainbow. Their heels kicked flint, chalk, slate.
Information about the poem:
STAFFA: Staffa a small island off the West Coast of Scotland. It
is made up entirely of volcanic material – mainly basalt. Its
famous feature is Fingal’s Cave.
DRUMLINS: Mounds of moraine (rocks, sand, gravel etc.
transported in glaciers) moulded by a glacier.
GREAT GLEN: This is a fault line (a break in the crust) running from Fort William to
Inverness. It was formed when the northern section collided with the southern
section. Minor earthquakes (tremors) still occur along the fault line but they are rarely
felt.
 Slate is a poem from a collection called Sonnets from Scotland which Morgan
published in 1984. This series of poems was written after an important time in
Scotland’s history– the Scottish Referendum of 1979. The outcome of this
referendum was that although a majority of people had voted for devolution, this
majority was not deemed large enough to enact the legislation, and politically the
country was at a low ebb. The sonnets were written as a response to this
disappointing blow for Scotland and in them Morgan considers the enormous
changes that have already affected Scotland through the millennia as well as
imagining those which have yet to come.
 Slate is the first poem in this collection and the opening lines introduce the idea of
change. In it, the speaker depicts this land we know as Scotland in its formative
years, millions of years before the arrival of humans and describes how this
prehistoric landscape developed and was shaped.
Guided Annotation Questions:
“Slate” has been annotated for you as an example. Here are the questions
used to help inform the annotations.
Here are some questions to help to guide you through annotating the poem:
First reading
 What is the poem about?
 What are the places mentioned in the poem? Why do you think the poet has
mentioned them?
POETIC TERM: The Sonnet Form
A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter—that is,
in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable, as in: “Shall I
compare thee to a summer’s day?”
 Annotate the poem with a rhyme scheme
 What do you notice about the poems structure?
 Look at the length of the lines in the poem? – How do they vary?
 What is significant about the way the poem is opened by Morgan?
Who is talking?
 In ‘Slate’, by Edwin Morgan, we are given the idea that the poem has a voice.
Who do you think is talking to us in the poem?
‘We saw Lewis..’
 What is the voice in the poem discussing?
 Use the arrows below to annotate these sections of the poem
 Ask yourself, what is the poet discussing here?
‘watched as Staffa cooled. Drumlins blue as
bruises were grated off like nutmegs; bens,
And a great glen, gave a rough back we like’
 ‘Memory of men! That was to come’: What is the importance of this quotation?
What type of Scotland is Morgan describing to us?
SLATE
These words are in present tense while everything
else is in past tense. Morgan is trying to make
Scotland seem eternal.
The speaking voice is outside history,
looking in.
There is no beginning. We saw Lewis
laid down, where there was not much but thunder
and volcanic fires; watched long seas plunder
faults; laughed as Staffa cooled. Drumlins blue as
Morgan personifies Scotland itself, giving it human actions.
He also embodies Scotland, giving it a living body, so that it
is not just a chunk of geology.
All this use of embodiment and personification supports
Morgan’s overall theme. He is saying that even without
people, Scotland is alive and vibrant, full of energy and
purpose.
bruises were grated off like nutmegs; bens,
and a great glen, gave rough back we like
to the think the ages must streak, surely strike,
seldom stroke, but raised and shaken, with tens
of thousands of rains, blizzards, sea-poundings
All these sound effects draw our attention, and also give
us a sensory experience: we don’t just read the poem
with our eyes but also almost hear it. This has the effect
of making us feel more involved in the poem.
The sound effects support Morgan’s overall message
about the vital importance of Scotland by making it feel
lively, vibrant and noisy, and by making Scotland feel
like something we just have to pay attention to.
shouldered off into night and memory.
Memory of men! That was to come. Great
in their empty hunger these surroundings
threw walls to the sky, the sorry glory
of a rainbow. Their heels kicked flint, chalk, slate
The expression ‘to kick your heels’ means to be
waiting, perhaps impatiently. Scotland is still
waiting for a better future.
The newly created Scotland is empty and
hungry without us. A nation isn’t really
made by geology; a nation is made by its
people and by what they do.
A rainbow is a glorious and hopeful thing, but a
sorry one too because you only get a rainbow with
rain. Morgan uses the metaphor of the rainbow to
admit that the hope of a more independent future for
Scotland comes after the failed referendum
Although this is the title of the poem, it only appears in the
actual text as the final word. Sometimes things only come
together at the last minute; it may take a long time for
Scotland’s destiny to be fulfilled.
Rhyme Scheme: ‘Slate’ as a sonnet: Every line has exactly 10 syllables. There is a rhyme scheme: ABBA CDDC EFG EFG
IN THE SNACK BAR
A cup capsizes along the formica,
slithering with a dull clatter.
A few heads turn in the crowded evening snack-bar.
An old man is trying to get to his feet
from the low round stool fixed to the floor.
Slowly he levers himself up, his hands have no power.
He is up as far as he can get. The dismal hump
looming over him forces his head down.
He stands in his stained beltless garberdine
Vocabulary:
like a monstrous animal caught in a tent
Formica: a hard durable plastic laminate used
for worktops, cupboard doors, and other
surfaces.
Garberdine: a raincoat made of durable
material.
in some story. He sways slightly,
the face not seen, bent down
in shadow under his cap.
Even on his feet he is staring at the floor
or would be, if he could see.
I notice now his stick, once painted white
but scuffed and muddy, hanging from his right arm.
Long blind, hunchback born, half paralysed
he stands
fumbling with the stick
and speaks:
‘I want –to go to the-toilet.’
It is down two flights of stairs, but we go.
I take his arm. ‘Give me-your arm-it’s better,’ he says.
Inch by inch we drift towards the stairs.
A few yards of floor are like a landscape
to be negotiated, in the slow setting out
time has almost stopped. I concentrate
my life to his: crunch of spilt sugar,
slidy puddle from the night’s umbrellas,
table edges, people’s feet,
hiss of the coffee-machine, voices and laughter,
smell of a cigar, hamburgers, wet coats steaming,
and the slow dangerous inches to the stairs.
I put his right hand on the rail
and take his stick. He clings to me. The stick
is in his left hand, probing the treads
I guide his arm and tell him the steps.
And slowly we go down. And slowly we go down.
White tiles and mirrors at last. He shambles
uncouth into the clinical gleam.
I set him in position, stand behind him
and wait with his stick.
His brooding reflection darkens the mirror
but the trickle of his water is thin and slow,
an old man’s apology for living.
Painful ages to close his trousers and coat –
I do up the last buttons for him.
He asks doubtfully, ‘Can I- wash my hands?’
I fill the basin, clasp his soft fingers round the soap.
He washes, feebly, patiently. There is no towel.
I press the pedal of the drier, draw his hands
gently into the roar of the hot air.
But he cannot rub them together,
drags out a handkerchief to finish.
He is glad to leave the contraption, and face the stairs.
He climbs, and steadily enough.
He climbs, we climb. He climbs
with many pauses but with that one
persisting patience of the undefeated
which is the nature of man when all is said.
And slowly we go up. And slowly we go up.
The faltering, unfaltering steps
take him at last to the door
across that endless, yet not endless waste of floor.
I watch him helped on a bus. It shudders off in the rain.
The conductor bends to hear where he wants to go.
Wherever he could go it would be dark
and yet he must trust men.
Without embarrassment or shame
he must announce his most pitiful needs
in a public place. No one sees his face.
Does he know how frightening he is in his strangeness
under his mountainous coat, his hands like wet leaves
stuck to the half-white stick?
His life depends on many who would evade him.
But he cannot reckon up the chances,
having one thing to do,
to haul his blind hump through these rains of August.
Dear Christ, to be born for this!
‘In the Snack-Bar’ Questions
FIRST READING
 Read through the poem carefully and think about what Edwin Morgan is trying to
get you to think about. In no more than 20 words summarise what you think the
poem is about and what Edwin Morgan is trying to get us to think about.
You should now work to annotate your poem. The following tasks will help you to do this:
Task 1: Sound TechniquesUsing a red coloured pen, go through the poem and highlight any examples of the
following:
 Alliteration - The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of
adjacent or closely connected words
 Onomatopoeia- The use of words (such as hiss or murmur) that imitate the sounds
associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
Task 2: Characterisation
Edwin Morgan gives us a vivid description of the old man in the poem. He achieves this
through imagery and clever use of language.
 Pick out and highlight the quotations that tell us about the appearance of the man
in the poem.
 Annotate your poem with what impression each of your highlight descriptions
creates.
Task 3: Structure
Annotate answers to the following on your poem:
 Look at the structure of the poem when the two men are climbing. What does it
add to the length and struggle felt by both men in the poem?
 There are many examples of repetition throughout the poem. Highlight each
instance of repetition and think about what they add to the monotonous and hard
task that is ahead of both of the men in the poem.
TRIO
Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening
a young man and two girls, under the Christmas lightsThe young man carries a new guitar in his arms,
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the girl on the inside carries a very young baby,
and the girl on the outside carries a Chihuahua.
And the three of them are laughing, their breath rises
in a cloud of happiness, and as they pass
the boy says, “Wait till he sees this but!”
The chihuhua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan coat like a tea pot-holder,
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the baby in its white shawl it all bright eyes and mouth like favours in a
fresh sweet cakes,
the guitar swells out under its milky plastic cover, tied at the neck with
silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig of mistletoe.
Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm Chihuahua!
The vale of tears is powerless before you.
Whether Christ is born, or is not born, you
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put paid to fate, it abdicates
under the Christmas lights.
Monsters of the year
go blank, are scattered back,
can’t bear this march of three.
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-And the three have passed, vanished in the crowd
(yet not vanished, for their arms they wind
the life of men and beasts, and music,
laughter ringing them round like a guard)
at the end of this winter’s day.
‘Trio’ Questions
Task 1: First Reading
 What do you think the poem is about?
 Where is the poem set? What time of year is the poem set in?
Highlight a quotation that shows how the poet establishes where the poem is set.
 What do you think is significant about the title of the poem? (Think about the
Christmas story – can you think of any ‘trios’?)
Task 2: Characters
Annotate answers to the following on the poem
 Who are the central characters in the poem?
 Highlight what the central characters are carrying.
 Can you think of anything significant about their number, what they are carrying, or
the Christmas lights?
Task 3: Structure
 Highlight the instances of repetition in the poem. Can you think about what effect
this repetition creates?
 Look at the line layout (the way the lines appear on the page). What is unusual
about Morgan’s line layout? Can you suggest any reasons for this?
Task 4: Overview
 Edwin Morgan seems to present an unusual view of Christmas in this poem. In what
way do you think it is unusual?
HYENA
I am waiting for you.
I have been travelling all morning through the bush
And not eaten.
I am lying at the edge of the bush
On a dusty path that leads from the burnt-out kraal.
I am panting, it is midday, I found no water-hole.
I am very fierce without food and although my eyes
Are screwed to slits against the sun
You must believe I am prepared to spring.
What do you think of me?
I have a rough coat like Africa.
I am crafty with dark spots
Like the bush-tufted plains of Africa.
I sprawl as a shaggy bundle of gathered energy
Like Africa sprawling in its waters.
I trot, I lope, I slaver, I am a ranger.
I hunch my shoulders. I eat the dead.
Do you like my song?
When the moon pours hard and cold on the veldt*
I sing, and I am the slave of darkness.
Over the stone walls and the mud walls and the ruined places
And the owls, the moonlight falls.
I sniff a broken drum. I bristle. My pelt is silver.
I howl my song to the moon- up it goes.
Would you meet me there in the waste places?
Vocabulary
Kraal: a traditional African village consisting
of a group of huts surrounded by a fence.
Veldt: An open area of grassland
Carrion: the decaying flesh of dead animals.
It is said I am a good match
For a dead lion. I put my muzzle
At his golden flanks, and tear. He
Is my golden supper, but my tastes are easy.
I have a crowd of fangs, and I use them.
Oh and my tongue- do you like me
When it comes lolling out over my jaw
Very long, and I am laughing?
I am not laughing.
But I am not snarling either, only
Panting in the sun, showing you
What I grip
carrion with.
I am waiting
For the foot to slide,
For the heart to seize,
For the leaping sinews to go slack,
For the fight to the death to be fought to the death,
For a glazing eye and a rumour of blood.
I am crouching in my dry shadows
Till you are ready for me.
My place is to pick you clean
And leave your bones to the wind.
‘Hyena’ Questions
Meet the narrator: The spotted hyena is a common dog–like carnivore found on the dry
open plains of the Masai Mara and much of sub–Saharan Africa. Dark spots cover yellow–
brown fur and their long muscular necks and powerful shoulders make them instantly
recognisable. Hyenas are built for endurance — their large hearts help them pursue prey
over great distances.
The plains of the Mara echo with the squeals and greeting whoops of this much maligned
animal. Their infamous 'laughter' is actually a sign of aggression, fear or excitement. Hear
and see our wild hyena clan from the comfort of your own home, streamed live from the
wilds of Africa
Task 1: First Reading
 Who is the speaker in this poem?
 Identify what each stanza (5 in total) is about and annotate on your poem. For
example, the first stanza describes the hyena’s habitat – the dry and inhospitable
plains of Africa.
Task 2: Character
 Highlight quotations which describe the hyena’s appearance. What impression is
created of the hyena?
 Highlight quotations which describe the hyena’s behaviour. What impression is
created of the hyena?
Task 3: Imagery
 This poem is rich with imagery. Highlight any similes or metaphors that you can find
and explain what they add to the poem.
Task Four: Structure
 Why has Edwin Morgan used questions throughout his poem?
 What purpose do they serve?
 What does each individual question force you to think about?
WINTER
The year goes, the woods decay, and after,
many a summer dies. The swan
on Bingham’s pond, a ghost , comes and goes.
It goes, and ice appears, it holds,
bears gulls that stand around surprised,
blinking in the heavy light, bears boys
when skates take over swan-tracks gone.
After many summer dyes, the swan-white ice
glints only crystal beyond white. Even
dearest blue’s not there, though poets would find it.
I find one stark scene
cut by evening cries, by warring air.
The muffled hiss of blades escapes into breath,
hangs with it a moment, fades off.
Fades off, goes, the scene, the voices fade,
the line of trees, the woods that fall, decay
and break, the dark comes down, the shouts
run off into it and disappear.
At last the lamps go too, when fog
drives monstrous down the dual carriageway
out to the west, and even in my room
and on this paper I do not know
about the grey dead pane
of ice that sees nothing and that nothing sees.
Winter Questions
Task 1: First reading
 What line in the opening of the poem tells us that this poem is about the changing of
the seasons?
 What metaphor does Morgan use to describe the swan? Highlight it on the poem and
say why it is effective.
 Highlight how many objects the winter ice bears.
Task 2: Structure
 There are several examples of repetition in the poem. Go through the poem with a
red pen or pencil and underline the examples you can find.
 Say what effect you think the use of repetition has.
Task 3: Imagery
 Annotate the poem highlighting all similes, metaphors and examples of
personification in blue.
 Explain why the images are effective.
Task Four: Overview
 Can you identify any deeper meanings that the poem might have? Look at the
words that have been repeated throughout the poem to help give you a clue.
GOOD FRIDAY
Three o’clock. The bus lurches
round into the sun. “D’s this go –”
he flops beside me – “right along Bath Street?
-Oh tha’s, tha’s all right, see I’ve
got to get some Easter eggs for the kiddies.
I’ve had a wee drink, ye understand –
ye’ll maybe think it’s a – funny day
to be celebrating – well, no, but ye see
I wasny working, and I like to celebrate
when I’m no working – I don’t say it’s right
I’m no saying it’s right – ye understand – ye understand?
but anyway tha’s the way I look at it –
I’m no boring you, eh? – ye see today,
take today, I don’t know what today’s in aid of,
whether Christ was – crucified or was he –
rose fae the dead like, see what I mean?
You’re an educatit man, you can tell me –
-Aye, well. There you are. It’s been seen
time and again, the working man
has nae education, he jist canny – jist
hasny got it, know what I mean,
he’s jist bliddy ignorant – Christ aye,
bliddy ignorant. Well –” The bus brakes violently,
he lunges for the stair, swings down – off,
into the sun for his Easter eggs,
on very
nearly
steady
legs.
‘Good Friday’ Questions
Task 1: What is ‘Good Friday’?
 Do some research online and make notes about ‘Good Friday’:
Task 2: First Reading
 In short, what is the poem about?
 What do you notice about the way you are forced to read the poem?
 Where is the poem set? How do we know this?
 What tense is the poem written in?
Task 3: The Narrator
 What is the narrative stance of the poem?
o first person
o second person
o third person
 Who is the narrator in the poem?
o Find a quotation that will support your answer
Task 4: Structure
 What is the majority of the poem made up from?
 What do you notice about the physical shape of Morgan’s poem as it develops?
 Why has Edwin Morgan done this? What effect does it have on the meaning of the poem?
 What does the shape add to the way the man gets off the bus?
Task 5: Character - The man on the bus
 Where is he going?
 What is he doing?
 What is he discussing?
 What has he bought?