‘Trio’
Edwin Morgan
Music is a vital way of
improving people’s
happiness and mental
health
We can only be
truly happy if we
live in the
moment
It doesn’t matter
what happens after
you die; you should
only care about
what happens in
this life.
Without family and
friends you cannot
be happy
Giving gifts is
better than
receiving them
Everyone should
celebrate
Christmas
We can find
happiness in all
sorts of
unexpected or
ordinary places
Edwin Morgan ((27 April 1920 – 17 August 2010)
Born Glasgow, Edwin Morgan lived there all his life, except for service with the RAMC, and his poetry is
grounded in the city. Yet the title of his 1973 collection, From Glasgow to Saturn, suggests the enormous range
of Morgan's subject matter. He was Glasgow's first Poet Laureate 1999-2002, and the first to hold the post of
'Scots Makar', created by the Scottish Executive in 2004 to recognise the achievement of Scottish poets
throughout the centuries.
The subjects in A Second Life (1968) ranged from the dispossessed and marginalised populations of Glasgow, in
all the misery of the tenements due for demolition, to the trio walking up Sauchiehall Street, ‘laughter ringing
them round like a guard’ as well as poets, Marilyn Monroe and Edith Piaf. Some of his wittiest concrete poems –
‘Siesta of a Hungarian snake’, the classic ‘Computer’s First Christmas Card’ are here, and the love poems that
are much loved, ‘Strawberries’, ‘One cigarette’. Kevin McCarra remarked of the devotion to the city Morgan
lived in all his life:
‘It is part of his purpose to bear witness to Glasgow while insisting that hope and realism need not be at
odds. This is tricky work and all his talent is required to hold off glibness. Misery, violence and pain are on
the scene, but they will not be given the last word’
Trio
Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp evening
a young man and two girls, under the Christmas lights –
The young man carries a new guitar in his arms,
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!’
Trio
‘Trio’ – basic denotation = 3. HOWEVER there are
other possibilities too:
1. Trio suggests a group of musicians (fits with the
poem as the man is carrying a guitar) The idea of
music also goes with the general happiness and
celebratory mood of the poem. Suggests a sense
of harmony. The three seem to have a close
loving relationship. By the end of the poem, the
narrator uses these three characters to celebrate
the possible harmony and togetherness of the
whole human race.
2. The three people in the poem may suggest the
three kings or wise men from the nativity story.
The poem opens on
Buchanan street in
Glasgow (where the poet
is based). This is a
common shopping street
which is busy at
Christmas. He uses an
everyday title and street
to introduce the three
linking them to the
everyday/ordinary.
Trio
Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a
sharp evening
a young man and two girls, under the Christmas lights
The young man carries a new guitar in his arms,
the girl on the inside carries a very young baby,
The present tense
emphasises that this is a
snap shot of daily life.
and the girl on the outside carries a chihuahua.
He uses realistic details to
bring the poem to life
in a cloud of happiness, and as they pass
–
‘Sharp’ has
connotations of
painful, biting cold
and ‘evening’
suggests a darkness.
Contrasts with the
positivity within this
poem. Morgan is
setting up the idea
that happiness can
be found in
unlikely/unexpected
places.
And the three of them are laughing, their breath rises
the boy says, ‘Wait till he sees this but!’
Before the parenthesis it is as if Morgan/we are
there watching the three approach. This
parenthesis doesn’t close until 5 lines before the
end of the poem when the three pass and we are
snapped back into reality. What it contains are the
imaginings about the positivity and joy these
three can bring. They cheer up the watcher on
this ‘sharp evening’.
Repetition of
‘young’ – youth
suggests
joy/hope/possibility.
Repetition of
‘carries’ – suggests
support/togetherne
ss/oneness
Word choice ‘cloud’ –
suggests
togetherness as joins
their breath and you
see the warmth of
their breath against
the cold air.
Highlights
metaphorical warmth
– their bond of
friendship keeps
them warm.
Trio
‘under’ suggests a sense
of protection/ being
watched.
Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a
a
young man and two girls,
sharp evening
under the Christmas lights
The young man carries a new guitar in his arms,
the girl on the inside
carriesa 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!’
Use of dialect emphasises the everyday nature of the
event, happening in a real place.
–
Morgan is using religious
Christian iconography
(the three wise men
under the guiding star),
but ironically this poem is
exploring the idea that
the enjoyment of
Christmas is not
connected to religious
faith.
The three are a ‘gift’ to
the watcher as they bring
so much joy.
The chihuahua is a
lovely mix of
Mexican and
Scottish suggesting
Morgan believes in
a Scotland where
foreigners are
welcome and can
become part of
our nation. Also
link to the animals
in the nativity
story, who
gathered round
the baby Jesus in
the manger.
‘teapot holder’ – a
domestic image
which connotes
warmth and care.
These three lines are the longest in the
poem. Morgan doesn’t break them
because he wants to show that love,
generosity and happiness should not be
restricted.
The chihuahua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan coat like a teapotholder,
the baby in its white shawl is all bright eyes and mouth like favours
in a fresh sweet cake,
the guitar swells out under its milky plastic cover, tied at the neck
with silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig of mistletoe.
‘like favours in
a fresh sweet
cake.’ – positive
word choice
and favours
suggests hidden
treats. The
three are a nice
surprise for
Morgan. A
Christmas cake
is normally
shared with
those we
love/family and
friends.
The chihuahua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan coat like a teapotholder,
the baby in its white shawl is all bright eyes and mouth like favours
in a fresh sweet cake,
the guitar swells out under its milky plastic cover, tied at the neck
with silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig of mistletoe.
Another connotation of
the Christian nativity.
‘white’ has
connotations of
innocence and purity.
‘bright eyes’ suggests
an alertness and
interest in the world.
Fits with the poem as
the writer is very alert
to the positivity he sees
in the world.
The chihuahua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan coat like a teapot‘mistletoe’
obvious links to
Christmas and
love. ‘brisk’
suggest life and
energy, which
links back to
early ideas of
youth and
newness.
holder,
the baby in its white shawl is all bright eyes and mouth like favours
in a fresh sweet cake,
‘swells out’ suggests
the man carrying the
guitar is swelling with
pride because he has
chosen such a
wonderful present that
will make someone
happy.
the guitar swells out under its milky plastic cover, tied at the neck
with silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig of mistletoe.
‘silver’ suggests the guitar is being
treated as something special. Not
because of monetary value, but because
of the joy it will bring.
‘milky’ – link to babies
and something nurturing
and natural.
The poet uses an
allusion to the
Greek myth of
Orpheus. An
allusion is when a
writer refers to
something he
expects his readers
to recognise and
understand.
Morgan is
suggesting that
music (the sprig is
attached to the
guitar the young
man carries) has
the power to heal
and even lift us out
of ‘hell’.
Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm chihuahua!
The vale of tears is powerless before you.
Whether Christ is born, or is not born, you
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.
Use of three
exclamation marks
suggests he is almost
shouting out with joy.
Seeing this everyday,
simple thing gets him
celebrating life. It is
uplifting and optimistic.
Orpheus was the son of Apollo and Calliope (one of the muses.) It was no wonder that Orpheus was a gifted musician, with
such talented musical parents. The truth is, Orpheus was more than gifted. His music was magical. When he played the lyre,
as his father had taught him, his songs could cast spells and soothe savage beasts.
Orpheus loved his wife, Eurydice. When she died, he traveled into the Underworld. He begged his great uncle Hades to allow
his wife to come back to earth as herself, and not reborn as someone else.
Hades agreed to let Eurydice follow her husband back to earth and life. But, during the trip, Orpheus had to promise not to
look back until both he and his wife were safely back on earth. Orpheus was worried that perhaps Hades would not send
her after all. To reassure himself that all was fine, he risked a quick look behind him, and lost his wife forever.
Word choice
‘abdicates’ - means
to completely give
up power willingly
and is usually only
connected to royalty.
Morgan is again
suggesting the
power of these
three. They can
make fate, whatever
it may hold, willingly
disappear. The line
layout reinforces this
as the line seems to
be giving up and
walking away.
Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm chihuahua!
The vale of tears is powerless before you.
Whether Christ is born, or is not born, you
put paid to fate, it abdicates
under the Christmas lights
Monsters of the year
This ties in to the sense of doubt in
the next line. It is Christmas, but
go blank, are scattered back,
Morgan isn’t quite sure what he
believes. He is suggesting than
can’t bear this march of three.
even without the birth of Christ
happiness can still be found.
Vale of tears is another
allusion. is a Christian
phrase referring to the
tribulations of life that
Christianity says are only
left behind when you
leave earth and enter
heaven.
Morgan is suggesting that
these three are enough to
make the vale of tears
‘powerless’. He is
suggesting you don’t
necessarily need to
believe in God sometimes
friendship and love are
enough.
Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm chihuahua!
The vale of tears is powerless before you.
Whether Christ is born, or is not born, you
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.
Morgan reinforces this
idea by suggesting the
three are so powerful
and magical they can
defeat metaphorical
‘Monsters’
He mirrors the three
with the the three ways
the monsters will give
up. They ‘go blank’, they
‘are scattered back’ and
they ‘can’t bear’ it.
Ambiguity of ‘march.’ Military
connection – again showing the
strength and power of these three.
Also musical beat suggesting their
strength comes from their harmony.
End of the parenthesis
that opens at the end of
line 2. The dashes
enclose the whole
encounter. They remind
us that it was just a single
moment. Another
possibility is the dashes
protect and surround the
trip. Their joy is special
and rare and should be
protected.
– And the three have passed, vanished in the crowd
(yet not vanished, for in 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.
Overall Message: Human life and love
are special and sacred, with or without
religion.
Also acts as an aside. We know the three
have literally vanished, but here Morgan
contradicts this by saying that
metaphorically they are still there. The
effect they have had on him is lasting.
2nd use of parenthesis
this time in the form of
brackets. The laughter is
‘ringing’ – duality of
meaning both the sound
it makes and also their
joy is protecting them.
‘like a guard’ again
protecting. Form reflects
content. The words
about protection are
protected by the
brackets.
Possible questions for ‘Trio’ by Edwin Morgan
1. Choose a poem in which the poet or narrator is reflecting on a joyful experience.
Show how the reflections of the poet or narrator convey the joyfulness of the experience.
2. Choose a poem one of whose main ideas spring from the observation of a place or person.
Show how the poet skillfully uses his observation of the place or person as a springboard for ideas explored
in the poem.
3. Choose a poem in which you can recognise a point where the poem moves from description into reflection.
Identify that part of the poem and show how effectively the poet uses description (of person, place or
experience) to provide a springboard for his reflection on the central ideas of the poem.