About a father who
mourns the death of
his son. He believes
he has loved his son
more than God and
God has taken him
back.
The poet believes that
his son always
belonged to God and
he has now paid his
debt through his
death.
Death, Conscience, Violence.
Relationships, Death, Love.
On my First Sonne
The Man He Killed
A soldier speaks
about a man he killed
in battle and how he
believes he was just
like him. He
empathises with his
victim and implies we
would have done just
the same, in battle.
In civilian life, he
believes they would
have been friends.
Metaphor – debt & money – repaid to God by son
dying. ‘just day’ ‘lent’ ‘pay’
Factual Language ‘ I shot at him’ unemotional act of
war . Detached air implies he’s bitter about the event.
Pride & Affection – ‘and joy’ ‘too much hope’ ‘best
piece of poetrie’
Poem is spoken & informal to imply a confession, or
give conversational tone to the poem.
Wants to stop feelings: ‘Oh could I loose... Now’ If he
stops feeling like a father he will stop the grief/pain to
give a conversational tone
Informal Vocab vs Description of war implies internal
conflict in a soldier’s mind when killing/murdering.
Death can be a blessing – ‘scap’d the worlds, ...
miserie yet age – don’t have to suffer pain of old age.
Matches: Before You/My father/Mother any distance
Regular rhyme/structure: reflects the constant death
and waste of life. Also makes it seem ‘sing songy’ like
soldiers whistle/sing when going into battle.
Matches: Salome/Hitcher/Laboratory/
The Laboratory
An old woman
describes the
chores she has
to do. She
thinks the
younger
generation are
lazy and have
an easy life.
Regular rhythm stresses repetitiveness and unending
nature of her physical work.
Rhyming couplets are traditional, reflecting simplicity of her
life but also creates a rigid and inflexible structure, as her
life was limited in terms of experience.
Alliteration ‘lie long’ creates lazy sound to reflect her
opinion of the lazy generation.
‘matching of ribbons...’ youth are only concerned with their
appearance.
Metaphor ‘seed of the fire’: her fire is dying out as she ages.
Murder, revenge, passion.
Bitterness, Generations.
Song of the Old Mother
A woman goes to a
drug shop to purchase
a poison to kill several
of her lover’s
mistresses. She wants
the drug to be
beautiful and becomes
highly excited at the
thought of what it can
do.
Punctuation: ‘!’ creates erotic effect, mimicking her pleasure &
lover’s actions. ‘,’ creates long lingering read, as she wants to
delight in each moment of murder.
‘Now’... Creates sense of immediacy about speaker’s intentions.
V3: ‘grind’ ‘moisten’ ‘mash’: emphasise her violent thoughts.
‘brave tree’ personification of gum tree implies the tree is a
sacrifice for a noble cause, justifying her actions.
‘brush this duct off me’: metaphor for lack of attention from
her husband.
‘delicate droplet’: makes the poison seem fragile, paradox
against the destruction of life is causes.
Matches: ‘My father thought it.../Mother any distance
Matches: Havisham / Salome / Kid / Last Duchess
Sonnet 130
A Duke talks about a
portrait of his
deceased wife. She
smiled & laughed a lot
which irritated him.
He was suspicious of
her behaviour and
implies at one point
that she was
murdered by him. He
doesn’t seem that
bothered though.
Metaphor: ‘the curtain... (10) only he knew what she was
really like. He can control who can see her unlike when she
was alive.
‘her looks went everywhere’: appears jealous of her
friendships and behaviour with other men.
‘Nine hundred years old name’: implies she has no
respect for his heritage & family name.
‘all smiles stopped together’ poet implies he has killed
her. Caesura represents her death.
Reg. Rhythm = “sing songy”: hides the sinister murder
Matches: Havisham/Salome/Kid
Love & relationships
Jealousy, Power, Relationships .
My Last Duchess
Shakespeare
describes many
imperfections of his
lover but then
informs us he loves
her despite this. It
is a parody of love
poems which
describe perfectly
beautiful women.
Metaphysical Poem – images of Nature used
‘I never saw...’ criticises traditional poems for
unrealistic compliments & worshipping of women
Structure – perfect sonnet form = reinforces idea of
true & honest love
Ironically spends much of poem criticising her and
saying how ordinary she is, but at the end describes
her beauty and presence as ‘rare’.
Matches: Before You.../Mother Any Dist.../ Anne H
The speaker wakes
after a one night stand
and tells us she needs
to stop drinking and
being reckless. She has
the head of her last
man in bed with her
and seems proud of
her actions. A modern
take on the biblical
story of Salome & John
the Baptist.
Colloquial Language implies lack of care & blasé
attitude to killing ‘ain’t life a bitch’
Rhyme in poem creates speed emphasising her
excitement & maniacal behaviour.
‘blighter, beater, biter’ – implies possible revenge on
men who have abused women. Aggressive alliteration.
‘Peter, Simon, Andrew, John’, uses names of disciples
to imply she has a following. Paints her as a siren like
figure.
Matches: Kid, Laboratory, Hitcher, Havisham.
Elvis’ Twin Sister
Faith , humour, religion
Murder, revenge, passion.
Salome
Poet imagines
Elvis has a twin
sister living as a
nun. She is
happier than
her brother, as
a simple life
brings greater
joy than wealth
& fame.
Links Rock & Roll to religion = sacrilege, Was deemed to be
the ‘Devil’s Music’ & overly sexual, corrupting those who
listened to it.
‘tend gardens’ – Happy simple life is more fulfilling
than Elvis’.
‘immortal soul’ – Her faith makes her immortal, his
music makes him immortal.
Ref to Elvis: Blue Suede Shoes / Heartbreak Hotel
Gregorian Chant – contrasts with music of Elvis
Matches: Kid, Hitcher Sonnet 130 Song Of...
A character
remembers the act of
stealing a snowman.
He describes many of
his thefts which he
committed when he
was bored. Shows no
empathy towards his
victims and has
violent and
destructive
tendencies.
Murder, revenge, passion, death.
Death, Conscience, Violence.
Stealing
Havisham
Based on Miss
Havisham from
Great Expectations.
Jilted on her
wedding day, she
relives the same
day, going mad with
love. Bitter and
twisted, she dreams
of taking vengeance
on a man, any man.
Confessional tone – opens with answer to question
posed at poetic voice.
‘Beloved.. Bastard / b-b-b’ Alliteration creates
aggressive, angry tone
Alliteration of ‘m’ – passionate about the snowman
‘Dark green pebbles for eyes’ Metaphor for envy &
cold, lifeless woman
.’slice of ice’ (assonance) & ‘ghost’ – implies thief is
emotionally cold & void
‘weighed a ton’ – boasts about his achievements in
stealing.
‘cawing Noooooo’ = animalistic, lost ‘human’ self,
becomes a scavenger
‘its mouth in its ear’ – male becomes object, easier
to hate
‘Booted him...’ Violent – self destructive?
Matches: Hitcher/Kid/Laboratory/Man he killed
Matches: Kid/Hitcher/November/Laboratory/
Song of Old Mother
Unnamed speaker
takes John’s
grandmother to a
nursing home to live.
They know she won’t
come out again &
describe their
repulsion towards old
age and decide that
as death is inevitable,
they should enjoy the
positives of life.
‘badly parked car’ = metaphor for distress near death
My father thought it
Parent/Child,
Relationships, Humour
Death, Life, Decay
November
Poet describes how as
a teenager, he got his
ear pierced and his
dad was unimpressed
and said he was
stupid. Now, as an
adult, he hears
himself saying the
same things as his
father did and seems
to agree with his
father.
‘mop of hair’ = scruffy & rebellious teenage look
‘Parcel her’ = wrapping up her life / burial shroud
‘nerve’ – pun, painful experience / lack of courage
‘slack breasts, stunned brains = s/b alliteration makes
words seem harsh & brutal
‘sore.. Wound...wept’ = hyperbole – inflicting
unnecessary pain on himself?
‘November... Twilight... Dusk’ – symbolic of end of life
‘monsters’ – appalled & terrified at old age
Structure = imperfect sonnet = twisted love /
relationship with father. Hates him as a child but then
speaks like him as an adult.
Matches: Havisham/Song of Old Mother
Matches: Before you.../On my 1st Sonne/Sonnet 130
Poet uses Robin &
Batman to stand for
a young person
deserted by the
adult who brought
them up. Now
“Robin” is taking
revenge showing
that “Batman” was
far from a
superhero and
wants him to feel as
lonely as he did.
‘Batman bigshot’ - sarcasm, angry tone, resentful
Stressed/unstressed ‘wander/yonder’ gives forceful
determined tone to poem.
‘wild blue yonder’ - life is vast & terrifying with no
guidance / positive role model.
‘Holy Robin redbreast / caper’ – play on
Batman/Robin allegory
‘Blown the cover / caper’ – implies Batman is villain
Matches: My father/Before/Mother/On My 1st Sonne
Death, Conscience, Violence.
Parent/Child, bitterness, anger,
relationships
Kid
Hitcher
Persona in poem is
under the treat of
being sacked and
gets a hire car to
picks up a hitchhiker who he kills
violently. He
dumps him out of
the moving car
and leaves him for
dead.
‘sun from west to east’ - Romantic ideal, life of Beatnik
poets (Link with Ref to Bob Dylan song)
‘let him have it’ - sudden & brutal violence
‘didn’t even swerve’ – reflects detachment from crime.
Seems cold & calculating, almost boasting.
‘leant across to let him out’ – appears considerate &
contrasts with ironic behaviour – emphasises lack of
conscience / guilt of murder
Matches: Stealing/Salome/Man he
Killed/Laboratory/Last Duchess
Shakespeare’s wife
speak to us about the
second best bed he
left in the will. She
explains this is the
best gift as it was
were all their love and
sensuality occurred
and holds many
cherished memories
of her husband.
‘castles, cliff tops’ – fairy tale metaphor. Life with him
= fantasy world.
Before you were mine
Parent/Child, relationships. time
Love, grief, relationships
Ann Hathaway
Poet talks bout her
mother before her
birth. She imagines
the fun filled carefree
life her mother had
before she had her
child. This was lost
when she was a
young mother and the
poet realises that this
person now only
exists in the past.
‘shriek at the pavement’ – image of vicarious youth
‘shooting stars’ – rare & magical event, magical love
‘Marilyn’ – iconic female, like her mother.
‘verb... noun... assonance’- admiration of his skill.
‘assonance’ – implies memories of him an echo in her
mind, or they are echoed in his writing.
‘fizzy movie tomorrows’ – dreamed of glamorous life –
motherhood was far from reality
‘dribbling their prose’ – compares others’ love as
inferior.
Sonnet but no reg rhyme – symbolises loss & grief
Matches:Kid/Mother Any.../Sonnet 130/My Last Duchess
‘loud possessive yell’ – implies poetic voice was a
demanding baby
‘stamping stars.. Pavement’ – Dreams were squashed
when she became a mother
Matches: Homecoming/Mother Any.../My father
thought.../On my 1st Sonne/Song...Mother
About memories of
childhood and trust.
A yellow jacket is
used as a metaphor
for people changing
over time and are
not always what you
thought they were,
because their
behaviour changes.
‘free fall blind’ – implies lack of control when growing up
Mother Any Distance
Parent/Child, Growing up
Trust, Time, Parent/Child
Homecoming
Poet moves out of his
mum’s house but still
needs her help to
measure for curtains
etc. This need
becomes a metaphor
for how he will always
need his mother’s
support and he can
always turn to her for
help as well as being
an independent adult.
‘Acres. Prairies’ – Hyperbole, daunting life as an adult
‘model of a model of a mother’ - sarcastic tone, could
be perfect but is far from it in reality
‘Anchor. Kite’ – metaphor. Child is free to fly but
mother keeps him grounded.
‘Red, blue murder. Bed’ – aggressive tone, emphasised
by internal rhyme. Colours evocative of bruises.
‘something has to give’ moving on is inevitable.
‘In silhouette a father figure...’ sinister & mysterious,
‘set things straight’ implies violence
Matches:Before You.../Anne Hathaway
‘Last 100th’ – mother remains in life even if only small
amount
Rhyme @ start but fades – like mother – becomes
distant in adulthood but still there.
Matches: Before You/Song... Old Mother/Sonnet 130