Furthermore, throughout verse three, the actions of the nurse show us that she was very efficient in the job that she did. ‘Breast high ‘mid the stands and chairs,’ the woman that had died had chairs ready and waiting for any visitors, but still she was much more content with the life that she had lived in the past.
Like the verse before, this verse illustrates the actions of the nurse and symbolises her everyday routine. ‘Wake up! It’ nearly five.’ The dialogue used shows us that the nurse does not realise that the woman has died and continues to try and wake. This also illustrates that the woman suffered no pain as the nurse thinks that she is asleep, so she must have a peaceful expression. ‘Half dead and half alive!’ The nurse does not feel any of the pain of the death because she was paid to do the job and not to mourn and commiserate.
In verse six the nurse is asking herself rhetorical questions and is actually thinking about the thought of death and that it is as regular as teatime is. The house in which the woman lived is beginning to fall part, in comparison with her decaying body.
The second to last verse takes place at the same part of the house of that of the first verse. ‘At the grey, decaying face.’ Betjeman use this sentence to illustrate two things, firstly the little old woman with grey hair, and her face as it is beginning to decay, and also the peeling and rotting of the house, as the plaster begins to fall off.
The final verse focuses on the practicalities of life and that the same little things that were done before still needed to be done on her daily routine. ‘And tiptoeing gently down the stairs’ the nurse still feels her presence and feels the need to be quiet out of a sign of respect, or maybe it could be a force of habit. The nurse is so used to her daily routine that she is still doing all of the little things that she once did when she was alive! Then she ‘turned down the gas in the hall.’ And symbolises that her life has come to an end so there is no need for the gas to be switched on full.
Through the poem ‘Death in Leamington’ Betjeman has made me understand and realise that death is an everyday occurrence and cannot be foreseen. His regular rhyming scheme has helped to create the illusion of the rhythm of life, he how it is broken when someone dies, whether it is someone close to you or someone you never knew, it happens in exactly the same way. In this particular poem he illustrated that the nurse still completed everyday tasks even though the woman had died.
‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ is about John Betjeman’s late father. He wrote this poem in his most common way, four-line stanzas. This may have been the case as he was familiar with this style of writing and felt comfortable writing his poetry in this way. As like ‘Death in Leamington’ it has a regular rhyme scheme of ABCB and again he may have felt most comfortable writing in memory of his father like this.
Verse one describes to us the way that Betjeman remembers his father a little before his death. ‘The tie, discreetly loud’ this is a paradox, he uses this to show us that his fathers dress sense was very unique and loud but in a discreet way. The first two lines were remembrance of his father when he was alive, however the last two lines were when her was dead. At the end of each line in this stanza there is a comma and the lines do not run on. At the end of the stanza there is a full stop, this is to signify the end of his father’s life and that it is all over.
‘He liked old City dining-rooms’ this is the first line in the second stanza and straight away we realise that Betjeman felt detached from his father as he uses the word ‘he’ instead of his father’s actual name. Again like the first verse each of the first two lines are very positive and focus on the things that his father liked and the things he liked to do then we are hit with the true facts of reality. ‘The London clay come in.’ It is the final line in the verse and is very powerful. John Betjeman may have had mixed feelings about his father as he shows continuous ambivalent feelings throughout the first two verses and may be the reason for the constant change of tones.
Furthermore, we learn that John Betjeman and his father went on ‘long silent walks’ when he was younger. He may have added this line to his stanza, as it is a contrast with his father as he was old.
Throughout verse four we learn of his father’s wisdom. He was a clever man and although he was deaf he could still hear his father speak. This stanza is made up of run on lines as it describes in much detail all about his father’s face. It begins very positive as he remembers his father as he was before he died, but then ends on a negative image, ‘of maggots in his eyes.’ This could be because he cannot look back in time he lives for the here and now, and thinks about all of the horrible and nasty things that is happening to his father as he decays.
Throughout the whole of the poem Betjeman displays to his readers ambivalent feeling towards his father and although talking about the decaying of the body, he moves on to positive things that his father did like to do when his father was alive.
The next verses demonstrates use of strong alliteration, ‘carrara-covered’ as it is all about the cemetery where his father lay to rest. Betjeman uses this to make use realise that he thought a lot of his father and loved him very much.
We then learn that his father’s death was sudden and unexpected and is therefore demonstrating ambivalent feelings as he feels regret for not saying goodbye.
The final verse we see that Betjeman is questioning God’s faith. He cannot think that his father is in heaven and he hates to admit that his father is dead, and shows much remorse of not saying farewell. ‘You ask me to believe You and I only see decay.’ This is a very powerful last line and each of the ‘You’ words begins in a capital letter as it puts emphasis on him speaking to God and shows that he did not believe in him as he took his father away. Although his body has decayed, he still has memories, but shows slight sadness. Betjeman is very honest about his feelings in this last stanza.
Through reading ‘On a portrait of a Deaf Man’ it has made me realise that death can be very sudden and not to take it for granted. Betjeman made great use of the past to show how intense his feelings are and to show us what he believed in. He wrote briefly about the things that himself and his father liked to do, demonstrating their former everyday life.
