Another similarity that the poet employs in the two poems is that in both of them, the first line of each verse is the same for all the verses. For example in “Street Boy” the first line always starts with “Just you” and always ends with “man”.
Just you look at me man
Gareth has used that technique intentionally to characterize the street boy as an attention-seeker. “Street Boy” wants the reader to pay full attention to him and focus on him before starting the verse. Furthermore, “Just you” is a type of a threatening phrase which just tells us about the kind of person he is, and how he bullies people. Also the use of “man” at the end of each first line gives the boy more attitude and gives us the effect of hooliganism. In “Nooligan” the first line of each verse starts with “I’m a nooligan”, the effect of this line is that instead of us thinking that the “Nooligan” is cool and tough, it makes us think the exact opposite.
There is another resemblance between the two poems and that is the use of rhyme. Both poems use the same rhyming scheme. “Nooligan” uses ABCBD while “Street Boy” uses ABCB. The only difference is the last line of “Nooligan” which is in parenthesis and doesn’t rhyme or fit with any of the other lines.
I’m the boss
(Well, one of them)
Roger McGough has done this deliberately to make the last line stand out, gives an anti-climax effect. That last line creates humor in the poem and shows the true personality of the “Nooligan”. It tells the reader that he isn’t actually what he’s pretending to be. Not only that but the line in brackets always starts with “well”.
One other obvious correspondence between the two poems is the actual theme they are based on. Both are to do with teenage hooliganism and both the “Nooligans” are very aggressive and violent. This excerpt from “Street Boy” clearly shows us the aggressiveness of the hooligan.
My head is full of silence
My mouth is full of shout
Those two lines tell us that he isn’t intelligent and doesn’t think before he acts and also the fact that he won’t think or negotiate/reason with you before he beats you up. This makes the “Street Boy” look quite aggressive and warlike. Similarly, the “Nooligan” also shows signs of violence.
Step out of line
And you’re dead
What this tells us about the boy is that he acts like a bully most of the times and pushes people around. If someone was to not follow his orders or do something against him he will most likely give that person a beating. He obviously doesn’t mean literally when he says; “you’re dead”, it’s just the poet’s metaphorical way of saying giving a beating.
The differences between Roger McGough’s “Nooligan” and Gareth Owen’s “Street Boy” are numerous. One of those differences being the structure of the poems. For example, “Nooligan” has 5 lines in a verse while “Street Boy” only has 4. In addition to that, the maximum number of words in one line in “Street Boy” is 6 words while on the other hand in “Nooligan” the maximum number of words in one line is 4 words.
Roger McGough has done this to make his poem short and to the point, while Gareth Owen has used a maximum of 6 words to give the poem a more powerful outlook and show the “Street Boy” as smart and intelligent.
One other difference between the poems that is worth mentioning is the use of tone and vocabulary. In “Nooligan” the tone of the words and poem sounds childish and foolish, the vocabulary used isn’t very extensive. This makes us laugh at the “Nooligan” instead of be scared of him.
Don’t give a toss
…I’m the boss
Those two lines aren’t quite aggressive and violent as the “Nooligan" is supposed to be. On the contrary, the tone in “Street Boy” is aggressive and strong. Gareth Owen uses a stronger and more sophisticated vocabulary which makes us think that the boy actually is what he’s saying he is. The words “stompin’”, “silence”, “spaced”, “stoned” all show that.
In conclusion, the two poems are very interesting and engaging in terms of the use of words, tone, structure etc. The poets Roger McGough (“Nooligan”) and Gareth Owen (“Street Boy”) use specific techniques to give the poems a certain effect. There are differences and similarities between the two obviously. The main similarity is the poets’ use of slang and an incorrect form of English and the main difference is the language and vocabulary between the two poems. Something worth mentioning is that the poets have made the poems relate to all teenagers in general since the name of the “Nooligan” and the “Street Boy” aren’t given. So overall, there are a lot of similarities and differences between the two, but both are to the point and give you a general idea of what the poem is about.