Another technique used in ‘Breaking the Chain’ is the repetition of dad to stress their unity and relational bond shown in “My dad bought it, from the last dad who still owed the dad before”. It could also display the expectations which fathers at the time shared of their sons having ‘the same place of work, but not blue-collar white”, something from which Harrison dispersed. It is ‘books, books, books’ repeated in ‘Book Ends’ articulating the separation language caused and also, perhaps, how tiresome it was to Harrison that the only thing separating them was language. By applying the same technique to display two conflicting ideas Harrison suggests that their bond and separation are intertwined; the love will always be underlying the disturbance created by education.
A pun used in ‘Breaking the Chain’ in the line “never passed on never used dividers”. Here the dividers could simply be speaking of the tools from his dad. They could also symbolise the division made between them as a result of Harrison’s differentiating culture and view on life; his interest in literature rather than sport. In ‘Confessional Poetry’ the paronomasia lies in “there were words between us” where the words could be interpreted as the words said amidst conflict. On the other hand those words could be the many thousands written in Harrison’s poetry which pushed his father further away in their inaccessibility. Harrison also makes use of puns with his imagery in ‘Breaking the Chain’ such as in the line- “polished box wrapped in the Sporting Pink”. The Sporting Pink could signify the working class life which Harrison has turned his back on by moving up more than “a rung or two”. The tools of his dad’s trade are encased in the words of Harrison’s however, unlike Harrison’s words, those enveloping the box are ones which his father might relate to. The imagery could be the literal gift of the tools and newspaper or the metaphorical suffocation of his father’s legacy by the new language. The fact that this memory is written about fondly suggests that Harrison wishes to sustain this legacy and he does this by dedicating so much of his poetry to him. This technique is used in ‘Blocks’ also, “blocks with letters, Lettered block of stone./ I had to move the blocks to say farewell”. The alphabet cubes which he played with so innocently as a child become the block of stone which, although literally is the gravestone, metaphorically is his education and poetry blocking him from his mother. In both ‘Breaking the Chain’ and ‘Blocks’ the weaving of two images creates a complex analysis of his relationship with each parent.
Another aspect of unifying two images by Harrison is his working class Leeds’ voice with his upper class one. In ‘Breaking the Chain’ his dialect is portrayed in “The mams pig-sick of oilstains” whilst simultaneously displaying his new upper class voice in “I was brought down out of bed to have bestowed”. The battle of his two voices implies an inner conflict to find his identity. The conflict comes to a head in the line “The gap his gift acknowledged then ‘s as wide as/eternity” where both accents are joined giving the effect that Harrison is both his father’s son and a poet who is ‘breaking the chain’. He desires his father’s pride and it “still breaks (his) heart” that instead he has his disappointment. This effect of contrasting two identities to emphasise the divide of his class is used in the poem ‘Turns’ as well “as if a bit of chequered cloth could bridge that gap”. Here the gap, as in ‘Breaking the Chain’ stands between him and working class. He attempts to close it by wearing his father’s hat. The imagery of the chequered cloth illustrates Harrison’s relationship with his father as the squares are akin yet varying in small details. The fact that Harrison ‘still can’t bear to part’ with the tools shows that he dislikes the gap between them and wants it removed.
Perhaps less obvious is Harrison’s enjoyment of the sonnet form which is found in ‘Breaking the Chain’, ‘Marked with D’, and ‘Book Ends I & II’. The use of such a traditional style might delineate his continuing love and respect for his family. Whilst the content, which appears to conflict with the form, could depict how Harrison’s education and poems conflict with his family’s traditional life. In Breaking the Chain unlike in ‘Book ends’ Harrison maintains an alternate rhyming scheme throughout and does not break away into another pattern at the end as he does in ‘I've got to find the right words on my own/I've got the envelope that he'd been scrawling/mis-spelt, mawkish, stylistically appalling/but I can't squeeze more love into their stone.’ where the rhyming pattern adapts. His continuance of the alternate rhyme until the end suggests a desire to return to the traditional and not to break away or cause any further ‘disruption’
Ultimately, Harrison’s education and love of literature combined to cause ‘destruction’ in what was once a ‘loving, rooted’ family. ‘Breaking the Chain’ is much softer than other Harrison’ poems using alliteration of w in “whole week’s wage”. In contrast ‘Bringing up’ is brimming with plosives and harsh sounds suggesting anger and irritation. ‘Breaking the Chain’ however, offers Harrison’s remorse that he has not made his parents proud and he ‘still can’t bear to part’ with the idea that he might yet be able to make a ‘whole’ once again. Harrison’s frequent use of complex imagery and puns depicts a multi-layered relationship where emotions are jumbled under the strain of balancing poetry and love of family.
