In the third verse Raine starts focusing on the different breeds of dog, and certain characteristics that make them different to one another. He mentions a whippet and how it “jack-knifes across the grass”, implying that the whippet is sharp and quick. He also notices an afghan hound with its fringe of straight hair on either side of its head like the traditional folds of an “opera house curtain”; he also mentions how the afghan looks a bit like Wild Bill Hicock – which implies that dogs can sometimes have human characteristics, the ‘human’ theme is carried on in the last verse, when Raine is mentioning certain things that dogs do.
In the next verse Raine talks about the Labrador and how it, “cranks a village pump”, this is a description of how it wags its tail so vigorously and enthusiastically. Then he goes to the opposite type of dog, the boxer who, “shimmies her rump, docked to a door knocker”, this describes how a boxer has to wag its whole posterior because its tail has been cut off. When describing the Alsatian Raine says, “the Alsatian rattles its sabre”, this gives the impression of a violent and dangerous dog, not a family dog like a Labrador, which he mentioned earlier. He then mentions another fighting breed, “only the ones with crew-cuts fight” (pitbull terriers).
In verse nine Raine mentions how dogs act and how their normal actions, like going to the toilet, can be described like things that humans do “they scratch their itches like one-legged cyclists sprinting for home”, this is using imagery of a one-legged cyclist to describe how dogs scratch their itches using their back leg. Raine also mentions how dogs, “pee like hurdlers”, “shit like weightlifters” and “relax by giving each other piggy backs”. These descriptions are very true and are also very amusing, like the black portrayal of a one-legged cyclist, which is amusing but it is also weird
and a disgusting thought. It is also funny when Raine mentions how dogs, “shit like weightlifters” as they crouch down on the grass with a look of strain in their face. The last phrase about dogs “giving each other piggy backs”, conveys the way a child might view two dogs ‘mating’ or the way a parent might explain what the dogs were doing to an inquisitive child.
The other poem we looked at by Craig Raine was “Flying to Belfast”. This poem is written in the same way as “The Behaviour of Dogs” as it is made up of the same short two lined verses and again he uses lots of imagery to give us a better idea of how things looked through his eyes. The poem is about Craig Raine coming over to Belfast for a wedding in 1977. It shows how fearful and nervous Raine was flying into Belfast during the troubles and not knowing what to expect. The first verse of the poem is describing the plane taking off for Belfast, “It was possible to laugh as the engines whistled to the boil.” This is describing how Raine notices the engines of the plane being just like a kettle coming to the boil, this links into a chain of imagery that he uses, which focuses on ordinary household items to describe his journey to Northern Ireland. Raine then describes the clouds looking, “like shovelled snow, Apple Charlotte”, here he uses metaphors and refers to the clouds as yet another thing associated with home and the kitchen.
In verse three Raine goes on to describe the Irish sea and the view from the plane window, “I enjoyed the Irish sea, the ships were faults in a dark expanse of linen”, he is thinking of lots of nice homely thoughts on his way to the wedding, but then the images turn more sinister as Belfast approaches, “And Belfast below, a radio with its back ripped off”, this is an image of violence and fear with the thought of a smashed up radio with all its wires and circuitry on view, this also reminds us of bombs which are also made up of a pile of bare wires and detailed circuitry. Raine then switches back to a nice, comforting images of the fields, “Intricate, neat and orderly”. For the rest of the poem Craig Raine continues to switch from nice normal thoughts like, “white tea things grouped on a dresser” and “wedding presents”, to thoughts of fear and violence again, “the windows gleamed like drops of solder”, he says, “everything was wired up”, implying that the people of Northern Ireland were metaphorically ‘wired up’ because of The Troubles and the recent violence.
In verses nine to the end the plane has entered a cloud and Raine could no longer see Belfast below, “as we entered a cloud and were nowhere”. He is no longer scared because he can’t see anything but he is trapped and doesn’t know what to expect when the plane lands. He again starts thinking happy thoughts, “a bride in a veil, laughing at the sense of event”, (he’s thinking about the wedding again). The poem ends on an uncertain note: “only half afraid of an empty house, with its curtains boiling from the bedroom window”, Raine doesn’t know whether to be scared or not and doesn’t know what to expect of Northern Ireland.
The poem begins with happy images of weddings and homely things and ends with a thought of destruction, violence, sadness and a ruined home. The poem emphasises the different feelings people have about Northern Ireland when they don’t really know what it is actually like here. The poem is made up of twelve short verses, some with only three words, this adds to the tension and the different sparse emotions of the poem as well as making it easier and more inviting to read.
