"Betjeman has... very brilliantly made us think about being alive, being dead... while infact talking about a tea tray." What is your response to this view? In your answer you should examine in detail 'Death in Leamington' and one other appropriate poem.

Stacey Carlyle "Betjeman has... very brilliantly made us think about being alive, being dead... while infact talking about a tea tray." What is your response to this view? In your answer you should examine in detail 'Death in Leamington' and one other appropriate poem. Through Betjeman's use of language, form and structure he allows us to see death as an everyday occurrence and not as something that we should all fear. Betjeman cleverly uses everyday objects to symbolise the meaning of death and shows that it is something we will all experience. Death in Leamington is a moving poem about the death of an old and lonely woman. The poem has a regular rhyme scheme, which may symbolise that life and death are regular everyday events. Each stanza throughout the poem has a rhyme scheme of ABCB. Verse one allows us to understand that the woman experienced a peaceful and quiet death, 'by the light of the ev'ning star'. Betjeman uses the word star to symbolise that the death of the woman was natural and that she was in no pain. The verse runs on throughout until it comes to the end of the stanza. Betjeman did this as it was the beginning of the poem and wanted us to realise and feel what and whom the poem is all about Secondly we are illustrated with use of personification, as her 'lonely crochet' will not be able to grow anymore. The crochet beside her bed also shows us that

  • Word count: 1565
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Essay on "My Grandmother" By Elizabeth Jennings

Essay on "My Grandmother" By Elizabeth Jennings The relationship that the writer describes that she has with her grandmother is that they didn't seem to be very close. They never spent any time together. The writer says that she was "afraid" of her grandmother. This may have been because she was scared to get too close to her in case she lost her, as she was so old. The writer also says that all she felt was guilt when her grandmother died because she never went out with her. There was probably a lot of tension between the two when the grandmother was alive because the writer was scared to be with her. I think that that the poem is separated into 4 stanzas because each stanza seems to describe a different part of the grandmother's life. In the first stanza, the writer explains what her grandmother used to do; the second stanza goes on to say how she thought that her grandmother felt hurt that she did not want to go out with her. The third stanza talks about her getting too old to look after the antique shop and probably being on her last legs. The final stanza talks about when she died, and what was left of her antiques and the memories that were left of her in the room where all her things were. In the first stanza there are many ways in which the writer has created the atmosphere of an antique shop. "Apostle spoons" and "Bristol glass" are the most obvious in the first

  • Word count: 668
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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With close reference to two poems you've studied, show how specific places provide Betjeman with poetical inspiration.

With close reference to two poems you've studied, show how specific places provide Betjeman with poetical inspiration. Betjeman writes about a variety of places for example rural, urban, seaside etcetera. The two poems I have chosen are Slough and Middlesex. In contrast to Slough, Middlesex is more of a gentler poem, which evokes Betjeman's memories of how rural Middlesex used to be. Betjeman has no memories of Slough but knows he detests it. In Slough Betjeman describe show fake the city is. In Middlesex he tries recollect his memories of the village. Slough seems to keep its rhythm throughout the poem where as in Middlesex the rhythm is fast but then slows down half way through. One can clearly see that Betjeman does not like Slough as he says in the first line, 'Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough It isn't fit for humans now,' 'Friendly bombs' is definitely a contrast because bombs cannot be friendly. In this case the bombs are friendly because according to Betjeman Slough deserves to be bombed because it is so awful. The verse has a jaunty rhythm. Slough is not worth saving. One can clearly see his hatred for Slough in the first verse. He wants the bombs to blow up Slough so there is nothing left mostly because of all the canteens, which serve tinned foods. In the next verse, Betjeman is saying that we are becoming artificial because we are eating

  • Word count: 1066
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Critical Appreciation Of Diary of a Church Mouse.

Critical Appreciation Of Diary of Church Mouse The diary of a Church mouse is the personal life and experience of a mouse that lives in an isolated church. The poet Sir John Betjeman, a modern poet talks about the social problems that occur in the various communities. He uses the mouse symbolically, to talk about the dilemma of everyday societies. The title is simple and precise. Although it isn't very short it gives the reader a general impression and a clear indication that the poem is about the Diary of a church mouse. Diaries generally contain the innermost feelings of the writer. The poem is satirical and even didactical towards the end. It mocks different kinds of personalities that we may come across, and has religious nuance, and teaches us how we must pray and worship God everyday. The main theme of the poem is 'Hypocrisy' The poet uses different examples to narrate to us about the double standards and pretence of society. He creates a catalogue that criticizes the charade and two-facedness of people. The poem chases the progression of writer's thoughts on the theme and tells us how selfish and greedy people really are. The mouse is symbolic in the sense, it helps the poet convey the writer's ideas to the readers. The poem depicts a church mouse, and how he is disheartened at the sight of a hoard of rodents and mice that have come to share the feast, in times of

  • Word count: 811
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Giant Maggot

The Giant Maggot I am writing this from a ten by five foot room. From a small cell which ahs seven corroded bars on the window, the stench of unwashed clothes and oxidized metal formed from my own urine. A stiff and rough wooden bed. I feel my legs and arms and caress the swelled protuberances of my distorted and deformed body for my inevitable and failed attempt to escape. I stroke my back; one of the swellings is so bad it splits in the middle, all the blood clots overflowing after they've ruptured my skin. The fatal blow that ended my attempt of freedom. The food is dreadful. Thin soup where you can pick out the hairs of the cooks with both of your pupils shut. Bread which is either gone off or it's as stale and solid as a marble slate. A small bit of meat which luckily gets cooked a few times, as nearly every prisoner in the facilities has caught the salmonella bug; and finally a glass of tap water. There is no one to talk to. I am on my own. Secluded. Isolated. Inaccessible. Cut off from humans. There is nothing that will confront my brain, something that will stimulate it. Some days I end up counting and taking notice of stuff, like how many times the guards have their brakes, what times they have them in, who patrols where and on what day. I even know their personal problems their family and even their childhood. I just listen. Time passes slowly. It seems an

  • Word count: 2134
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Recently our class read the short story Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

Debbie Ramsay G3 May, 2002 Flowers for Algernon Folio Essay Recently our class read the short story Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon is about a man called Charlie, he is 37 and lives in New York, America. He attends adult night school because he isn't very bright but wants to become clever. His teacher Miss Kinnian puts Charlie's name forward for an experimental operation that should make him very clever. He was given a number of tasks to complete to check that he was suitable, including racing around a maze with a white mouse called Algernon that had already had the operation, Charlie was getting very annoyed as the mouse beat him every time. When Charlie had been accepted as the person to become "the human guinea pig" he was asked to start writing a progress report just like a diary. As the days and weeks went on after Charlie had had his operation you began to notice Charlie's vast improvement, his punctuation, spelling and overall awareness was very noticeable to the readers. But Algernon's health began to decline rapidly and soon he died. This almost certainly meant that the same outcome would happen to Charlie who was losing his intelligence and memory very quickly. The story ends without us actually knowing what happened to Charlie but my conclusion would be that he died.

  • Word count: 860
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Betjemans poetry reveals an unfilled longing for youth. Do you agree?

'Betjeman's poetry reveals an unfilled longing for youth.' Do you agree? You should base your answer on a detailed examination of two of the following: 'Senex'; 'Indoor Games near Newbury'; and an appropriate poem of your choice. Perhaps it is true to say that the poem Indoor Games near Newbury depicts the painting of an unfilled longing for youth. The poem does indeed reveal almost a nostalgic longing for a time of young age - of blissful youth - where love is a wonderful innocence that is free from the cluttering troubles that adulthood brings. This longing for youth may, in fact, be nothing more than unfilled, for it is here that the poet exudes a certain degree of wishful thinking; of a desire to relive the wonderful simplicity of what he has had. The poem is itself littered with light sexual innuendos: 'that dark and furry cupboard'; 'hard against your party frock'; and 'the sheet's caressing' all radiate a 'deep' eroticism, with emphasis being provided to childlike delight in lexis suggested ever so subtly. Stanza four of Indoor Games near Newbury introduces a slight change in tone. 'Love so pure it had to end' connotes an idea of great significance - of being frightened by a burgeoning awareness of the child's own sexuality. Here, Betjeman introduces a rather audacious rhyme scheme: "Love so strong that I was frighten'd/ When you gripped my fingers tight and". The

  • Word count: 644
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In Betjemans poems, the vivid depiction of particular places is always linked to the strong feelings they provoke. Do you agree?

'In Betjeman's poems, the vivid depiction of particular places is always linked to the strong feelings they provoke.' Do you agree? You should base your answer on a detailed examination of 2/3 appropriate poems of your choice. The poem, Harrow on the Hill, is littered with imagery. The fact that 'electric trains are lighted' echoes the idea of nature being interfered with by man; a vivid painting by Betjeman of a sense of realistic artificiality. Indeed, the adjective 'electric' has connotations of something alive and fiery, with perhaps the irony being here that this 'electric train' is simply a pretence of life. Conversely, the verb 'lighted' has implications that there is a certain warmth - there is even a sense of hope - that this train brings. This hope, however, may in fact be false, as is the 'electric train' in being a representation of life. Harrow on the Hill was initially called A Child's Lament, with it being a portrayal 'of a child coming back from a seaside holiday in Cornwall.' The poem represents the stark contrast that exists between his holiday destination and his home town, there being strong feelings that this would have provoked. Betjeman's technical skill with poetic structure, more specifically in stanza two, evokes this idea of apparent juxtaposition to a greater extent. Here, the first line is a description of Cornwall, but the second is a

  • Word count: 589
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Could The Suicide be The Executive after a life of failure?

Could The Suicide be The Executive after a life of failure? Although The Suicide might not be The Executive after a life of failure, there is strong evidence that he is. The Suicide might not be the Executive for an obvious reason and that is that the poets are different. Louis McNeice might not have read John Betjeman's poem 'The Executive' and this could just be a coincidence but I strongly believe the poets are talking about the same person. There is good evidence that 'The Suicide' is 'The Executive'. One good point is that they are both set in the late 60's. 'The Executive' is because it says 'I do some mild developing. The sort of place I need is a quiet country market town ', he is saying he needs a small town so it is easier to get away with. 'That's rather run to seed', this is a metaphor that the town has got past it's prime and not spending money anymore like the flower - all its efforts go into making seeds then after that it has gone past its prime and its pretty much useless. This is the 60's because there was not a licence of housing until after this period of time. No one could just knock down buildings then. Another aspect of the poem, which makes you consider it is in the 60's, is that Betjeman has written in his poem 'I have a Slimline briefcase', which were only used around that time because they are like the equivalent of modern palmtops. Therefore, if

  • Word count: 1350
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Poems by John Betjeman

Jamie Lau 13 December 2004 Poems by John Betjeman John Betjeman writes interesting and contrasting poems, most of which are very personal and a recollection of his past. He is a vivid poet and never fails to set his scenes well. He always includes as much detail as possible and his poems are oozing with creative writing. 'Indoor games Near Newbury' is about a boy, maybe himself, going to a party and meeting a young beautiful girl. Betjeman conveys a rich surrounding and on entering the house, it has many wealthy attributes, 'Winding ways of tarmac, gabled lodges and tile-hung churches'. Also, there are motorcars, 'Hupmobile, Delage', but on top of this, posh places for them as well, 'private gravel, warm garage'. The atmosphere is cheerful and a time for 'Christmas cake' and the children are playing 'hide and seek'. When he meets Wendy, it's love at first sight and when Betjeman says 'you led me off', it gives you a feeling as though Wendy is an angel lifting him off his feet. Another example is when he describes him sleeping as Wendy 'holds him as he drifts to dreamland' like a Christmas angel guiding him through troubled times. Once he meets Wendy, everything seems to turn into fantasy, 'Fairies, pinewood elf and larch tree gnome', which shows his childlike mind. However, the whole poem changes its feel after you read the last phrase, 'slumber-wear'. This gives

  • Word count: 1188
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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