Diary of a Church Mouse
Diary of a Church Mouse John Betjeman, a poet who became famous during the 1970's wrote many poems, which the main theme was considered to be hypocrisy and egotism in society. The poem 'Diary of a Church Mouse' is split up into 3 stanzas. In 'Diary of a Church Mouse' Betjeman highlights the hypocrisy of certain types of people and their desire to be seen as high class and virtuous while really, are selfish and inconsiderate. Although it is a mouse speaking, it is almost personified and this poem takes form of a narrative through the eyes of a mouse living in the church. In this poem we see views of the church and of different people. We can see from the beginning of stanza two the mouse shares its 'dark forgotten room.' The word forgotten prompts us about the church and its presence in society. It is also forgotten by most and only when it suits people, that religion shows importance and they come to feast on what the church has to offer, which is usually after the harvest. The mouse in the poem represents the type of people Betjeman was critical of. The mouse itself is not concerned with the religious aspects of the church but more with its status within the church. The mouse is hypocritical of the people who come to the church, as they come not for worship, but to satisfy themselves. We can see that the people that come to the church are only there as some sort of
How does Betjeman convey his attitude towards Slough?
Laura Bayon 12/1 How does Betjeman convey his attitude towards Slough? In his poem 'Slough' Betjeman uses a number of ways to put across his views. The title itself suggests he feels that 'Slough' is an appropriate title, that a poem on the place deserves no better or imaginative title than just its name because the place is dull and unimaginative also, or that 'Slough' says it all already. The first line of the first stanza means you immediately know what he thinks, his opinion being straight to the point, asking 'Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough' which is a good use of juxtaposition as bombs are never seen as friendly, but in this case they would be if they bombed Slough as they would be doing him a favour. Asking for bombs to fall on Slough is an outrageous, extreme demand which he repeats in the second stanza and in the final stanza to reinforce his plea, and he also uses other extreme terms such as the people have Slough having 'tasted Hell' which shows clear dislike. He is very flippant about asking the bombs to blow Slough 'to smithereens' as if he wants no part of it left and it's a reasonable demand. Betjeman's phrases such as 'It's not their fault that they are mad', 'they do not know' and 'they often go' makes it sound like he feels the people of Slough are alienated and are very different to himself, as if they were another species altogether,
We have been giving to 20th century poems to examine. They are "Evans" by R.S Thomas and "Death in Leamington" by Sir John Betjeman. Both poems are about death, but in two very different situations. I will examine the poem Evans first of all.
20th century poetry We have been giving to 20th century poems to examine. They are "Evans" by R.S Thomas and "Death in Leamington" by Sir John Betjeman. Both poems are about death, but in two very different situations. I will examine the poem Evans first of all. Evans was written by a man called R.S Thomas. He lived from 1913-2000. he was born in Cardiff. He became a clergyman and taught himself welsh so he could work with the people in the hills, because not many of them spoke English at this time. Evans is a 20th Century poem. The poem begins as if the writer is talking to somebody else. It looks like the other person has asked him something like, "Do you remember a man Evans?" and the writer replies, "yes, many a time." The first verse of the poem describes Evans' house. It talks about the "bare" stairs and the "gaunt" kitchen. We can depict from the first verse that Evans was a poor man, his house is not at all well furbished, and he doesn't have much to his name. Everything that Evans owns has a dull, dreary adjective attached to it, like stark farm and black kettle. His kitchen must be filthy because crickets can be heard. The last line of this verse tells us that he lives on a lone farm upon a hill. From this verse we have found out that this man is poor, lonely and doesn't really care much about what his house looks like. The 2nd verse tells us that something
Compare Perch, The Field-Mouse, The Eagle, and A Difficult Birth.
Compare Perch, The field-mouse, the eagle and a difficult birth. Although the poems have many similar ideas and styles they all have completely different types of creatures and meanings conveyed. In "Perch" the main idea of the poem is to accentuate how a perch lives up to its name. Heaney does this by using his childhood memories of the perch. In "The field-mouse" Clarke writes about cutting hay while thinking of events elsewhere in Europe. The poet uses a short narrative about a mouse, injured by the machine which she is unable to safe. In the poem the mouse is a symbol of the vulnerable and fragile children and animals during a war that could happen between her and her neighbouring country. Clarke describes vividly the causes and the tragic scene of war. In the "Eagle" Tennyson tells us a series of things about what the eagle does. We see him clinging to the mountain crag, high up near the sun and surrounded by the blue sky. He looks down on the sea, moving slowly below him, still watches, then - which is the point of the poem - falls like lightning on his unspecified prey. "A difficult Birth" shows Clarke's two greatest concerns - a love of the natural world around her and the political processes that bring war and peace to the world. "Perch" has a simple form - five couples with half rhyme similar to "the eagle" when only two lines rhyme. The metre is mostly
In what respects do Pilenz and Mahlke have a 'cat and mouse' relationship? How reliable is Pilenz's account if this relationship?
Andrew Gaudio English A1 SL November 17, 2003 Mr. Bamforth In what respects do Pilenz and Mahlke have a 'cat and mouse' relationship? How reliable is Pilenz's account if this relationship? In the novel Cat and Mouse written by Günter Grass, two characters named Pilenz and Mahlke appear to have a cat and mouse relationship. Pilenz is the narrator who spends much of his time following Mahlke. Therefore Mahlke is the mouse and Pilenz is the cat. However, there are times when Malhke is the cat and Pilenz is the mouse. Pilenz's account of a cat and mouse relationship is not extremely reliable. The novel begins with Mahlke, a 14-year-old schoolboy not knowing how to swim. There was a sunken barge from World War Two. Mahlke's classmates would frequently pay visits to the sunken barge. Because Mahlke had not learned to swim, he could not accompany his friends to the barge as they swam out to it. Mahlke engaged in swimming lessons and soon succeeded his friends' ability to swim. Until this time, Mahlke had admired his friends because they swam out to the barge and he was never able to follow. In this early stage of the novel, Pilenz is the mouse and Mahlke is the cat. This changes however, very soon as
'The field-mouse' and 'October' is written by the same writer, Gillian Clarke also that they both have three stanzas. The theme of 'the field-mouse' is about a mouse which symbolises
HOMEWORK Task: - Compare at least two of the poems on the sheet: - Consider: - • Themes • Relationships • Images (Metaphors) • Other poetic devices (Rhyme, Onomatopoeia etc) • Narrators • Anything else you can think off From the sheet I had four poems that I could choose from 'Mid-term break', 'The field-mouse', 'A difficult birth, Easter 1998' and 'October'. From these four poems I had decided to compare, 'The field-mouse' and 'October'. The first two things that are noticeable is a similarity between these two poems. 'The field-mouse' and 'October' is written by the same writer, Gillian Clarke also that they both have three stanzas. The theme of 'the field-mouse' is about a mouse which symbolises a child in a war, "the child comes running through the killed flowers, his hands a nest of quivering mouse". Whereas the theme of 'October' is about the month of October and how it represents death because in the month of October the days are very gloomy with mostly rain and never sunshine, "Wind in the poplars and a broken branch, a dead arm in the bright trees". The relationship in 'the field-mouse' is that the child (mouse) represents a close member of the reader's family and the emotions that the narrator talks about have a direct and similar effect on the reader because the reader imagines that the child is a close member of his family. On the other hand
Walter Elias Disney - Why should the great man Walter Elias Disney be worthy of being awarded a statue in Trafalgar Square?
Caleigh Graham GCSE English Coursework Walter Elias Disney Why should the great man Walter Elias Disney be worthy of being awarded a statue in Trafalgar Square? I say, "Of course!" This to me is a quick and simple answer. However, as shocking as it may seem, others may need to be persuaded to agree. Walt Disney is known worldwide. He possessed one of the most fertile imaginations the world has ever known, and still, after his death, his legend continues on forever. It continues to grow and bring happiness to people of all ages everywhere in many ways. His greatness has been noted many times as during his lifetime Walt Disney, along with member of his staff, received more than nine hundred and fifty honours and citations from every nation in the world, including forty-eight Academy Awards and seven Emmys. His personal awards included honorary degrees from outstanding Universities such as Harvard, Yale and more. More personal awards for this legendary man included the Presidential Medal of Freedom, France's Legion of Honor and Officer d'Academie decorations, Thailand's Order of the Crown; Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross, Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle, and the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners. He created the most famous cartoon character of all time, Mickey Mouse. Give almost any child a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy and you
The three little mice
The Three Little Mice Once upon a time there were three little mice who lived on a farm with their mother and father. They decided that, although they were just little mice, they were quite grown up enough to make their way in the big wide world, so one day they set off together to make their fortunes. After they had walked for quite some time, one of the little mice started to feel rather tired. Just then he saw a bale of hay, "Look there" the first little mouse yelled "you stronger brothers go on without me," he said "this hay is light enough and soft enough for my house." And with that his brothers left the little mouse with his bale of hay, and carried on their journey. A little further down the road, the second little mouse grew very tired. Just then he saw an empty bird's nest sat in a big, tall tree. "Look there" the second little mouse yelled "This empty birds nest isn't to high or to small for my house it's just right" he said. So with that the third little mouse carried on his journey. Soon, even the third little mouse became tired, and up ahead he spotted a wall made out of stone. "Aha," he thought, "that's exactly what I need to build my house, as it's strong and tough, just like me." And so he started to dig into the wall to make his house. That evening just as the first mouse was settling comfortably in his bed of hay, he heard a rustling outside the
"Childhood in all aspects is extremely important to Betjeman." Choose Three Poems That Show How He Represents Childhood And Whether You Find This Statement To Be True.
"Childhood in all aspects is extremely important to Betjeman." Choose Three Poems That Show How He Represents Childhood And Whether You Find This Statement To Be True. "Myfanwy", "False Security" and "Original Sin on the Sussex Coast" are all connected by the theme of childhood. They all bring up themes that were of major concern to Betjeman and some even influenced his life. In "Myfanwy" Betjeman brings up the issue of love in children. The poem is about a child's love for their nanny and how he remembers small intermit things like "Soap-scented fingers I long to caress." It is a loving poem and shows nothing negative about his nanny only deep affection towards her. "Golden the light on the locks of Myfanwy." This quotation creates an aura around this woman and shows the love and respect given by Betjeman as a child towards her. He is proud to call her his friend and feels a sense of security from her. "You will protect me, my silken Myfanwy, Ringleader, tom-boy, and chum to the weak." I think this poem does prove the statement to be true as "Myfanwy" obviously meant a lot to him. However this poem is in direct contrast with " Original Sin on the Sussex Coast." This poem is about bullying and fighting. There is clear child innocence in this poem, "Across the Garden of Remembrance? No, that would be blasphemy and bring bad luck." The fact that the child believes in bad luck
Betjeman constructs a world by carefully chosen detail. Do you agree with this assessment in the light of your reading of Death in Leamington and Devonshire Street, W.1.?
"Betjeman constructs a world by carefully chosen detail." Do you agree with this assessment in the light of your reading of "Death in Leamington" and "Devonshire Street, W.1."? Betjeman's lexis in the poem "Death in Leamington" exemplifies only dark and decaying imagery, expressing death itself through powerful metaphors and thus exhibiting a sombre mood which is significant in its reflection of the death of the woman. Indeed, through his diction, Betjeman is able to conjure a world himself, which is put across quite carefully to the reader in its specific detail. The poem "Devonshire Street, W.1." is equally a construction of a world by carefully chosen detail. It is itself ridden with symbolism and literary contrast - what with the building being personified as "lofty", thus an impersonal mood is brought about, which is symbolic of the age itself - and portrays a world of apparent negativity. The death of the woman in "Death in Leamington" is ironic in its presence to the Nurse. As she comes to wake the woman up, she realises that she is in fact dead: a crude and "lonely" happening, which provides greater emphasis to the "ev'ning" that the poem takes place in. Indeed, the statement "the light of the ev'ning star" is an antithesis in itself, with the very dichotomy between "light" and dark being portrayed here, thus adding to the sense of confusion that exists in