What does Fanthorpe have to say about power and control in 'you will be hearing from us shortly,' and 'dictator'?

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                Hannah Tankard

What does Fanthorpe have to say about power and control in ‘you will be hearing from us shortly,’ and ‘dictator’?

Both poems have a sense of someone being controlled by someone who is higher then they are. What I think Fanthorpe is trying to make a point about is that we as humans are shallow, we judge before we actually get to know people properly. We will not change our minds about someone quickly as we base people on our first judgement of them, which is usually wrong.

In ‘you will be hearing from us shortly’ the person is so unimportant to the interviewer that no matter what their answer to a question is, it is always wrong. We as the reader knows that the answer will be wrong so we do not need to see the interviewee’s answer. Fanthorpe has purposely left a big gap between the interviewer’s questions and comments to have an effect on the reader, making it obvious to the reader that the interviewee is not important. The interviewee has no voice and so seems intimidated and insignificant for what he/she is, you can tell the interviewer is superior and in control by his use of sarcasm and rhetorical questions.

In verse one the use of the word ‘adequate’ and ‘position’ make up the rhetorical question. By the interviewer simply using the word adequate you have the sense that he already does not think that the person is up to the position in hand. The next question uses ‘qualities’ the interviewee already in the interviewer’s eyes has no qualities. Just from the first verse the person is seen as a failure and useless at everything the person does. The response that the interviewee gave must have been wrong or simply just plain because the only response the interviewer gave was ‘ah.’

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In the second verse the interviewer says, ‘let us consider your application form,’ he is using a condescending tone, it is almost as if he is a teacher. He uses positive sarcasm when talking about the interviewee’s qualifications, ‘though impressive.’ The person is never going to live up to the high expectations. He talks to the interviewee as if they are in trial in court, ‘defend their relevance.’ The simple use of ‘indeed’ shows a disappointed or bad answer to the question.

The interviewer, I believe wrongly uses his authority. He makes the person answer the questions wrongly. ...

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