Compare "Jones the Grocer" by Herbert Williams and "Not To Be Used For Babies" by Harry Webb.
Adam Hampson 11S
"Jones the Grocer" by Herbert Williams and "Not To Be Used For Babies" by Harry Webb
The two poems, "Jones the Grocer" by Herbert Williams and "Not To Be Used For Babies" by Harry Webb, are both poems by Welsh writers and are both about Welsh tradesmen. They are both poems that are written in first person narrative. They describe two contrasting local tradesmen from the viewpoint of the narrator, and both poems share a sense of nostalgia for the way of life that has past, showing preference to old ways rather than the new. This essay will explore these poems in detail and identify similarities and differences between the two pieces of writing.
"Jones the Grocer" begins with a sense of distaste, and moves to a celebration of the mystery of the shop before moving on the despair felt about modern life.
During the first stanza of "Jones the Grocer" we learn about Jones' character.
"His hands white and soft as lard he stacked"
A simile is used in this line to describe a negative point about Jones. We are told how lard is a suitable match to the texture of his hands. The "s" in the words "soft" and "stacked" are sneered to show a sense of distaste. This shows a sense of hate towards Jones.
This line can also be seen to show that Jones is weak and dull in the words "white and soft as the lard he stacked". This immediately tells us about Jones' character.
"In small meticulous rows, his head
Polished and somehow apologetic, as if
He was crowned forever with dishonour."
These words give us the impression that Jones is not respected as that he has a weak character. An oxymoron is used in the last line - "crowned forever with dishonour". When somebody is crowned it means they are honoured. But in this case Jones is forever dishonoured.
The second stanza tells us of Jones character.
"I hated him, he was too obsequious by far,
Embellishing transactions with fulsome flattery
Of your habits, your appearance, your miserable opinions."
In these lines the narrator repeatedly uses the word "your" to emphasise how much he hates Jones.
"He seemed to exist in a fog
Of self-effacement, through which one caught
The rarest glimpse of human dignity."
Imagery is used by Williams in these lines as he explains how Jones seems to only exist in the background. He is described as an eerie character that goes too far in complimenting his customers. He tries to make them like him so that they come back to the shop.
The third stanza has a more positive attitude when describing the shop.
"Yet one could suffer the air of washing their hands
For the joy of that shop, it's curiosities,"
We are then shown a sharp change in feeling within the poem. The word "yet" acts in the same way as the word "but". The word "joy" shows us the complete opposite of hate.
"Like the corner where is was always dusk
And equatorial, aromatic with coffee beans,
And calendars derisive of popularity,
And the adverts twenty years out ...
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The third stanza has a more positive attitude when describing the shop.
"Yet one could suffer the air of washing their hands
For the joy of that shop, it's curiosities,"
We are then shown a sharp change in feeling within the poem. The word "yet" acts in the same way as the word "but". The word "joy" shows us the complete opposite of hate.
"Like the corner where is was always dusk
And equatorial, aromatic with coffee beans,
And calendars derisive of popularity,
And the adverts twenty years out of date."
In these lines the narrator shows how much he loves the shop. This describes it as an Aladdin's Cave. The narrator seems to enjoy the age and the aroma of the shop. It comforts him. He likes the way that it is unlike other shops, like a one off. This feeling contrasts with the feeling within the first stanza.
In the fourth stanza we are told the way which Jones was driven out of business by modern ways.
"One could suffer, and gladly suffer again
To be delivered of this, it's successor
A supermarket, slick and souless,
Arrogantly accepting the shoppers' homage."
Here alliteration is used. The words "successor", "supermarket", "slick" and "souless" emphasise how much the narrator hates the new supermarket, like in the first stanza where the narrator emphasises how much he hates Jones. He describes how he wants to be taken away from the supermarket. He describes how the supermarkets show their customers no respect. This is very unlike Jones. The lines criticise the new supermarket, saying that modern ways have crushed the ways of others.
In the start of "Not To Be Used For Babies" we are told of the scenery in which Glyn and the narrator lived.
"Old Glyn, our milkman, came from down the country
Between Waunaralwydd and Mynydd Bach y Glo,".
In these lines the word "our" show how Glyn is part of the community and how everybody knows him.
"A neighbour of innumerable uncles and cousins
In an untidy region of marsh and pasture mines".
This is a typical Welsh village. We then learn about Glyn's character. We learn the reason why people loved him so much.
"He spoke Welsh of course, but was frequently too drunk
To talk any language".
We are told here how Glyn "lives". He has an enjoyable social life.
"His milk though was good
And his measure generous, as he splashed it into the jug
From a bright battered can with a big extra splash
For a good boy."
We learn in that section of the poem that Glyn is generous and goes about his work very casually. The next section tells us about how Glyn goes about doing his work.
" The spokes of his light trap
And the big brass churn amidships shone in the sun
And his brisk mare Shan was a champion trotter."
The words 'light', 'shone', 'sun' and 'brisk are all words of a positive nature. They show how the narrator felt a very positive towards Glyn. The narrator like Glyn and his milk round a lot as we are told in the next section.
"(With Glyn's big paw on them, just in case)
I drove the chariot of the sun, I was Caesar, Ben Hur,
I was a big boy, helping the milkman. "
We learn here that not only the narrator have a strong feeling for Glyn, but Glyn cared for him too. We are shown this when Glyn holds the reins when the narrator drives the cart.
The words are full of romance and imagination. The words "I was Caesar, Ben Hur" show how the narrator transforms when he is with Glyn. He pictures himself as a big, important person. He enjoys being in the company of him.
We are again shown the narrators feelings for Glyn in the last section of the poem, when the narrator describes how Glyn was driven out of business.
"My parents said among themselves it was drink,
When Glyn stopped coming. I think it was the bottles
And the new ways, the zombie electric trolley,
The precisely measure pints. Nobody is cheated now.
There is nothing extra, splashed out in goodwill
For a good boy. I buy milk in a tin.
It is dried powder. They have ground Glyns. Bones."
The tone moves to a heavy tone rather than briskness. The word 'zombie' describes the new ways as souless. The feeling is as if we have lost out on something. The narrator is angry about the way that Glyn was driven out of business. It seems like he is against the newer, modern ways. He feels as though they have destroyed Glyn.
The first section of "Jones the Grocer" describes Jones. It starts off:
"Jones the Grocer, we called him
A pale man, skilled in servility."
We learn immediately of the narrator's dislike of Jones. He describes him as a pale man who acts like a slave towards people. However, in the first part of "Not To Be Used For Babies", we learn of a different opinion in the opening lines.
"Old Glyn, our milkman"
The words "our milkman" are much warmer than the words "the Grocer". Williams uses a simile to describe Jones' hands.
"His hands as white and soft as the lard he stacked
In small meticulous rows."
The comparison is unfavourable, as clearly these hands show no sign of hard manual work, and use of the greasy white animal fat as a simile underlines the mans unpleasant character. Added to this, the obsessive stacking of blocks in rows implies a sense of distaste. The implication is that Jones is small-minded and over fastidious, possibly remote from the real world. This contrasts with the liveliness and human contact of Glyn in the second poem.
The section ends with the lines:
" his head
Polished and somehow apologetic, as if
He was crowned forever with dishonour."
This tells us of the disrespect people have of Jones. The words describe to us how Jones is shy and doesn't defend himself. We learn in the second poem that Glyn is far from this.
"He spoke Welsh of course, but was frequently too drunk
To talk any language."
Glyn is very casual in his work.
" His milk though was good
And his measure generous, as he splashed it into the jug
From a bright bettered can with a big extra splash
For a good boy."
He doesn't take his work as seriously as Jones does. While Glyn drinks heavily and doesn't care about his work, Jones is very serious and acts like a slave towards his customers.
"I hated him, he was too obsequious by far,
Embellishing transactions with fulsome flattery
Of your habits, your appearance, your miserable opinions."
This is a further indication of Jones' eerie and unpleasant character. He tries too hard when complimenting his customers.
But in the third section of "Jones the Grocer", the narrator starts to write about the things he likes about Jones' shop.
"Yet one could afford to suffer the air of washing his hands
For the joy of that shop, its curiosities,
Like the corner where it was always dusk
And equatorial, aromatic with coffee beans,
And calendars derisive of popularity,
And the adverts twenty years out of date."
Although the shop may be weird and dark, these are the personalities of the shop that the narrator likes. He likes the way that the shop is different to everywhere else and the way that it never changes with modern ways. He describes it as an Aladdin's Cave. The characteristics of the shop comfort him.
This positive look on "Jones the Grocer" can also be associated with "Not To Be Used For Babies".
" The spokes of his light trap
And the big brass churn amidships shone in the sun
And his brisk mare Shan was a champion trotter;"
In the next lines, both narrators tell us of their experiences by explaining to us their feelings on those momentous occasions.
"One could suffer it, and gladly suffer it again."
"And when I took the reins of a Saturday morning
(With Glyn's big paw on them, just in case)
I drove the chariot of the sun, I was Caesar, Ben Hur,
I was a big boy, helping the milkman."
Their experiences are emotional and very enjoyable times. Both narrators feel a change within themselves on these occasions. They are described as irreplaceable. The final sections of each of the poems are both short but are very effective. They both describe how modern changes have driven both Jones and Glyn out of business.
"A supermarket, slick and souless,
Arrogantly accepting the shoppers' homage."
Here, Williams describes how the supermarket has no soul, whereas Jones' shop did. He describes the supermarket as "slick" like a conveyor belt, whereas Jones took time to talk to his customers.
"My parents said among themselves it was drink,
When Glyn stopped coming. I think it was the bottles
And the new ways, the zombie electric trolley,
The precisely measured pints. Nobody is cheated now.
There is nothing extra, splashed out in goodwill
For a good boy. I buy milk in a tin.
It is dry powder. They have ground Glyn's bones."
Here, Webb describes how he hates the new ways as they have driven Glyn out of business. He uses the theme of death in the last line, describing how the powdered milk is the grindings of Glyn's bones. Webb uses short sentences to convey his point.
Both poems start off describing both characters in detail. Jones is described as a pale, bald, shy man who acts too much like a slave towards his customers. Glyn is described as a Welsh speaking heavy drinker who is very laid back in his work.
They both go on to tell us about each of their habits. Jones was too obsequious and used fulsome flattery, while Glyn was frequently too drunk and used generous measures.
The workplaces and apparatus of both Jones and Glyn were then described. Both narrators expressed a positive opinion in this area.
Each of the narrators then tells us how both Jones and Glyn were driven out of business by modern ways.
As a whole, my response to the poems is very positive. They were very effective and made you feel for the two characters.
Both Jones and Glyn came across as two totally different characters, but both ended up victims of the forever-modernising world.
