In the second line Morgan describes the ripples made on the puddles by the wind as ‘Hackles’ this is animal imagery. Hackles as I know are what is seen on a cat or dog for example when they are scared or threatened, thus adding to the tone of the poem. I notice at the end of the second line the word ‘mattresses’ is used, the ‘esses’ is the other sound used for the rhyming pattern in the first eight lines of the poem.
As I read on to line four I notice plosive alliteration used in the words ‘brick and bric-a-brac’ these words along with the last words of line three ‘Play-fortresses’ create an image of war games being played in the bin area in the back court of the building. The last word of line four ‘ash’ suggests destruction; this word is also part of the rhyming pattern.
In the last lines of the octet the focus begins to move upwards to describe the building itself, this happens in line five. The word ‘smash’ is used which has the same sound quality as ‘trash’ in line one and also ‘ash’ in line four. Line six starts with the word ‘But’ this makes me stop and think that maybe something is about to change. The change that is shown, is that the once thought of derelict building has some life within it. Line six and seven both end with the sound quality of ‘esses’ which is the sound pattern used throughout the octet. The last line of the octet is ironic. Morgan uses the words ‘black block condemned to stand, not crash’ This is ironic as I would usually think of something condemned would be something about to ‘crash’ but in this instance the building is in some way being punished by being allowed to stand and not be demolished. Plosive alliteration is used here also in the words ‘black block’ this adds to the understanding of the irony of the line. The last word in line eight is ‘crash’ this concludes the rhyming pattern throughout these first eight lines.
The start of the sestet – the last six lines – the focus is now inside the building, here it is described as dirty, infested place which would not be very habitable. I notice two other rhyming patters now taking place. The first is shown at the end of the first, third and fifth line of the sestet and the sound used for this is ‘awl’ – ‘all’. I now get the impression of deep sadness, sadness for the distressed building and sadness for its occupiers. In line two of the sestet Morgan describes the kettle to ‘whimpers’ this again is good use of animal imagery, I associate whimpering with an animal crying, so I therefore imagine the kettle as being gloomy and lacking in life.
In Line eleven Morgan uses irony yet again, this time he is describing the mould which is growing on the walls. The words he uses are ‘Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall.’ This is one of the greatest lines within the poem, as it suggests the mould as being rose like, when I know that roses are something of beauty and fragrant, whereas mould is the complete opposite. When he then describes the growth of the mould he says it grows from ‘ceiling to wall’, i.e.: downwards, which is not the proper way that anything would grow. Thus this gives me the impression that the growing mould is coming down on the inhabitants in a menacing and frightening way.
The last few lines of the poem Morgan gives a simple statement about a man who lives in this decrepit building. The man is described as useless, bored, and poor in wealth and in health. This adds to the overall despair of the whole situation.
As I look over the whole poem I can visualise the poverty bestowed on the people who live in this dark, bleak broken building. I feel sympathy for them and the building itself. By Morgan’s great use of words and techniques such as imagery, alliteration, irony and his rhythmical pattern he has created a picture of the poverty of that era, which helps us understand times gone by.
