National 5 Set Text

Carol Ann Duffy

Mr Macdonald
 Valentin

Not a red rose or a satin heart

I give you an onion

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper
It promises ligh
like the careful undressing of love

Here
It will blind you with tear
like a lover
It will make your re ectio
a wobbling photo of grief

I am trying to be truthful

Not a cute card or a kissogram

I give you an onion

Its erce kiss will stay on your lips
possessive and faithfu
as we are
for as long as we are

Take it
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring
if you like
Lethal
Its scent will cling to your ngers
cling to your knife.
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 Key Themes:
• Love
• Relationships
• Truth and Honesty
• Pain
• Challenging Convention

Commonality:
• Relationships
• Love
• Vivid or Unusual Imagery
• Personal Experience
• Mixed Feelings
 Tone:
• Solemn
• Honest and Open
• Di dent
• Ominous
• Insistent

Language
• 2nd person (“you”)
• Minor sentences
• Imperative
• Extended metaphor
• Repetition
• Simile
• Alliteration
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 “Not a red rose or a satin heart.”

• “Not”: poem begins on a negative note, emphasising that this poem

challenges popular notions
• Opening sentence is a minor one - makes it sound abrupt and/or
conversational
• The two objects mentioned are typical Valentine’s gifts; Du y rejects
these
• One-sentence stanza emphasise the seriousness of the tone

“I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.”

• Du y gives her ungendered partner the unusual gift of an

onion
• The contrasting metaphors (“moon”; “brown paper”) to
describe the onion imply its di erent qualities
• “Moon” has positive connotations associated with love - light,
romance etc

“It promises ligh

like the careful undressing of love.”

• “promises” suggests a situation lled with hope

and optimism
• The simile “like the careful undressing of love”
refers to undressing for the physical side of love
but also undressing in the sense of getting to
know someone better
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 “Here
It will blind you with tear
like a lover.”

• “Here”: the verse begins with a minor

sentence that sounds insistent
• The “tears” could either be tears of joy or
tears of pain
• “blind” could be literal or metaphorical - in
the literal sense it implies copious tears; in
the metaphorical sense it implies how love
stops us grasping reality properly

“It will make your re ection

a wobbling photo of grief.”

• The image that stares back at the lover in the mirror is

compared to a “wobbling photo”, implying the
convulsions of sobbing
• “grief” suggests loss, as if the relationship will inevitably
will be problematic and end

I am trying to be truthful.

• A simple sentence that declares the narrator’s

attempt at honesty
• Being truthful about love is one of the poem’s
main concerns - that relationships are not without
problems and that the commercialised idea of
love of Valentine’s Day is dishonest
.

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 “Not a cute card or a kissogram.”

• This verse repeats the structure of the opening line to

emphasise the distancing of the narrator and her gift
from traditional ideas of love
• This line highlights more modern cliches, as opposed
to the opening line’s older traditions
• The alliteration highlights the glibness of such
gestures, accentuates their insincerity or tackiness

“I give you an onion.

Its erce kiss will stay on your lips
possessive and faithfu
as we are
for as long as we are.”

• “ erce” suggests passionate or desperate or violent - the pungency of

the onion is like the strength of the narrator’s feelings
• “possessive” could suggest clinginess but also protectiveness
• “for as long as we are”: repetition of rst person plural unites the
couple as one; the phrase also suggests that these qualities
“possessive and faithful” will endure throughout their relationship

“Take it
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring
if you like
Lethal
Its scent will cling to your ngers
cling to your knife.”
• The imperative “Take it” sounds insistent and urgent
• “platinum” compares the onion to a precious metal, suggesting
something valuable; it also looks like a wedding ring, a symbol of uniting
love
• “if you like” suggests a degree of doubt or di dence
• “Lethal” implies love will bring great danger or destruction
• The nal two lines suggest how the onion/ love will be unforgettable
• The repetition of the word “cling” emphasises perhaps passion/
desperation/ physical attraction
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 Exemplar Questions with Answers

1. Look at the opening two lines of the poem. Show how the
writer’s language introduces the main concern of the poem.2

2. Look at lines 3 – 9. Show how two examples of Duffy’s

language convey two sides to love in these lines. 4

3. Look at lines 10 – 17. Show how two examples of Duffy’s

language convey the nature of the relationship. 4

4. Look at lines 18 – 23. Show how Duffy’s language conveys

the mood in these lines. 2

5. The use of contrast is important in this poem. With close

textual reference, show how this theme is explored in this
poem and in at least one other poem you have read by Duffy.
8
1. “Not a red rose or a satin heart” (1) This introduces the main idea of the
rejection of cliched or stereotypical gifts on Valentine’s as they don’t
properly represent love. The “Not” at the start of the sentence emphasises
this rejection. (1)

2. “It is a moon wrapped in brown paper” (1) This conveys the idea that
love has unexpected delights (“a moon”) hidden beneath unpromising
surfaces (“brown paper”) (1). On the other hand, “it will blind you with
tears” (1). The word choice “blind” suggests the tears are copious
because of the pain and anguish that the onion and love cause. (1)

3. “I am trying to be truthful” (1) This suggests that the relationship is an

honest and open one because the narrator is keen to declare her motives
and feelings in this line. “Fierce kiss” (1). The word “ erce” suggests
urgency, as if their relationship is passionate or ery. (1)

4. She repeats the word “cling”: “its scent will cling to your ngers, cling
to your knife”. (1) The word “cling” has negative connotations and
suggests unwanted attentions that are hard to shake o . This helps create
an ominous mood. (1)

5. This poem uses contrast to help explore the theme of how love and
relationships are complex things (1) while In Mrs Tilscher’s Class uses
contrast to explore the theme of change and the loss of innocence (1)

“Not a cute card or a kissogram” (1) Du y uses this line to provide a

contrast with the complex ideas expressed by the onion. These other gifts
are rejected because they represent a one-dimensional view of love that
isn’t realistic. (1)

“A rough boy told you how you were born and you kicked him” (1) The
narrator was previously a perfect pupil. The changes she undergoes make
her volatile and she lashes out when she is told something she doesn’t
fully understanding, showing how the loss of innocence changes her
personality. (1)

“You asked Mrs Tilscher how you were born and she smiled then turned
away” (1) This contrasts with how Mrs Tilscher was earlier in the poem,
where she was helpful and had all the answers. Now she is awkward and
is unable to support the pupil as she grows and changes. (1)
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 Further Practice

1.Look at lines 1 – 5. The poet conveys her attitude towards

love in these lines. Show how two examples show this
attitude. 4

2. Look at lines 6 – 11. Show how Duffy’s language conveys

the harmful aspects of love. 2

3. Look at lines 12 – 17. Show how Duffy’s language conveys

the negative side of the relationship. 2

4. Look at lines 18 – 23. Show how two examples of Duffy’s

language convey the destructive aspect of love. 4

5. The theme of love is important in this poem. With close

textual reference, show how this theme is explored in this
poem and in at least one other poem by Duffy. 8
In Mrs Tilsher’s Clas

You could travel up the Blue Nil

with your nger, tracing the rout
while Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery
Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswân
That for an hour, then a skittle of mil
and the chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust
A window opened with a long pole
The laugh of a bell swung by a running child

This was better than home. Enthralling books

The classroom glowed like a sweet shop
Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. Brady and Hindle
faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake
Mrs Tilscher loved you. Some mornings, you foun
she’d left a good gold star by your name
The scent of a pencil slowly, carefully, shaved
A xylophone’s nonsense heard from another form

Over the Easter term, the inky tadpoles change

from commas into exclamation marks. Three frog
hopped in the playground, freed by a dunce
followed by a line of kids, jumping and croakin
away from the lunch queue. A rough bo
told you how you were born. You kicked him, but stare
at your parents, appalled, when you got back home

That feverish July, the air tasted of electricity

A tangible alarm made you always untidy, hot
fractious under the heavy, sexy sky. You asked he
how you were born and Mrs Tilscher smiled
then turned away. Reports were handed out
You ran through the gates, impatient to be grown
as the sky split open into a thunderstorm
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 Key Themes:
• Childhood innocence and wonder
• Loss of innocence
• Growing up
• Betrayal
• Child/ Adult Relationship

Commonality:
• Relationships
• Childhood
• Vivid imagery
• Personal experience
• Change
 Tone:
• Wondrous
• Joyous
• Ominous
• Tense

Language
• 2nd person
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Word choice
• Minor sentences
• Symbolism
• List
• Personi cation
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“You could travel up the Blue Nil
with your nger, tracing the route”

• A sense of wonder is created in the rst lines - the class is a

place that allows you to experience anywhere in the world
• The use of the second person (“you”) distances the narrator
from her experiences, as if she sees herself as a di erent
person; it also makes the experiences sound more universal

“while Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery.

Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswân.”

• The word “chanted” helps portray Mrs Tilscher

as someone very involved in the lesson -
enthusiastic, extroverted, inspiring…
• The list of minor sentences mimic Mrs
Tilscher’s chanting and help to emphasise her
enthusiasm

“That for an hour, then a skittle of mil

and the chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust
A window opened with a long pole
The laugh of a bell swung by a running child.”

• The milk bottles are compared to skittles, something that

emphasise the fun nature of the class and the way the
narrator recalls everything as being exciting
• “rubbed into dust”: the chalk drawings are rubbed from the
blackboard
• “the laugh of a bell”: even the school bell is recalled with
fondness - its ringing is compared to laughter, as if it is
associated with joy and happiness
• These four lines are all minor sentences - they are like
snapshots ashing through the narrator’s mind as she recalls
the past
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“This was better than home. Enthralling books

The classroom glowed like a sweet shop.”

• “This was better than home”: a simple sentence that declares the
narrator’s overwhelming love of school
• Minor sentence “enthralling books” emphasises narrator’s love of
learning
• The classroom is compared to a sweetshop - both are bright, full of
variety and temptations, and overwhelming
• “glowed” suggests something bright and attractive, something shining
and special

“Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. Brady and Hindley

faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake

• The notorious Moors Murderers who many children would be haunted

by in the 60s are forgotten such is the joy found in Mrs Tilscher’s
class, suggesting the class is a comforting and nurturing environment
• The simile suggests that they are forgotten as quickly as words can
be rubbed and disappear from a page

“Mrs Tilscher loved you. Some mornings, you foun

she’d left a good gold star by your name
The scent of a pencil slowly, carefully, shaved
A xylophone’s nonsense heard from another form.”

• Simple sentence declares the a ection Mrs

Tilscher feels for the narrator and by implication
the feeling of comfort
• Two minor sentences end the stanza, further
snapshot memories coming back to mind -
emphasis on smells and sounds
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“Over the Easter term, the inky tadpoles change

from commas into exclamation marks.”

• This is the turning point in the poem, with the

change in the tadpoles symbolising an awareness
of sex
• The comparison to commas and exclamation
marks suggests the narrator’s bookish nature -
everything is seen in terms of formal learning

“Three frogs
hopped in the playground, freed by a dunce
followed by a line of kids, jumping and croakin
away from the lunch queue.”

• The other pupils react to frogs

being released by turning it into a
game, imitating the frogs as they
chase after them

“A rough bo
told you how you were born. You kicked him, but stare
at your parents, appalled, when you got back home.”

• “You kicked him”: the narrator’s is so upset and shocked

by what she learns about the facts of life that she reacts
violently - an indication of how innocent she was about
such things
• She is “appalled” to such an extent that she can only stare
at her parents disapprovingly without saying anything
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 “That feverish July, the air tasted of electricity

A tangible alarm made you always untidy, hot
fractious under the heavy, sexy sky.”

• “feverish” along with “tangible”, “untidy” and “hot” emphasises the physical sensation
of the change the narrator undergoes
• “the air tasted of electricity”: a metaphor that suggests the level of excitement and
danger the narrator feels
• “the heavy, sexy sky”: heavy implies the overwhelming nature of her feelings, perhaps
as if her world is shrinking and seeming more terrifying; “sexy” is a transferred epithet
that implies her constant feelings of sexual awareness

“You asked her

how you were born and Mrs Tilscher smiled
then turned away.”

• The narrator looks to Mrs Tilscher for answers but this

time she is unable to provide what is needed
• She smiles because she feels uncomfortable by the
question and turns away but literally and guratively -
she turns away in the moment but it is the start of her
being inadequate to the children’s needs

“Reports were handed out

You ran through the gates, impatient to be grown
as the sky split open into a thunderstorm.”

• “You ran through the gates…”: a place that once

was a place of comfort and nurture for the
narrator is now somewhere she is eager to leave
as quickly as possible
• “the sky split open into a thunderstorm”: this
symbolises all the uncertainty and danger the
narrator will now experience in her life
.

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 Exemplar Questions with Answers

1. Look at lines 1 - 8. Show how two examples of

language help establish the atmosphere of the
classroom. 4

2. Look at lines 9 - 16. Show how the writer’s use of

language helps show the narrator’s feelings about
school. 2

3. Look at lines 17 - 23. Show how the writer’s use of

language creates a contrast between the narrator and
the other children. 4

4. Look at lines 24 - 30. Show how the writer’s

language convey the narrator’s new emotional state at
the end of the poem. 2

5. By referring to this poem, and to at least one other

poem by Du y, show how the poet uses word choice
and/or imagery to convey theme(s). 8
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 1. “While Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery” (1). The word “chanted”
suggests someone saying something with enthusiasm and gusto. This
therefore implies the atmosphere in the class is active and happy. (1) “The
laugh of a bell” (1) Describing the ringing of the bell as sounding like a
laugh makes the noise sound pleasant and joyful, as if the atmosphere is
comforting and relaxed. (1)

2. “The classroom glowed like a sweetshop” (1) The word choice

“glowed” makes the class seem exciting and full of attractions, as if the
narrator feels it’s irresistible and amazing (1).

3. “a line of kids, jumping and croaking” (1). The other kids are having fun;
the words “jumping” and “croaking” help emphasise their childish delight
in imitating the escaped frogs (1). On the other hand, the narrator stares
at her parents “appalled” and kicks a “rough boy” when he tells her how
she was born (1). This suggests the narrator, in contrast, is more troubled
by the new knowledge and reacts with violence and hostility rather than
childish delight (1).

4. “always untidy, hot, fractious under the heavy, sexy sky” (1) Before the
narrator was keen and enthusiastic, now she’s “fractious”, a word that
implies a state of being irritable and moody, easily annoyed (1).

5. In Mrs Tilscher’s Class includes e ective imagery throughout to help

develop the theme of the changes experienced when growing up (1),
whereas Valentine uses imagery to help explore the theme of relationships
and how romance is not straightforward. (1)

“The classroom glowed like a sweet shop” (1). This explores the theme of
growing up by showing how excited and thrilled the narrator was to be in
Mrs Tilscher’s class when she was young (1).

“It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.” (1) from Valentine is used to

describe the onion. It shows how in love amazing things, represented by
the beauty of the moon, can be hidden behind ordinary or plain surfaces.
(1)

“Its erce kiss” (1) also from Valentine helps explore the theme of love by
showing the intensity of love and its con icting feelings - something
gentle like a kiss can also seem violent.(1)
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 Further Practice

1. Look at lines 1 - 8. The poet makes the classroom

sound like a very active place. Show how two
examples of her language help do this. 4

2. Look at lines. Show how two examples of language

help characterise Mrs Tilscher as a caring teacher. 4

3. Show how the poet’s use of language helps convey

as sense of chaos in the playground. 2

4. Show how the poet’s use of language convey the

change in Mrs Tilscher. 2

5. By referring to this poem, and to at least one other

poem by Du y, show how the poet explores the theme
of change. 8
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 Originall

We came from our own country in a red roo

which fell through the elds, our mother singin
our father’s name to the turn of the wheels
My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home,
Home, as the miles rushed back to the city
the street, the house, the vacant room
where we didn’t live any more. I stare
at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw

All childhood is an emigration. Some are slow

leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenu
where no one you know stays. Others are sudden
Your accent wrong. Corners, which seem familiar
leading to unimagined pebble-dashed estates, big boy
eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand
My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose toot
in my head. I want our own country, I said

But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change

and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel onl
a skelf of shame. I remember my tongu
shedding its skin like a snake, my voic
in the classroom sounding just like the rest. Do I only thin
I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of rst spac
and the right place? Now, Where do you come from
strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.
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 Key Themes:
• Identity
• Childhood
• Growing Up
• Family
• Change

Commonality:
• Importance of place
• Impact of change
• Vivid characters
• Childhood
• Vivid imagery
 Tone:
• Re ective
• Resigned
• Portentous
• Wise
• Doubtful/ uncertain

Language
• 1st person
• 2nd person
• Simile
• Minor Sentence
• Contrast
• Metaphor
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“We came from our own country in a red roo
which fell through the elds, our mother singin
our father’s name to the turn of the wheels.”

• First-person plural (“we”) makes the experience a

common one
• The strangeness of the description of the train carriage
(“red room”) implies the narrator found the experience a
novel one at the time
• “Singing” implies something joyful or repetitive

“My brothers cried, one of them bawling, Home,

Home, as the miles rushed back to the city,
the street, the house, the vacant room
where we didn’t live any more.”

• These lines describe the distress that is felt

when moving
• “bawled” suggests the great distress one of the
brothers is experiencing, as if he’s inconsolable
• The list (city, street, house, rooms) zooms in on
the life they’ve left behind

“I stare
at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw.”

• The narrator seems very young as she clings to

her teddy bear for comfort
• “blind toy”: a suggestion that the teddy has
missing eyes, perhaps because it has been
handed down from siblings or parents
• The toy is also “blind” because it doesn’t
understand what is going on
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 “All childhood is an emigration.”

• Childhood is compared to a journey from one place to

another because as we grow we are experiencing the
world di erently and it’s like moving to an unfamiliar
place; it involves us becoming a di erent person

“Some are slow,

leaving you standing, resigned, up an avenu
where no one you know stays. Others are sudden
Your accent wrong. Corners, which seem familiar
leading to unimagined pebble-dashed estates, big boy
eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand.”

• These lines contrast the di erent types of change

• The narrator experiences the “sudden” emigration where
she nds herself in a place where the way she speaks is not
accepted and older boys seem scary and dangerous and
use bad language

“My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose toot

in my head. I want our own country, I said.”

• This simile compares her parents’ worries with the

nagging pain of a tooth, perhaps because it’s
something that’s always felt and you’re waiting for
something to happen
• The narrator’s de ation that she wants her own
country suggests she initially felt out of place after
the move
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 “But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change

and, seeing your brother swallow a slug, feel onl
a skelf of shame.”

• “But” signals a change of

thinking in the poem - she
starts to accommodate
herself to her new culture
• The brother swallowing the
slug echoes the big boys
eating worms - the brother is
starting to feel at home by
becoming like the locals
“I remember my tongue
shedding its skin like a snake, my voic
in the classroom sounding just like the rest.”

• “tongue” is a metaphor for accent and identity, both

of which change as she settles into her new life
• “shedding its skin like a snake”: this implies accent is
a super cial part of identity and can be changed as
easily as a snake sheds its skin and carries on
• “snake” may however imply she feels she is betraying
her true identity in some way

“Do I only thin

I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of rst spac
and the right place? Now, Where do you come from
strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.”

• The list emphasises the number of things she has

“lost” by moving but the word “only” seems to
imply these things were not important
• She hesitates when people ask her where she’s
originally from because she is not con dent that
her sense of identity can be traced to one place;
she’s not sure where she became herself - in
Scotland or in England
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 Exemplar Questions with Answers

1. Look at lines 1 - 8. Show how the poet’s use of

language creates a sense of mystery at the start of the
poem. 4

2. Look at lines 9 - 16. Show how two examples of the

poet’s use of language help convey what it’s like to
experience “an emigration”. 4

3. Look at lines 17 - 19. Show how the poet’s use of

language conveys a change in her feelings. 2

4. Look at lines 19 - 24. Show how the poet’s use of

language conveys her attitude about her identity. 2

5. By referring to this poem, and to at least one other

poem by Du y, show how the poet explores the
turbulent nature of childhood. 8
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 1. “we came from our own country in a red room” (1). This creates a
sense of mystery because it raises the question of where they’re travelling
to and why they’re leaving, as well as including the odd description “red
room”, which imitates the child’s vague understanding of being in a train
carriage, perhaps for the rst time. (1) ”My brothers cried, one of them
bawling” (1) The word “brawled” suggests a level of great distress; it
remains mysterious what is causing the brother such an emotional
reaction (1).

2. “Leaving you standing, resigned” (1) The word “resigned” implies a

sense of helplessness or grudging acceptance, implying that the
experience is not something that can be fought or changed (1) “Your
accent wrong” (1) The narrator feels that her accent is out of place, with
the word “wrong” suggesting she feels judged for the way she speaks,
highlighting the di culty of tting in after an emigration (1).

3. “feel only a self of shame” (1). The narrator now feels a little discomfort
at seeing the odd behaviour in her new home, with the words “only” and
“skelf” both suggesting a mild reaction (1).

4. “Where do you come from, strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate” (1)
The writer feels an uncertainty about her identity, with the word “hesitate”
indicating that she has to stop and think about where she’s from and what
informs her sense of self (1).

5. This poem explores the turbulent nature of childhood by exploring the

idea of change and how it can be di cult to cope with at a young age (1).
In Mrs Tilscher’s Class also deals with the turbulence of childhood and
how it’s di cult to make the transition from childhood to adolescence (1).

“I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw” (1). This suggests that
the narrator nds the move traumatic and is reduced to taking comfort in
her teddy bear as a way of coping with the distress (1).

“You ran out the gates, impatient to be grown” (1). This suggests that as
childhood starts to become more complicated and di cult to deal with,
the only refuge is in the hope that adulthood will remove these problems
(1).

“As the sky split open into a thunderstorm” (1). Du y uses the symbol of
the thunderstorm to describe the way that as we grow up life becomes
more threatening and the comforts we relied on before disappear (1).
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 Further Practice

Look at lines 1 - 8. Show how the poet’s language

helps create the atmosphere on the train journey when
the family move. . 4

Look at lines 9 - 16. Show how the poet’s language

helps convey what her new hometown is like. 4

Look at lines 17 - 21. Show how the poet’s language

helps to convey how the narrator adapts to her new
life. 2

Look at lines 21 - 24. Show how the poet’s use of

language creates a sense of uncertainty at this point of
the poem.2

5. By referring to this poem, and to at least one other

poem by Du y, show how the poet writes about strong
emotions. 8
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The Way My Mother Speak

I say her phrases to mysel

in my hea
or under the shallows of my breath
restful shapes moving
The day and ever. The day and ever

The train this slow evenin

goes down Englan
browsing for the right sky
too blue swapped for a cool grey
For miles I have been sayin
What like is it.
The way I say things when I think
Nothing is silent. Nothing is not silent
What like is it

Only tonigh
I am happy and sa
like a chil
who stood at the end of summe
and dipped a ne
in a green, erotic pond. The day
and ever. The day and ever
I am homesick, free, in lov
with the way my mother speaks
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 Key Themes:
• Memory
• Family
• Continuity/ inheritance
• Language
• Identity

Commonality:
• Relationships
• Change
• Childhood and growing up
• Important setting
• Mixed feelings
 Tone:
• Re ective
• A ectionate
• Portentous
• Conciliatory

Language
• 1st person
• Repetition
• Paradox
• Word choice
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Dialect
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 “I say her phrases to mysel
in my head”

• “her phrases” suggests these

expressions are unique to the mother
or that, as the title implies, she has a
di erent dialect to the narrator
• This also de nes the mother in terms
of how she speaks - it’s what the
narrator most associates with her

“or under the shallows of my breath,

restful shapes moving.”

• Sometimes she says these phrases in her head,

sometimes she sounds them out quietly - because of
shame? Because she’s saying them carefully?
• This makes it seem like she’s savouring the words
• The words are comforting (“restful”) and the physical
movements of her mouth (“shapes”) make the words

“The day and ever. The day and ever.”

• The repetition of one of the mother’s phrases

emphasises the sense of wonder and pleasure the
narrator takes in sounding the words out, which
mean something like “today and evermore”, a
phrase which seems in keeping with the mood of
the poem and its themes relating to
connectedness and continuity
ff
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f

 “The train this slow evenin

goes down Englan
browsing for the right sky
too blue swapped for a cool grey.”

• This verse locates the poem in a

speci c time and place with the
poet taking. Train journey through
England, travelling south
• The journey seems leisurely: “For miles I have been saying
“slow”, “browsing” What like is it
• The sky colours seems symbolic -
certainty versus uncertainty The way I say things when I think.”
perhaps

• The scenery she sees from the train prompts her to say one of her
mother’s phrases, perhaps because her mum would have said it in
similar situations
• The phrase conveys her sense of awe and wonder
• “The way I say things when I think”: this suggests she thinks di erently
to how she speaks, as if the voice she hears inside her head di ers
from her accent. This suggests a linguistic connection/ bond with her
mother and her home country

“Nothing is silent. Nothing is not silent

What like is it.”

• “Nothing is silent. Nothing is not silent”: a paradox

or oxymoron. Nothing is silent because
everything, including the words in her head, has a
voice or speaks or gives messages in some way;
nothing is not silent because not everything is
revealed or has a clear meaning or is intelligible
• “What like is it”: a phrase that conveys a sense of
wry amusement at the character of things, an
exclamation of surprise, something that seems
appropriate to the situation described
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.

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 “Only tonigh
I am happy and sad”

• “happy and sad”:

another oxymoron -
happy because she
recalls her mother with
a ection; sad because
“like a child
there’s a sense of who stood at the end of summe
something lost - her and dipped a ne
mum? Her identity? Her
home? in a green, erotic pond.”
• “Only” suggests the
uniqueness of this
moment; “only” might
also be used in the • Simile compares the feelings of
sense of meaning “but” being both happy and sad to a
- she has previously child on the verge of adolescence
emphasised good • “the end of summer” seems
things; she now symbolic, suggesting the end of
suggests her feelings childhood and innocence perhaps
are more mixed • “dipped” suggests tentative
movement indicating lack of
con dence

“The day
and ever. The day and ever
I am homesick, free, in lov
with the way my mother speaks.”

• The repetition of “the day and ever”

emphasises how much she savours these
words and how much she wants this
moment to last
• “Homesick”: she has a sense of longing for
the places and the identity associated with
her mother’s words
• “free”: a suggestion she feels liberated in
some way, perhaps because of her
homesickness or because of her feelings
about her mother’s words
• The poem ends in a positive way with a
fulsome declaration of her feelings about her
mother’s words and her mother herself
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 Exemplar Questions with Answers

1. Look at lines 1 -5. By referring to two examples of

language, explain how the poet creates the mood in
these lines. 4

2. Look at lines 6 - 9. Explain how the poet’s language

helps establish the setting in these lines. 2

3. Look at lines 10 - 13. Explain how the poet’s

language conveys the narrator’s attitude to the way her
mother speaks. 2

4. Look at lines 14 - 22. By referring to two examples,

explain how the poet conveys contrasting emotions. 4

5. By referring to this poem and at least one other

poem, show how Du y explores the theme of identity.
8
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1.”restful shapes moving” (1). This creates a calm, peaceful mood, with
the word “restful” suggesting a sense of tranquility and acceptance (1).
The repetition of “the day and ever” (1) also suggests a sense of calmness
and

2. “too blue swapped for a cool grey” (1) This suggests the setting is
literally becoming cloudier after some bright weather but also suggests
the setting is metaphorically turning from something overly unfamiliar to
something less certain (1).

3. “For miles I have been saying What like it is” (1). Her attitude is one of
wonder and joy. The fact that she has been repeating this saying of her
mother’s “for miles” implies that she is avoiding the words and the
memories they are associated with (1).

4. “I am happy and sad like a child…” (1). The narrator is torn between
happiness at the delight she takes in mouthing her mother’s words but
sad because they represent a language she can’t fully inhabit (1). “I am
homesick, free, in love with the way my mother speaks (1). Likewise, she
is both “homesick”, feeling detached from her ancestral roots as
represented by her mother’s words, and “in love” with them, because they
mean so much to her and this love is overwhelming (1).

5. This poem explores the theme of identity by looking at the way

someone can have both a disconnection and a connection with the
language of their parent (1). Originally explores the theme by showing how
changes to circumstances can make one’s local or national identity less
clear (1).

“I am homesick” (1) Du y’s recollections of her mother’s sayings ll her

with a sense of longing that is both literal and gurative. She feels
“homesick” because there is part of her mother’s identity that is not hers
as well, that both separates and links them.

“All childhood is an emigration” (1) Du y feels that all childhood is an

emigration because we are changing all the time and how we perceive the
world therefore changes. This suggests that identity is not xed (1).

“Where are you from, strangers ask. Originally? And I hesitate.” (1) Du y
shows how identity is not xed or certain, with the word “hesitate”
suggesting her inability to answer con dently about where she’s from and
what informs her sense of self (1).
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 Further Practice

1. Look at lines 1 - 5. By referring to two examples,

explain how the poet’s language conveys the
narrator’s pleasure in repeating her mother’s words. 4

2. Look at lines 6 - 13. By referring to two examples,

explain how the writer’s language helps to show the
nature of the journey. 4

3. Look at lines 14 - 22. By referring to two examples,

explain how the writer conveys the narrator’s mixed
feelings. 4

4. By referring to this poem and at least one other

poem, show how Du y explores the theme of change.
8
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 Mrs Mida

It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begu

to unwind, while the vegetables cooked. The kitche
lled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breat
gently blanching the windows. So I opened one
then with my ngers wiped the other’s glass like a brow
He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig

Now the garden was long and the visibility poor, the wa
the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sky
but that twig in his hand was gold. And then he plucke
a pear from a branch. – we grew Fondante d’Automne
and it sat in his palm, like a lightbulb. On
I thought to myself, Is he putting fairy lights in the tree

He came into the house. The doorknobs gleamed

He drew the blinds. You know the mind; I thought o
the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready
He sat in that chair like a king on a burnished throne
The look on his face was strange, wild, vain. I said
What in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh

I served up the meal. For starters, corn on the cob

Within seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich
He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks
He asked where was the wine. I poured with a shaking hand
a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy, then watche
as he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank
fi
s

fi
.

It was then that I started to scream. He sank to his knees

After we’d both calmed down, I nished the win
on my own, hearing him out. I made him si
on the other side of the room and keep his hands to himself
I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone
The toilet I didn’t mind. I couldn’t believe my ears

how he’d had a wish. Look, we all have wishes; granted

But who has wishes granted? Him. Do you know about gold
It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnishable; slake
no thirst. He tried to light a cigarette; I gazed, entranced
as the blue ame played on its luteous stem. At least
I said, you’ll be able to give up smoking for good

Separate beds. in fact, I put a chair against my door

near petri ed. He was below, turning the spare roo
into the tomb of Tutankhamun. You see, we were passionate then
in those halcyon days; unwrapping each other, rapidly
like presents, fast food. But now I feared his honeyed embrace
the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art

And who, when it comes to the crunch, can liv

with a heart of gold? That night, I dreamt I bor
his child, its perfect ore limbs, its little tongu
like a precious latch, its amber eye
holding their pupils like ies. My dream mil
burned in my breasts. I woke to the streaming sun

So he had to move out. We’d a carava

in the wilds, in a glade of its own. I drove him u
under the cover of dark. He sat in the back
And then I came home, the woman who married the foo
who wished for gold. At rst, I visited, odd times
parking the car a good way off, then walking
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You knew you were getting close. Golden trou

on the grass. One day, a hare hung from a larch
a beautiful lemon mistake. And then his footprints
glistening next to the river’s path. He was thin
delirious; hearing, he said, the music of Pa
from the woods. Listen. That was the last straw

What gets me now is not the idiocy or gree

but lack of thought for me. Pure sel shness. I sol
the contents of the house and came down here
I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon
and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead. I miss most
even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.
fi
n

 Key Themes:
• Vanity
• Relationships
• Loneliness
• Change
• Gender roles

Commonality:
• Relationships
• Interesting female characters
• Humour
• Change
• Strong emotions
 Tone:
• Conversational
• Comic
• Emotional
• Flippant
• Heart-felt
• Scornful/ dismissive

Language
• Colloquialism
• Metaphor
• First-person
• Puns
• Word Choice
• Allusion
• Minor sentences
 “It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begu
to unwind, while the vegetables cooked. The kitche
lled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breat
gently blanching the windows. So I opened one
then with my ngers wiped the other’s glass like a brow
He was standing under the pear tree snapping a twig.”

• The poem is a narrative poem and a monologue where

Du y adopts the persona of Mrs Midas
• Mrs Midas is portrayed as a stereotypical housewife
completing domestic duties in the kitchen (“the vegetables
cooked”) who has worked hard all day and needs to
“unwind” with a glass of wine at the end of the day
• The kitchen windows steam up so Mrs Midas has to wipe it
“like a brow”, a simile that perhaps suggests her homely or
caring qualities
• There is a calm feeling at the start of the poem - e.g.
“gently”, “relaxed” etc

“Now the garden was long and the visibility poor, the way
the dark of the ground seems to drink the light of the sky
but that twig in his hand was gold. And then he plucke
a pear from a branch. – we grew Fondante d’Automne
and it sat in his palm, like a lightbulb. On
I thought to myself, Is he putting fairy lights in the tree?”

• Colloquial nature of the monologue established with “Now”,

beginning a sentence with “And”, the minor sentence “On” and
the tautological phrase “I thought to myself”
• The pear is compared to a lit lightbulb. The minor sentence
“On” emphasise the narrator’s sense of shock at this similarity
not just to its shape but to its glow as well
• Many details suggests the Midases already enjoy much wealth
- the size of the garden, growing their own pears
• The question in the last line suggests Mr Midas is perhaps
known for doing eccentric things; there is perhaps a note of
impatience in this question
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.

 “He came into the house. The doorknobs gleamed

He drew the blinds. You know the mind; I thought o
the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready
He sat in that chair like a king on a burnished throne
The look on his face was strange, wild, vain. I said
What in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh.”

• Mr Midas is secretive (“He drew the blinds”)

• “You know the mind”: this colloquialism makes it seem as
if the reader is being addressed and we have shared
values with Mrs Midas
• She alludes to a famous event (and painting) where the
kings of France and England tried to outdo each other in
the nery they displayed when they met - a sign of vanity
• “like a king on a burnished throne”: Mr Midas’s vanity and
sense of self importance are conveyed in this simile
• Mrs Midas’s frustration and impatience grow in the
question she asks him; he however doesn’t take her
seriously and starts to laugh

“I served up the meal. For starters, corn on the cob

Within seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich
He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks
He asked where was the wine. I poured with a shaking hand
a fragrant, bone-dry white from Italy, then watche
as he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.”

• “the teeth of the rich”: the corn on the cob becomes

gold in his mouth
• “toyed”: he is starting to become agitated by his gift
• “a shaking hand”: Mrs Midas is starting to become
worried and afraid
• “glass, goblet, golden chalice”: the glass from which
he drinks turns into a chalice as soon as he touches
it; the alliteration emphasise the connection between
the three things
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d

 “It was then that I started to scream. He sank to his knees

After we’d both calmed down, I nished the win
on my own, hearing him out. I made him si
on the other side of the room and keep his hands to himself
I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone
The toilet I didn’t mind. I couldn’t believe my ears:

• “started to scream”: Mrs Midas realises the full implications of

what has happened and becomes terri ed
• “he sank to his knees”: he is either full of despair and/ or praying
• “I made…”, “I locked…”, “I moved”: successive sentences start
with Mrs Midas as the agent of events, suggesting her calmness,
her sense of purpose and focus
• “I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone”: she has the
presence of mind to protect the cat, suggesting her caring side,
and to protect the phone as it might be a source of help to her
• She jokes that she doesn’t protect the toilet, suggesting she
wouldn’t mind if it turned to gold

“how he’d had a wish. Look, we all have wishes; granted

But who has wishes granted? Him. Do you know about gold
It feeds no one; aurum, soft, untarnishable; slake
no thirst. He tried to light a cigarette; I gazed, entranced
as the blue ame played on its luteous stem. At least
I said, you’ll be able to give up smoking for good.

• Colloquial feel of this verse is established in “Look” and the

rhetorical question to the reader
• Further impatience and scorn for Midas is shown in the
word “Him” when she asks who has wishes granted; it
suggests that he has to be awkward and di erent
• Midas’s vanity is highlighted again in the reminder that gold
in itself doesn’t provide sustenance (“It feeds no one…
slakes non thirst”)
• His cigarette turns to gold as he tries to light it and Mrs
Midas makes a sardonic comment about how he’ll be able
to give up now
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 “Separate beds. in fact, I put a chair against my door

near petri ed. He was below, turning the spare roo
into the tomb of Tutankhamun. You see, we were passionate then
in those halcyon days; unwrapping each other, rapidly
like presents, fast food. But now I feared his honeyed embrace
the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art.

• “Separate beds”: the consequence to their marriage is summed

up in this short minor sentence; the minor sentence emphasises
the nality of the move and the narrator’s ruefulness at the end of
their physical relationship
• Mrs Midas in fact barricades herself in to ensure Midas doesn’t
touch her
• Contrast between their physical relationship before and after
Midas’s wish was granted, from being very physical to being
scared to going near him
• “unwrapping each other, rapidly, like presents”: this simile
emphasises the eagerness and desperation with which they made
love before

“And who, when it comes to the crunch, can liv

with a heart of gold? That night, I dreamt I bor
his child, its perfect ore limbs, its little tongu
like a precious latch, its amber eye
holding their pupils like ies. My dream mil
burned in my breasts. I woke to the streaming sun.

• Mrs Midas has a nightmare about having a child

of gold who is lifeless
• She lists the qualities that she nds terrifying to
emphasise how grotesque such a child would be
fi
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fi
s

 So he had to move out. We’d a carava

in the wilds, in a glade of its own. I drove him u
under the cover of dark. He sat in the back
And then I came home, the woman who married the foo
who wished for gold. At rst, I visited, odd times
parking the car a good way off, then walking

• “we’d a caravan in the wilds, in a glade of its own”:

another sign of the wealth the Midases already enjoyed
• “I drove him up under the cover of dark”: Midas is now
someone to hide away, someone she’s ashamed of
• “the fool”: sums up her feelings of disappointment and
contempt for Midas
• She still visits though, at least initially, a sign that she
has some loyalty to him, a vestige of love

You knew you were getting close. Golden trou

on the grass. One day, a hare hung from a larch
a beautiful lemon mistake. And then his footprints
glistening next to the river’s path. He was thin
delirious; hearing, he said, the music of Pa
from the woods. Listen. That was the last straw.

• Mrs Midas sees gold everywhere as she

approaches the caravan
• Midas has grown emaciated because he can’t eat
and he has grown nonsensical and half-mad
• “the music of Pan”: in Greek mythology Midas
was the only one who thought Pan outperformed
Apollo in a musical contest; Apollo subsequently
gave Midas asses ears - this potential
transformation of Midas’s appearance is the “last
straw” for Mrs Midas
fi
n

 What gets me now is not the idiocy or gree

but lack of thought for me. Pure sel shness. I sol
the contents of the house and came down here
I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon
and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead. I miss most
even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.

• “What gets me now…”: colloquialism indicating her

continued grievance and annoyance
• “Pure sel shness”: minor sentence emphasises her disgust
at his actions and her summation of what they amount to;
emphasise her dismissive tone
• “I think of him in certain lights…”: she still thinks about him
a lot, particularly when the time of day is appropriate
• The ending is ironic: what she misses most is the thing that
caused their relationship to unravel - his hands. It is the
physical side of love that she misses.
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d

 Exemplar Questions with Answers

1. Look at lines 1 - 6. Explain how the writer’s

language helps convey the narrator’s feelings. 2

2. Look at lines 7 - 12. By referring to two examples,

explain how the writer’s language helps to show what
the relationship between Mr and Mrs Midas is like. 4

3. Look at lines 13 - 18. By referring to two examples,

explain how the poet’s language shows Mrs Midas’s
attitude towards her husband. 4

4. Look at lines 19 - 24. Explain how the poet’s

language helps to make it clear that something unusual
is happening. 2

5. By referring to this poem and at least one other

poem, show how Du y explores con ict in her poems.
8
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fl
1. “begun to unwind” (1). At the start of the poem the narrator is about to
“unwind” - a word that indicates she’s feeling stressed after a hard day
but is starting to relax.

2. “I thought myself, Is he really putting fairy lights on the tree?” (1). This
question suggests that Mrs Midas is long-su ering in their relationship
and is constantly surprised by the eccentric things that Midas does, with
the word “really” emphasising the extent of her surprise (1). “We grew
Fondante d’Automne” (1). This suggests a closeness in their relationship
and a shared interest, deliberately cultivating a particular type of pear (1).

3. “He sat in that chair like a king” (1). Her attitude here is dismissive and
contemptuous, as if he’s getting above himself and acting all superior in
the way he sits in his chair (1). “That look on his face was strange, wild,
vain” (1). There is also an element of concern ion her attitude however,
with the list of descriptions of how he looks implying something out of the
ordinary that gives her cause for worry (1).

4. “He toyed with his spoon” (1). The word “toyed” suggests that Midas is
preoccupied, that he has something on his mind and is distracted by it,
something that in turn suggests that he is experiencing something out of
the ordinary.(1)

5. This poem explores the theme of con ict by showing how relationships
deteriorate due to someone’s unreasonable behaviour (1). Was
Photographer explores con ict by looking at the way the title character
feels distanced from his country because his work doesn’t have the full
impact he wants it to (1).

“I said, What in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh” (1) As
Mrs Midas becomes frustrated and upset, Midas himself does not take
her concerns seriously and acts inappropriately to her anguish (1).

“The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch
beers” (1) This sounds contemptuous of those who view his photographs,
with their brief reaction sounding momentary and insincere before they
resume their lives and forget the images in a way he can’t (1).

“he stares impassively at where he earns his living and they do not care”
(1). The photographer has a dismissive attitude towards his fellow
countrymen, feeling his work is not properly appreciated and does not
have the desired impact he wants (1).
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 Further Practice

1. Look at lines 25 - 30. By referring to two examples,

explain how the poet’s language makes it clear that
Mrs Midas takes control of the situation. 4

2. Look at lines 30 - 36. By referring to two examples,

explain how the poet’s language makes clear Mrs
Midas’s attitude about her husband’s wish. 4

3. Look at lines 37 - 42. Explain how the writer’s

language helps show what their relationship was
previously like. 2

Look at lines 43 - 48. Explain how the writer’s language

helps to establish the narrator’s anguish in these lines.
2

5. By referring to this poem and at least one other

poem, show how Du y explores the theme of troubled
relationships. 8
ff
 War Photographe

In his dark room he is nally alon

with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows
The only light is red and softly glows
as though this were a church and h
a priest preparing to intone a Mass
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All esh is grass

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in tray

beneath his hands, which did not tremble the
though seem to now. Rural England. Home agai
to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel
to elds which don’t explode beneath the fee
of running children in a nightmare heat

Something is happening. A stranger’s feature

faintly start to twist before his eyes
a half-formed ghost. He remembers the crie
of this man’s wife, how he sought approva
without words to do what someone mus
and how the blood stained into foreign dust

A hundred agonies in black and whit

from which his editor will pick out ve or si
for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs pric
with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers
From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wher
he earns his living and they do not care.
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 Key Themes:
• Human Su ering
• War
• Dislocation
• Commitment
• Loss
• Identity

Commonality:
• Interesting/ sympathetic
character
• Vivid imagery
• Setting
• Loss/ su ering
• Use of contrast
• Identity
ff
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 Tone:
• Solemn
• Emotive
• Sympathetic
• Compassionate
• Pessimistic
• Resigned

Language
• Written in the third-person
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Word choice
• List
• Minor sentences
• Contrast
 “In his dark room he is nally alon
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.”

• “ nally” suggests he has been impatient to be by himself, as if reluctant

to be around people or he is keen to get on with his work
• “dark room” is literally the place where he develops his pictures, but it
could also suggests a place of darkness in the sense of a place that is
associated with gloomy or miserable things
• “set out in ordered rows” suggests he is methodical and organised
• “su ering” suggests both his subject matter (war) and his own
experience

“The only light is red and softly glows,

as though this were a church and h
a priest preparing to intone a Mass.”

• The comparison to a priest

suggests the solemnity of his
actions and the seriousness of his
work; it also suggests the idea that
his job is a calling, a vocation

“Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All esh is grass.”

• The list of place names emphasise the number of

war zones he has visited
• “All esh is grass”: a phrase from the bible that
essentially means all life is transitory - something
especially true in the places mentioned
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e

 “He has a job to do. Solutions slop in tray

beneath his hands, which did not tremble the
though seem to now.”

• “He has a job to do”: this again alludes to the idea that he sees his job as a
calling; it emphasises his sense of dedication and focus
• Pun on “solutions”: both the chemical formula that the photographs are
developed in but also the solutions (i.e. answers) that the developed photos
provide to the world’s problems
• “did not tremble then/ though seem to now”: when taking the pictures (“then”)
he didn’t feel afraid, perhaps because he is so dedicated, but now as he
develops them he feels a certain tension

“Rural England. Home again

to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,”

• The English countryside is where he lives, a place that is relatively

• “ordinary pain”: the day-to-day tribulations and issues that people
experience, as opposed to the extraordinary events he witnesses
in his work
• “which simple weather can dispel”: a nice sunny day, for example,
can take one’s mind o such pain

“to elds which don’t explode beneath the fee

of running children in a nightmare heat

• An emotive image of the reality of the places he

visits that is not seen in England - landmines
going o as children walk over them
• “nightmare heat”: “nightmare” suggests disturbing
and terrifying conditions; the “heat” is both the
climate and the burning and res of war
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.

“Something is happening. A stranger’s

features faintly start to twist before his eyes
a half-formed ghost.”

• “Something is happening”: the sense of something gradually appearing but

something mysterious; suggests sense of magic and wonder
• “faintly start to twist”: grotesque or horrifying nature suggested by “twist”
• “a half-formed ghost”: a terrifying pun - he is a “half-formed ghost” because
the picture captures a moment when he is between life and death but also
because the faintness of the photo before it is fully developed makes him
seem ghostly

“He remembers the cries

of this man’s wife,”

• He is haunted and disturbed by the

recollection of a woman screaming as
she watched her husband die
• A suggestion that he carries a lot of pain
and trauma around with him

“how he sought approva

without words to do what someone mus
and how the blood stained into foreign dust.”

• “sought approval”: he has a sense of decorum

and moral rightness - he realises that taking
pictures of a man dying is an intrusion that he has
to have permission to do
• “someone must”: he believes that such events
can’t go unrecorded
• “blood stained”: a suggestion of the permanence
of the violence and its consequences
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“A hundred agonies in black and whit

from which his editor will pick out ve or si
for Sunday’s supplement.”

• Like the “su ering” in stanza 1 the “agonies” could be both his pain in
taking and developing the photos AND the terrible events the photos
depict
• “black and white”: literally the colour of the photos but also the clarity
of what they depict - they are black and white because they are
unambiguous
• “hundred”/ “ ve or six”: contrast between the number of pictures he
takes and by implication the extent of the su ering he witnesses and
the relatively small number that are published

“The reader’s eyeballs prick

with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.”

• There is a brief emotional reaction to the

photographs
• “between the bath and the pre-lunch
beers”: readers soon return to their daily
routine and enjoy their Sunday without
thinking too much about the images

“From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wher

he earns his living and they do not care.”

• The poem ends with the photographer on a ight,

presumably to another war zone and another
assignment
• “impassively”: not showing emotion, perhaps
because he’s so disillusioned with people it’s not
worth it
• “where he earns his living”: this seems to imply he
has no other feelings for his own country- it’s just
a place where he works
• “they do not care”: “they” are his fellow Brits, who
don’t care about the war and the su ering he
witnesses
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 Exemplar Questions with Answers

1. Look at lines 1 - 6. Show how Du y’s language

helps convey the photographer’s solitude. 2

2. Look at lines 7 - 12. Show how Du y’s language

conveys the photographer’s attitude to his work. 2

3. Look at lines 13 - 18. By referring to two examples,

show how Du y’s language conveys the pain faced by
people in war in these lines. 4

4. Look at lines 19 - 24. By referring to two examples of

language, show how Du y conveys the response to the
photographer’s work. 4

5. By referring to this and to at least one other poem by

Du y, show how the idea of people su ering painful
experiences is a feature of her poetry. 8
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 1. “He is nally alone” (1). The word “ nally” suggests that the
photographer has been impatient to be by himself and nds solitude
comforting (1).

2. “He has a job to do” (1). The shortness of this sentence emphasise the
simplicity of the photographer’s outlook - he is committed to his work and
he must get it done.(1)

3. “A stranger’s features faintly start to twist before his eyes” (1) The word
“twist” suggests the contorted features of someone as they experience
great su ering (1). “He remembers the cries of this man’s wife” (1) This
shows pain because the “cries” are the screams of anguish coming from a
woman as she witnesses her husband being killed, something that still
haunts the photographer (1).

4. “The reader’s eyeballs prick” (1). This suggests that the readers are
moved to tears by his work. The word “prick” however suggests that this
emotion is only slight and momentary (1). “They do not care” (1). This
states quite explicitly that the readers do not really have any compassion
for people’s su ering despite the graphic nature of his work (1).

5.War photographer explores the idea of the importance of capturing and

recording the su ering people experience in war (1) and Valentine
explores the su ering that people in relationships inevitably experience
(1).

“He remembers the cries of this man’s wife” (1). This helps to show how
the photographer is haunted by the memories of the woman’s screams as
she watched her husband die. (1)

“It will blind you with tears/ like a lover” (1) from Valentine shows that
relationships cause upset at times and people su er because of their
partner. (1)

“Lethal” (1) from Valentine to describe giving the onion. This suggests
entering a relationship is potentially dangerous and will involve pain. (1)
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 Further Practice

1. Look at lines 1 - 6. By referring to two examples of

language, show how Du y creates a serious tone in
this verse.4

2. Look at lines 7 - 12. By referring to two examples,

show how Du y’s language conveys the di erence
between England and the places the photographer
works. 4

3. Look at lines 13 - 18.Show how Du y’s language

conveys the horrors of war. 2

4. Look at lines 19 - 24. Show how Du y’s language

shows the reaction of readers to the photographer’s
work. 2

5. By referring to this and to at least one other poem by

Du y, show how complex characters are an important
feature of her poetry 8
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