(An “Instamatic” Poem)
With a ragged diamond
of shattered plate-glass
a young man and his girl
are falling backwards into a shop-window
The young man’s face
is bristling with fragments of glass
and the girl’s leg has
caught on the broken window
and spurts arterial blood
over her wet-look white coat.
Their arms are starfished out
braced for impact,
and their faces show surprise, shock,
and the beginning of pain.
The two youths who have pushed them
are about to complete the operation,
reaching into the window
to loot what they can smartly.
Their faces show no expression.
It is a sharp clear night
in Sauchiehall Street .
In the background two drivers
keep their eyes on the road.
Edwin Morgan
Notes for Mr Crawford's Intermediate students:
• The poem describes an incident in a Glasgow
• Glasgow
Stanza 1
Begins describing the foreground and introduces the reader to the incident.
Techniques in Stanza 1
• Metaphor: “Ragged diamond”
• “Ragged” is a good word to use as it makes the glass sound uneven, sharp and splintered. This makes the image more violent as the reader imagines this dangerous surface contacting the young couple.
• Onomatopoeia- “Shattered plate glass”
• The repetition of the “sh/s” sound sounds like shards of glass showering the ground.
Stanza 2
• Stanza 2
zooms the focus out to reveal the extent of the injuries to the young couple. They are rather horrific.
Techniques in Stanza 2
• “The young man’s face is bristling with fragments of glass”.
• The young man’s face is a very sensitive area. The fact that it has been damaged is painful to think about and represents the life changing aspect of this attack as his face will be heavily scarred.
• Metaphor: “The young man’s face is bristling with fragments of glass”.
• This metaphor effectively compares the tiny pieces of glass imbedded in the young man’s face with stubble.
• “The girl’s leg has caught on the broken glass”
• This is a very violent image which implies the soft flesh of her leg has been moving at speed and stopped by a sharp piece of glass. This results in her horrific injuries.
• “Spurts arterial blood over her wet look white coat”
• Spurts is an effective word to choose as it reminds us that the blood from an artery would be highly pressurised and would exit the body very quickly. This reminds the reader that the injury is life threatening.
• “Spurts arterial blood over her wet look white coat”
• The jacket is important as the blood stands out against a white jacket. The wet look coat is now ironically literally wet with blood.
Stanza 3
• Stanza three deals with reaction as the focus zooms out to the middle ground. We can now see the reaction of the young couple and the reaction of the youths.
• For the youths this is part of a day’s work. Their lack of concern for the couple is shown in the line “Their faces show no expression”.
Techniques in Stanza 3
• Metaphor: Starfished out. This compares the body position of the young couple to that of a starfish and highlights to the reader how vulnerable and open the couple are to the pain that is being inflicted on them. It once again emphasises the violence inflicted on an innocent and helpless couple.
• Word Choice: “Complete the operation”
• This word is usually associated with surgery or army movements. It has connotations of being sterile, organised, well planned, rehearsed and without passion. This is a good word to use as the two youths are uncaring.
• “Loot what they can smartly”.
• Loot means to steal
• Smartly implies they are organised/ focussed/ efficient and business-like moving quickly and ignoring the pain and violence they have inflicted on the young couple.
• “Their faces show no expression”
• This angers the reader as they show a total disregard and lack of compassion for the young couple.
• This quote contrasts the young couple’s expression.
Stanza 4
There are people in the vicinity who could help the couple. The poet tells us that the visibility at this time is very good, “It is a sharp, clear night”. The fact that the drivers “keep their eyes on the road” shows us that they make a conscious effort not to become involved.
• Word choice
• Sharp- Connotations of camera focus, implies visibility is excellent.
• Clear- Unimpeded view with nothing to stop the drivers viewing what is happening.
Instamatic poetry
• The poem is written in the present tense and the structure is reminiscent of a photograph with the foreground (The couple) a middle ground (The youths) and a foreground (The drivers).
The message
• Edwin Morgan leaves the reader questioning what they would have done in this situation and the responsibility people in a society have toward one another.
• By the end of the poem the reader feels angry at the youths but equally disappointed and angry at the driver’s who could have helped but chose not to.
Example essay plan
Task: Examine one of Edwin Morgan's instamatic poems, "Glasgow 5 March 1971". In what way does instamatic technique affect the portrayal of violence in the poem?
Paragraph One: Introduction. Mention Morgan / Glasgow / discussion of instamatic poetry and the objective stance of the poem.
Paragraph Two: Opening of poem. Write about the "ragged diamond" metaphor and the juxtaposition of "ragged" and "diamond", using your notes.
Paragraph Three: Morgan uses the present tense - why? Quote to back your writing up. The man and woman are not named and are given no identifying features, as with the other two couples in the poem (robbers and "two drivers") - this ensures he stays neutral.
Paragraph Four: Write about the image of the young man's face "bristling with fragments of glass". Injuries sustained are communicated to the reader in a purely factual manner, devoid of emotion; "arterial" and "wet-look white coat".
Paragraph Five: Poem's central image - "Their arms are starfished out / braced for impact". The full impact of what has happened is communicated to the reader. Faces show no emotion, only "surprise, shock, and the beginning of pain" - these are only surface features and there is no indication of any inner psychological trauma.
Paragraph Six: Focus on the perpetrators of the crime - businesslike, methodical. Words such as "operation" and "smartly" convey the feeling that they have no compassion, regret or emotion whatsoever (this links to the earlier "arterial"). Write about the last four lines (sharp clear night" - transferred epithet) and the "two drivers" keeping "their eyes on the road". Who does the poet think is to blame for the crime?
Paragraph Seven: Conclusion. Recap of main ideas in essay; no new ideas introduced.
Revision:
Make sure you understand the notes and the message of the poem.
Pick out the key qoutations- at least 6.
Write out the key qoutations and make sure you know them off by heart.
Take each quotation in turn and write as much as you can about it without referring to your notes.
Check what your notes say about the qoute and learn anything you could not remember the first time.
Go to the SQA website and use the notes on essay writing to practice answering different questions.
Once you are confident with this focus on your timekeeping. 45 minutes from opening paper and choosing question to putting your pen down at the end of the conclusion.
Good Luck- Preparation is 99% of the battle.
i needed this thank u
ReplyDeletethank you this helped me alot
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