“Divisions” – Tony Harrison Narrative The title
Description: Divisions Tony Harrison Narrative The title refers to a range of divisions in 1980s society, including class, economic, gender, educational, NorthSouth, psychological. The poem begins as the speaker describes a group of young
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slide1. “Divisions” – Tony Harrison Narrative
The title refers to a range of divisions in 1980s society, including class, economic, gender, educational, North/South, psychological.
The poem begins as the speaker describes a group of young working-class men, emphasising stereotypes associated with skinhead culture. He then challenges this by humanising the young men
Whilst the first section has a gently mocking tone, it concludes with a genuine desire for the young men to achieve economic stability.
Harrison shifts the focus in the second section, expanding the scope of the poem to encompass the recent history of the North East. The references to the Second World War and the area’s mining heritage remind us of the contribution the North East has made to Britain’s industrial past.
Whilst the remainder of the second section returns to the gently mocking tone of earlier, it is clear that Harrison is highlighting the high levels of unemployment in the north, and the consequent poverty and hopelessness.
However, the poem also begins and ends with an emphasis on the separation between the speaker and the working-class culture he describes; here, Harrison reveals his self-consciousness about his own displacement from the community in which he was raised. Structure
This poem contains two Meredithian (or extended) sonnets. Sonnets traditionally have 14 lines, a tight rhyme scheme and rhythm, and express love.
In “Divisions”, Harrison articulates fatherly love for the working-class men he describes, and for the traditional culture of the north east. However, this is also tempered by a gentle mocking tone.
We see a conflict between the tight structure of the sonnet form, and the freedom that Harrison injects into his work. For example, after the third stanza in section 1, the poem fractures into shorter stanzas. The enjambment is also in tension with the poetic structure, as the phrases overrun the line endings to create a sense of fluidity and a conversational tone. This conflict within the poem’s structure echoes the poem’s multifarious divisions – in particular, the psychological division within the poet’s own mind.
Sonnets generally have a shift, volta, or turn, and we see this after line 12, where the tone changes from mocking to longing, and the pronouns from third person to direct address. Here, the speaker steps away from description of the culture and moves towards articulation of genuine hope for the future. Vocabulary
Colloquial diction – informal, casual vocabulary
Social mobility – being able to move between social classes, generally due to a high level of education.
Disenfranchisement – unable to vote, ignored, voiceless. Exam Questions (AQA Lit B)
“Harrison critiques the imbalance of power.” To what extent do you agree? …
“Harrison unequivocally depicts the north as a bleak and hopeless place.” To what extent do you agree? …
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Harrison: “My upbringing among so-called ‘inarticulate’ people has given me a passion for language that communicates directly and immediately.”
Rosemary Burton: Harrison is able to “reconcile formality with the rhythms of everyday speech. The result…is poignant, personal and full of raw emotion.”<br>
slide2. “Working” – Tony Harrison Narrative
Harrison takes us back to the Industrial Revolution, and recounts the story of Patience Kershaw – a young female miner. In 1842. Patience gave her account of the horrendous working conditions to the Children’s Employment Commission.
Harrison uses the poem to critique the conditions in which young women and children were forced to work – he describes how Patience has become bald due to the friction with the top of the mines.
Harrison then explores his own discomfort with his social position, and the impact his movement from working- to middle-class has on his poetic intentions. He explores the idea that his poetry is “a load of crap”, written for the “bourgeoisie” and therefore distanced from the lived experience of the working-classes. However, by the end of the poem, Harrison seems to resolve this internal debate, comparing the writing of poetry to the act of mining as both “break the silence” of the “gob” (mouth/mine). The poem therefore concludes with a reminder that the purpose of poetry can be to give a voice to the voiceless and protest against their oppression. Structure
This poem is a Meredithian sonnet – see the handout on “Divisions” for more information.
Unlike “Divisions”, which shifts from description to direct address, “Working” is addressed to Patience throughout, demonstrating the pathos the speaker feels for her plight.
Another shift in the poem is from purposefulness (the first section has a clear focus as the speaker protests against mistreatment of workers), to uncertainty (as the speaker questions the authenticity of the poet’s role), to certainty (as the poet finds sold ground in his role as providing a voice for the voiceless in society). Vocabulary
Cultural heritage – the legacy of cultural resources and works of art which are judged worthy to be passed down the generations.
Disenfranchisement – unable to vote, ignored, voiceless.
Marginalisation – being ignored by those who wield power in society. Exam Questions (AQA Lit B)
“Harrison critiques the imbalance of power.” To what extent do you agree? …
Explore Harrison’s beliefs about the role of the poet.
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Peter Robinson (1998 PhD Thesis, University of Hull): In “Working” “Harrison realises that there is something missing in his verse, that he senses that a writing impelled by a troubled conscience, written to ameliorate the pangs of that conscience, and a footling around with erudite wordplay to achieve this, is not the answer. It is simply not enough. Rather he has to strive for a complete, genuine empathy, he has to strive to achieve an 'unselfish art' that gives others their say. It is Harrison's realisation that this is a strategy that will do justice to those he wants to give a voice to that is described in 'Working'. The point seems to be that he has to avoid the trap of merely exhibiting his 'inwit', his conscience, and allow those he is speaking of to speak for themselves.”
Extract from Patience Kershaw’s account of her work (1842): “I never went to day-school; I go to Sunday-school, but I cannot read or write; I go to pit at five o'clock in the morning and come out at five in the evening; I get my breakfast of porridge and milk first; I take my dinner with me, a cake, and eat it as I go; I do not stop or rest any time for the purpose; I get nothing else until I get home, and then have potatoes and meat, not every day meat. I hurry in the clothes I have now got on, trousers and ragged jacket; the bald place upon my head is made by thrusting the corves.”<br>
slide3. “National Trust” – Tony Harrison Narrative
The poem begins with a reference to a “bottomless pit” in Castleton (a settlement in Derbyshire with 4 caverns). A convict is taken from his warders and abused by those in a position of power (their exact role is ambiguous); they lower him into one of the caverns to test its depth. When the convict is returned to the surface, he is speechless. The abusers beat him, and he still makes no sound. It is possible that the convict has died.
The poem shifts as the speaker addresses “gentlemen”, suggesting that a better way to find the depth of such caverns is to lower a “scholar”.
The location shifts to Towanroath, a disused mine shaft in Cornwall preserved by the National Trust. As with much of the country’s industrial heritage, this location reminds us of landlords’ exploitation of workers and the natural landscape.
This final section refers to the gradual death of the Cornish language, a symbol of local culture which was displaced by English in the 19th century. The poem’s conclusion suggests that those who control language also have the power to write history and to exploit others. Structure
As with the other short poems in this collection, “National Trust” is a Meredithian sonnet. See notes on “Divisions”.
The line “not even a good flogging…” is separate to highlight the irony; Harrison seems to adopt the voice of the “upholders of our law and order” complaining about the convict’s lack of reaction to their abuse. However, the counterpoint between the flippant tone and the description of brutality indicates Harrison’s condemnation of such corruption.
At the poem’s conclusion, Harrison separates the Cornish line and its translation, again drawing our attention to his criticism of the bourgeoisie. Vocabulary
Cultural heritage – the legacy of cultural resources and works of art which are judged worthy to be passed down the generations.
Disenfranchisement – unable to vote, ignored, voiceless. Exam Questions (AQA B)
“In his poetry, Harrison unequivocally condemns those in positions of power.” To what extent do you agree?
“Harrison’s poetry provides little hope for the future.” To what extent do you agree?
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Harrison wrote that every poem is a “momentary defeat of pessimism”. This suggests that the criticism and alternative ideologies offered by his poems provide a glimmer of a more progressive world. It could be argued that he sees his poetry as having a political and public function: to challenge hierarchical structures and systemic injustices, and to voice working class experience.
Harrison refers to his childhood self as a “scholar”; is he suggesting that he is the “scholar” of “NT”, and that he sees his role as “plumbing the depths” of British culture and history?<br>
slide4. “Them and [Uz]” – Tony Harrison Narrative
Section 1
The poem opens with a sound of lament – in ancient Greek and in English. The speaker references Demosthenes, a Greek orator who spoke with a stammer; in the poem he symbolises how an individual with a consummate command of language might struggle to articulate ideas. This is similar to the dilemma Harrison faced, as he sought to give a voice to working-class experience, but questioned the authenticity of this attempt as his education had removed him from his childhood culture.
This initial scene shifts to another example struggling to speak – this time, of a scholarship boy in a grammar school, attempting to recite Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale”. The unnamed teacher stops him, complaining that the schoolboy’s pronunciation has mangled the great poet’s work. As a result, the child is cast in the role of Shakespeare’s “drunken porter”, the only working-class character in the play. This vignette of the grammar school system highlights how the middle-classes devalued working-class culture and identity, prioritising instead a limited understanding of “our glorious heritage”. Whilst the scholarship system did provide social mobility, it also perpetuated the silencing of identities and cultures which did not conform to middle-class expectations.
In the next section, we hear the voice of the adult Harrison reflecting on his childhood experience. He comments, in parenthesis, on Keats’s cockney accent, undermining the teacher’s ideology.
In the final stanza, the teacher’s voice returns, shutting the child’s “trap” (mouth/cage), and the child submits (“doffed my flat a’s”) to his authority, finding that, as he does so, he stumbles over words – just like Demosthenes.
Section 2
Harrison unleashes his frustration and anger in the second section, immediately introducing profane language (“buggers”) and voicing a rebellious desire to “occupy” “your lousy leasehold Poetry”. This is a take over, as the northern, working-class poet reclaims his right to an art form that he has been denied access to as a child. Yet Harrison is not going to conform to pre-conceived poetic standards – instead, he is going to use a form of art associated with elite, highbrow culture as a vehicle for his own irreverent voice.
Harrison celebrates this in the subsequent stanza, as he uses his own pronunciation ([uz]) and rejects the grammatical rules he learned at school (it is grammatically incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition). He also discards the initials he was reduced to by his teacher, and regains his own name as a symbol of his identity.
The reference to Wordsworth is similar to the earlier allusion to Keats’s accent, as Harrison highlights how highbrow culture has transformed these radical Romantic poets into symbols of poetic transcendence.
Despite the poems’ iconoclastic energy, the poem concludes with little hope for the future, as Harrison’s work makes its way into The Times newspaper – a bastion of conservative, privileged culture – and his selfhood is once again denied through the change of name.<br>
slide5. “Them and [Uz]” – Tony Harrison Structure
See “Divisions” for notes on the sonnet form.
As in “V”, this poem is dramatic in form. In the first section, the teacher’s voice competes with that of the schoolboy and the adult poet – yet this plurality is extinguished in the second section as the adult voice finds its confidence and purpose. This continues until the renaming in the final lines. Vocabulary
Iconoclastic: attacking cherished beliefs or institutions
Irreverent – showing a lack of respect for people or ideas who are used to be taken seriously
Social mobility – the movement of individuals between social strata.
Orator – an eloquent public speaker Exam Questions (AQAB)
“Harrison’s poetry provides a clear critique of the establishment.” To what extent do you agree?
Explore the significance of conflict in Harrison’s poems.
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Rosemary Burton, Introduction to the Bloodaxe Critical Anthology: “Education, poetry, articulacy – these were powerful weapons which for too long had been in the hands of others.”
Ken Worpole, “Scholarship Boy”, in Bloodaxe: “Behind what seemed to be a simple issue of ‘correct speech’ there were complicated political and cultural histories”.
Damian Grant, “Poetry Versus History”, in Bloodaxe: “If Harrison is a political poet…then it is in the finding and claiming of a voice that his political activity manifests itself.” “The right to expression, and the means of expression, are being reclaimed on behalf of a whole community.”<br>
slide6. “Marked with D” – Tony Harrison Narrative
The poem is a lament for Harrison’s father, although it is unusual in tone as Harrison reflects on the disconnection between his father’s Christian faith, and his own inability to believe.
The poem begins with the father’s cremation; the extended metaphor comparing the burning of the body to the baking of bread is surprisingly unsentimental and potentially appears to be callous.
However, in the following lines the speaker seeks reassurance as his father’s sight becomes “ablaze” and he is reunited with his wife.
At the same time, the father’s tongue “burst[s] into flame” – yet Harrison immediately undercuts any metaphorical interpretation by insisting that this is a literal event.
The speaker then reflects on his own lack of faith, his father’s marginalisation from society, and his desire to be liberated from suffering.
The poem’s conclusion is extremely poignant, as it ends with a sense of failure as life is reduced to ash. Overall, Harrison creates the sense that a worker is a cog in a capitalist machine, whose belief in God is in reality the “opium of the masses” that anaesthetises the pain. Structure
See “Divisions” for notes on the sonnet form. Vocabulary
Elegy – a lament for the dead
Poignant – evoking a keen sense of loss
Ironic – happening in a way contrary to what is expected<br>
slide7. “V” – Tony Harrison Narrative Structure Vocabulary Exam Questions (AQA Lit B) Critical Quotations<br>
The title refers to a range of divisions in 1980s society, including class, economic, gender, educational, North/South, psychological.
The poem begins as the speaker describes a group of young working-class men, emphasising stereotypes associated with skinhead culture. He then challenges this by humanising the young men
Whilst the first section has a gently mocking tone, it concludes with a genuine desire for the young men to achieve economic stability.
Harrison shifts the focus in the second section, expanding the scope of the poem to encompass the recent history of the North East. The references to the Second World War and the area’s mining heritage remind us of the contribution the North East has made to Britain’s industrial past.
Whilst the remainder of the second section returns to the gently mocking tone of earlier, it is clear that Harrison is highlighting the high levels of unemployment in the north, and the consequent poverty and hopelessness.
However, the poem also begins and ends with an emphasis on the separation between the speaker and the working-class culture he describes; here, Harrison reveals his self-consciousness about his own displacement from the community in which he was raised. Structure
This poem contains two Meredithian (or extended) sonnets. Sonnets traditionally have 14 lines, a tight rhyme scheme and rhythm, and express love.
In “Divisions”, Harrison articulates fatherly love for the working-class men he describes, and for the traditional culture of the north east. However, this is also tempered by a gentle mocking tone.
We see a conflict between the tight structure of the sonnet form, and the freedom that Harrison injects into his work. For example, after the third stanza in section 1, the poem fractures into shorter stanzas. The enjambment is also in tension with the poetic structure, as the phrases overrun the line endings to create a sense of fluidity and a conversational tone. This conflict within the poem’s structure echoes the poem’s multifarious divisions – in particular, the psychological division within the poet’s own mind.
Sonnets generally have a shift, volta, or turn, and we see this after line 12, where the tone changes from mocking to longing, and the pronouns from third person to direct address. Here, the speaker steps away from description of the culture and moves towards articulation of genuine hope for the future. Vocabulary
Colloquial diction – informal, casual vocabulary
Social mobility – being able to move between social classes, generally due to a high level of education.
Disenfranchisement – unable to vote, ignored, voiceless. Exam Questions (AQA Lit B)
“Harrison critiques the imbalance of power.” To what extent do you agree? …
“Harrison unequivocally depicts the north as a bleak and hopeless place.” To what extent do you agree? …
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Harrison: “My upbringing among so-called ‘inarticulate’ people has given me a passion for language that communicates directly and immediately.”
Rosemary Burton: Harrison is able to “reconcile formality with the rhythms of everyday speech. The result…is poignant, personal and full of raw emotion.”<br>
slide2. “Working” – Tony Harrison Narrative
Harrison takes us back to the Industrial Revolution, and recounts the story of Patience Kershaw – a young female miner. In 1842. Patience gave her account of the horrendous working conditions to the Children’s Employment Commission.
Harrison uses the poem to critique the conditions in which young women and children were forced to work – he describes how Patience has become bald due to the friction with the top of the mines.
Harrison then explores his own discomfort with his social position, and the impact his movement from working- to middle-class has on his poetic intentions. He explores the idea that his poetry is “a load of crap”, written for the “bourgeoisie” and therefore distanced from the lived experience of the working-classes. However, by the end of the poem, Harrison seems to resolve this internal debate, comparing the writing of poetry to the act of mining as both “break the silence” of the “gob” (mouth/mine). The poem therefore concludes with a reminder that the purpose of poetry can be to give a voice to the voiceless and protest against their oppression. Structure
This poem is a Meredithian sonnet – see the handout on “Divisions” for more information.
Unlike “Divisions”, which shifts from description to direct address, “Working” is addressed to Patience throughout, demonstrating the pathos the speaker feels for her plight.
Another shift in the poem is from purposefulness (the first section has a clear focus as the speaker protests against mistreatment of workers), to uncertainty (as the speaker questions the authenticity of the poet’s role), to certainty (as the poet finds sold ground in his role as providing a voice for the voiceless in society). Vocabulary
Cultural heritage – the legacy of cultural resources and works of art which are judged worthy to be passed down the generations.
Disenfranchisement – unable to vote, ignored, voiceless.
Marginalisation – being ignored by those who wield power in society. Exam Questions (AQA Lit B)
“Harrison critiques the imbalance of power.” To what extent do you agree? …
Explore Harrison’s beliefs about the role of the poet.
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Peter Robinson (1998 PhD Thesis, University of Hull): In “Working” “Harrison realises that there is something missing in his verse, that he senses that a writing impelled by a troubled conscience, written to ameliorate the pangs of that conscience, and a footling around with erudite wordplay to achieve this, is not the answer. It is simply not enough. Rather he has to strive for a complete, genuine empathy, he has to strive to achieve an 'unselfish art' that gives others their say. It is Harrison's realisation that this is a strategy that will do justice to those he wants to give a voice to that is described in 'Working'. The point seems to be that he has to avoid the trap of merely exhibiting his 'inwit', his conscience, and allow those he is speaking of to speak for themselves.”
Extract from Patience Kershaw’s account of her work (1842): “I never went to day-school; I go to Sunday-school, but I cannot read or write; I go to pit at five o'clock in the morning and come out at five in the evening; I get my breakfast of porridge and milk first; I take my dinner with me, a cake, and eat it as I go; I do not stop or rest any time for the purpose; I get nothing else until I get home, and then have potatoes and meat, not every day meat. I hurry in the clothes I have now got on, trousers and ragged jacket; the bald place upon my head is made by thrusting the corves.”<br>
slide3. “National Trust” – Tony Harrison Narrative
The poem begins with a reference to a “bottomless pit” in Castleton (a settlement in Derbyshire with 4 caverns). A convict is taken from his warders and abused by those in a position of power (their exact role is ambiguous); they lower him into one of the caverns to test its depth. When the convict is returned to the surface, he is speechless. The abusers beat him, and he still makes no sound. It is possible that the convict has died.
The poem shifts as the speaker addresses “gentlemen”, suggesting that a better way to find the depth of such caverns is to lower a “scholar”.
The location shifts to Towanroath, a disused mine shaft in Cornwall preserved by the National Trust. As with much of the country’s industrial heritage, this location reminds us of landlords’ exploitation of workers and the natural landscape.
This final section refers to the gradual death of the Cornish language, a symbol of local culture which was displaced by English in the 19th century. The poem’s conclusion suggests that those who control language also have the power to write history and to exploit others. Structure
As with the other short poems in this collection, “National Trust” is a Meredithian sonnet. See notes on “Divisions”.
The line “not even a good flogging…” is separate to highlight the irony; Harrison seems to adopt the voice of the “upholders of our law and order” complaining about the convict’s lack of reaction to their abuse. However, the counterpoint between the flippant tone and the description of brutality indicates Harrison’s condemnation of such corruption.
At the poem’s conclusion, Harrison separates the Cornish line and its translation, again drawing our attention to his criticism of the bourgeoisie. Vocabulary
Cultural heritage – the legacy of cultural resources and works of art which are judged worthy to be passed down the generations.
Disenfranchisement – unable to vote, ignored, voiceless. Exam Questions (AQA B)
“In his poetry, Harrison unequivocally condemns those in positions of power.” To what extent do you agree?
“Harrison’s poetry provides little hope for the future.” To what extent do you agree?
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Harrison wrote that every poem is a “momentary defeat of pessimism”. This suggests that the criticism and alternative ideologies offered by his poems provide a glimmer of a more progressive world. It could be argued that he sees his poetry as having a political and public function: to challenge hierarchical structures and systemic injustices, and to voice working class experience.
Harrison refers to his childhood self as a “scholar”; is he suggesting that he is the “scholar” of “NT”, and that he sees his role as “plumbing the depths” of British culture and history?<br>
slide4. “Them and [Uz]” – Tony Harrison Narrative
Section 1
The poem opens with a sound of lament – in ancient Greek and in English. The speaker references Demosthenes, a Greek orator who spoke with a stammer; in the poem he symbolises how an individual with a consummate command of language might struggle to articulate ideas. This is similar to the dilemma Harrison faced, as he sought to give a voice to working-class experience, but questioned the authenticity of this attempt as his education had removed him from his childhood culture.
This initial scene shifts to another example struggling to speak – this time, of a scholarship boy in a grammar school, attempting to recite Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale”. The unnamed teacher stops him, complaining that the schoolboy’s pronunciation has mangled the great poet’s work. As a result, the child is cast in the role of Shakespeare’s “drunken porter”, the only working-class character in the play. This vignette of the grammar school system highlights how the middle-classes devalued working-class culture and identity, prioritising instead a limited understanding of “our glorious heritage”. Whilst the scholarship system did provide social mobility, it also perpetuated the silencing of identities and cultures which did not conform to middle-class expectations.
In the next section, we hear the voice of the adult Harrison reflecting on his childhood experience. He comments, in parenthesis, on Keats’s cockney accent, undermining the teacher’s ideology.
In the final stanza, the teacher’s voice returns, shutting the child’s “trap” (mouth/cage), and the child submits (“doffed my flat a’s”) to his authority, finding that, as he does so, he stumbles over words – just like Demosthenes.
Section 2
Harrison unleashes his frustration and anger in the second section, immediately introducing profane language (“buggers”) and voicing a rebellious desire to “occupy” “your lousy leasehold Poetry”. This is a take over, as the northern, working-class poet reclaims his right to an art form that he has been denied access to as a child. Yet Harrison is not going to conform to pre-conceived poetic standards – instead, he is going to use a form of art associated with elite, highbrow culture as a vehicle for his own irreverent voice.
Harrison celebrates this in the subsequent stanza, as he uses his own pronunciation ([uz]) and rejects the grammatical rules he learned at school (it is grammatically incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition). He also discards the initials he was reduced to by his teacher, and regains his own name as a symbol of his identity.
The reference to Wordsworth is similar to the earlier allusion to Keats’s accent, as Harrison highlights how highbrow culture has transformed these radical Romantic poets into symbols of poetic transcendence.
Despite the poems’ iconoclastic energy, the poem concludes with little hope for the future, as Harrison’s work makes its way into The Times newspaper – a bastion of conservative, privileged culture – and his selfhood is once again denied through the change of name.<br>
slide5. “Them and [Uz]” – Tony Harrison Structure
See “Divisions” for notes on the sonnet form.
As in “V”, this poem is dramatic in form. In the first section, the teacher’s voice competes with that of the schoolboy and the adult poet – yet this plurality is extinguished in the second section as the adult voice finds its confidence and purpose. This continues until the renaming in the final lines. Vocabulary
Iconoclastic: attacking cherished beliefs or institutions
Irreverent – showing a lack of respect for people or ideas who are used to be taken seriously
Social mobility – the movement of individuals between social strata.
Orator – an eloquent public speaker Exam Questions (AQAB)
“Harrison’s poetry provides a clear critique of the establishment.” To what extent do you agree?
Explore the significance of conflict in Harrison’s poems.
…Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Harrison’s poetic methods. [25 marks] Critical Quotations
Rosemary Burton, Introduction to the Bloodaxe Critical Anthology: “Education, poetry, articulacy – these were powerful weapons which for too long had been in the hands of others.”
Ken Worpole, “Scholarship Boy”, in Bloodaxe: “Behind what seemed to be a simple issue of ‘correct speech’ there were complicated political and cultural histories”.
Damian Grant, “Poetry Versus History”, in Bloodaxe: “If Harrison is a political poet…then it is in the finding and claiming of a voice that his political activity manifests itself.” “The right to expression, and the means of expression, are being reclaimed on behalf of a whole community.”<br>
slide6. “Marked with D” – Tony Harrison Narrative
The poem is a lament for Harrison’s father, although it is unusual in tone as Harrison reflects on the disconnection between his father’s Christian faith, and his own inability to believe.
The poem begins with the father’s cremation; the extended metaphor comparing the burning of the body to the baking of bread is surprisingly unsentimental and potentially appears to be callous.
However, in the following lines the speaker seeks reassurance as his father’s sight becomes “ablaze” and he is reunited with his wife.
At the same time, the father’s tongue “burst[s] into flame” – yet Harrison immediately undercuts any metaphorical interpretation by insisting that this is a literal event.
The speaker then reflects on his own lack of faith, his father’s marginalisation from society, and his desire to be liberated from suffering.
The poem’s conclusion is extremely poignant, as it ends with a sense of failure as life is reduced to ash. Overall, Harrison creates the sense that a worker is a cog in a capitalist machine, whose belief in God is in reality the “opium of the masses” that anaesthetises the pain. Structure
See “Divisions” for notes on the sonnet form. Vocabulary
Elegy – a lament for the dead
Poignant – evoking a keen sense of loss
Ironic – happening in a way contrary to what is expected<br>
slide7. “V” – Tony Harrison Narrative Structure Vocabulary Exam Questions (AQA Lit B) Critical Quotations<br>