121961444 first day at school

8/20/2019 121961444 First Day at School

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FIRST D Y T

SCHOOL

ROGER MCGOUGH


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A millionbillionwillion miles from homeWaiting for the bell to go. (To go where?) Why are they all so big, other children?So noisy? So much at home they

Must have been born in uniformLived all their lives in playgroundsSpent the years inventing gamesThat don't let me in. GamesThat are rough, that swallow you up

And the railings.All around, the railings.Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?Things that carry off and eat children?Things you don't take sweets from?Perhaps they're to stop us getting out

Running away from the lessins. Lessin.What does a lessin look like?Sounds small and slimy.They keep them in the glassrooms.Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.

I wish I could remember my nameMummy said it would come in useful.Like wellies. When there's puddles.Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.

I think my name is sewn on somewherePerhaps the teacher will read it for me.Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea.

http://f/sTudy/ENGLISH%20STUDY/POEMS/STUDY%20POEMS/First%20Day%20at%20School%20by%20Roger%20McGough%20Poem.htmhttp://f/sTudy/ENGLISH%20STUDY/POEMS/STUDY%20POEMS/First%20Day%20at%20School%20by%20Roger%20McGough%20Poem.htm


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SUMMARY

In this poem Roger McGough places himself insidethe head of a young child who had just go to schoolfor very first day in his life.

The spelling errors in the poem and his

misinterpretations of the words show his innocentmind and his limited vocabulary, giving readers animpression that this was written by a young childwho has yet to have any school.

'to keep out wolves and monsters', 'things thatcarry off and eat children' shows that his mind hasbeen exposed to fairy tales, which shows that he isreally young.

We can also see his ignorance towards school.


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ANALYSIS OF

THE POEM


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FIRST STANZA

The first line expresses childhoodexaggeration and wordplay

“A millionbillionwillion miles from home”

In the second line he shows to us child’sliteral interpretation of what he has been

told“Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)”

After that he become aware of somethingscary, that was the older children in the

school“Why are they all so big, other children? So noisy? So much at home theyMust have been born in uniform.”


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He sees them as something alien and not like him

and they also display alienation towards him. It is aware that to a 5-year-old and 6-year-old child

is a potential threat, and that any child who is notin their first year at school will look down on those

children and reject them as unworthy companions“Spent the years inventing games That don't let me in. GamesThat are rough, that swallow you up.”


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SECOND STANZA

Being alone and rejected, the child now looksaround him and his attention is taken by therailings that surround the playground.

He sees them first as being a protection fromoutside threats, which leads his imagination downa fresh path in which “wolves and monsters” from

bedtime stories are associated with his parents’admonitions not to take sweets from strangers


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However, he then wonders if these railings are notprison bars designed to prevent his escape fromother monsters that he should fear even more,namely the “lessins” that he has been told to expect.

“And the railings.All around, the railings

Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?Things that carry off and eat children?

Things you don't take sweets from?Perhaps they're to stop us getting outRunning away from the lessins.”


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Without the necessary understanding, conceptssuch as “lesson” and “classroom” belong in thefantasy world of the child’s vivid imagination.

McGough reminds the reader that this was how heor she would have responded when they were thatage.

“What does a lessin look like? Sounds small and slimy.

They keep them in the glassrooms.Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.”


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THIRD STANZA

It begins with another sudden shift, this time backto the child himself.

His mind switches back to the certainties in his life,particularly his mother who only left him a fewminutes before but whom he misses already. Themention of his pet name for his wellington boots,

his “yellowwellies”, is enough to bring back hisfear of the unknown and his desire for the comfortof his mother’s presence.

“I wish I could remember my name

Mummy said it would come in useful.Like wellies. When there's puddles.Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.”


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However, the poem ends on a more positive note,because another word he has been given is“teacher”, and he knows that a teacher is not amonster even if he is unsure precisely what a

teacher does. McGough end the poem with another childish

misunderstanding, as well as the appreciation thatmany young children do not know their own name,having not had occasion to use their surname in

their life up to this point“I think my name is sewn on somewhere Perhaps the teacher will read it for me.Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea.”


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Point Of View

First point of view


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Moral Values

Adapt to your school environment.


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Themes

Feeling of children during his first day at school


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Poetic Devices•Assonance(repitition or a pattern of the same vowelsounds)

- ‘ A millionbillionwillion miles from home’

•Hyperbole- ‘A millionbillionwillion miles from home’

•There is no rhyme in the poem.


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Mood/Tone

•Fearful

•Childish

•Curious


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Tones•In stanza 2,line 12,the tone is childish:

-‘ Are they to keep out the wolves and monsters?’

•Sometimes the tone is fearful(stanza 1 line 9):

-‘That are rough, that swallows you up’

•Sometimes the tone is curious(stanza 2 line 17)

-‘What does a lessin look like?’


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POETRY ANALYSIS

epitomizes the innocent ignorance,

misunderstandings and insecurities of a child on his

or her first day in school, while simultaneously

capturing the spirit of childhood innocence and

curiosity. The poem has become a beloved lookingglass which peers into the mind of a child entering

the first stages of the real world. At times, it is

confusing and comical, but it also offers a shadow

of the childhood wisdom that adults lose sight of inlater years.


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The poem itself is written in a traditional format,

lacking any poetic sophistication or clever

techniques. It is almost certainly written this way

purposefully, as a child would have no use for such

sophistication. There is almost nothing in the poemthat could be interpreted as a rhyme either. Rather,

it mimics the kind of disjointed observations a child

may make when presented with a new setting. The

numerous misspelled words in the poem also serveto contribute to the feeling that this poem is written

by a child, who lacks the literary training to know

how to spell certain words correctly.


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the content of the poem is also typical of the

observations one could expect from a child. The

child notes the appearance of the other children,

the isolation of being left out of games (possibly

because he or she is either shy or starting late asthe "new kid"), the railings around the school, and

his or her nervousness at being addressed by the

teacher. The child observes that the other children

must have had confined lives, or "must have beenborn in uniform" and are now releasing pent up

energy. The child says that the other children'sgames are too rough and therefore isolating.


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The separation from the other children, coupled

with the nervousness at a new place with foreign

things builds into a feeling of insecurity that

dominates much of the poem. The child's

impression of the school itself is also frightening, ashe or she imagines that the railings may serve to

keep out monsters. Lessons, or "lessins" are also

give cause for concern, as the child believes they

may be some sort of slimy creature, withclassrooms, or "glassrooms" serving as their

holding tank. The child also yearns for his or her

mother, alluding to an understandable fear of

independence.


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Ultimately, however, there is a sense of both

wisdom and optimistic curiousity in the poem. The

child's implicit admonishment of the rougher

children alludes to he or she being more composed

and mature than the other children. Additionally, thefinal revelation that the teacher will be able to read

the child's name tag, and perhaps make tea adds a

sense of security and comic relief. The child seems

prepared for the first day of school after all.

121961444 first day at school

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